Still Standing: Nootbaar, Arenado Blast Homers In Cardinals' Opening Day Win

ST. LOUIS — The most stagnant Cardinals off-season in recent memory lasted about 90 minutes longer than intended as afternoon rain showers Thursday didn't clear out of downtown St. Louis in time for Opening Day to unfold on schedule.

But the Cardinals fans who sat through the weather were treated to a 5-3 win under the Busch Stadium sky as the Cardinals handled the Twins behind a persistent offense and solid season debut from Sonny Gray.

The Standouts

• Lars Nootbaar (STL): 2-for-4, HR, 2 R, 2 RBI
• Nolan Arenado (STL): 2-for-4, HR
• Harrison Bader (MIN): 2-for-4, HR, 2 RBI
• Sonny Gray (STL): 5.0 IP, 2 ER, 4 H, 6 K

The Moments That Mattered

The Lumber: Lars Nootbaar cranked a pull-side home run out of the park to right field in the second inning, plating Jordan Walker to put the Cardinals’ up, 3-0.

"A little premature curtain call, I think it was the second inning, right?" Nootbaar said after the fans called him back out to be recognized after his homer. "So I did it, but I was like, okay, a little early for that thing. But pretty cool. It was my first one here at Busch so it's something I'll ever forget."

The Leather: Victor Scott II showed off elite range in the sixth inning when he sprinted nearly 100 feet to track down a fly ball deep into the right-center field gap—without ever leaving his feet.

The Delivery: Sonny Gray dotted up Ryan Jeffers with a 90-mph pitch on the outside corner for his fourth strikeout of the day, then proceeded to set down Ty France on three pitches to end the bottom of the fourth inning.

Gray capped the France sequence with a wicked sweeper off the plate. Through four frames on 61 pitches, Gray's efficiency was a welcomed sign after a turbulent spring training.

"If you look at, who are the St. Louis Cardinals? I feel like that game can embody who were are and who we want to be," Gray said of the club's complete team effort in Thursday's win.

On The Move: Lars Nootbaar challenged Twins starter Pablo Lopez early, attempting to swipe second base after his single led off the bottom of the first inning. Lopez would have had Nootbaar pinned half-way between the bags, but he failed to stop his motion toward home plate in time and was charged with a balk.

"Yeah," Nootbaar grinned when asked if he was relieved by the balk call. "Short answer, yes."

The aggressive base-running led to the Cardinals' first run of the season when Brendan Donovan poked an RBI single just off Willi Castro's leather.

The Cardinals were apparently intent upon exploiting the Minnesota starter, as Jordan Walker later tested Lopez on a similar read. Lopez stopped his delivery in time, but sailed the throw into center field, allowing Walker to take second.

The Fulcrum

Still Here, Baby!: After it seemed for a while this winter like a foregone conclusion that Nolan Arenado would end up playing, well, anywhere else in 2025, the eight-time All-Star slugged an Opening Day home run that gave the St. Louis bullpen a little more room to breathe in the bottom of the eighth inning.

Arenado took his curtain call and leaned into the moment, cupping his hand around his ear to inspire more cheers from the Busch Stadium crowd before gesturing to his heart and extending it out to Cardinal Nation.

Five Cardinal relievers navigated the final four innings of the game while allowing only one run, so Arenado's insurance blast didn't technically swing the game. But it served as a keystone moment to open a season in which the veteran third baseman—still present in St. Louis—could have a role in swinging the season beyond the muted expectations of this baseball-crazed town.

Around The Horn

New Digs: Willson Contreras chased a pop-up down the right-field line, knowing it was the out that Sonny Gray needed to escape a bases-loaded jam in the second.

He lost his hat as he tracked the ball, but was fired up to have made the play—his first test as a full-time first baseman.

Wrong Truck! As the Cardinals leadoff man in Thursday's lineup, Lars Nootbaar knew pretty early in the process that he was in the wrong truck during the pre-game festivities when he saw multiple relievers still behind him in the procession—the bullpen gets announced before the starting lineup.

Yet, by the time that truck pulled toward home plate, he hadn't budged.

"I see (Ryan) Fernandez behind me and I asked him in right field, like, listen, do you want to get out and switch?" Nootbaar explained. "And he was like, no, no, no. And then as soon as I got over here, it was a disaster. But we recovered. That's all that matters."

Boo Watch? The Clydesdales made their trip around the field in the rain with the tarp still on the field, but the rest of the Opening Day ceremonies waited for the skies to clear.

Bill DeWitt Jr. and Bill DeWitt III heard a smattering of boos upon their introductions. There were some sustained boos rained upon John Mozeliak's intro, which was saved for the end of the pre-game festivities.

In his final Opening Day as the Cardinals POBO, Mo was honored with a video tribute before making his way onto the field.

Extra Bases

Money Quote: Cardinals manager Oli Marmol pre-game on Victor Scott II earning a spot on the roster that not many would have anticipated right up until it happened, and the squeeze that may place on others for at-bats in the daily lineup.

“Sure, it takes at-bats away from somebody, but that’s the whole point of there not being a level above this one,” Marmol said. “This isn’t just free opportunity. It’s the damn big leagues. You earn it. You run with it, and if you never look back, good for you. It’s at somebody’s expense, but when they get an opportunity, they’ve got to run with it, too."

In The Crowd: The loudest ovation during the pre-game ceremonies went to Hall of Fame shortstop Ozzie Smith. Believe it or not, the second-loudest cheer went to former Cardinals outfielder Harrison Bader, who started in left field for Minnesota on Thursday. Bader homered in the fifth inning off Sonny Gray to make it a 4-2 score.

Not All Good: Evidently there was an incident with a fan ending up on the field. Nolan Arenado was asked about it post-game, and had some humorous quips about the fan who got "laid out bad" by security, but finished his discussion of the topic by saying "It's all good," before hilariously realizing it probably was not, in fact, all good for said fan.

"Well, he's going to jail, so it's not all good."

Don't enter the playing surface, folks!

The Perch: The Opening Day win vaults the Cardinals into first place in the NL Central as the Brewers, Reds and Pirates all lost Thursday after the Cubs lost a pair of games to the Dodgers in Japan earlier this month.

On Deck: The Cardinals get the day off Friday before returning to action Saturday, 1:15 p.m. for Game 2 against the Twins. Erick Fedde is scheduled to pitch for St. Louis, facing Minnesota's Joe Ryan.