photo: Paul Goldschmidt, Nolan Arenado and Dylan Carlson (Jeff Curry/USA TODAY Sports)
The St. Louis Cardinals opened the 2022 season with two wins and a loss at home versus Pittsburgh. Nolan Arenado, Dylan Carlson and Paul Goldschmidt are pacing the NL’s top offense in OPS. We highlight key events in this week in team history.
Spring game recaps
Monday, April 4 – Cardinals 4, Nationals 3
The St. Louis Cardinals topped the Washington Nationals in a spring game at Roger Dean Stadium on Tuesday. This was the final tune up for starter Miles Mikolas.
Mikolas pitched six innings and gave up one run on four hits, struck out one and walked one. Jordan Hicks, Aaron Brooks, and Genesis Cabrera followed Mikolas out of the bullpen. Hicks surrendered two runs in the seventh and was relieved by Brooks with two outs in the inning. Brooks retired the final batter. Cabrera tossed the final two scoreless innings. Mikolas picked up the win.
Albert Pujols drove in the first run for St. Louis in the second inning on a single. A two run home run by Paul Goldschmidt in the third inning gave the Redbirds a 3-0 lead. St. Louis’ final run came home in the sixth on a ground out by Harrison Bader. Pujols was 2-for-2 with an RBI in the contest.
Tuesday, April 5 – Cardinals 7 at Marlins 0
In the final game of spring training the Cardinals blanked the Marlins 7-0 at Roger Dean with the Marlins as the home team.
The offense put up two runs in the third inning on a sac fly by Paul Goldschmidt and a double by Nolan Arenado.
The score remained 2-0 until the eighth inning. The offense was all minor leaguers at that point as the regulars had left the game. Darlin Moquete tripled and drove in one run. A single by Tyler Reichenborn scored the second run of the inning. Jeremy Rivas plated the third and final run of the inning to make it 5-0.
In the ninth, Moquete drove in his second run on a single and Wade Stauss tripled to plate the second run for the final score of 7-0. Arenado and Moquete each had two hits in the game.
Steven Matz made his final tune up with a 6 2/3 inning scoreless start in which he fanned five and walked one. Giovanny Gallegos got the final out of the seventh. Jake Woodford and Alfredo Ruiz each tossed a scoreless inning. Matz got the win.
The Cardinals finished with the top record in the 2022 Grapefruit League at 9-5.
Wednesday, April 6 – Off day
Regular season recaps
Thursday, April 7 – Cardinals 9, Pirates 0
On Opening Day 2022, the Cardinals blanked the Pirates 9-0 in front of a sold out crowd at Busch Stadium.
Starter Adam Wainwright pitched six scoreless innings with five hits allowed and six strikeouts. Nick Wittgren tossed a scoreless seventh. Genesis Cabrera and Ryan Helsley each hurled a scoreless frame. Wainwright earned his first win of the season.
The Redbirds offense put up one run in the first inning on an RBI single by Tyler O’Neill. In the second, following a leadoff single by Harrison Bader, and a walk by Paul Goldschmidt, O’Neill blasted a three run home run to left field to give the Cardinals a 4-0 lead.
In the sixth, St. Louis increased its lead to 5-0 on a sac fly by Dylan Carlson following a Bader double. The Cardinals had their big inning in the ninth, padding their lead to 9-0 with a solo home run from Tommy Edman, an O’Neill sac fly, and two-run blast by Nolan Arenado. Bader and O’Neill each had two hits in the game.
Goldschmidt stole his first base of the season.
Friday, April 8 – Off day
Saturday, April 9 – Cardinals 6, Pirates 2
The Cardinals defeated the Pirates in the second game of the four-game series by the score of 6-2. A shortened outing for starters Miles Mikolas and Mitch Keller turned the contest into a battle of bullpens.
Mikolas lasted 3 2/3 innings and gave up two runs on six hits, struck out one and walked two. Kodi Whitley relieved and tossed 1 1/3 scoreless innings to get the win. Nick Wittgren, T.J. McFarland, Ryan Helsley, and Giovanny Gallegos combined to hurl the final four scoreless innings.
Pittsburgh scored first in the first inning, but St. Louis quickly tied it in the bottom of the first on an RBI double by Nolan Arenado. The Pirates briefly retook the lead 2-1 in the top of the third, but the Cardinals answered in the bottom half of the inning with three runs on an Arenado RBI single and a two run home run by Paul DeJong.
The Cardinals added to their lead with an RBI single by Corey Dickerson in the fifth and an RBI double by Arenado in the sixth. The Cardinals third baseman had a 4-for-4 day with three RBI and two runs scored.
