Cardinals' Carlos Martinez: Drop in velocity explained

Cardinals manager Mike Matheny confirmed that Martinez purposely threw "softer" than usual in his first start back from the disabled list Tuesday due to fear of reinjuring his lat, Joe Trezza of MLB.com reports.

Martinez had a ragged start overall against the Marlins, allowing two runs on four hits and five walks, with the latter tally being his highest since Opening Day. However, the rocky performance wasn't as much of a concern as the overall drop in velocity that the Cardinals' ace exhibited over his four frames. The inefficient performance is now at least partly explained by the revelation that Martinez took something off his typically mid-90s fastball, something that Matheny confirmed he never signed off on. "We go with the information they give us," he said. "We can't read their minds."