Notes: Goldy's elbow; Miller optimistic after 'pen

JUPITER, Fla. -- Paul Goldschmidt was held out of the lineup on Wednesday against the Mets due to right elbow soreness, the same discomfort that the Cardinals first baseman dealt with at the beginning of Grapefruit League games. After skipping the Cardinals’ two-day trip to the other side of the state, it will be Goldschmidt’s third straight day missing games.

Goldschmidt and manager Mike Shildt insisted that they weren’t overly concerned about what Shildt referred to as “off and on discomfort,” especially after an MRI on Monday didn’t reveal any ligament damage. Goldschmidt said the issue was inflammation and it hasn’t bothered him while hitting, just occasionally while throwing. He went through fielding drills at the Cardinals' complex on Wednesday without throwing and was scheduled to hit later in the morning.

“Should be good, just was a little sore a couple days ago,” Goldschmidt said. “So we decided to take it easy for a couple days and should be good to go in a couple of days.”

Goldschmidt said he could have played Wednesday, but he wants to be overly cautious during the spring to be ready for the regular season.

“Just making sure everything’s OK with his arm and everything,” Shildt said. “But he’s in a good space. We’re just making sure he’s fine. It’s not anything, we’re just being super proactive with it.”

Goldschmidt said he expects to return to games this week. The discomfort in his elbow caused him to ease into throwing drills slower than usual at the start of camp, and he was the designated hitter multiple times in the Cardinals’ first week of Grapefruit League games.

“Trying to be smart about it to make sure it doesn’t get to the point where it affects me the whole year,” Goldschmidt said.

Miller encouraged by strong bullpen
Despite being exhausted from a multitude of tests that included everything from blood tests to ruling out the possibility of a brain tumor, Andrew Miller felt encouraged by his bullpen session on Wednesday morning as the veteran reliever searches for his feel this spring.

“Today was a really good day,” Miller said. “I think we got some stuff going. I don’t have a particular answer for you, like I don’t have a severe diagnosis or anything that we fixed and everything’s better, but I think we’re doing a lot of things that seem to be making a difference. [It was] very encouraging by the way I felt throwing, and [I'm] going to pick up the pace pretty quick if today’s an indication of anything.”

Miller hasn’t pitched in a live game since Feb. 28, and he was shut down from his warmup a few days after that because he couldn’t get a feel for the ball. Since then, he’s been undergoing tests to determine the reason for the lack of sensation. Through it all, though, he’s continued to throw. The Cardinals don’t expect Miller to be ready for Opening Day, but if he recovers well enough from Wednesday's session, he should be able to face hitters in live batting practice later this week.

He said he’s been able to rule out a few things, like carpal tunnel syndrome, and he even had an MRI to rule out a brain tumor, although he said that was never a true concern -- the doctors just wanted to be sure based on what he was telling them.

“You check it off the box, and at least you can relax on that front,” Miller said. “The stuff we do is so fine-tuned that maybe if you start feeling something -- at the level of competition or level of physical exertion I expect to have -- maybe you just check something early. Even if it’s incredibly minor, it’s enough to affect your ability to throw a baseball. … When you go to get an MRI on your head or whatever, you inevitably wonder, 'What if?' Fortunately, passed that with flying colors.”

Miller said Wednesday’s bullpen session was an improvement because he could adjust pitch to pitch, something he couldn’t do with the lack of sensation he felt before. He threw his slider and his fastball, trying to dial it up to game speed as much as he could.

“I think there’s still work to do, but today was certainly an improvement off where I was probably a week or two ago,” Miller said. “ I felt like I was trying to create as much power and get as close as I can to get to game speed -- today was easier to get that feeling. I felt good about making adjustments, feeling the ball, extensions, stuff like that. I’m happy with it.”

Around the horn
• Carlos Martínez labored through his start in Wednesday's 7-3 loss to the Mets, allowing six runs over 3 2/3 innings. Martínez endured a 30-pitch first inning en route to throwing 73 pitches (51 strikes). But the right-hander, who is vying for a spot in the rotation, isn’t worried so much about the runs, just that his arm still feels good. He said he was working on his four-seamer Wednesday as opposed to his two-seamer and slider in his first two starts, which might have contributed to the location struggles.

“I’m at 100% right now,” Martínez said. “I need to work on my first inning, more focus and more concentration. I’m competing right now. Trying to be healthy for the whole Spring Training."

• Matt Carpenter had one of the Cardinals’ five hits Wednesday -- an opposite-field homer off reigning National League Cy Young winner Jacob deGrom. That's what Carpenter has been working on this offseason and it's a testament to how his swing feels right now.

“I feel really good with what I’ve been able to do to this point,” Carpenter said. “I’m seeing the ball well, using both sides of the field, and today was a good example. Definitely in a good spot.”

• Kolten Wong, who was hit by a pitch in his left calf on Sunday, did not play on Wednesday, but Shildt said “there is a good chance” the second baseman will return to the lineup on Thursday.

• Miles Mikolas (right flexor tendon strain) is scheduled to play catch on Wednesday, Shildt said. It’s the first step back for Mikolas after he received a PRP injection on Feb. 18.

Up next
The Cardinals host the Marlins at 12:05 p.m. CT on Thursday at Roger Dean Chevrolet Stadium. Adam Wainwright is slated to make his fourth start of the spring -- and his first against a team other than the Mets. John Gant, Tyler Webb and Giovanny Gallegos are also scheduled to pitch for St. Louis.