Dylan Carlson swiped his first bag of the season.
Sunday, April 10 – Cardinals 4, Pirates 9
The Cardinals took their first loss of the season with a 9-4 thrashing by the Pirates on Sunday afternoon. The early innings favored the Redbirds, but the Pirates came back to assault St. Louis pitching for 15 hits and nine runs.
The Cardinals posted three runs in the first inning to take the early lead. Dylan Carlson led off with a double to right field. Paul Goldschmidt singled, and Tyler O’Neill plated Carlson on a sac fly. Nolan Arenado then destroyed a baseball into the left field stands for a two-run home run.
The Pirates took St. Louis starter Steven Matz to the cleaners for five runs in the third, including a grand slam, then added two more in the fourth. The 7-3 lead lasted until the seventh when the Pirates planted one more run.
The Cardinals finally answered with their fourth run in the bottom half of the seventh. Harrison Bader doubled, and Tommy Edman singled. Carlson plated Bader on a sac fly. Carlson had two hits and an RBI in the game.
The Pirates padded their lead with a final run in the eighth.
Matz had a shaky outing on the heels of his strong start in the final game of spring. The left hander went three innings with seven runs allowed on nine hits. He fanned five and walked one. Jake Woodford tossed three scoreless innings of relief. Andre Pallante made his major league debut and tossed a one run seventh inning. Aaron Brooks surrendered a run in the final two innings. Matz took the loss.
In the field, Carlson made a throwing error on an attempted putout at third base. The strong throw hit the runner and bounced into the foul area, allowing the runner to score. Nolan Arenado had a rare fielding miscue on a ground ball.
Cardinals home opener draws sellout crowd
St. Louis’ Opening day game against the Pittsburgh Pirates was a sellout, perhaps fueled by the return of superstar Albert Pujols in his final year before retirement along with the pending retirement of Cardinals favorite Yadier Molina. This home opener was the first with a capacity crowd since 2019, due to pandemic concerns.
The Opening Day ceremonies featured the usual parade and introduction of the Hall of Famers, circling the track in their convertibles to the applause of the Cardinals faithful. The bevy of returning red coated former Cardinals included slugger Mark McGwire, no longer kept from attending due to coaching duties with other teams. Newly installed Cardinals Hall of Famers, and Baseball Hall of Famers such as Ted Simmons, Ozzie Smith, and Whitey Herzog were also in attendance.
The #OpeningDay festivities continue as the men in red jackets take the field.#STLCards pic.twitter.com/SXN5PXE0vx
— Bally Sports Midwest (@BallySportsMW) April 7, 2022
The manager, coaches, and other field staff plus the active roster of Cardinals and injured players circled the stadium in their Ford trucks as usual, though there was one change this year. Instead of introducing the starting pitcher and catcher from the bullpen, both Adam Wainwright and Yadier Molina were introduced coming out of the dugout just prior to the parade of their teammates. Albert Pujols was also introduced from the dugout, shaking the hands of the assembled Hall of Famers just before Wainwright and Molina were presented.
Busch Stadium doesn't get much louder than this. Yadi, Waino and Albert take the field on #OpeningDay.#STLCards pic.twitter.com/NHlAhkOq98
— Bally Sports Midwest (@BallySportsMW) April 7, 2022
The festivities were a success, and the team presented the assembled fans with a 9-0 shutout of the visiting Pirates.
The series continued on Saturday and Sunday, but with the unfortunate absence of manager Oli Marmol, who had a touch of the flu. His bench coach, former Cardinal Skip Schumaker, took over the managing duties in his absence.
Stats leaders
Nolan Arenado has started the season red-hot. Five of his six hits in 12 at-bats have gone for extra bases. The third baseman’s OPS is 1.789 and he has a team-leading seven RBI.
New leadoff may Dylan Carlson has two doubles, two singles and a walk in 11 plate appearances for a 1.029 OPS.
First baseman Paul Goldschmidt has drawn five walks to go with three singles in 14 plate appearances for a team-leading .571 OBP.
As a team, the Cardinals offense is second in MLB and first in the National League with their .445 slugging percentage and .846 OPS. The team ERA of 3.67 is right in the middle of the pack, 16th in MLB and ninth in the NL.
National League Central Standings
The 2-1 Cardinals are tied with the Cubs on top of the division, a half-game ahead of the Reds and one game ahead of Pittsburgh and Milwaukee.
Trade and Acquisition Rumors
There are no trade or acquisition rumors to report.
Transactions
- 4/4 The Cardinals optioned RHP Jake Walsh to the Memphis Redbirds.
