photo: JJ Wetherholt (Brian Walton/The Cardinal Nation)
Behind a good offense, the St. Louis Cardinals opened the season with two of three wins over the visiting Rays. Rookie leadoff man JJ Wetherholt was a factor in both victories. Our history section highlights key Opening Day events in team annals.
Spring game recap
Monday, March 23, 2026 – St. Louis Cardinals 3 at Springfield Cardinals 2
The St. Louis Cardinals edged their Double-A affiliate Springfield Cardinals in an exhibition game at Hammons Field to close spring training. Starter Dustin May pitched four scoreless innings, allowed three hits and fanned four.
Relievers who followed May were Justin Bruihl, Ryne Stanek, Riley O’Brien, Matt Svanson and Skylar Hales. O’Brien surrendered the two Springfield runs.
St. Louis’ offense scored three runs on seven hits. Alec Burleson hit a two-run home run. Minor leaguer Trey Paige added a solo home run for the third score. Yohel Pozo had the other extra base hit, a double. The offense was 0-for-10 with runners in scoring position and left 10 men on base.
JJ Wetherholt, Pedro Pagés, Brody Moore, and José Fermín each stole a base. Mike Antico had an outfield assist at second base.
2026 Season game recaps
Thursday, March 26, 2026 – Cardinals 9, Rays 7
The Cardinals took on the Tampa Bay Rays on Opening Day 2026 at Busch Stadium on Thursday. After falling behind 7-1, the Cardinals won the game 9-7.
Starter Matthew Liberatore pitched five innings, gave up one run on seven hits, walked two and struck out two. He took a no-decision.
Matt Svanson relieved Liberatore and surrendered three runs in 1/3 of an inning. Justin Bruihl followed with 1/3 of an inning during which he relinquished two additional runs. Chris Roycroft secured the final out of that sixth inning and allowed one run.
JoJo Romero came in to pitch 2/3 of a scoreless inning. Riley O’Brien was next in line with 1 1/3 scoreless innings for the win. Ryne Stanek tossed a scoreless ninth to earn his first save.
Alec Burleson went 3-for-4 with two RBI and two runs scored. Nathan Church was 3-for-4 with two RBI and a run scored. Victor Scott was 3-for-4. Nolan Gorman and JJ Wetherholt each had two RBI. Wetherholt hit his first home run of his major league career, a solo shot in the third inning. Burleson thumped a two-run home run in the sixth inning.
Scott stole two bases.
Saturday, March 28, 2026 – Cardinals 6, Rays 5 (10 innings)
In Saturday’s second game of the series, the Cardinals topped the Rays in extra innings. The Cardinals had a 4-0 lead going into the ninth, but the Rays surged back to tie the game. They added a run in the top of the 10th to take the lead, but the Cardinals fought back and won, 6-5.
Starter Michael McGreevy pitched well in his first start of the season. The right hander threw six scoreless, hitless innings with two walks and five punchouts.
Reliever Riley O’Brien hurled a scoreless seventh inning but lost the combined no-hit bid with two hits allowed. JoJo Romero followed with a scoreless eighth.
Matt Svanson started the ninth and gave up three runs in 2/3 of an inning. Still in the ninth, Ryne Stanek relinquished the tying run.
Stanek returned for the top of the 10th and surrendered another run to give the Rays a 5-4 lead. The Cardinals put two runners on in the bottom of the ninth and JJ Wetherholt drove them in on a game-winning walk off single. Stanek was awarded the win.
Wetherholt was 2-for-5 with two RBI. Alec Burleson plated two. Iván Herrera and Nolan Gorman also had an RBI each.
Wetherholt and Burleson each stole their first base of the season. The Cardinals committed two errors, a fielding error by Ramón Urías and a throwing error for Wetherholt.
Sunday, March 29, 2026 – Cardinals 7, Rays 11
The Cardinals fell to the Rays in the final game of the series on Sunday. Starter Dustin May pitched four innings, gave up six runs on 10 hits, walked one and struck out three. May took the loss.
Justin Bruihl threw two scoreless innings of relief. George Soriano hurled a scoreless inning. Matt Pushard surrendered three runs in the eighth. Chris Roycroft relinquished two runs in the ninth.
The Rays went up 3-0 in the second inning. The Cardinals put up one run in the third on a double by Jordan Walker and an RBI single by Victor Scott.
The Rays came back with three more runs in the top of the fourth to extend their lead to 6-1. St. Louis put up a three spot in the bottom half on a three-run home run by Walker.
The Rays’ held their 6-4 lead until the top of the eighth, when they again tacked on three runs to lead 9-4. The Cardinals matched with three runs in the home half to cut the lead to 9-7 on a solo home run by Nolan Gorman and a two-run long ball by Pedro Pagés.
The Cardinals bullpen faltered and couldn’t hold off the Rays, who added two more runs in the ninth for the final score of 11-7.
Walker was 3-for-4 with three RBI and three runs scored. Pagés was 2-for-4 with two RBI. Masyn Winn was 2-for-5 and Victor Scott was 2-for-4.
May picked a runner off first base.
The Big Picture
The Cardinals played their season opener on Thursday, March 26 against the Tampa Bay Rays. The Cardinals won 9-7 behind opening day starter Matthew Liberatore. The Cardinals won Saturday in extra innings with a six-inning no-hit performance by Michael McGreevy. The Rays defeated the Cardinals in the final game of the series on Sunday.
