With no All-Stars on the roster and a rookie making his league debut in the leadoff spot, the St Louis Cardinals stunned the Tampa Bay Rays with eight runs in the bottom of the sixth, resulting in a 9-7 opening day winner Thursday, Mar. 26 at Busch Stadium.
JJ Wetherholt became the first Cardinal in 77 seasons to make his debut as the leadoff batter, and it would prove to be a fruitful decision as the second baseman belted a leadoff home run in the bottom of the third to center field. The Rays would even the score in the fifth, capping starting pitcher Matthew Liberatore’s day with one run on seven hits and two walks while striking out two across five innings.
The Rays would get to three of the Cardinals relievers in the sixth, as Matt Svanson, Justin Bruihl, and Chris Roycroft combined to allow six runs on seven singles, one ball and a sacrifice fly. The Cardinals responded with eight runs in the bottom of the inning. Singles by Nolan Gorman, Nathan Church and Pedro Pagés brought the Cardinals to within two runs, before a sacrifice fly by Wetherholt scored another Redbird run for the first out of the inning. A stolen base by Victor Scott II set up another sacrifice fly to tie the game, when Iván Herrera scored Pagés. Alec Burleson provided the game-winning home run, sending a fastball from Griffin Jax to right field.
Jax would be assessed a blown save, while Garrett Cleavinger took the loss for Tampa Bay. The win went to Riley O’Brien, who allowed just one hit and struck out two in his one-and-a-third innings of work. Ryne Stanek recorded the save with one strikeout, despite allowing three walks.
The Cardinals are off Friday before continuing their series against Tampa Bay; Michael McGreevy is expected to get the start, with first pitch slated for 1:15 p.m. Saturday.
Meanwhile, the Kansas City Royals will begin the season Friday in Cobb County, when they visit the Atlanta Braves. Cole Ragans will get the start for KC, while Chris Sale will take the bump for Atlanta. Pregame coverage begins at 5:30 p.m. on KMMO AM 1300, with first pitch at 6:15 p.m.