Tyler O’Neill hit a three-run home run and drove in five runs Thursday to power the St. Louis Cardinals to a 9-0 Opening Day victory over the visiting Pittsburgh Pirates.
Nolan Arenado hit a two-run homer and Tommy Edman added a solo blast for the Cardinals.
Adam Wainwright (1-0) gave up five hits with no walks and six strikeouts over six scoreless innings. Nick Wittgren, Genesis Cabrera and Ryan Helsley each added a scoreless inning to complete the shutout.
Wainwright made in his 305th career start with catcher Yadier Molina, who made his 18th Opening Day start. Wainwright improved to 22-7 in his career against the Pirates.
The Pirates had a difficult game all-around. Starting pitcher JT Brubaker (0-1) gave up four runs on four hits with three walks and two strikeouts over three innings.
Six Pirates pitchers issued seven walks, while Pittsburgh committed two errors and lost third baseman Ke’Bryan Hayes (left hand and forearm cramping) and reliever Duane Underwood Jr. (right hamstring discomfort) to injuries during the game.
Hayes left in the first inning after he tried to make a diving catch on Dylan Carlson’s wind-whipped pop-up double down the left field line. Hayes, who agreed to a reported eight-year, $70 million extension before the game, missed time last season with a left wrist injury.
Underwood, the third of the six Pirates pitchers, left during the sixth inning without retiring a batter.
The Cardinals broke out on top 1-0 in the first inning. After Carlson’s leadoff double, Paul Goldschmidt drew the first of his four walks and O’Neill smashed an RBI single up the middle.
O’Neill pushed the lead to 4-0 in the second inning. After Harrison Bader hit leadoff single and Goldschmidt drew a two-out walk, O’Neill drove his homer into the left-field seats.
The Cardinals made it 5-0 in the sixth. Bader hit leadoff double, moved up on Edman’s groundout and scored on Carlson’s sacrifice fly.
Edman’s homer, O’Neill’s sacrifice fly and Arenado’s two-run homer in the eighth inning made it 9-0.
–Field Level Media