Jason Motte was shaky once again Thursday, but he did pitch a scoreless inning for his first spring save against the Mets.

The first out of the ninth came on a great diving grab from left fielder Adron Chambers. The last was an easier play for Chambers, but it was a well hit ball right at him. In between, Motte did walk a batter. He has a 5.00 ERA and a 1/5 K/BB ratio in nine innings for the spring. He has gotten better as March has gone on, but it'd be nice to see him start missing a few bats.

Cardinals and RHP Jason Motte avoided arbitration by agreeing to a two-year contract.

The deal covers the 30-year-old closer's final two seasons of arbitration eligibility. Motte, a former catcher, has quickly become one of the best relievers in baseball. He registered a dominant 2.75 ERA, 0.92 WHIP and 86/17 K/BB ratio in 72 innings last season for St. Louis while leading the National League with 42 saves.

Jason Motte requested $5.5 million and was offered $4.5 million from the Cardinals when arbitration figures were exchanged Friday.

The dominating 30-year-old closer was arbitration eligible for the second time. Expect the two sides to settle somewhere in the neighborhood of $5 million.

Jason Motte has turned down an invitation to pitch for Team USA in the 2013 World Baseball Classic.

Motte's wife is pregnant with the couple's first child and is due in late January. So the 30-year-old closer will remain around Jupiter, Florida all spring. He posted a stellar 2.75 ERA, 0.92 WHIP and 86/17 K/BB ratio in 72 innings last season, saving 42 games in 49 opportunities.

Jason Motte pitched a perfect two innings to record the first six-out save of his career in Wednesday's win over the Giants.

With the rain delay wiping out setup man Mitchell Boggs for the eighth, Cardinals manager Mike Matheny chose to turn to Motte for the final six outs, and it worked out beautifully. The hard-thrower needed just 19 pitches to complete the two frames, throwing 16 for strikes. He should be available for Thursday's Game 4.

Jason Motte earned his 42nd save of the season in the Cardinals' defeat of the Reds on Wednesday.

Motte retired both of the batters he faced. The hard-throwing right-hander wraps up the regular season with a stellar 2.75 ERA, 0.92 WHIP and 86/17 K/BB ratio in 72 innings. He was 42-of-49 in save opportunities.

Jason Motte collected his 40th save of the season Saturday in the Cardinals' 6-3 win over the Cubs.

Motte allowed a Welington Castillo single to open the bottom of the ninth inning but then retired three straight. The bearded right-hander has one of the hardest fastballs in the majors and has used it to great effect this season. He now boasts a 2.86 ERA and 0.94 WHIP in 64 appearances, and has fanned 83 batters in 69 1/3 innings.

Jason Motte was dominating on Saturday, striking out all three hitters that he faced to preserve a one-run lead against the Cubs.

It was Motte's fourth save of the week already, and National League-leading 39th on the season. In his first full-season as the Cardinals closer, he's posted a 2.90 ERA and 82/17 K/BB ratio in 68 1/3 innings.

Jason Motte collected his 36th save of the season on Tuesday night against the Astros.

Motte pitched a flawless ninth inning, while recording a strikeout, in St. Louis' 4-1 win. He has converted his last two opportunities and is 36-for-43 in the save department in 2012. Motte has a 3.02 ERA and 74 punch-outs in 65.2 innings pitched.

Jason Motte collected his 28th save of the season Saturday as the Cardinals beat the Pirates 5-4.

Motte gave up a single to Gaby Sanchez and hit Jordy Mercer to load the bases after Yamaico Navarro reached on a David Freese error. But the Cardinals' closer got Andrew McCutchen to ground out, then retired the next two. It was a nice bounceback outing for Motte, who blew his first save in two months Thursday night against the Diamondbacks. He remains a top fantasy option.

Jason Motte blew his first save in two months in the Cardinals' late loss to the Diamondbacks on Thursday.

Motte allowed back-to-back homers to Paul Goldschmidt and Chris Young after entering in the top of the ninth inning with a 1-0 lead. And the Cardinals were not able to rally in the bottom half. Motte has a 2.84 ERA, 0.97 WHIP and 58/15 K/BB ratio in 50 2/3 innings this season. He remains a solid fantasy option at closer despite the poor effort Thursday in St. Louis.

Jason Motte is not expected to be available Saturday.

Motte has appeared in each of the last three games, including two innings of relief in Wednesday win against the Dodgers. Mitchell Boggs and Marc Rzepczynski figure to be used if a save situation arises, based on matchups.

Jason Motte slammed the door on the Cubs on Friday, earning his 21st save of the season.

He calmly retired all three hitters he faced in order, including a strikeout. The first-year closer has now converted seven straight chances and 21-of-25 on the season while posting a 2.71 ERA and 42/12 K/BB ratio over 41 innings.

Jason Motte shut down the Royals in the ninth inning on Saturday, allowing just one hit and striking out two.

He's now successfully converted each of his last seven save chances, and 14-of-17 on the year. Motte remains one of the best and most underrated closers in MLB.

Jason Motte slammed the door on the White Sox on Thursday, retiring the side in order to protect a 5-3 lead and pick up his 13th save.

Motte needed just 7 pitches to get the job done. He's now converted six consecutive save chances and 13-of-16 on the season. Motte is extremely safe and secure in his role right now and should have no problem finishing the season among the truly elite closers in the game.

Jason Motte retired all four batters he faced to earn a save Monday against the Mets.

The Cardinals haven't generated a lot of save chances this year, and it hasn't helped that Motte has blown three of the 12 opportunities he's been handed. Still, he is throwing well, and he currently has a 0.94 WHIP and 22 strikeouts to go along with his 3.09 ERA in 23 1/3 innings.

Jason Motte blew his first save of the season Monday, allowing a hit and two walks in a loss to the Cubs.

Motte struck out Alfonso Soriano to start the inning but lost a 14-pitch battle with Bryan LaHair when he finally walked him. He then walked Geovany Soto on four pitches before eventually allowing a walk-off, two-run single to Joe Mather on a two-strike pitch. It was a puzzling pitch selection at the end, as Mather has a big swing, yet Motte attacked him with cutters rather than his blazing fastball. The Cards closer will be fine, though.

Jason Motte picked up his third save in as many tries with a solid ninth inning against the Pirates on Friday.

Motte allowed a walk but easily escaped the inning unscathed. He's been very impressive in the early goings on the season and is a solid bet to finish as one of the league's top closers by season's end.

Jason Motte picked up a save Wednesday in the Cardinals' season-opening defeat of the Marlins.

Motte allowed a single to Jose Reyes to open the bottom of the ninth, but he got Emilio Bonifacio to ground out then fanned both Hanley Ramirez and Giancarlo Stanton. The hard-throwing closer is off to a great start.

"Jason (Motte) is our closer," Cardinals manager Mike Matheny said Sunday.

This isn't really news, in that Motte was essentially a lock for the job barring a horrific spring or injury, but the public proclamation has to be good for Motte to hear. Tony La Russa only officially proclaimed Motte as the club's stopper after Game 7 of the World Series -- and TLR retired the next day. Motte held a 2.25 ERA and 0.96 WHIP in 2011 while striking out nearly a batter per inning, posting a 63/16 K/BB ratio in 68 innings. He has a chance to be one of the better fantasy closers in the NL in 2012.