Jhonny Peralta had six assists at third base.

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Leake putting his infielders to work as Cardinals take lead

When Mike Leake's sinker is at its best and he's able to offset that with a test-drive changeup, the third baseman is going to have a busy day.

Enter Jhonny Peralta.

Already this afternoon, Peralta has cut in front of shortstop Paul DeJong to get an out, and moments ago he charged in on the shift to make a play on another grounder. Leake has retired all nine batters he's faced so far at The Ballpark of the Palm Beaches, and not one of the Washington Nationals have been able to get the ball out of the infield. Peralta has five assists already.

This is not new. For the second time in three starts so far this Grapefruit League season, Leake has gone nine-up, nine-down. It is also the second time that his first nine outs have come without a ball leaving the infield.

Of the 35 batters he's faced this spring, 25 have not been able to get the ball beyond the reach of an infielder or the catcher.

Of his 30 outs so far, 18 have come on the ground.