Cardinals tie Tigers, fall to Dodgers

Judging by his performance this spring, the nerve injury that kept Chris Carpenter out of the World Series is a thing of the past.

Carpenter pitched five solid innings Friday, giving up three runs while striking out eight, as the Cardinals and Detroit Tigers played to a 4-4 tie in Jupiter, Fla. The game was called after nine innings because of rain.

The right-hander was 15-5 with a 3.46 ERA in his comeback season of 2004 after two lost years following shoulder surgery. Then, just weeks before the playoffs, he suffered a nerve injury that forced him to miss the postseason.

"I haven't given it (the nerve injury) a thought this spring," Carpenter said.

All three runs allowed by Carpenter came on Magglio Ordonez's three-run homer in the third inning.

The Cardinals trailed 4-1 with two outs in the ninth when first baseman Chris Duncan hit a three-run homer to tie the game.

Albert Pujols also homered for St. Louis, his fifth of the spring. Pujols has not struck out in 44 at bats.

In Vero Beach, Fla., catcher Jason Phillips got his first hits and drove in his first run since being traded to Los Angeles last weekend, helping the Dodgers beat the Cardinals' split squad 6-4.

Phillips, acquired from the New York Mets for pitcher Kazuhisa Ishii, had been hitless with the Dodgers before an RBI single in the fourth inning. He singled again in the seventh and scored one of Los Angeles' four runs that inning.

Chin Feng Chen hit a three-run homer in the seventh to give Los Angeles a 5-3 lead, and Henri Stanley added a solo homer in the eighth.

Abraham Nunez had four singles and two RBIs for the Cardinals.