JUPITER, Fla. • Matt Adams, nothing for 12 with seven strikeouts this spring, ended that skid in resounding fashion Thursday.
First, Adams took a Bartolo Colon pitch over the left-center-field wall for a home run in the second inning. Then, Adams singled in the midst of a three-run fourth inning as the Cardinals forged ahead of the Atlanta Braves en route to a 9-4 exhibition victory.
Carson Kelly, a late replacement at designated hitter for injured Matt Carpenter (lower back stiffness), singled in two runs to break a 3-3 tie in the fourth after Jedd Gyorko’s single, his first of two hits, had evened the score.