St. Louis' retooled staff leads in ERA

~ Cardinals pitchers are allowing less than three earned runs per game.

JUPITER, Fla. -- So far, plugging all those holes in the rotation has been a snap for the St. Louis Cardinals. About halfway through spring training, the World Series champions had a major league-leading 2.31 ERA.

The Cardinals have to replace Jeff Suppan, Jason Marquis and Jeff Weaver and the new starting five features two converted relievers.

"I've had mighty fine spring trainings before and spring training is a different game from the regular season," ace Chris Carpenter said. "But obviously we're doing some things right -- keeping the ball down, hitting our spots, pitching ahead.

"Hopefully we're building in the direction to do the things that make you successful."

St. Louis Cardinals starter Kip Wells delivers during the second inning against the Minnesota Twins during their spring training baseball game in Fort Myers, Fla., Tuesday March 13, 2007. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)

Adam Wainwright, the stand-in closer in the postseason for Jason Isringhausen, hasn't allowed a run in 11 innings in his first three spring starts. Braden Looper, another former closer who has 572 career relief appearances and zero starts in the major leagues, has surrendered one run in 11 innings.

New No. 2 starter Kip Wells, who pitched at Minnesota on Tuesday, allowed no runs in five innings his first two outings. Anthony Reyes allowed only one hit in four innings his first two times out and Carpenter is beginning to dial things in with a 2.53 ERA over 10 innings.

When Looper left after 4 scoreless innings against an Atlanta Braves lineup stacked with left-handed hitters on Monday, he was the third straight starter to get there without damage and thus earn a choreographed exit ovation.

Looper made do on a day when he was not at his best, compensating by mixing up his pitches and moving the ball around.

"I've never seen him for more than one inning and that's always an adjustment when you go from relieving to starting," the Braves' Chipper Jones said. "But he doesn't lack stuff."

All they need to do is keep it up, and then take it into the season. Pitching coach Dave Duncan puts little stock in the numbers.

"Giving up a few runs is a lot better than giving up a lot of runs, but it isn't really significant at this time of the spring," Duncan said. "It isn't something you look at and say 'Oh boy, we're doing great!"'

Historically, pitchers are always ahead of the hitters at this point. Yet it's undeniably impressive given that the Cardinals' ERA is a half-run better than the second-place Orioles (2.80). Only one other team, the Yankees (2.92) were under three per game.

"Certainly it could be a lot worse, no doubt about that," backup catcher Gary Bennett said. "We could be giving up seven or eight runs and that's not on the case.

"But on the flip side it's two weeks in and there's hitters still up there working on stuff."

The rotation remains a major question mark, given that entering the season Carpenter is the lone holdover and that the rest of the group that's penciled in totaled 18 wins last season.

Wells, the No. 2 starter, had only two wins in an injury-shortened 2006. Reyes, though promising, was 5-8 with a 5.06 ERA last season.

Carpenter was optimistic way before this early spring training run.

"I'm excited and I've told guys from the beginning I think it's going to be a nice group," Carpenter said. "They're excited to prove a lot of people wrong."