He did not get the win, but Adam Wainwright gave the St. Louis Cardinals and their fans exactly what they wanted in his Spring Training debut. Wainwright pitched four scoreless innings and allowed only four hits while walking one and striking out three. The Cardinals won 1-0 on Dean Anna's walk-off single with nobody out in the bottom of the ninth.

Wainwright is returning from an abdominal strain that had the Cardinals wondering if he would make his scheduled Opening Day night start against the Chicago Cubs on April 5. His performance Saturday indicates that he most likely will. While most pitchers last one or two innings in their first Spring Training start, Wainwright went four because he had kept throwing enough to stretch himself out a bit more than usual. 

MLB.com's Paul Hagan quoted the Cardinals ace discussing his preparation and readiness for the season. Said Wainwright,

"I can now clearly say to everyone that there's no question in my mind. There wasn't, really, but for sure there's no question in my mind going forward that I'm out of the woods. I also know that Opening Day is a great thing. But if I wasn't ready, it wasn't worth risking weeks of the season re-aggravating something."

Wainwright also said that once he gets his velocity back, "...it's going to make things very tough on hitters."

Meanwhile, Anna singled home Charlie Tilson with the game's only run. Tilson came in as a pinch runner for Xavier Scrugss, who walked to open the ninth. Yadier Molina then singled him to second and came out for pinch runner Pete Kozma. Anna then lined the 1-0 pitch into right to win the game.

Kevin Siegrest (W: 1-0, 0.00 ERA) pitched the top of the ninth to earn the win. He walked one and struck out one but allowed no runs. Carlos Martinez pitched three scoreless innings in relief of Wainwright, and Carlos Villanueva added a scoreless inning of his own.

Atlanta's Aaron Kurcz (L: 0-1, 7.36) could not get an out in the ninth, surrendering the lone run in taking the loss. Starter Chien-Ming Wang pitched 4 2/3 innings of scoreless baseball, allowing three hits, two walks, and one strikeout. Arodys Vizcaino and Sugar Ray Marimon combined for 3 1/3 scoreless innings. 

On Sunday, the Braves host the Detroit Tigers while the Cardinals visit the Baltimore Orioles. Both games will begin at 1:05 p.m. EDT.

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About the author
Raymond Bureau
Raymond became a baseball fan at a very young age. He played baseball through high school and soon after became a varsity coach. He is now the P.A. announcer at his high school where he teaches. Raymond previously produced radio sports talk shows and hosted a weekly MLB radio call-in show. His favorite teams are the Chicago Cubs and New York Yankees. Raymond is a devoted husband, father, and Christ follower. His life verses are Philippians 4:13, John 14:6, and Isaiah 41:10.