JUPITER, Fla. – Rick Ankiel got off to yet another wild
start.
|  | | Rick Ankiel wipes his face in the middle of what proved to be another rough outing. |
Ankiel, who threw nine wild pitches in four anguishing
postseason innings last fall, walked his first three batters
Thursday before giving up a grand slam to Montreal's Vladimir
Guerrero.
"I'm just trying to get it right," Ankiel said.
Ankiel, the St. Louis Cardinals' 21-year-old left-handed phenom,
walked eight in his previous spring start against Florida.
"I had a little more feel for my fastball but my curve wasn't
working like it was the last time," Ankiel said. "I felt like I
battled after a tough first inning. I was able to come back and
throw strikes."
Ankiel threw only one strike to the first three batters, walking
Peter Bergeron, Milton Bradley and Fernando Tatis on 13 pitches to
open the game.
After taking a called strike, Guerrero hit the next pitch over
the right-field wall.
Ankiel appeared to recover his control after that, getting Lee
Stevens on a called third strike, Geoff Blum on a popup, and
Orlando Cabrera on a groundout. Ankiel threw 25 pitches -- eight
strikes -- in the inning.
With most of the capacity crowd backing Ankiel, he retired the
side in order in the second inning on 10 pitches, seven strikes.
"I was impressed with the way he bore down after Vlady hit that
homer," catcher Mike Matheny said. "He really showed me something
the way he got out of the inning. Let's face it, that's a really
good hitter hitting the ball good. And he was the only one who hit
the ball hard.
"But every day, Rick has to get a feel for his pitches, a feel
for the mound, a feel for his legs. He was in a fastball mode today
and executed all his pitches well."
The left-hander threw nine of 14 pitches for strikes in the
third inning, but also allowed a walk and back-to-back run-scoring
doubles to Guerrero and Stevens.
Ankiel allowed six runs, three hits and four walks in three
innings. He struck out two. He threw 29 of 55 pitches for strikes.
"He said he felt good when he came out of the game," pitching
coach Dave Duncan said. "He is going to have some adversity when
he pitches and he has to learn how to work out of it. He started to
after the home run today. Compared to the last game, his demeanor
on the mound today was outstanding."
It was Ankiel's third start this spring. He pitched two shutout
innings against the Mets on March 13, before struggling to find the
strike zone against the Marlins in his last start on Sunday.
It was Ankiel's third start this spring. He has a 1-2 record
with 13 walks and seven strikeouts in 6 1/3 innings. He's allowed
12 earned runs.
Ankiel has been getting help from baseball psychologist Harvey
Dorfman.
In the playoff opener last October against Atlanta, Ankiel
became the first major league pitcher in 110 years to throw five
wild pitches in one inning. On Sept. 15, 1890, Bert Cunningham did
it for Buffalo of the Players League.
After a wild outing in practice early during spring training,
Ankiel (11-7 with a team-leading 3.50 ERA last year) spent the next
few weeks pitching on one of the back fields at the team's spring
training complex. The sessions were in the early morning, out of
the media glare and without crowds.
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AUDIO/VIDEO
 Mike Matheny talks about Rick Ankiel's relentlessness to come back after a rough first inning.
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ESPN's Peter Gammons saw encouraging signs from Rick Ankiel's latest outing.
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