JUPITER, Fla. -- Jaime Garcia seemed to have little issue pitching with a dead nail and blister on his left middle finger in the Cardinals' 4-2 loss to the Marlins on Sunday, and he minimized the issue after exiting his five-inning start.
Garcia threw 72 pitches, 45 for strikes, in his final Grapefruit League tuneup. He'll throw again somewhere -- either in a Spring Training Minor League game or a simulated game in Pittsburgh once the team breaks camp -- to stay sharp ahead of his April 8 start, which he doesn't believe will be impacted by the nail nuisance.
"It's stuff that I've been dealing with the last couple years," Garcia said. "It won't be an issue."
Garcia was tended to by the trainers in the dugout after throwing four hitless innings, and then he had treatment on the finger following his outing. In his final inning of work, Garcia allowed two runs on two hits. Garcia said he was not affected by the finger, nor did it look that way.
He induced 11 groundouts, an indication that he was getting the desired movement on his pitches.
"It's kind of been an ongoing thing all spring," manager Mike Matheny said. "That nail just continues to bother him. In between they just treat it. He has so much pressure he puts on that finger when he throws that his fingernail reacts."