Loaiza impresses again, but Brazoban stumbles

VERO BEACH, Fla. -- Esteban Loaiza may have pitched himself into the rotation and Yhency Brazoban may have pitched himself out of the bullpen after widely different performances in the Dodgers’ 6-4 Grapefruit League loss to the St. Louis Cardinals on Friday.

Loaiza held the Cardinals to three hits and one run -- that coming on a Rick Ankiel homer that bounced out of center fielder Jason Repko’s glove and over the fence -- in five innings. It was the third consecutive strong outing for the right-hander and it helped him maintain a slight edge in his competition with Chan Ho Park, who has pitched seven scoreless innings this spring.

“That’s his spot until somebody can prove they’re better than he is,” pitching coach Rick Honeycutt said of Loaiza.

Brazoban, meanwhile, gave up three runs for the second time in four days, sending his earned-run average soaring to 14.73 in 3 2/3 innings. And he committed a rare cycle of mistakes for a reliever, giving up a walk, botching a fielding play at first, then giving up Ankiel’s second homer of the day.

“His last two outings haven’t been good. So we’ve got to take a step to [decide] what we’re going to do next,” Honeycutt said of Brazoban.

Veteran left-hander Mike Myers also appeared to hurt his chances to win a spot in the bullpen with his second straight poor outing, one in which he walked three and gave up a pair of runs while failing to get three outs.

--

Misses and hits

The Dodgers, who made four errors and committed several mental mistakes Thursday, were sloppy again against the Cardinals, giving up one unearned run and allowing two more to score on a ninth-inning wild pitch, losing for the fourth time in as many games.

Russell Martin and nonroster player Blake DeWitt were the bright spots on offense. Martin hit his first home run of the spring and DeWitt walked twice, coming around to score both times.

--

Pushing it

Right-hander Jason Schmidt, growing impatient with the pace of his return from shoulder surgery, says he’s going to try throwing through some of the lingering pain.

“Instead of babying it, we’re going to push it,” he said. “It’s a weird thing. I’m the same as I was a few days ago. I can’t quite get to the next level.”

Despite Schmidt’s frustration, the Dodgers appear unconcerned and say his comeback is progressing normally.

--

Back in sight

Rookie Andy LaRoche, who underwent surgery Monday to repair torn ligaments in his right thumb, was back in the clubhouse wearing a huge soft cast on his hand.

“It’s a setback. [But] you have to try to stay as mentally tough as you can,” said LaRoche, who came to camp with a chance to win a roster spot at third base. “It’s one of those things that just happen. There’s nothing you can do about it. Complaining about it isn’t going to help anything.”

--

Ins and outs

All-star closer Takashi Saito, who hasn’t appeared in a game this spring because of right calf tightness, was expected to pitch an inning against the Washington Nationals this afternoon. But infielder Tony Abreu, bothered by an abdominal problem, won’t play for a couple of more days at least.

Abreu ran on a treadmill and took batting practice Thursday, then participated in infield drills Friday. But the training staff would prefer Abreu test himself in a minor league game before trying to rejoin the lineup.

--

kevin.baxter@latimes.com

--

UP NEXT

Dodgers vs. Washington

Today, 10 a.m. PDT

and Dodgers vs. San Diego

For the latest news and notes from Dodgers camp, go to latimes.com/dodgers. And check the website for results of tonight’s exhibition game in Beijing between the Dodgers and San Diego Padres, which began at 10 p.m. PDT Friday.