JUPITER, Fla. • Mike Matheny long ago compared his first day in the dugout as Cardinals manager to Christmas morning.

If that is so, Matheny must have heard reindeer on his roof at about 3 a.m. Monday.

Unable to sleep because of the Cardinals' afternoon exhibition opener against the Miami Marlins, the first-year manager climbed out of bed, dressed and arrived at Roger Dean Stadium little more than an hour later.

He beat the sun and the clubhouse crew but couldn't out-race a sense of anticipation.

"Today, it was pure excitement. I couldn't wait to watch these guys do their thing," Matheny said.

"I've had a lot of questions whether I was nervous. Honestly and truly, I just couldn't wait to go," he added. "You feel that way when you've done the work that you've needed to do and you are prepared. It's not necessarily something you consider as nerves."

Matheny wrote out the day's lineup card with one side in blue, the other in red. Kyle Lohse took the ball as the starting pitcher. Right fielder Skip Schumaker took the Cardinals' first at-bat, against Marlins ace Josh Johnson.

Matheny's predecessor, Tony La Russa, typically watched Grapefruit League games from the aluminum bench outside the dugout. Matheny stayed near the dugout well, often leaning on a railing.

Pitching changes were assigned before first pitch, eliminating the need for mound visits.

The Marlins shut out the Cardinals on three hits through eight innings, minimizing the new manager's opportunities for tactical experimentation.

"You want guys to go ahead and play the game," Matheny said. "Right now, you watch it play out. When we get in the later innings we're not going to let wins go by because that becomes a habit, too. We'd like to start the habit of winning as soon as possible."

Despite a late rally, the defending World Series champions' Grapefruit League opener ended as a 4-3 Cardinals loss.

Matheny employed seven pitchers, five for one inning each. The Cardinals managed six hits, only one by someone likely to break camp with the parent club.

A messy fourth inning allowed the Marlins three runs before Brandon Dickson got the final out on a one-hop smash that ricocheted off his right hip back to catcher Yadier Molina for a 1-2-3 outcome.

The Cardinals received two crisp innings from Lohse, who used only 26 pitches, including 20 strikes. Lohse took damage on an inside fastball that Marlins designated hitter Greg Dobbs pulled for a second-inning home run, later pointing out that he typically would not have used that pitch in such a count against a lefthanded batter.

"It feels good to be the first one out there instead of sitting there waiting" several days," Lohse said. "You want to get that first one out of the way."

Second baseman Tyler Greene offered a strong showing by ranging behind second base to backhand fleet Hanley Ramirez's ground ball. Greene set and made a calm, decisive throw, beating the Marlins' third baseman by a step.

Greene, whose fate as starting second baseman might well be determined by his hitting, contributed a double against Johnson in the bottom of the first inning before seamlessly turning a double play to end the fifth.

"This is going to be the learning process — game situations at game speed," said Greene, a shortstop for most of his six-plus professional seasons. "It was exciting to get it started."

Bench coach Mike Aldrete kept track of final outs by appropriately marking circles on the lineup card. The teams also spent 55 players total.

"There was a lot of moving parts and keeping guys ready. He did a good job," Matheny said.

A veteran team paid Matheny only passing notice. Most smiled when told of the manager's early arrival at the ballpark.

"It's OK if he was a little nervous. I get nervous, too, every time," Molina said.

"You're always anxious about showing up and performing well," said first baseman Lance Berkman, whose exhibition debut arrives later this week. "That never goes away. It doesn't matter whether you're playing for peanuts or Game 7 of the World Series."

Veteran hitters use early games to sharpen pitch recognition. First base prospect Matt Adams contributed a two-strike single in the second inning against Johnson. Lohse put his new curveball on display once. Cardinal pitchers walked one against nine strikeouts to help the game toward a 2:38 conclusion.

"It's fun watching these guys compete. You see the young guys take advantage of opportunities and not be overwhelmed," Matheny said. "You see a Kolten Wong, who a year ago was in college, put together a big-league at-bat. That's fun stuff."

Monday became most fun for the home side during a three-run ninth inning that began with longtime catching prospect Bryan Anderson opening with a double, followed by Mark Hamilton's walk.

Third base prospect Matt Carpenter created a 4-2 game by driving the inning's second double before Wong, last year's first-round draft pick, worked a walk to put the tying run on base. Matheny recalled lefthanded-hitting Erik Komatsu for a pinch-hitter, catcher Steven Hill, and was rewarded with a one-out RBI single. Matheny then summoned Pete Kozma to run for Hill. Shane Robinson struck out for the inning's second out. Another lefthanded hitter, Adron Chambers, ended the drama by grounding to the mound against lefthanded reliever Dan Jennings.

Matheny then signed autographs for about 20 minutes before patiently answering questions in his office.

After all, it's spring training for reporters, too. More than 12 hours since his internal alarm clock went off, Matheny remained energized by what he had seen.

"I slept well. When I woke up I was ready to go," Matheny said. "There was no falling back asleep when I woke up the first time. I guess I needed somebody to check my pulse if I wasn't like that."