Morris happy with brief outing

JUPITER, Fla. -- Despite struggling in his second spring outing after offseason shoulder surgery, St. Louis Cardinals starter Matt Morris was pleased with his performance.

Morris gave up six hits and three runs in 2 1/3 innings against Baltimore on Thursday before the game was called in the middle of the third inning with St. Louis trailing 3-1.

"Actually, I felt real good out there," Morris said. "I felt much better than I did my first outing. The ball was coming out real good, maybe too good. I had more whip and more juice on my pitches.

"Maybe that was part of the problem. I felt so good I tried to do too much and got a couple of pitches up in the zone. It goes to show you if you feel a little better you probably have to concentrate a little more."

Baltimore's Sal Fasano jumped on Morris for a two-run homer in the second inning, his second of the spring, and Luis Matos socked a triple to lead off the third. He scored on B. J. Surhoff's single.

"I was glad to get the work in. That's the main thing," Morris said. "I'm recovering and feeling better and looking forward to my next one in five days."

St. Louis outfielder Reggie Sanders was pulled from the starting lineup before the game. An examination revealed acute appendicitis, and he was to have surgery Thursday night.