JUPITER, Fla. (AP) – John Lackey pitched three perfect innings in his spring training debut, outpitching David Price in the St. Louis Cardinals’ 2-1 victory over the Detroit Tigers on Monday.
Cardinals manager Mike Matheny let the 36-year-old Lackey set his own pace during camp and it has paid off. The right-hander struck out four and needed only 37 pitches.

In his third outing of the spring, David Price was nearly as efficient as Lackey, throwing four scoreless innings of one hit ball while striking out five and walking one. Yoenis Cespedes returned to the Tigers lineup after missing a couple games with a quadriceps injury, and showed little sign of rust. He sent a pitch from Lackey to the right field warning track in the second inning and doubled off Carlos Villanueva in the fifth. Pete Kozma had an RBI single.