JUPITER, Fla. — About a week removed from an arms crisis that led manager Tony La Russa to wonder if he could borrow pitchers from another major-league camp, the St. Louis Cardinals are left with too many pitchers and too few innings in this afternoon’s A-game against the New York Mets.

Chris Carpenter and Kyle McClellan and Trever Miller will get priority in the 1 o’clock game at Roger Dean Stadium. Mitchell Boggs is listed as ready to make his game debut this spring. But that still leaves a handful of pitchers, mostly minor-leaguers or prospects, who need to find work.

Somewhere. Sometime. Somehow.

So, the Cardinals have invented a game. It will pit Team Maloney vs. Team Warner, lineups named for the club’s Triple-A and Double-A managers, respectively. This morning at 10 a.m. Jupiter time, prospect Brett Wallace, David Freese (at first base, mind you) and a host of others will get their first “starts” of spring in this impromptu game to get several pitchers work.

The lineups for the games are:

TEAM MALONEY: 1. Brendan Ryan, 2B; 2. Tyler Greene, SS; 3. Brett Wallace, 3B; 4. Allen Craig, 1B; 5. Brian Barton, CF; 6. Bryan Anderson, RF; 7. Steven Hill, C; 8. Matt Pagnozzi, LF. The pitchers: LHP Brad Furnish and RHP Hyang-Nam Choi.

TEAM WARNER: 1. Jarrett Hoffpauir, 2B; 2. Brian Barde, 3B; 3. Jon Jay, CF; 4. Nick Stavinoha, LF; 5. David Freese, 1B; 6. Joe Thurston, SS; 7. Tony Cruz, C; 8. Justin Knoedler, RF. The pitchers: RHP Trey Hearne and LHP Justin Fiske.

The A-Game will have a more expected lineup when the Mets arrive with their WBC-ravaged roster.

The Cardinals backing Carpenter in his second start of the spring:

1. Skip Schumaker, 2B
2. Joe Mather, 3B (eighth start in nine games)
3. Albert Pujols, 1B
4. Rick Ankiel, DH
5. Ryan Ludwick, RF
6. Chris Duncan, LF
7. Khalil Greene, SS
8. Jason LaRue, C
9. Colby Rasmus, CF

Pitcher: Chris Carpenter. Also scheduled to get prime-time innings: LHP Trever Miller, RHP Kyle McClellan, LHP Ian Ostlund, RHP Mitchell Boggs.

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