JUPITER, Fla. — What is true for major-league spring training is also true in minor-league spring training: The statistics are the ends, and often the means are more important.

Consider Adam Ottavino’s day.

The former first-round pick had a garish line from Monday’s game against Class AA Jacksonville. It read:

4.2 IP, 7 H, 6 runs, 2 BB, 4 Ks

But there is a story behind the numbers. Five of those six runs were unearned, and he was darn close to getting out of the inning without giving up that kind of damage, earned or unearned. Offering context to the raw numbers from the day’s games, St. Louis Cardinals official John Vuch writes that Ottavino had thrown 48 pitches through four innings until a five-run fifth inning. He gave up three groundballs, two of which dribbled through for hits and one was an error on a would-be double-play play. That was immediately followed by a busted-bat blooper that fell in for another single. Vuch writes that pitching coordinator Dyar Miller called it “Buzzard’s luck.”

And then there was Daryl Jones. His line needs no translation. You’ll find it in the Vuch Report:

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New Orleans 8, Memphis 3

– Against the Class AAA team formerly known as those mighty, mighty, Skeeter Barnes-powered Denver Zephyrs, Redbirds starter Mitchell Boggs had a choppy line of 3.2 IP, 4 H, 5 ER, 5 BB, 1 K. … Matt Scherer pitched 1 1/3 innings with one hit, one strikeout. … Pete Parise worked a scoreless inning with one strikeout. … Tyler Norrick had a line of 2 IP, 2 H, 3 ER, 2 BB, 3 Ks. … Lefty Sam Freeman pitched a scoreless inning and allowed one hit.

– For the hitters, Nick Stavinoha was 2-for-4 with a run. … Catcher Bryan Anderson homered as part of a 2-for-3 day. … Second baseman Jarrett Hoffpauir singled and had two RBIs.

***

Springfield 8, Jacksonville 6

– Already talked about Ottavino’s line, so move on to the relievers in this game. … Kyle Mura pitched 2 1/3 inning, all scoreless, and he allowed one hit and one walk. … Ken Maiques walked two and struck out one in his inning. … Francisco Samuel struck out two and walked one in his inning.

– Daryl Jones, the reigning player of the year in the organization, went 3-for-3 with a triple and a home run. He walked once, scored twice and drove in two runs. … Daniel Descalso went 2-for-4 with a couple RBIs. … Tyler Henley was 2-for-3 with a walk and a run scored. …. Andrew Brown and Brett Wallace each had a double. … Mike Folli singled and walked. … Antonio DeJesus singled and had a couple RBIs.

***

Jupiter 6, Palm Beach 1

– Righthander David Kopp, who continues to blog away about some his spring experiences, allowed three runs on seven hits during his three innings. He struck out one. … Lance Lynn had a line of 2.1 IP, 2 H, 2 ER, 3 BB, 1 K. … Casey Mulligan pitched 1/3 of an inning, allowed one hit, one run and he walked two.

– Shane Peterson was 2-for-3 with a double and a run scored. … Tommy Pham and Oliver Marmol doubled. … Charlie Kingrey had the solitary RBI. … Adron Chambers, Jon Edwards and Pete Kozma each had a single.

***

Quad Cities#1 2, Greensboro 1

– Adam Veres threw a couple innings. He allowed three hits and one earned run. He walked one and struck out two. … Miguel Tapia followed with a line of 3 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 1 K. … Arquimedes Nieto went 2 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 Ks. … Ramon Delgado pitched two scoreless innings, allowing one hit and striking out three batters.

– D’Marcus Ingram singled, walked and scored a run. … Domnit Bolivar singled and scored. … Niko Vasquez singled and drove in a run. … Edwin Gomez doubled and Paul Cruz singled.

***

Quad Cites #2 tied with Marlins’s 5th club, 2-2

– Kevin Siegrist had a line of 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 2 Ks. … Mike Blazek pitched a couple hitless, scoreless innings. He walked one batter. … Joshua Hestor had a line of 2 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 1 K. … Jose Rada allowed four hits but no runs in his inning of work. He struck out a batter. … Jason Buursma finished with a line of 2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K.

– Yunior Castillo went 2-for-3 with a run scored. … Beau Riportella doubled. … Travis Mitchell had an RBI single. … Brian Buck drove in a run.

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