Marcus Stroman worked out of a dicey second in his two-inning performance, giving up one earned run in the Mets 3-2 victory versus the Cardinals on Friday afternoon.

After retiring the first two men he faced, Stroman gave up his only run of the appearance, as Paul Goldschmidt took one deep to right-center field for his first of the Spring. Stroman proved unshaken, however, as he got Yadier Molina to ground out, ending the frame.

Things got shakier in the second. Tyler O’Neill led off the inning and was given the free pass from Stroman, who had now walked two batters in 3.2 IP this spring. The Cardinals looked to advance the runner to second on a Harrison Bader sacrifice bunt but got the best of both worlds as Bader beat the ball to first.

Nolan Gorman then grounded a slow ball to Dominic Smith at first base, who made a throwing error that allowed all runners to advance, loading the bases with no outs.

Nevertheless, Stroman remained locked in. After Max Schrock lined out softly to second base, he got Edmundo Sosa to ground a ball to second-basemen Jake Hager, resulting in an inning-ending double play and ending the scoring threat.

“If that was a real game, I’d be pretty pumped up, but you obviously try to keep everything in check in spring,” Stroman said in an interview after his start. “Great play by Hager and a great turn by Rosario, so defense was great, just made a good pitch to get in there when I needed to.”

Stroman has made two appearances this Spring, both of which have come against St. Louis. The first came last Saturday, Feb. 22, a game that saw the Mets get shutout by their red and white foes on their spring opening day. Stroman gave up an earned run on a home run in 1.2 innings of work during that start.

Two home runs in 3.2 innings of work for Stroman is slightly concerning, as his fairly low HR/9 average of 0.83 has not exactly limited his career ERA, which sits at a serviceable 3.76.

It’s too early to tell whether home runs could prove a problem for Stroman, but limiting the longball damage will be a key making progress in his next start. Despite struggling early on, Stroman is not worried.

“I think it’s pretty awesome to face adversity during Spring rather than kind of cruising rather than your first adversity being in the actual season, so I feel ready, my mind and my body,” he said.