FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – Steve Trachsel didn’t care about the improvement he showed from the previous time he faced the St. Louis Cardinals. He was far more pleased with the progress he made from his first spring training start.

Trachsel allowed one run and three hits in three innings Tuesday in his second appearance with the Baltimore Orioles. In his first outing, he yielded three runs and four hits in a loss to Florida.

“The big difference is getting the ball down in the zone. It’s that simple,” he said. “A couple balls in the first inning were up and they were hit hard. The next couple innings the ball’s down in the zone. … Hopefully I continue to do that.”

Chris Carpenter gave up one run and two hits for the Cardinals. The game was called after 10 innings with score tied at 2.

That prior time Trachsel faced St. Louis, he gave up five runs and five hits for the New York Mets in one inning of Game 3 of the NL championship series.

“It’s completely different,” Trachsel said. “Here, I’m working on things. There, I was just trying to get through some innings.”

It turned out to be his last performance with the Mets. He signed as a free agent with Baltimore last month.

Isringhausen struggles for strikes during batting practice

Jason Isringhausen struggled to throw strikes Tuesday in his first batting practice of spring training, another step as the St. Louis Cardinals closer comes back from hip surgery that sidelined him during the postseason.

Isringhausen threw on a back field at Roger Dean Stadium while the Cardinals traveled to play the Baltimore Orioles. He looked sharp and threw strikes while warming up.

But facing non-roster outfielders Rick Ankiel and Ryan Ludwig, only a few of Isringhausen’s 25 pitches were strikes. The two hitters put four balls in play – both broke bats hitting his fastballs.