WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. • The Cardinals’ first spring training night game this year began with four double plays induced by starter Mike Leake in four innings but it also began with Houston taking a 4-0 lead.
Then longtime minor leaguer Jose Martinez, who surely will be making an Opening Day roster for the first time in his career, cracked a two-run homer. The Cardinals subsequently took advantage of five Astros walks, two errors and a wild pitch to score a total of four runs in the sixth and seventh innings.
The night got better for the Cardinals with Greg Garcia’s two-run, inside-the-park homer in the eighth and three dominant innings by reliever Trevor Rosenthal, who struck out five.