JUPITER, Fla. — Continuing what’s become a lengthier — even arduous — grind back to a major-league rotation, Cardinals right hander Matt Clement made his first appearance in a game Tuesday, throwing for the Cardinals Double-A affiliate.

Clement threw 37 pitches and walked four of the seven batters he faced. While his command was flighty and his velocity sat in the mid-80s — according to the radar gun the Cardinals kept — his pitches all had wily movement.

Many of the at-bats were extended by pitches fouled off adding to his strike count.

“Obviously I’d like it to be a little higher, but it is the first time to hitters,” Clement said of the gun readings. ”As I throw with this intensity and over and over it’s going to increase. It was a first step in facing hitters. I can’t sit and worry about velocity right now. It’s going to be what it’s going to be. But I do feel like there’s more going to be coming out.”  

Clement’s start drew members of the Cardinals brain trust — chairman Bill DeWitt Jr., GM John Mozeliak and farm director Jeff Luhnow – and, representing the uniformed personnel, bullpen coach Marty Mason.

Clement threw to Springfield catcher Brandon Yarbrough, pitching in front of a defense that included SS Tyler Greene, CF Jon Jay, 3B Allen Craig and 1B Mark Hamilton.

He faced several batters with major-league ability.

It was a camp day, so Clement threw against the Triple-A team, and the leadoff  hitter was Colby Rasmus. Clememt got Rasmus to fly out to center on the third pitch he saw. If only all of the at-bats were that brief. The length of the at-bats got progressively longer from there as Clement attempted to tame his control even as his pace slowed.

There wasn’t a pitch he threw that didn’t have a cut or a sink to it.

There were few pitches that he threw for strikes.

Sixteen of the final 30 pitches he threw were balls. Eight of his strikes in that span were fouled off, including on up-and-in that caught the bat as the hitter flinched away. 

After Jose Martinez reached on a fielding error, Clement walked the final two batters of the “first inning”. He fed Joe Mather and Josh Phelps a series of 84-mph and 86-mph sinkers that strayed low and lower and 83-mph pitch that came up and in on the righthanded hitters. Clement’s “inning” ended after his 20th pitch with the bases loaded.

In his second inning he struck out Nick Stavinoha on a breaking ball low in the zone after setting him up with an 85-mph sinker that Stavinoha fouled off. Rico Washington then put the punctuation on the day by working a nine-pitch walk from the Cardinals righthander.

“There were a few times where I pitched like I was in a normal game,” Clement said, ”and I was just a hair away from executing exactly how I want to execute pitches.”

Clement had shoulder surgery in Sept. 2006, and he missed all of last season recovering from the repair. The Cardinals signed him to a one-year deal with scads of options built in for performance. He has had an entire offseason bottled into this spring, going from a long-toss program to bullpens to live batting practice sessions and then, finally, to Tuesday’s game appearance.

He will start the season on the disabled list. His final two starts in Florida will help decide where he begins the year — in extended spring or on the verge of a rehab assignment.

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In additional pitching news: Going into the sixth inning, Anthony Reyes had pitched to one over the minimum. He had allowed a single to Nick Johnson and a walk to Ryan Zimmerman. Of the three hits he allowed, two were in the sixth inning. He had “like a 40-mph wind blowing” into the stadium. Colleague Joe Strauss, who was watching the game for the P-D, said he was effective, economical. Easily his best start of spring — and to do it front of interested teams, too.

Deals today. Could be dealt tomorrow?

“This is where I want to be, and I’m not really thinking about anything else,” Reyes just said. “This is where I want to invest.”

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