It took a few hours, a smattering of strikeouts, and the departure of one dominant starter, but the gravitational force of Cardinals opening day eventually found newcomer Nolan Arenado.
It potential of the moment didn’t disappoint because neither did he.
In his first home game and first home opener as a Cardinal, Arenado upended a game dictated by the Milwaukee Brewers with a two-run homer in the eighth inning that sent him to his first curtain call and the Cardinals to a 3-1 victory. A crowd of 13,328 – the first fans to see the Cardinals play in person since October 2019 – gave Arenado a rousing ovation, and teammates pointed to the stairs for what’s become a signature of Busch Stadium: the curtain call. Arenado had no helmet to wave, only a scream and a clenched fist to pump.
All three of the Cardinals’ runs came in their final two at-bats, their two innings after Brewers starter Corbin Burnes yielded a one-hitter to the bullpen.
The Cardinals tied the game in the seventh on a defensive hesitation by the Brewers, and that turned the lineup over so that Arenado came up in the eighth.
The entire day had been spiced with welcome-home elements for the prized acquisition of the Cardinals’ offseason. He was cheered as his truck made the rounds before the game, an ovation welcomed him to the field as he was introduced, and he was part of the ceremonial first pitch. Arenado trotted out to center field to catch a lob from Cardinals Hall of Famer and fellow sublime third baseman Scott Rolen. For Arenado’s first at-bat there was the expected standing ovation. It went on for nearly 40 seconds before he stepped into the box to get to work.
He popped up.
Burnes struck him out in the fourth, and he grounded out in the seventh. Through three at-bats in his new home ballpark, Arenado had yet to get a ball to the outfield.
Technically, he still hasn’t.
In the eighth, pinch-hitter Austin Dean took a walk from reliever Drew Rasmussen. Arenado tagged the first pitch he saw over the outfield and into the left-field seats. The homer was Arenado’s second of the young season – and it made his team a winner in his first game at Busch Stadium. That is, after all why he requested a trade from Colorado – to play for a winner.
Alex Reyes closed out the game for his third save in three appearances and his third save of the week. The win went to Giovanny Gallegos, who has been the Cardinals’ most impressive reliever in the first seven games of the season.
The Cardinals spent a lot of the game meandering offensively, looking for such direction. They struck out 12 times in the game. A leadoff triple to start the game resulted in zero runs when the Cardinals were unable to put a ball in play that brought that runner home. Paul Goldschmidt was missing from the lineup due to lower back stiffness, and that may have sidetracked the offense.
Milwaukee put a spotlight on the Cardinals’ struggles in the seventh.
The Brewers dared Tyler O’Neill to change the game.
The Cardinals’ left fielder had struck out in both of his at-bats against Burnes, and he struck out in five of his previous six at-bats as he came to the on-deck circle in the seventh. Brewers reliever Eric Yardley retired the first two batters he faced of the inning until Yadier Molina struck with a single to right field. Rookie Dylan Carlson followed with his fourth hit of the season – and his first that wasn’t a home run. Carlson’s double into right field was not enough to score Molina from first, and that left first base open.
Yardley tested rookie Justin Williams to see if he might go fishing after two pitches wide of the strike zone.
Williams did.
Yardley didn’t bother throwing the next two pitches and gave away the strategy – Milwaukee wanted the matchup of the sidearm-slinging righthander against the righthanded-hitting O’Neill, not the lefthanded-hitting Williams.
With two outs and the bases loaded in a one-run game, the Brewers saw O’Neill as their escape route to the eighth inning.
He wasn’t.
With a little help from Kolten Wong’s replacement.
A decision in the seventh to face O’Neill may have been compromised by a possible injury substitution to start the inning. The Brewers opted to remove Wong – a Gold Glove winner with the Cardinals at second base – who has been bothered by an oblique issue. That put Daniel Robertson at second base, and that’s where O’Neill put a hard grounder, right into the shift. Robertson fielded the ball cleanly, but when he took a stride toward second found Williams was already sliding in safe. That hesitation allowed O’Neill to beat the throw to first for an infield single.
Molina scored from third to tie the game, 1-1.
That moment erased six superb innings by Brewers starter Burnes, one of the finest pitchers in the National League who doesn’t have the Cy Young hype (but probably should). He overwhelmed the Cardinals, starting from the first inning and continuing through the sixth. Tommy Edman laced a triple on Burnes’ ninth pitch of the game. Another Cardinal did not reach base until Burnes hit a batter with his 49th pitch. The righthander allowed as many hits (one) as batters he hit (one), and he struck out nine while not allowing a single walk.
Burnes’ one-hitter through six included a stretch where he struck out five consecutive Cardinals on a total of 20 pitches.
He got 18 swings and misses on his way to a one-hitter through six.
Wainwright, in the sixth home-opener start of his career, kept pace by keeping the Brewers subdued despite some lengthy innings. Starting with a walk to former teammate Wong, Wainwright had to deal with the bases loaded. He was rescued from giving up any runs by a running, reaching catch in deep center field by Carlson. The Cardinals’ rookie, sprinting and extending but never leaving his feet, tracked down a line drive hit by Lorenzo Cain that saved three runs.
