Cardinals slugger Goldschmidt slowed by sore right elbow
St. Louis Cardinals first baseman Paul Goldschmidt will be out for several more games because of a sore right elbow.
Goldschmidt’s throwing was limited by the Cardinals during the start of spring training, and he made his first two exhibition starts as a designated hitter. The slugger hasn’t played since Sunday.
Cardinals manager Mike Shildt said Wednesday that he expected the 32-year-old Goldschmidt to miss a couple more games.
“He’s had off and on discomfort,” Shildt said.
The six-time All-Star and four-time Gold Glove winner is hitting .300 with two homers in 20 spring training at-bats.
Goldschmidt hit .260 with 34 homers and 97 RBIs last year for the NL Central champions after the Cardinals acquired him in an offseason trade with Arizona. His batting average was more than 30 points below his career average.
Elsewhere in the Grapefruit and Cactus leagues:
Two-time NL Cy Young Award winner Jacob deGrom made his second start of spring training, allowing only Matt Carpenter’s solo home run in four innings. Newcomer Dellin Betances, Jeurys Familia and Edwin Diaz each pitched a scoreless inning in relief.
J.D. Davis homered and Jeff McNeil had two hits, driving in a run, scoring twice and raising his average to .462 for New York. Carlos Martinez struggled in his third start for St. Louis, surrendering six runs on six hits and a walk in 3 2/3 innings. He struck out six.
New York lefty reliever Zack Britton sustained a bruised right wrist when he was hit by Erik Kratz’s line drive during a simulated game. The Yankees said X-rays and a CT scan were both negative.
Miami ace Sandy Alcantara turned in his best start in his fourth outing, pitching five innings and giving up a run on three hits and two walks. He struck out four. Closer Brandon Kintzler pitched a perfect sixth.
New York’s top pitching prospect, Deivi Garcia made the start, yielding three runs on three hits and a walk in 3 1/3 innings. Miguel Andujar hit an RBI double for the Yankees’ only run. Mike Tauchman went 0 for 4 leading off and is batting .045 this spring.
World Series MVP Stephen Strasburg made his second start for Washington, allowing a run — on a double-play grounder — in five innings. He gave up two hits, striking out four. The Nationals‘ top two prospects — Carter Kieboom and Luis Garcia — sparked a six-run ninth.
Lance McCullers Jr. made his third start in his return from 2018 Tommy John surgery for Houston, pitching two scoreless innings on a hit and a walk.
Max Fried made his third start for Atlanta, pitching five scoreless innings on two hits and five walks. Non-roster invitee Peter O’Brien hit his fourth home run and Ozzie Albies had an RBI single.
Minnesota ace Jose Berrios worked 4 1/3 innings in his third start, surrendering three runs on six hits while striking out five.
Randal Grichuk homered twice and drove in five runs for Toronto. Bo Bichette and Danny Jansen also homered and Lourdes Gurriel Jr. doubled twice.
Stevie Wilkerson homered for Baltimore.
Kevin Gausman made his fourth spring training start for San Francisco, pitching 3 1/3 innings and allowing four runs on seven hits and a walk. Darin Ruf had an RBI double, scoring a run.
The game was called after five innings because of rain in Arizona that caused games to be canceled.
Todd Frazier had a two-run double for Texas and Sam Travis homered.
OHTANI
Japanese two-way star Shohei Ohtani and the Los Angeles Angels agreed to a one-year contract for $700,000. That’s up from $650,000 last year when he returned from Tommy John surgery in May as a batter only and hit .286 with 18 homers and 62 RBIs in 425 plate appearances.
Los Angeles projects he will return to the mound in mid-May. Ohtani made 10 starts for the Angels during his AL Rookie of the Year season in 2018, going 4-2 with a 3.31 ERA. He batted .285 with 22 homers and 61 RBIs in 367 plate appearances.
Ohtani will be eligible for salary arbitration after this season.
