Result: Cardinals 5, Nationals 3
Weather: 80 degrees, sunny
By Rob Rains
JUPITER, Fla. – The Cardinals had only two players in the lineup on Saturday who are expected to play regularly this season, which gave some of their younger players a chance to shine.
Willson Contreras and Pedro Pages were the only regulars to make the trip to West Palm Beach for the game against the Nationals after neither played in the game on Friday night in Jupiter.
Two of the younger players who took advzntage of getting to start the game were Ryan Vilade and Michael Helman, each of whom drove in two runs.
Pages had one of the Cardinals seven hits and scored two runs while Contreras, one of the team’s leading hitters this spring, was 0-of-3.
Here is how Saturday’s game broke down:
High: Thomas Saggese got the start at third base and had two hits and scored twice.
Low: Michael Siani continues to struggle offensively, going hitless in three at-bats and is now 1-of-22 this spring,
At the plate: Vilade, acquired over the winter from the Tigers and likely headed to Triple A, got the start in right field and drove in his runs on a groundout and a ground-rule double … Helman, obtained from the Twins just before spring training, started at second base and picked up his RBIs on a sacrifice fly and a ground out … The Cardinals were just 2-of-11 with runners in scoring position and left 10 runners on base.
On the mound: Steven Matz worked four innings, holding the Nationals to two runs despite allowing five hits. He didn’t walk a batter and struck out three … Ryan Helsley worked a perfect inning with one strikeout … Roddery Munoz, competing for one of the final spots in the bullpen, allowed an unearned run in his one inning. In four innings this spring the former Miami righthander has allowed one hit, no earned runs, no walks and has six strikeouts.
Worth noting: Top prospect J.J. Wetherholt stole his third base of the spring and scored on a throwing error … The Cardinals announced that they had reached contract agreements with all 28 of their pre-arbitration eligible players … A team of Cardinals minor leaguers will play the national team from the Czech Republic on Monday on field 2 at the Cardinals’ spring complex, beginning at 1 p.m.
Up next: Andre Pallante will get the start on Sunday when the Cardinals return to Jupiter to host the Yankees in one of their two games on the east coast of Florida.
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