JUPITER, Fla. -- Cardinals manager Tony La Russa sensed where the line of questioning was going before the reporters even got there. Yes, Jason Motte pitched well on Tuesday. No, the skipper isn't prepared to do any anointing just yet.

But the fact that he had to issue that reminder says something about what Motte showed against the Tigers in a 5-2 win. One of at least four candidates to assume ninth-inning duties for the Cardinals once regular-season games begin, Motte became the first pitcher to record a save in Grapefruit League play on Tuesday. He breezed through a 1-2-3 ninth with two strikeouts and a lazy fly ball.

"I liked that he threw strikes with a lead in the ninth," La Russa said. "He threw a couple wild ones, and there was one time the leadoff hitter swung at ball three. But overall, it is a save situation and he kept himself together and he did get some breaking balls over, which they can never sit on."

And that's the key. It's not that Motte closed out a win -- a win of no ultimate consequence, given that it's only an exhibition. It's how he did it. He threw fastballs for strikes (mostly), mixed in several effective sliders and even got a swing-and-miss on a changeup.

"I was just going out there trying to get into counts where I could throw them, I could use them," Motte said. "The first guy kept fouling them off, fouling them off. So I was just trying to do stuff with them, not just go out there and throw all fastballs. That's not going to do anything."

Motte, like a couple of his fellow competitors, looked a little shaky at the outset of spring. But he's gotten stronger as he's gone along. And there's never been any doubt about two of his attributes: his fastball and his confidence.

"I've had trust in [my offspeed pitches]," Motte said. "It hasn't been that I haven't had trust in them. It's just that they've been pretty bad. I trust myself when I throw them. It doesn't matter who's back there catching. If I get a sign and I think it's a good time to throw it, I'll throw it. It may not be a good one, but I trust it. I'm going to go out there and I'm not going to do anything halfway. If I throw it, I'm going to give it everything I've got."

Ryan Raburn led off the ninth against Motte and worked a long at-bat before striking out swinging. Brandon Inge flied out to center field before Motte dispatched Don Kelly quickly. It's not exactly Magglio Ordonez, Carlos Guillen and Gary Sheffield, which is part of why La Russa typically likes to use his late-inning relievers in the middle innings of Spring Training games.

But still, it was something. And it was a fine performance by the least known of the four closer competitors. Motte has less Major League experience than Chris Perez, Josh Kinney or Ryan Franklin. He throws the hardest, but he also may need the most refinement of the four. So any time he displays plus command and effectively throws pitches other than his fastball, it's a positive.

"Throwing my offspeed stuff, throwing it in games is where it matters," Motte said. "Seeing guys' approach, how they take a pitch, how they swing at a pitch, how they do whatever, that's where it counts. Not in the bullpen where I can throw 10 out of 10 nasty sliders, but it doesn't mean a thing if you get in the game and spin two of them up there."