Mets starter Rick Porcello continued to develop his case for a starting rotation spot with a successful three inning start Thursday afternoon versus the Cardinals.

The right-hander went three innings, gave up only two hits, and struck out four in the scoreless outing. His only weakness seemed to be the bat of St. Louis second-basemen Kolten Wong, who amassed two hits against Porcello on the afternoon.

After allowing a leadoff single to Wong, Porcello struck out Matt Carpenter for the first out of his third spring start. Paul Goldschmidt walked (the only walk allowed in the outing and Porcello’s first this spring) before Paul DeJong grounded out to shortstop Amed Rosario, who chose to get the sure out at first and allowed both runners to advance. With runners on second and third and two down, Porcello escaped the jam by getting catcher Yadier Molina to pop out to second base.

“First inning was not quite where I wanted to be,” Porcello said in an interview postgame. “Rhythm was a little off and I felt like I got better and better as the innings went on.”

The Mets provided their starter with some support in the top of the second, and Porcello entered the bottom half of the frame with a four-run lead. The insurance was not necessary, however, as the right-hander retired his opponents 1-2-3. Dexter Fowler flew out to left, Harrison Bader struck out looking, and Lane Thomas grounded out to second.

Entering his third and final inning, Porcello was locked and loaded, striking out Carlos Soto looking before Kolten Wong grabbed his second hit. Matt Carpenter struck out for the second at-bat in a row, and Goldschmidt grounded a ball right back to the mound for an easy third out.

Porcello needed 56 pitches to get through the three innings, with only 34 of them coming for strikes. He was sitting around 90 MPH with is fastball.

Although the outing was successful, Porcello still struggled with his pitch count; in six innings of work this spring, Porcello has thrown 113 pitches. His opening innings have specifically been a point of struggle. He has put himself in two-out jams twice in his last two starts, and it took him 17 pitches to get through his one inning debut.

“That’s kind of what [spring] is all about is being able to find where you need to be physically, mentally, and being able to make those adjustments on the fly,” he said.

When asked if he had any doubts on making the rotation, Porcello ensured reporters that isn’t at the top of his mind.

“I’m not worried about it at all,” he said. “I’m worried about executing pitches first and foremost and doing whatever I can to help this team win.”