Cardinals pitcher Michael Wacha picked up a win in his season debut Saturday, giving up one earned run on five hits and one walk in 6 1/3 innings while striking out two in his team's 4-1 win over the Reds.
"He was good right off the bat," manager Mike Matheny said of Wacha. "He was working the bottom of the zone, and we were surprised at how good his curveball was. It has always been a good pitch for him, but he didn't have confidence in it. Now that he sees results, he'll trust it and use it."
Wacha surrendered a home run to Todd Frazier in the first inning but buckled down after that, coming out of the game after walking the second batter of the seventh inning. He'll face the Reds again Friday.