Thursday’s Opening Day matchup at Busch Stadium will mark the beginning of a new era for both the Rays and Cardinals.
For Tampa Bay, it is the start of a new season under new ownership after two decades with Stuart Sternberg at the helm. The group of players that lines up for the anthem at Busch Stadium will look different, sure, but don’t expect many changes in terms of the baseball operations leadership of president Erik Neander and manager Kevin Cash. The real changes are likely to take place off the field as the club pushes for a new long-term ballpark while moving back into its longtime home of Tropicana Field.
For St. Louis, it’s time to embark on a rebuild under president of baseball operations Chaim Bloom, who began his front-office career with the Rays and spent years working alongside Neander. This undertaking is bound to take time, putting Cardinals fans used to National League Central dominance in an unusual spot, but there will be excitement along the way. This is when you learn to love young players going at max effort, determined to show what they can do and establish themselves as key parts of the future.
It all begins Thursday afternoon. A new season, with new beginnings.
When is the game, and how can I watch it?
First pitch at Busch Stadium is set for Thursday at 4:15 p.m. ET/3:15 CT.
Rays: The Rays have launched Rays.TV, their new direct-to-consumer streaming platform for in-market games. As of Monday, details were still being finalized regarding how fans in the Tampa Bay area with existing cable/satellite/Internet subscriptions will be able to watch games this season. Out-of-market fans can tune in via MLB.TV.
Cardinals: There's a new way to catch the Cardinals on TV all season long! As always, you can watch Cardinals.TV presented by bet365 through your preferred TV provider (to be announced soon). Or you can subscribe directly to Cardinals.TV presented by bet365 through the MLB app and stream every game on your smart TV or smart phone -- without blackouts (subject to national exclusivities).
All out-of-market games are available live or on demand in the US on MLB.TV (subject to blackouts and other restrictions). Live games are also available in select countries outside the US. A full list of available games can be found here.
Who are the starting pitchers?
Rays: Right-hander Drew Rasmussen (10-5, 2.76 ERA in 2025) will make his first career Opening Day start after a stellar return to the rotation last season. Rasmussen set career-high marks for innings (150) and starts (31) while earning his first All-Star nod and finishing ninth in the American League Cy Young Award voting. Rasmussen should have looser restrictions on his workload this year, although he’s still unlikely to surpass 170 innings. Rasmussen will be the 18th Opening Day starter in team history and the seventh in the past eight years.
Cardinals: Left-hander Matthew Liberatore (8-12, 4.21 ERA in 2025) is 26 years old and suddenly became the top starter in the Cards' rotation after St. Louis traded Sonny Gray to the Red Sox for prospects and Miles Mikolas became a free agent (and signed with Washington) this offseason. Being No. 1 isn’t in name only. Liberatore earned the spot by allowing only two free passes in 15 innings in Spring Training. Liberatore explained that his experience in the bullpen in 2024 taught him how to limit walks.
What might the starting lineups look like?
Rays: The Rays are likely to lean heavily into their platoon matchups this season, and that starts on Opening Day. With the lefty Liberatore starting for St. Louis, Cash can slot in Ben Williamson for Richie Palacios at second base, Jonny DeLuca (or Ryan Vilade) for Jake Fraley in right field and Nick Fortes behind the plate. The order will be interesting, because the Rays will presumably want to set up some left-handed hitters for late-game at-bats.
- Yandy Díaz, DH
- Jonathan Aranda, 1B
- Junior Caminero, 3B
- Cedric Mullins, CF
- Williamson, 2B
- DeLuca, RF
- Chandler Simpson, LF
- Fortes, C
- Carson Williams, SS
Cardinals: The Cardinals are entering a rebuilding year following an offseason that saw veterans Nolan Arenado, Willson Contreras, Sonny Gray and Brendan Donovan traded for prospects. Bloom said there is going to be a process the team is going to adhere to. The Cardinals are going to stick with young players throughout the season and beyond. The energy in the clubhouse and on the field indicate that they are going to win more than they lose.
