PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. • New Cardinals catcher Brayan Pena, handling, or trying to handle, Jaime Garcia for the first time in a game, was euphoric.
“Whoo, man! It’s amazing,” Pena said. “His ball moves all over the place. Everything he throws is real nasty.”
Cardinals manager Mike Matheny long has contended that his lefthander doesn’t throw anything straight. And, of the 53 pitches Garcia fired on Thursday in blanking the New York Mets for 3 2/3 innings, Pena said, “Probably one,” when asked how many pitches Garcia threw which didn’t dart one way or the other.