JUPITER, Fla. — Todd Wellemeyer scored the 1 o’clock start, but the other two righthanders competing for a spot in the rotation set the tone for the day early. Mike Parisi and Brad Thompson both pitched well in the intrasquad scrimmage, combining with Russ Springer to throw a shutout.

At least according to the unofficial scoring.

Not that the score was the reason for their pickup starts.

“They had reasons for being out there,” pitching coach Dave Duncan said.

Skipped over when Adam Wainwright went five innings Monday, Parisi came to the ballpark Tuesday expecting to get any innings he could in that afternoon’s game against Baltimore. Instead, the Cardinals put together a one-sided scrimmage — only major-league camp players hitting; minor-league campers fielding — to get Parisi and Thompson the needed innings. Each were assigned to throw about 60 pitches.

Parisi went four turns, 15 pitches each.

Thompson went three turns, max. 20 pitches each, and he threw 58.

Both righthanders were able to minimize baserunners and keep their teammates from scoring. Parisi found his best feel yet for his breaking ball, a biting curve that he can locate and throw at different speeds and break.

“I wasn’t expecting to pitch at 10:15 in the morning, if that’s what you mean,” the righthander said. “It was interesting. This is your team you’re facing. These are your teammates. (Joe) Mather, (Jarrett) Hoffpauir, Cody (Haerther) — I was just out to dinner with those guys. But you go after them like they’re any other hitter.”

Duncan and manager Tony La Russa have said recently that they want to get Wellemeyer the major-league starts because he’s “less of a known” in that situation. On Tuesday, Duncan implied that the two starter candidates were selected for the morning game because they had specific things to work on in the contrived setting.

Parisi wanted to refine his changeup, his developing pitch. He threw 12 to 15 of them and Duncan called it “outstanding” for the final three “innings”. Thompson was out there trying to practice his complementary pitches — his change and curve.

“That is the purpose of going out there,” Duncan said.

Much more on the rotation in flux in tomorrow’s paper.

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In addition to the players mentioned in an earlier blog, 1B Josh Phelps was reassigned from the major-league camp to the minors Tuesday.

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Turns out Lou Brock used to grow a playoff beard. Some members of the media were talking facial hair with the Hall of Famer after Tuesday’s game, and Brock admitted that he used to grow out a beard before attending World Series games he wasn’t playing in. It helped him mix in with the fans, until, he said, his comments or his cheering (for the National League team, natch) gave him away. His bearded disguise worked long enough.

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Baltimore starter Daniel Cabrera continues to be a riddle, a talented, gifted riddle, but a riddle nonetheless. He has stuff. He throws hard. But he’s untamed. Against the Cardinals he walked five and struck out three in three innings. He went to a three-ball count with eight of the 15 batters he faced. He needed 31 pitches to get out of the first inning. That’s an improvement. He needed 40 in his past start. Cabrera can throw, still trying to figure out how to pitch.

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Ever so diligently, embattled second baseman Adam Kennedy edged his batting average closer to .300 with a 2-for-4 day, that included keying one rally and starting another that fizzled in the ninth. Kennedy has been rolling over on pitches, nubbing them to the right side of the infield. And that’s OK, hitting coach Hal McRae said. “I don’t want to see him slice the ball,” McRae said. “I’ve seen him slice. We saw that all of last season. We don’t need to see it anymore. I’d rather have him it hook it.”

The idea is to have Kennedy not lag behind his swing, not lay back and loop at the ball as he swings. That causes the slice. McRae much prefers the roll over the ball by being ahead, aggressive with his swing because it becomes days like Tuesday.

Two hits. Three solidly struck pitches. Next step: Consistency.

“He hasn’t been consistent,” McRae said. “Good day, two bad days, good day, then a couple more bad. We need to see more of the good days run together.”

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