- Masyn Winn, SS
- JJ Wetherholt, 2B
- Iván Herrera, DH
- Alec Burleson, 1B
- Nolan Gorman, 3B
- Jordan Walker, RF
- Nathan Church, LF
- Pedro Pagés, C
- Victor Scott II, CF
How will the bullpens line up after the starter?
Rays: This will be a running question for the Rays, as they are moving back to a leverage-by-committee approach after cutting ties with former closer Pete Fairbanks. Expect right-hander Griffin Jax and lefty Garrett Cleavinger to handle the biggest situations, with righty Bryan Baker joining the established group of late-inning options. Rasmussen and starters Steven Matz and Shane McClanahan likely won’t work too deep into games in the early going, so expect the Rays to make good use of their multi-inning relievers like Mason Englert and Ian Seymour.
Cardinals: Ryne Stanek and George Soriano are a couple of the newcomers to the bullpen, but manager Oliver Marmol declined to say who his closer will be. He said the game will dictate who pitches in the late innings. Last year, after Ryan Helsley was dealt to the Mets at the Trade Deadline, JoJo Romero was the main man during that last inning, saving eight games.
Any injuries of note?
Rays: The Rays will start the season without right-handed relievers Edwin Uceta (right shoulder), Steven Wilson (back) and Manuel Rodríguez (right forearm/elbow), although Uceta and Wilson may not miss much time. Shortstop Taylor Walls (right oblique) will also begin the season on the injured list and could be out the first three to four weeks of the season, and second baseman Gavin Lux (right shoulder impingement) will join him on the IL. Ryan Pepiot (right hip inflammation) was a late addition to the IL, forcing the Rays to recall Joe Boyle and shuffle their rotation order.
Cardinals: Since he arrived in camp in February, Lars Nootbaar has been swinging the bat and throwing the baseball. However, he still has to show the club that he can run the bases and play left field at full speed. Nootbaar started his running progression Friday, but no date has been set on when he will return to the lineup. Nootbaar underwent offseason surgery in October to address Haglund’s deformities in both heels, which caused irritation and pain where the Achilles tendon attaches to the heel. Nootbaar doesn’t know how the injuries came about. He believes normal wear and tear caused the problems. The heel injuries affected his ability to run the bases and have a “normal everyday life.”
Who is hot and who is not?
Rays: A handful of key Rays hitters had good springs at the plate, for whatever Grapefruit League performance may be worth: Díaz, Fraley, Williamson, Aranda, Mullins and Simpson. Caminero dominated in the World Baseball Classic. On the pitching front, Jax and Cleavinger looked great at and before/after the WBC, and relievers like Englert and Seymour also stood out. Rasmussen’s spring was stellar until his final start. Arguably nobody had a more encouraging spring than McClanahan, but Matz would be in the conversation, too. Hunter Feduccia didn’t put up great numbers, and Game 4 starter Nick Martinez got hit hard in his last few outings.
Cardinals: Wetherholt, the Cardinals’ No. 1 prospect and No. 5 overall per MLB Pipeline, has lived up to the billing during the exhibition season and, on Monday, Marmol named Wetherholt the Opening Day second baseman against the Rays. He is expected to be the team’s leadoff hitter or bat second because of his patience at the plate. Walker and Gorman were showing signs of life late in Spring Training. Hopefully, the bats will continue to stay consistent during the regular season.
Anything else fans might want to know?
• This is only the eighth time in franchise history that the Rays are opening the season on the road. They previously did so in 1999-2000, 2006-09 and ‘21. Repair work at Tropicana Field is being completed ahead of the Rays’ April 6 home opener against the Cubs.
• There’s not much shared history between the Rays and the Cardinals on the field, but Tampa Bay holds a 15-13 edge in the all-time series. The Rays won two of three during a series at George M. Steinbrenner Field last August, while the Cardinals won a three-game series at Busch Stadium in August 2024.
• The Cardinals are 5-5 in their past 10 Opening Day games. During that period, they have employed three managers: Mike Matheny, Mike Shildt and Marmol.