Cards split with Marlins, Dodgers

JUPITER, Fla. -- Rick Ankiel endured another bout of wildness Thursday, walking three and hitting a batter in an inning as the Florida Marlins beat the Cardinals 8-7 in a split-squad game.

"It didn't go as good as I wanted," Ankiel said. "I think at first I was just rushing a lot, and as a result my front shoulder was flying open."

Ankiel, 23, had walked only two in four one-inning spring appearances. He opened Thursday by hitting Miguel Cabrera on a 1-1 breaking ball. Ankiel then walked Kevin Hooper on four pitches and Mike Mordecai on five.

A visit from pitching coach Dave Duncan, who told him, "Just throw it," didn't do any immediate good. Ankiel walked Juan Encarnacion on a 3-2 count, forcing in a run.

The rest of the inning went quickly, though, as Todd Hollandsworth hit an RBI groundout on a 1-1 pitch, Brian Banks hit an RBI groundout on a 1-0 pitch and Mike Redmond grounded out to shortstop on the first pitch.

"I look at it as a real positive outing, simply because there was a lot of adversity and it didn't take control of him," Duncan said. "He got the three outs.

"If he had lost control of the game after that adversity it would have been a step backwards, but I look at it as a step forward simply because he got out of the inning."

Ankiel threw 23 pitches, 15 of them balls. He was wild high and outside for the most part.

"I came back and made some good pitches," Ankiel said. "That's pretty much what it's about."

Cardinals starter Dustin Hermanson bounced back from a horrible relief outing in his previous appearance with four effective innings. Hermanson also used a new pitch, the split-finger fastball, for the first time in his career.

Hermanson allowed seven runs in one-plus innings against the Mets on March 3, complaining later that he rushed his warmup, but held the Marlins to two runs -- one earned -- and four hits. Hermanson missed most of last season due to a groin injury with the Red Sox and signed with the Cardinals, for whom he played in 2001, in January.

The Marlins' Dontrelle Willis gave up five runs -- two earned -- and seven hits in two innings in his second spring start.

Cardinals 6, Dodgers 5

VERO BEACH, Fla. -- Albert Pujols homered and drove in two runs -- extending his team record for spring training to 18 RBIs -- as a split squad of Cardinals beat the Los Angeles Dodgers 6-5.

The home run was the fifth for Pujols, who also had a run-scoring single. Pujols is playing more this spring, hoping to avoid a slow start to the regular season.

Pujols' home run came in the fifth inning off Hideo Nomo (0-2), who gave up nine hits and trailed 3-1 when he left.

Nomo said he felt fine in his 4 2/3 innings of work but his pitches "didn't have a lot of zip on them." Dodgers manager Jim Tracy said Nomo has been experimenting with a subtle change in his delivery.

Jason Simontacchi (1-1) allowed two hits -- one of them Ron Coomer's fourth homer -- in five innings for St. Louis.

-- From wire reports