Cardinals option Gonzalez to Memphis after exhibition loss to Red Sox

JUPITER, Fla. -- Clay Buchholz pitched into the fifth inning, Pablo Sandoval and Jackie Bradley Jr. each drove in two runs and the Boston Red Sox beat the St. Louis Cardinals 4-3 Monday.

Buchholz gave up one run and five hits over 4 2/3 innings. He missed much of last season with an elbow strain.

"I thought today was a better outing for him," Boston manager John Farrell said. "I thought he threw the ball well, a higher number of strikes today."

Buchholz had allowed four earned runs over 5 1/3 innings earlier this spring. He'll get two more starts before the regular season.

"The changeup was the pitch that I was wanting to throw more today because it hasn't been quite there yet," Buchholz said. "I threw a lot of good changeups today."

Red Sox reliever Carson Smith left after only five pitches with forearm tightness. Manager John Farrell called the move precautionary and said Smith was returning to Fort Myers to be evaluated.

In his 11th Grapefruit League at-bat, Cardinals catcher Yadier Molina got his first hit of the spring, a single over shortstop Xander Bogaerts. Molina is still trying to strengthen his left hand following offseason thumb surgery.

Jeremy Hazelbaker took the Cardinals' spring home run lead with his second, a two-run shot in the ninth.

Travis Shaw doubled twice and singled for Boston.

Cardinals starter Marco Gonzales needed 51 pitches to get through two innings, allowing two runs. Afterward, St. Louis optioned him to Class AAA Memphis.

Subbing for skip

With Cardinals manager Mike Matheny absent from camp to attend to a family issue, bench coach David Bell handled the managerial duties.

"These games are so planned out, but they're still fun because things happen during a game where you adjust and you react," Bell said. "And you still try to win, especially towards the end. We think that's important."

Another look

Monday would normally have been Jaime Garcia's turn in the rotation for the Cardinals, but he elected to throw against minor leaguers on the back fields of the Roger Dean Stadium complex, where he could better control the outing.

Up next

St. Louis has its final off day of the Grapefruit League today. Carlos Martinez takes the mound against Miami on Wednesday.