JUPITER, Fla. -- Cardinals right-hander Todd Wellemeyer faced a Dominican team on Thursday that swung the bats like it had a plane to catch. As a matter of fact, it did.

Even so, Wellemeyer had to take advantage of the Dominicans' aggressiveness, and he was able to do that. In his second start of Spring Training, Wellemeyer pitched four effective innings. He allowed a run on four hits, struck out one and didn't issue a walk.

"I had a little trouble hitting some inside corners on some lefties, but my slider felt pretty good," Wellemeyer said. "They were swinging early. That helps you out, when you can locate early and they swing early and put it in play."

It was a recovery from a somewhat rocky -- though certainly not disastrous -- first spring outing against the Mets six days earlier. In that game, Wellemeyer allowed three runs in two innings. He has yet to walk a batter this spring.

One highlight of Thursday's game for Wellemeyer was his ability to work out of trouble. In two of his four innings, the first two batters reached base, yet those two chances added up to one run total.

Mostly, though, Wellemeyer delighted in the chance to face the Dominican Republic's World Baseball Classic squad. The opposing lineup included stars such as Jose Reyes, Robinson Cano, Miguel Tejada and David Ortiz.

"It's just cool to switch it up and not face the Marlins every game," he said.