Cardinals’ Opening Game Loss to Dodgers Exhibits Familiar Patterns
LOS ANGELES — A bright blue sky paired with a Dodger Blue crowd painted the scene at Chavez Ravine on Thursday afternoon, as the Hollywood-esque roster of the Los Angeles Dodgers arrived for its grand home debut. There were fireworks, celebrities, and cameras galore. The Dodgers, eager to match the hype of their home opener, delivered one epic house party. The St. Louis Cardinals, on the other hand, delivered a bust.
Adamant that their 2023 struggles are far behind them, the Cardinals’ Opening Day performance said otherwise. Miles Mikolas was tagged for five runs over 4 1/3 innings and Paul Goldschmidt was the only Cardinal who recorded a hit in St. Louis’ 7-1 loss to the Dodgers, mirroring a performance that last year’s club was all too familiar with. Mikolas took responsibility for his poor outing, stating, “I didn’t do my job today. I put us in a hole early, and then we didn’t get the bats going because we were trying to battle our way back.”
The Cardinals’ struggles began early in the game as Mikolas faced three consecutive National League MVPs in the first inning. He walked Mookie Betts on a full-count slider and Shohei Ohtani followed with a double, but was tagged out trying to advance to third. With one out and Betts on third, manager Oli Marmol opted to play in the infield. A weak but well-placed ground ball off the bat of Freddie Freeman snuck past second baseman Nolan Gorman, leading to the Dodgers’ first run. Max Muncy followed up later in the frame with a sacrifice fly, making it 2-0.
The real daggers came in the bottom of the third inning when Betts ambushed Mikolas on the first pitch, a sinker that didn’t sink, and Freeman followed with a two-run blast. The long balls charged Dodger Stadium and deflated the Cardinals dugout. The combination of Tyler Glasnow and reliever Ryan Yarbough held St. Louis to just three hits, all by Goldschmidt, including a solo shot in the fourth.
While Opening Day tends to elicit overreactions, one game out of 162 is not a feasible sample size. However, Thursday’s game brought some unnerving déjà vu for the Cardinals who are hoping to return to the playoffs this season. If they want to achieve their aspirations, they must string together much more competitive performances. Opening against one of baseball’s best lineups, the Cardinals will at least know what it will take to be competitive this year.
The Cardinals’ roster on Opening Day was not what they had envisioned, with key players like Sonny Gray, Tommy Edman, Lars Nootbaar, Dylan Carlson, and Keynan Middleton all injured. They will rely on rookies at critical defensive positions and need bounce-back years from Goldschmidt and Nolan Arenado. However, quality starting pitching will be crucial for their success, which was lacking in Thursday afternoon’s game.
Manager Oli Marmol remains optimistic about the team’s offense, stating, “The offense will come together. Today wasn’t the day for it. Their pitchers did a really nice job, Glasnow did a really nice job. It’s going to be a dogfight. Today was tough for the offense. We’ll get some rest and do it all over again tomorrow.”
It’s clear that the Cardinals have a long road ahead of them if they want to move past their struggles from last season and make it back to the playoffs. The remaining 161 games will be crucial in determining their future success.
In conclusion, the St. Louis Cardinals’ Opening Day loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers exhibited familiar patterns of struggles that plagued them in the previous season. While it is just one game out of 162, the Cardinals must address their pitching and offensive woes if they want to achieve their goal of returning to the playoffs. With injured players and rookies filling critical positions, the Cardinals will need strong performances from their key players like Paul Goldschmidt and Nolan Arenado. It remains to be seen whether they can bounce back from this disappointing start and show promise for the future.