The Cardinals start the season with a record of 2-1 and are one game behind the undefeated Brewers. It is early, so these numbers are meaningless, but in the two games the team won, the offense showed it could bounce back and hold its own despite the youth of the team and the lack of veteran players.
One of the surprises was the improved offensive performance of Jordan Walker. In the three games, Walker went 4-for-10 with a home run, two doubles and three RBI. Whether this short-term improvement will hold remains to be seen.
The team scored 22 runs over the three-game set for a team OPS of .808. The pitching was a mixed bag. Michael McGreevy had an excellent first start and Matthew Liberatore was solid, but Dustin May on Sunday faltered badly. The bullpen was a disappointment overall.
The offense, however, was the bright spot. The defense was also satisfactory.
Rookie JJ Wetherholt did not disappoint in this series. He hit his first major league home run in the opening game and drove in the winning runs in the extra inning game on Saturday.
The Cardinals play a better team, the Mets, in the second home series. They go on their first road trip of the season later in the week to face the Detroit Tigers, followed by the Washington Nationals.
Trade and Acquisition Rumors
There are no trade or acquisition rumors to report.
Transactions
- 3/25 The Cardinals selected the contract of 2B JJ Wetherholt from the Memphis Redbirds.
- 3/25 The Cardinals placed RHP Hunter Dobbins on the 15-day injured list retroactive to March 22. Right knee ACL reconstruction rehab.
- 3/25 The Cardinals placed LF Lars Nootbaar on the 60-day injured list. Haglund’s Deformities surgery rehab.
Injury Report
- OF Lars Nootbaar (heel surgery) will continue his rehab for his Haglund’s Deformities surgery on both heels. Nootbaar was placed on the 60-day injured list on March 25, effective March 22. He began his running progression on March 20. No timetable for returning to play has been reported, but best case is late May.
- RHP Hunter Dobbins was placed on the 15-day injured list on March 25, retroactive to March 22, as he continues to rehab from his right knee ACL surgery. Dobbins has been throwing in minor league games and should begin a minor league rehab stint very soon.
Looking Ahead
The regular season began on March 26, with an opening series with the Tampa Bay Rays. The Cardinals will remain in St. Louis for another set before heading out on their first road trip of the season.
The homestand continues on Monday with three games with the Mets that end on Wednesday, April 1. Kyle Leahy is scheduled for the Monday start, followed by Andre Pallante on Tuesday, and Matthew Liberatore on Wednesday.
The Cardinals head out on Thursday to first play the Detroit Tigers in a weekend series beginning Friday, April 3. The team ends the road trip in Washington with three games at the Nationals.
The Cardinals return for a six-game homestand beginning Friday, April 10. The team takes on the Boston Red Sox in a weekend series and ends the homestand with three against the Cleveland Guardians.
Blast from the Past
This week’s Blast from the Past begins a two-part series recalling one opening day event in each decade since the St. Louis Browns (later St. Louis Cardinals) were purchased by St. Louis beer baron Chris von der Ahe in 1882.
Each decade will be listed, followed by the date of one opening day in which an interesting or notable event occurred.
The first seven decades (1880s-1940s) will be chronicled in this installment. The final installment of the series will cover the final eight decades (1950s-2020s). The date of the event will be noted with the details following.
1880s
April 18, 1888 – On this opening day of the 1888 season, the Cardinals (then the Browns) beat the Louisville Colonels 8-0 at Sportsman’s Park. Sportsman’s Park that season was partially rebuilt after a suspicious fire occurred in November. Owner Chris von der Ahe’s nearby saloon was also damaged. Critics suspected arson but it was never proven.
1890s
April 8, 1891 – The season opener ended in a 7-7 tie with the Cincinnati Reds. The game was called after eight innings because of darkness. When the ninth inning started, Cincinnati refused to play and the players were pulled off the field. Though the Reds manager protested, the umpire, former Cardinal Bill Gleason, declared a forfeit in favor of St. Louis. St. Louis owner Chris von der Ahe protested the forfeit, claiming the team preferred to win on its own. Nevertheless, the game was called.
1900s
April 19, 1901 – The Cardinals lost the season opener 8-7 to the Cubs. Though Cardinals pitcher Jack Powell took the loss, he hit a home run. The next Cardinal pitcher to homer on opening day was Joe Magrane in 1988.
1910s
April 11, 1912 – In the season opener, the Cardinals defeated the Pirates 7-0 before a crowd of 15,000 in St. Louis. The Cardinals were playing in a ballpark with a new name. Helene Hathaway Britton, the first woman owner of a major league baseball team, renamed League Park to Robison Field, after her father and uncle, Frank and Stanley Robison. Helene had inherited the team on the death of her uncle.
1920s
April 12, 1922 – The Cardinals beat the Pirates 10-1 in the season opener. It was the first appearance of the team uniforms of a new logo featuring two Redbirds perched on a bat that passed through the letter “C” in the word Cardinals.
1930s
April 20, 1933 – The Cardinals beat the Cubs 3-1 in the home opener. Prohibition had just ended and this was the first time beer was sold at Sportsman’s Park since 1919.
1940s
April 17, 1945 – The Cardinals opened the season with a 3-2 loss to the Cubs, only five days after the death of President Franklin Roosevelt and the succession of Missouri’s own Harry Truman to the Presidency. In this game, Red Schoendienst made his major league debut.
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