JUPITER, Fla. —Seven Cardinals pitchers blanked a split-squad of New York Mets on seven hits Saturday. Tyler O'Neill smacked a long home run in the second and top prospect Dylan Carlson, in a reserve role, singled for the second time to drive in an insurance run in the eighth to give the Cardinals a 2-0 win in their exhibition opener.
Rotation members Jack Flaherty and Dakota Hudson each worked two innings before a cast of five relievers, all of them lefthanded, finished up with new Korean pitcher Kwant-Hyun Kim and veteran Brett Cecil not allowing a hit in their innings.