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Rosenthal pain-free, Wacha pitches well for Cards

Sports

March 8th, 2014 by Ric Hanson

JUPITER, Fla. (AP) – Trevor Rosenthal had a pain-free spring training debut and Michael Wacha pitched three effective innings for the St. Louis Cardinals in a 4-4 tie with a Washington Nationals split squad that was called after 10 innings Saturday.

Groin pain prompted the Cardinals to sideline Rosenthal for a few days this spring, but that wasn’t a problem Saturday. The hard-throwing closer said he’s nearly in regular-season form following his first Grapefruit League appearance.  Wacha worked two perfect innings before allowing a run on two hits and a walk in the third.

Destin Hood’s three-run homer gave the Nationals a 4-1 lead in the eighth. St. Louis tied it with three in the bottom half, including Greg Garcia’s two-run single.