The St. Louis Cardinals came from behind to defeat the Tampa Bay Rays 9-7 on Opening Day at Busch Stadium. Prospect JJ Wetherholt marked his MLB debut with a solo home run and a sacrifice fly. The Cardinals erupted for eight runs in the sixth inning to secure the victory.
ST. LOUIS -- In a thrilling Opening Day matchup at Busch Stadium, the St. Louis Cardinals rallied past the Tampa Bay Rays 9-7 on Thursday. Cardinals No. 1 prospect JJ Wetherholt made an immediate impact in his big-league debut, leading off the bottom of the third with a solo home run off Rays pitcher Drew Rasmussen. The 425-foot blast, clocked at 101.7 mph exit velocity, gave St. Louis a 1-0 lead and marked the first time a Cardinal homered in his MLB debut on Opening Day in 69 years, since Bobby Smith against the Cincinnati Redlegs in 1957. It was Wetherholt's first big-league hit. After popping out in his first at-bat to Rays center fielder Cedric Mullins, Wetherholt added a sacrifice fly in the sixth inning for his second RBI, cutting the deficit to 7-6. The top of the sixth proved pivotal, as three Cardinals relievers allowed six Tampa Bay runs. But the bottom half saw St. Louis explode for eight runs on eight hits, including a two-run homer by Alec Burleson, a bunt single by Victor Scott II, and sacrifice flies from Wetherholt and Iván Herrera. This flipped a six-run deficit into a two-run lead in an inning where both teams scored at least six runs -- only the second such occurrence on Opening Day, per Elias, matching an 1890 game between the Boston Beaneaters and Brooklyn Bridegrooms. Manager Oliver Marmol slotted the 23-year-old Wetherholt at leadoff after an impressive spring, where he posted a .386 on-base percentage. “I think it’s fun, man,” Marmol said before the game. “Kid’s going to debut. We are in a new chapter of the overall story of the Cardinals. Pretty damn cool for him to be able to get in the box and lead off for us.” President of baseball operations Chaim Bloom added, “He never gave us any reason to think that he shouldn’t be there.” Masyn Winn batted cleanup, with Iván Herrera in the two-hole to break up lefties Wetherholt and Alec Burleson.