Arenado homers and Gray pitches Cardinals past Twins 5-3 in rain-delayed
opener
[March 28, 2025]
ST. LOUIS (AP) — Lars Nootbaar homered and Sonny Gray pitched
five solid innings to help the St. Louis Cardinals to a 5-3 win over the
Minnesota Twins in their rain-delayed opener Thursday.
Nolan Arenado also went deep for the Cardinals late in the game. The
first pitch was pushed back by 1 hour, 38 minutes.
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The Budweiser Clydesdales participates in opening day festivities before
abaseball game between the St. Louis Cardinals and the Minnesota Twins,
Thursday, March 27, 2025 in St. Louis. (AP Photo/Michael Thomas) |
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Harrison Bader hit a two-run shot for Minnesota
against his former team.
Nootbaar slammed a two-run drive off Pablo Lopez in the second
inning to stake the Cardinals to a 4-0 lead.
Gray allowed two runs and four hits. He struck out six and threw
49 strikes in his 77-pitch outing. Gray pitched for the Twins
from 2022-23.
The Cardinals' bullpen gave up just one run over four innings.
Ryan Helsley earned the save.
Bader played parts of six seasons (2017-22) with the Cardinals.
He homered off Gray in the fifth to cut it to 4-2.
Arenado, who turned down a trade to Houston in the offseason,
took a curtain call for the sellout crowd after his home run in
the eighth pushed the lead to 5-3.
Key moment
St. Louis outfielder Victor Scott II saved two runs by tracking
down a long drive off the bat of Ty France with two on and one
out in the sixth. Scott made a backhand catch right in front of
the warning track. The Cardinals were clinging to a 4-2 lead at
the time.
Key stat
Gray struggled mightily in spring training, going 0-3 with a
12.56 ERA in four starts. He gave up eight home runs in 14 1/3
innings. But he came out and set down the side in order in three
of the first four innings Thursday.
Up next
Minnesota RHP Joe Ryan (7-7, 3.60 ERA last season) faces RHP
Erick Fedde (9-9, 3.30) when the three-game series resumes
Saturday afternoon.
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