Carpenter has mixed results in rehab

Print

Carpenter has mixed results in rehab
07/20/2008 11:34 PM ET
By Lee Hurwitz / MLB.com

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. -- It had been slightly over a year since Chris Carpenter pitched in a game, but the hitters he faced Sunday night would be hard-pressed to know of that disparity.
Pitching in front of a sellout crowd of 8,743 at Hammons Field, Carpenter worked four impressive innings and gave up only one hit for Double-A Springfield. While he baffled the Northwest Arkansas Naturals, he struggled with his location throughout the evening, issuing four walks.
But, as Carpenter admitted, the main concern of the Cardinals' front office -- his Cy Young arm -- felt fine during and after his first game action since undergoing Tommy John elbow ligament replacement surgery on July 24, 2007.
"We'll see how it feels tomorrow morning when I wake up," Carpenter said. "I was just happy to get back out there and compete again."
Carpenter threw 62 pitches over four innings -- around the number the club was looking for -- but only 33 for strikes. Though he was disappointed with his command, his fastball topped out around 92 mph, according to the radar gun in right field, and his breaking balls possessed wicked movement that kept his opponents missing.
"He said he was fighting himself a little bit, cutting off a little bit and was a little too strong, which is expected in that situation," manager Ron "Pop" Warner said. "But he said he felt healthy, the arm felt great, and that's what we were looking for. I didn't expect him to come on out and be dead-on perfect with his command."
Leaving the scoreless game, Carpenter received a no-decision and left for St. Louis in the seventh inning. The Cardinals will evaluate him Monday and determine where he will make his next rehab start.
"I'm not sure what their plans are. I'm not sure where I'm going next," Carpenter said. "It all depends on how my arm recovers tomorrow."
It has been a long time coming for Carpenter, whose last start came on July 8, 2007, for Class A Advanced Palm Beach.
After experiencing inflammation and discomfort in his elbow during his Opening Day start on April 1, 2007, Carpenter was placed on the disabled list. The Cardinals attempted to put him through a rehabilitation program before shutting him down.
Carpenter breezed through the first inning, retiring the side on only 10 pitches. He struggled in the second, when fewer than 50 percent of his pitches were strikes.
After working himself into a groove in the third, Carpenter ran into more trouble in the fourth -- his final and longest inning. He walked two of the first three batters and a deep fly ball -- which would have been a three-run blast -- landed inches short of the fence in left-center field.
With relievers warming up, Cardinals pitching coach Bryan Eversgerd visited Carpenter on the mound. Warner said it was not to see if the ace was feeling discomfort in his elbow.
"Just give him a little blow," Warner said. "It was a long inning, so we wanted to give him a little breather and get him right back on the horse."
This story was not subject to the approval of the National Association of Professional Baseball Leagues or its clubs.