Ankiel has a painless throwing session

JUPITER, Fla. -- There were no unwelcome surprises Monday when Rick Ankiel pitched to batters for the first time since March 3, when a bad outing against the Expos helped reveal elbow tendinitis.

On one of the practice fields behind the Cardinals spring training clubhouse, Ankiel threw some warm-up pitches before throwing five pitches each to Kerry Robinson, Mike Coolbaugh and So Taguchi. He stopped for a few minutes to talk mechanics with pitching coach Dave Duncan and catcher Mike Matheny, then threw five more pitches each to Coolbaugh, Taguchi and Coolbaugh again.

Duncan and manager Tony La Russa both said Ankiel was a little out of sync, but that was expected.

"It was a workout, that's all it was supposed to be," La Russa said. "We expected he would be a little rusty, having not faced batters in 14 days. We'll see how he feels in a couple of days and schedule another workout."

Ankiel had no complaints.

"It felt good," Ankiel said. "I was a little bit rusty, but my elbow felt good."

The day after allowing five runs in two innings, including a grand slam homer by the Expos' Lee Stevens, Ankiel said his left elbow was sore. After an MRI, the problem was described as elbow tendinitis.

"It's not a priority for him to be ready to pitch opening day," Duncan added. "He's 22 years old, he has a long career ahead of him."