The St. Louis Cardinals and Cincinnati Reds began their 2021 MLB seasons at Great American Ball Park on Thursday afternoon (GameTracker). The National League Central rivals figured to match up nicely, but the Cardinals' bats broke loose immediately. In the first inning, the Cardinals as a team, scored six runs on four hits. Right-hander Luis Castillo was on the mound for the Reds, though two runs were scored on Eugenio Suarez's fielding error. Here's how it all went down:
- Paul Goldschmidt hits a double to deep right field (initially a home run before the call was overturned)
- Nolan Arenado gets his first hit as a Cardinal with an infield single up the middle
- Paul DeJong singles to right, Goldschmidt scores, 1-0
- Tyler O'Neil hit by pitch
- Yadier Molina safe at first on Suarez's fielding error, DeJong and Arenado scored, 3-0
- Dylan Carlson home run, Molina and O'Neill scored, 6-0
The Cardinals are no strangers to getting the offense firing on all cylinders early to start a ballgame; they set the postseason record by scoring 10 runs in the first inning of NLDS Game 5 against the Atlanta Braves in 2019. But in this case, it was the Carlson homer that really blew this Opening Day matinee wide open.
For Castillo, an All-Star in 2019 who posted a 3.21 ERA and 1.23 WHIP over 70 innings during 12 starts last year, he just didn't look like he had his stuff in Thursday's opener. But the bigger area of concern for the Reds would be Suarez's performance at shortstop. Sure, it's extremely early in the season, but Suarez -- a natural third baseman -- didn't look comfortable at short and picked up two errors after two innings. He did begin his MLB career at the position, but has only made two starts at shortstop in the past five seasons prior to 2021 Opening Day.
The Suarez move was spurred by the Reds decision to move Mike Moustakas back to his original and presumably better defensive position of third base this season. Kyle Farmer and Dee Strange-Gordon file in as depth behind Suarez at shortstop.
In 2021, the Reds are looking to earn a second straight playoff berth while the Cardinals are trying to return to the top of the division after the Cubs took the crown in the abbreviated 2020 season.
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April 02, 2021 at 05:22AM
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MLB Opening Day: Cardinals start 2021 season with six-run first inning vs. Reds - CBS Sports
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