Diamondbacks at Cardinals
After winning three of the final four contests of their season-opening six-game road trip, the St. Louis Cardinals will turn to a reliable arm when they play their home opener Thursday against the Arizona Diamondbacks. Adam Wainwright, who is beginning his 13th season with St. Louis, will be activated from the disabled list to make the start after the team concluded its trek with a 6-0 triumph in Milwaukee on Wednesday.
Yadier Molina belted his third homer of the young season and Carlos Martinez struck out 10 while coming within two outs of a complete-game shutout for the Cardinals, who have outscored their opponents 23-10 over their last four games. Arizona also is coming off a shutout victory as it completed a three-game sweep of the Los Angeles Dodgers on Wednesday with a 3-0 triumph. Patrick Corbin, who retired the first 14 batters he faced, recorded a career-high 12 strikeouts over 7 1/3 innings and recorded two hits - one more than Los Angeles. Paul Goldschmidt drove in a run but was hitless in three at-bats and is just 1-for-17 on the season.
TV: 7:15 p.m. ET, MLB Network, FS Arizona, FS Midwest (St. Louis)
PITCHING MATCHUP: Diamondbacks LH Robbie Ray (1-0, 10.80 ERA) vs. Cardinals RH Adam Wainwright (2017: 12-5, 5.11)
Ray was aided by his offense in his season debut on Friday as he picked up the win despite surrendering seven runs - six earned - and seven hits over five innings. The 26-year-old Tennessean recorded eight strikeouts but issued three walks and served up three home runs. Ray has yet to defeat St. Louis in his career, going 0-2 with a 6.52 ERA in three starts.
Wainwright will be making his first appearance of the year after being sidelined with a strained left hamstring. The 36-year-old Georgian finished last season strong, going 5-0 with a 4.21 ERA over his final 10 games - nine starts and a two-inning relief stint at Pittsburgh on Sept. 23 in his final appearance of 2017. Wainwright has pitched well against Arizona during his career as he is 8-4 with one shutout and a 2.72 ERA in 14 games (11 starts).
WALK-OFFS
1. Cardinals SS Paul DeJong has hit safely in all six games this season, going 10-for-22 with three homers and five RBIs after a two-hit performance on Wednesday.
2. Arizona OF Chris Owings is riding a five-game hitting streak during which he has gone 6-for-17 with a blast and four RBIs.
3. St. Louis optioned rookie RHP Jack Flaherty to Triple-A Memphis to make room on the roster for Wainwright.