Starting pitcher Hiroki Kuroda blanked the St. Louis Cardinals through four innings in a 4-0 spring training win for the New York Yankees on Monday.

The 38-year-old Kuroda, who is gearing up for his sixth major-league season, allowed three hits and struck out six batters. He got out of the second inning with back-to-back strikeouts after Shane Robinson reached third on a double followed by a stolen base.

"The strikeouts were good, but I wasn't very happy with the way I let runners get on base," Kuroda said.

The Yankees took the lead on a solo homer in the fourth by Kevin Youkilis, who added another RBI in the sixth inning.

Ichiro Suzuki went 1-for-3 with a first-inning double off the right field wall.