Cardinals Take Rain-Delayed Opener Over Twins, 5-3

ST. LOUIS (AP) — Lars Nootbaar homered, and Sonny Gray delivered a solid five-inning performance as the St. Louis Cardinals secured a 5-3 victory over the Minnesota Twins in their rain-delayed season opener Thursday.

Nolan Arenado also went deep for St. Louis, thrilling the home crowd with a late-game blast. The start of the game was delayed by 1 hour and 38 minutes due to rain.

Former Cardinal Harrison Bader provided some offense for Minnesota, launching a two-run homer against his old team.

Nootbaar set the tone early, crushing a two-run shot off Pablo López in the second inning to give the Cardinals a 4-0 lead.

Gray, who previously pitched for the Twins from 2022-23, allowed two runs on four hits while striking out six. He threw 77 pitches, 49 of them for strikes.

The Cardinals’ bullpen held strong, surrendering just one run over four innings. Closer Ryan Helsley locked down the save.

Bader’s home run off Gray in the fifth inning cut the Cardinals’ lead to 4-2, but Arenado responded in the eighth, blasting a solo shot to extend St. Louis’ advantage to 5-3. The veteran third baseman, who declined an offseason trade to Houston, took a curtain call from the sellout crowd.

A key defensive play by rookie outfielder Victor Scott II helped preserve the lead. In the sixth inning, with two runners on, Scott tracked down a deep fly ball from Ty France, making a backhanded catch near the warning track to save two potential runs.

Gray entered the season after a rough spring training, posting an 0-3 record with a 12.56 ERA and allowing eight home runs in just 14 1/3 innings. However, he looked sharp in the opener, retiring the side in order in three of his first four innings.

Up Next:
Minnesota’s Joe Ryan (7-7, 3.60 ERA in 2023) will take the mound against St. Louis’ Erick Fedde (9-9, 3.30 ERA last season) when the three-game series continues Saturday afternoon.