Chris Carpenter pitched solidly in his 2012 season debut, surrendering two runs on five hits in his five innings of work. Carpenter walked one and struck out two on the afternoon. There was a bit of rust, as was to be expected, and he struggled to locate his curveball. Still, he threw 47 of his 77 pitches for strikes and left in line to earn a victory before Fernando Salas blew a save in the ninth. He'll likely be stretched out to between 90-100 pitches when he takes on the Astros in Houston on Wednesday.