Any Toronto Blue Jays Opening Day are special. Whether it’s someone who’s getting their chance at the spotlight for the first time, or a veteran who’s done it more than once before. Now that we are hours away from first pitch, the Blue Jays open up an 11-game road trip as they visit the St. Louis Cardinals. To prepare for the showdown, here’s everything to know about the starters before first pitch is at 4:10 p.m. EST.
Blue Jays Opening Day 2023
Blue Jays Starter: Alek Manoah
Alek Manoah on Opening Day:
“I think I’m going to be super excited because Spring Training is over… Tomorrow starts our journey.” #BlueJays pic.twitter.com/1LzkA49tTr
— Keegan Matheson (@KeeganMatheson) March 29, 2023
Alek Manoah gets the ball for the Blue Jays this year. His sophomore season was something else, an All-Star selection that followed with a third-place finish in the AL Cy Young Award voting. Coming off a 2.24 ERA last season, the 24-year-old will be the 10th different Opening Day starter for Toronto since 2010. José Berríos drew the start on Opening Day for Toronto in 2022.
Manoah’s Opening Day start is almost two years after his MLB debut. It’s a reminder of how rapid his transition from the minors to the majors has been since the Blue Jays took him 11th overall in the 2019 MLB Draft.
Cardinals Starter: Miles Mikolas
“I couldn’t be more excited” – Miles Mikolas #STLCards pic.twitter.com/ahrC2toxiV
— Ben Frederickson (@Ben_Fred) March 24, 2023
It was supposed to be Adam Wainwright’s final Opening Day start of his career. However, Wainright’s recent injury forced the Cardinals to go with Miles Mikolas, who gets the ball for his second career Opening Day start. The right-hander is fresh off receiving a two-year contract extension last week. The 34-year-old mostly pitched against teams top pitchers including Max Scherzer while facing Corbin Burnes more than once. Mikolas will continue the Cardinals stretch run of right-handers starting for the opener. Donovan Osborne was the last left-handed pitcher to start for St. Louis in a season opener.
He’s 45-40 with a 3.73 ERA in 143 career games with the San Diego Padres, Texas Rangers and Cardinals. He threw six shutout innings in two appearances for Team USA at the World Baseball Classic.
Blue Jays vs. Cardinals Prediction
FanDuel Sportsbook has the Cardinala as +1.5 underdogs against the Blue Jays who are favored at -1.5.
Score preditction: 7-6 Cardinals.
Photo Credit: © Nathan Ray Seebeck-USA TODAY Sports
Players mentioned:
Alek Manoah, José Berríos, Miles Mikolas, Adam Wainwright, Max Scherzer, Corbin Burnes, Donovan Osborne
