CINCINNATI • Before a first-inning battle broke out between the Cardinals and Cincinnati Reds, a truce was reached between Chris Carpenter and Brendan Ryan.

Carpenter's dissatisfaction with his late-arriving shortstop became very apparent during Monday's nationally televised game. Ryan tarried for too long in the visitors' hitting cage before reaching the field for the first inning. When he got there, Ryan was wearing teammate Aaron Miles' glove, prompting an additional delay until Ryan's glove was retrieved.

Carpenter's scolding of Ryan was caught by ESPN, and Ryan left the clubhouse quickly after his team's 7-3 victory.

"I just thought it was really embarrassing," Ryan said Tuesday.

Ryan admitted losing track of time while taking swings during a six-pitch first inning. When he finally took his position, Carpenter had finished warming up and was noticeably perturbed. He shared his sentiments in the tunnel leading from the dugout immediately after the inning.

"I said what I had to say and it's over," Carpenter said Tuesday afternoon. "Brendan is a big part of this ball club. Brendan has done some fabulous things offensively. He's been really working hard to get himself in shape to be where he needs to be. He obviously plays great defense. We need Brendan to do good things."

Ryan is not among the team's most punctual players, which has drawn the attention of manager Tony La Russa.

"I think he's gotten better. He's on this kind of trajectory as far as figuring it out," La Russa said, indicating an upward slope. "He may have a hiccup here and there."

Carpenter's ire became more obvious. "I said what I had to say," Carpenter said of the one-sided discussion. "He understood what I had to say. That was it."

"You just have to own it," Ryan said. "It wasn't like I didn't care. I just wanted some more swings. I went in and lost track. I think it was made a much bigger deal than it was."

Carpenter's reaction to a seventh-inning single also drew scrutiny. Carpenter yelled as a roller seemed to leave Ryan transfixed when he was actually screened by a base runner. The pitcher later described it as "a miscommunication."

"It was just awful timing, and I wanted the game to be over," Ryan said.

Suppan Suffers Strain

Starting pitcher Jeff Suppan's availability became an issue Tuesday, a day after he cut short stretching due to a right groin strain, a problem that has followed him throughout his career.

"I was just running yesterday and started noticing it," Suppan said. "My mind was, 'What did I do?'"

Suppan experienced discomfort a day after waiting out four hours worth of rain delays before his schedule start against the Florida Marlins. The Cardinals were still batting with two outs in the top of the first inning when play stopped. Suppan was stretching before the game was finally called.

The Cardinals face an approaching surplus of starting pitching, though La Russa said Brad Penny had again cut back his throwing program due to concerns about upper back muscles supporting his shoulder.

"He took the weekend off. I just think he's really concerned that he feels better," said La Russa, who refrained from describing Penny's return to a mound last week as "a serious bullpen" session.

Though Penny has missed almost three months, La Russa wouldn't rule out his return this season and said a relief role could be considered.

Et Cetera

La Russa would not confirm this week's rotation beyond Jake Westbrook's scheduled start Friday against the Chicago Cubs at Busch Stadium. ... The Cardinals have reached an agreement with supplemental draft pick Tyrell Jenkins, a righthanded pitcher who had accepted a football scholarship to Baylor. The Waco Tribune reported earlier this week that Jenkins had notified the Baylor coaching staff of his decision. ... The Cardinals have yet to sign first-round draft pick Zach Cox and second rounder Jordan Swagerty. They also remain in pursuit of outfielder Austin Wilson, projected as a first-round talent who slid to the 12th round over concerns whether he could be signed. Wilson received a full scholarship to play baseball at Stanford. ... Kyle Lohse was scheduled to make a rehab start Tuesday for Class AAA Memphis at Reno.