PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. -- The New York Mets tattooed Cardinals starter Carlos Martinez for five runs in the first four innings Wednesday as they gave Jacob deGrom a 6-1 exhibition game lead. The game has gone to the seventh inning.
Martinez came out of the game after 3 2/3 innings. Star-crossed lefthanded reliever Brett Cecil left after facing two hitters.
Cecil, oft sidelined in his first three seasons with the Cardinals including missing last season with carpal tunnel syndrome, struck out the first man he faced. But he bent over at the knees after he went to cover first on a grounder to first baseman John Nogowski, stopping short of the bag when his hamstring apparently grabbed.