- 4/4 Cardinals placed RHP Jack Flaherty on the 10-day injured list. Right shoulder discomfort.
- 4/7 The Cardinals sent LHP Brandon Waddell outright to the Memphis Redbirds.
- 4/7 The Cardinals selected the contract of RHP Andre Pallante from the Memphis Redbirds.
Injury Report
- RHP Alex Reyes (frayed right labrum) has been shut down from throwing for four weeks and has received a stem cell injection in his shoulder. Reyes was placed on the 60-day injured list and will be unavailable until June.
- RHP Jack Flaherty (right shoulder) had imaging done on his shoulder which revealed inflammation as well as a small tear called a SLAP tear (superior labrum and posterior). Flaherty told the media the tear has been there for several years and is unrelated to the inflammation. Flaherty received a PRP injection in the shoulder. The right hander was placed on the 10-day injured list to begin the season.
Looking Ahead
The Cardinals will finish the four game series against the Pirates on Monday. Monday’s starter is scheduled to be Dakota Hudson.
The homestand continues when the Royals come to town for a two-game set on Tuesday and Wednesday. Jordan Hicks is expected to get the Tuesday start with Adam Wainwright pitching on Wednesday.
The Cardinals travel to Milwaukee to take on the Brewers in a four-game series beginning Thursday, April 14. No starters have been announced but will likely be Mikolas on Thursday, followed by Matz, Hudson, and Hicks.
Following the Brewers series, the Cardinals travel to Miami on Monday for three games with the Marlins to begin on Tuesday.
The regular season schedule can be found here.
Blast from the Past
This week’s Blast will take a “remember when” look at the days of the past week in the history of the Cardinals’ franchise. Though this week included the opening day of the regular season, the beginning of a baseball season has varied since the beginning of the franchise, with some earlier, and some much later.
This year’s regular season start was delayed by the lockout, but typical opening weeks in the not-too-distant past have begun during the period of the last week of March to the first week in April. This segment looks at the period April 4 through April 10 in Cardinals history.
April 4
- Mark McGwire began his historic 1998 season on this date.
- In 2017, former Cardinal Stephen Piscotty suffered several incidents of physical abuse in one trip around the bases. In a game against the Cubs, Piscotty was hit by a pitch from Jake Arrieta on his left elbow. When the outfielder advanced to second base on a wild pitch, he was hit in the right elbow by a throw from catcher Willson Contreras. As Piscotty attempted to score on a fielding error, he was hit in the head by a throw from second baseman Javier Baez. Piscotty left the game to be evaluated for a possible concussion.
- This day is a shared birthday by two Cardinals Hall of Famers, Tom Herr (1956) and Scott Rolen (1975).
April 5
- The Cardinals purchased the contract of right-handed relief pitcher Fernando Salas from the Mexican League on this day in 2007. Salas is most remembered by Cardinals fans as the replacement for Ryan Franklin in the closer spot mid-season 2011. He finished the 2011 Championship Season with 24 saves.
April 6
- April 6, 1971 was the first time in the history of the franchise that the Cardinals played a regular season game on this date.
- The longest losing streak to begin a season in franchise history occurred in the first six games of the 1997 season. The Cardinals lost 3-2 to the Astros on this day in 1997, which was the sixth consecutive loss, a franchise record. The next game, on April 8, the Cardinals defeated the Expos 2-1 to end the streak.
- David Freese made his Cardinals debut on this day in 2009. He went 0-for-1 in a 6-4 loss to the Pirates.
- Mike Matheny made his managerial debut on this day in 2012. The Cardinals defeated the Brewers 11-5 at Miller Park.
April 7
- Current broadcaster Rick Horton made his Cardinals playing debut on this day in 1984. He pitched 2 1/3 innings and gave up one earned run on one hit.
- Colby Rasmus made his St. Louis debut on this day in 2009. Rasmus started in right field and went 2-for-4 with two singles and two runs scored.
April 8
- The Cardinals first wore the “Birds on the Bat” uniform in an exhibition game on this day in 1922.
- Allen Craig made his Cardinals debut on this day in 2010. He went 0-for-4 in a 2-1 loss to the Reds in Cincinnati.
- On this day in 2016, the Cardinals set a record with three pinch hit home runs in a game. In a 7-4 win over the Braves, Aledmys Diaz, Greg Garcia, and Jeremy Hazelbaker all went deep as pinch hitters.
April 9
- On this day in 1953, St. Louis Browns owner Bill Veeck sold Sportsman’s Park to Anheuser-Busch for $800,000. The ballpark was renamed Busch Stadium.
April 10
- On this date in 2006, the “Stan the Man” statute was unveiled outside Busch Stadium III.
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