JUPITER, Fla. — One of the more interesting decisions the Cardinals have to make before the end of spring training is how many lefthanders they want to keep in the bullpen.
They have five remaining in camp, including both Zack Thompson and Matthew Liberatore, who have been working primarily as starters this spring but could shift to a relief role.
Two of the other candidates, Drew Rom and John King, both pitched against the Marlins on Friday night. It was a good night for King, but a bad night for Rom, the opposite of how their springs had been going.
King had allowed 15 hits and eight runs in six innings this spring before working a 1-2-3 inning. Rom had allowed just one hit in five scoreless innings in his first two appearances, but he gave up nine hits and walked two in just 2 1/3 innings, leading to four runs for the Marlins.
Here is how Friday night’s game broke down:
High: Michael Siani, fighting for a spot as a reserve outfielder, got the start in center field and had two hits and made a nice running catch.
Low: Rom came into a 3-3 game to start the fourth inning but retired only seven of the 17 hitters he faced.
At the plate: Siani was the only Cardinal with a multi-hit game … Jose Fermin hit his first home run of the spring, just the 10th overall for the team … The other RBIs came from Nolan Gorman, Nolan Arenado and Jordan Walker, all coming on doubles.
On the mound: Steven Matz gave up a three-run homer among the four hits he allowed over three innings, recording four strikeouts … Nick Robertson also worked a scoreless inning before Wilking Rodriguez gave up a home run in the ninth.
Worth noting: The Cardinals’ top three pitching prospects, Tink Hence, Tekoah Roby and Gordon Graceffo, all pitched in the “spring breakout” game on Friday, which the Cardinals lost 3-2 to the Marlins. Hence allowed one hit in two scoreless innings, hitting 97 miles per hour on the radar gun. Roby, who allowed an unearned run, hit 98 mph with his fastball and Graceffo was clocked at 96 mph … Zach Levenson hit a home run … The game was televised by the MLB Network but in an apparent mixup, was blacked out in the St. Louis market even though it was available online … Sonny Gray will throw again on Sunday in the next step to see if he will able to get into a game before the Cardinals leave Florida.
Up next: The Cardinals play the Nationals on Saturday in West Palm Beach. Miles Mikolas will get the start.
