WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. • Matt Carpenter, after walking twice in his first two plate appearances of the spring on Tuesday, singled and homered in his first two at-bats on Wednesday against redoubtable Houston righthander Justin Verlander as the Cardinals jumped ahead 2-1 in the third inning.
Carpenter, who was out nearly four weeks with a lower back sprain, took a 3-2 Verlander pitch over the right-field wall after Tommy Pham had worked a two-out walk after running the count full.
The Astros had scored an unearned run off Adam Wainwright in the second, abetted by a passed ball by catcher Carson Kelly.