Worth noting

• Triple-A Memphis opens its season on Thursday, but those wanting to get their first glimpse of pitching prospect Michael Wacha will have to wait until Saturday to do so. Wacha, the Cardinals' top pick from the 2012 First-Year Player Draft who shined in Spring Training, will make his Triple-A debut in the third game of the Redbirds' season.

Righty John Gast will start Memphis' opener; Seth Maness, who was named the organization's pitcher of the year in 2012, gets the nod for the second game. Left-handers Tyler Lyons and Nick Additon round out the Triple-A rotation.

• Prior to Tuesday's game, manager Mike Matheny lauded the extended at-bats that Arizona took during the middle innings of Monday's game, noting that the approach looked much like the one the Cardinals preach. Perhaps, that's because the D-backs have used St. Louis as a model club.

After watching the quality of the Cardinals' at-bats in Game 5 of the National League Division Series last October, Arizona manager Kirk Gibson told MLB.com that he was struck by the right combination of plate discipline, aggressiveness and patience the Cardinals showed.

"I thought that [ninth] inning as I looked at it [and] I was like, 'Yeah, that's it, that's good stuff,'" Gibson said. "It was certainly something that I looked and said that's really what you're trying to accomplish. They were down to their last strike."

• With his start on Monday, Pete Kozma became the seventh different shortstop the Cardinals have had start on Opening Day over the last seven years. The previous six include: Rafael Furcal, Ryan Theriot, Brendan Ryan, Khalil Green, Cesar Izturis and David Eckstein.