Well, well, well. Welcome back, family. The best day of the year has finally arrived. Opening Day really gives that jolt to life that we baseball fiends feed off of.
While the result wasn’t what we were looking for, we finally have meaningful baseball games to take in.
The Cardinals begin their season with a loooooooong seven-game, west coast, trip. First on the list, those “check book boys.” I’d venture to say it wasn’t what Miles Mikolas envisioned, as Ohtani-Freeman-Smith all opened the game with hits after a Betts leadoff walk.
Ohtani would double into the RF corner, which should’ve easily scored Betts. But some confusion led to Betts getting held up at 3B, which led to Ohtani getting caught up at 3B himself.
That wouldn’t matter after Freeman delivered an rbi-single with the infield in (yes, you read that right). No idea why the infield would be in during the 1st inning and one out already, but that’s an after thought now.
Mookie Betts and Freddie Freeman got things going again in the 3rd. Betts tagged the first pitch of the inning for a solo HR to LF and Freeman took a first pitch hanging curve to CF for a two-run HR, opening it up to a 5-0 Dodgers lead.
Glasnow had it working during his six frames of work, queuing up 6k, while surrendering his only two hits to Goldy.
Let’s talk about the day Goldy had. Goldy was the only Cardinal to collect a hit, and he delivered with three of them thangs. Spring Training though, amirite?
Goldschmidt would put the only Cardinal run on the board in the top of the 4th, sending a solo jawn to LF off Glasnow to cut it to a four run game.
Victor Scott got to show off his wheels in his major league debut. Scott would reach on a throwing error from Betts in the 5th and waste no time swiping second base off Glasnow/Smith.
That little excitement was all the lineup would muster this afternoon.
After Mik’s 4.1IP (7H, 5ER, 2bb/5k), Pallante-O’Brien-Liberatore would toss the final 3.2IP.
Pallante would flash that new “death ball,” picking up a pair of strikeouts during his 1.2IP.
O’Brien had some early jitters in his appearance, walking Betts to open his frame. He’d go on to walk a pair and strikeout a pair in his inning, settling down and showing that excellent hard curveball.
Libby though, he just looks different when he comes out of the pen. He worked the only clean game of any of the four pitchers, needing just ten pitches to skate through the 8th inning.
That’s where things end for game one, with the Dodgers taking their home opener 7-1.
Tomorrow night we get Apple baseball, as Zack Thompson will take on Bobby Miller. First pitch is scheduled for 9:10pm c/t.
Cheers, Fam
Stew
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