ST. LOUIS — The St. Louis Cardinals opened the 2023 Major League Baseball season against the Toronto Blues Jays at Busch Stadium.
Cardinals starting pitcher Miles Mikolas did not have the start he wanted for the 2023 season. The 34-year-old pitched 3.1 innings and gave up a total of four runs in his opening-day debut.
Nolan Arenado recorded the Cardinals' first RBI after a line drive single to left field that scored Brendan Donovan in the bottom of the first inning.
A historic moment came in the second inning when 20-year-old Jordan Walker stepped up to the plate. Walker singled on a sharp ground ball to center field for his first hit in the Major Leagues.
Tyler O'Neill hit a two-run homer in the bottom of the third and Brendan Donovan did the same the next inning, tying the game up at 5-5.
Toronto Blue Jay's pitcher Alek Manoah exited the game after pitching 3.1 innings and giving up a total of five runs.
Jordan Walker's first Major League RBI came with the bases loaded in the bottom of the seventh, giving the Cardinals a 7-6 lead. A ground ball to Toronto's shortstop Bo Bichette drove in Willson Contreras and Walker beat out the play at first to avoid a double play.
The Cardinals would relinquish the lead the next inning after a two-run single from Vladimir Guerro Jr, Toronot led 8-7.
The back-and-forth game would continue in the bottom of the eighth when Nolan Arenado hit a two-run double to take back the lead, 9-8.
Another lead change would come in the top of the ninth when Toronto would score two and would lead 10-9.
The Cardinals would not complete a comeback in the bottom of the ninth, dropping their first game of the season.
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