# Opening Day Cardinal Notes - Link: https://www.nyrdcast.com/opening-day-cardinal-notes/ - Published: 2016-04-04T08:50:31-05:00 - Author: Eugene Tierney The Cardinals kicked off the MLB season on Sunday afternoon, and unfortunately, it didn’t go as planned as the team was [beat by Pittsburgh 4-1](http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/gameday/index.jsp?gid=2016_04_03_slnmlb_pitmlb_1#game=2016_04_03_slnmlb_pitmlb_1,game_state=Wrapup,game_tab=box). Here’s a few of my notes from the game. * The Cardinals struck out 14 times; 10 were to lefty starter [Francisco Liriano](http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/l/liriafr01.shtml?utm_campaign=Linker&utm_source=direct&utm_medium=linker-www.nyrdcast.com). I think the strikeouts will be a huge problem for the team this year. 9 of the 14 were tied to 4 players: [Randal Grichuk](http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/g/grichra01.shtml?utm_campaign=Linker&utm_source=direct&utm_medium=linker-www.nyrdcast.com)( 3), [Kolten Wong](http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/w/wongko01.shtml?utm_campaign=Linker&utm_source=direct&utm_medium=linker-www.nyrdcast.com), [Stephen Piscotty](http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/p/piscost01.shtml?utm_campaign=Linker&utm_source=direct&utm_medium=linker-www.nyrdcast.com), and [Matt Adams](http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/a/adamsma01.shtml?utm_campaign=Linker&utm_source=direct&utm_medium=linker-www.nyrdcast.com)( 2 each). Piscotty is the surprise, as he typically has a pretty good batting eye. * Again, the Cardinals struggled against a lefty; the Cards didn’t have a baserunner until the 3rd and have a hit until the 4th. Lefties have been an issue for a few seasons now and the team hasn’t addressed the issue. They also had bases loaded in the 4th and 6th and failed to score both times; leaving men on base has been an issue in the near past. These issues might be foreshadowing hitting problems again this season, but one game is too small of a sample size to assume this yet. * Adams didn’t start the game; he came in to start the bottom half of the second after [Tommy Pham](http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/p/phamth01.shtml?utm_campaign=Linker&utm_source=direct&utm_medium=linker-www.nyrdcast.com) left with an injured oblique. Pham has a history of injury issues, but it’s disappointing to see it pop up in the first game. Pham is headed to the DL, so we’ll see more of Adams, [Brandon Moss](http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/m/mossbr01.shtml?utm_campaign=Linker&utm_source=direct&utm_medium=linker-www.nyrdcast.com), and [Jeremy Hazelbaker](http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/h/hazelje01.shtml?utm_campaign=Linker&utm_source=direct&utm_medium=linker-www.nyrdcast.com); the Cardinals have [promoted Aledmys Diaz to take Pham’s roster spot](https://twitter.com/LangoschMLB/status/716992936374902784). * If you would have told me that Hazelbaker would have made the opening day roster, I’d say you were crazy. Sure, he hit well last season between Double A and Triple A, but a lot of guys do that. I think we’ll get a small sample of him, but he’ll be the first guy down when another reliever is needed or [Ruben Tejada](http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/t/tejadru01.shtml?utm_campaign=Linker&utm_source=direct&utm_medium=linker-www.nyrdcast.com) is back. Hazelbaker struck out in his only at bat. * Seung Hwan Oh also made his MLB debut on Sunday; he pitched an inning, striking out 2 and walking 2. He threw his fastball (4-seam, 51.9%), slider (29.6%), sinker( 2-seam fastball, 11.1%), and change (7.4%). He’s going to need to work on his control, or he’s going to struggle in the majors; while his ERA is 0.00 after the appearance, he had a xFIP of 5.31. * Finally, [Adam Wainwright](http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/w/wainwad01.shtml?utm_campaign=Linker&utm_source=direct&utm_medium=linker-www.nyrdcast.com) got off to a bit of a rough start; 2 of his 3 runs allowed were in a second inning that saw him allow 3 hits and a walk on 19 pitches. After the second, he settled down and pitched pretty well. Like Oh, he allowed 3 walks total and his 5.32 xFIP would imply the damage was limited (his ERA was 4.50). He also received a quality start, which is the dumbest stat in MLB history. Typically, my Cardinal stuff is at the [Cards Conclave](http://www.cardsconclave.com/), but I plan on doing more of it for Nyrdcast; I’ll still be writing there, but what’s the point of having this site if we’re not using it? ### Share this: * [ Facebook ](https://www.nyrdcast.com/opening-day-cardinal-notes/?share=facebook) * [ X ](https://www.nyrdcast.com/opening-day-cardinal-notes/?share=x) * [ Email ](https://www.nyrdcast.com/opening-day-cardinal-notes/?subject=%5BShared%20Post%5D%20Opening%20Day%20Cardinal%20Notes&body=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nyrdcast.com%2Fopening-day-cardinal-notes%2F&share=email) * [ LinkedIn ](https://www.nyrdcast.com/opening-day-cardinal-notes/?share=linkedin) * [ Mastodon ](https://www.nyrdcast.com/opening-day-cardinal-notes/?share=mastodon) * [ Nextdoor ](https://www.nyrdcast.com/opening-day-cardinal-notes/?share=nextdoor) * [ Pinterest ](https://www.nyrdcast.com/opening-day-cardinal-notes/?share=pinterest) * [ Reddit ](https://www.nyrdcast.com/opening-day-cardinal-notes/?share=reddit) * [ Tumblr ](https://www.nyrdcast.com/opening-day-cardinal-notes/?share=tumblr) ### Like this: Like Loading… ### _Related_