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Orioles 4, Cardinals 1

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JUPITER, Fla. (AP) --Adam Loewen isn't in a hurry to leave Florida and get the season going, even though his numbers indicate he's ready.

Loewen tossed five shutout innings Wednesday in his fourth spring start, leading the Baltimore Orioles to a 4-1 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals. The left-hander allowed four hits, struck out five and walked two, lowering his spring ERA to 1.38.

"I don't mind being down here in Florida, some of the other guys do," Loewen said. "I just think I have a couple of more things to work on before this season starts. So I'm not in a big hurry."

Cardinals closer Jason Isringhausen pitched the sixth inning in his third appearance of the spring and allowed his first run. Isringhausen, who had hip surgery in September, started and pitched one inning each in his first two appearances.

Loewen made his major league debut in May and was 6-6 with a 5.37 ERA. He wasn't happy with curveball Wednesday but still limited the Cardinals to singles by Albert Pujols, Scott Rolen, Edgar Gonzalez and So Taguchi.

He pitched out of a two-out, two-on jam in the first by striking out Preston Wilson.

"My command was decent," Loewen said. "I was just working on getting my pitch count up. I had three pitches going, that's all I really need. Any given day when I've got three going I'll be all right."

Aubrey Huff had three hits for Baltimore, raising his average to .415. He doubled in Melvin Mora, who reached on a wind-blown double, in the fourth inning to give the Orioles a 1-0 lead.

Adam Wainwright pitched five innings for the Cardinals, allowing one run and three hits. He struck out three and walked two. Wainwright, who filled in as closer during the postseason last year, is slotted to start the fourth game of the season. He is 2-2 with a 1.25 ERA this spring.

"I'm missing just a little bit on some pitches," Wainwright said. "Sometimes for me I need to not try to be too fine and make them hit the ball. Several times during the day I didn't make them hit the ball. That's disappointing."