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Carpenter and Thomas go deep, Martinez hit hard as Cardinals fall to Mets

Reliever Brett Cecil also left the game with a hamstring injury he suffered covering first base

JUPITER, Fla. — Result: Mets 7, Cardinals 3

The good news for the Cardinals on Wednesday was that Matt Carpenter hit a home run.

The bad news was that until the eighth inning that was their only hit in their loss to the Mets in Port St. Lucie.

Carpenter’s homer in the fourth inning was his second of the spring and was the Cardinals only baserunner off Jacob deGrom in his four innings of work.

Carpenter also drew a walk in his three plate appearances as he raised his spring average to .235.

Watch: Carlos Martinez talks about his upcoming 2020 with Cardinals

Here is how Wednesday’s game broke down:

High: Kodi Whitley continued his strong spring as the non-roster reliever extended his streak to six innings without allowing a run.

Low: The oft-injured Brett Cecil had to leave the game with a hamstring injury. He was hurt as he ran to cover first base on a ground ball. He will undergo more tests on Thursday.

At the plate: The second hit for the Cardinals was a home run by Lane Thomas, his third of the spring, in the eighth … Thomas also drew a pair of walks … Dexter Fowler was hitless in four at-bats, striking out twice, as his spring average fell to .069 … John Nogowski drove in the final run with a ninth-inning single … The Cardinals only other hits were a double by Edmundo Sosa and single by Evan Mendoza in the eighth, when they loaded the bases but failed to score.

On the mound: Carlos Martinez had his worst start of the spring, allowing six runs on six hits in 3 2/3 innings. He did strike out six … Cecil struck out the first batter he faced before he had to leave the game because of the injury … The other Mets run came off Ryan Helsley, who allowed four hits in his one inning of work.

Off the field: Andrew Miller had an “encouraging” day on Wednesday as he threw a bullpen session that left him more optimistic about his recovery from not being able to get a good grip on the baseball. “I was happy how the ball felt,” said Miller, who has gone through numerous tests in the last couple of days which have ruled out a lot of potential reasons for that lack of feeling in his right fingers. Miller has pitched only one inning this spring, on Feb. 28, and was unable to pitch after warming up for his scheduled second appearance. Miller said the team has come up with a plan and program that appears to be working but his status for being ready to pitch by the regular-season opener remains in question … Paul Goldschmidt was out of the lineup for the third consecutive game and likely will miss a couple of more days because of soreness in his right elbow. He underwent an MRI on Monday which did not reveal any ligament damage. “I think I could play today but we are trying to be careful,” Goldschmidt said.

Up next: The Cardinals play their first game in Jupiter since Sunday on Thursday, taking on the Marlins. Adam Wainwright is the scheduled starter.

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