The “viable option” has now become a reality as Matt Holliday will start first base today as the St. Louis Cardinals open the 2016 season in Pittsburgh.
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“He’s good over there, ready to go if we need to go down that road,” stated Mike Matheny about Holliday about two weeks ago. “He doesn’t have any more hoops to jump through for us.”
Holliday began working out at the position over the winter with tutelage from Jose Oquendo.
“I thought you know what, if we ever need–like last year, we had a bunch of injuries and if there ever needs to be a time where they want me or ask me to go over there, I want to be prepared,” explained Holliday earlier this spring.
#STLCards Game 1. #CapsOn pic.twitter.com/0ncoBcM3b9
— St. Louis Cardinals (@Cardinals) April 3, 2016
MISSING JHONNY
The absence of Jhonny Peralta in the lineup could be noticed immediately.
No active player has faced Pirates starter Francisco Liriano more than Peralta, who is batting .340 (18-53) with 4 home runs and 8 runs driven in against the lefty. By contrast, Jedd Gyorko is batting .182 (2-11) against Liriano.
Last year, Randal Grichuk hit .500 in six appearances in the lineup against Liriano. Matt Holliday is a career .296 (8-27) against him but Matt Adams (4-13) is the only other Cardinals player to hit .300 or better against the Pittsburgh starter.
Greg Garcia, Brandon Moss, Tommy Pham, and Adam Wainwright have never been to the plate against Liriano.
IT’S SIX, NOT FIVE FOR WAINO
Officially, Wainwright will be making his fifth Opening Day start. However, his first start actually came in 2008 but was rained out after three innings and did not go into the record books.
“What were we winning, 5-1 going into the 5th or something like that?,” pointed out Wainwright earlier this spring. “Yes, Kyle Lohse counts that as his Opening Day–that was my Opening Day.”
“It was my first one. That drives me crazy, whenever they’re like this is your, I don’t know–fourth or fifth, whatever. No it’s not, it’s my sixth.”
All joking aside, the Cardinals ace takes the honor of having the first turn very seriously.
“It’s something that I’ve tried to get ready for and tried to prepare myself for, compete for, for a long time,” said Wainwright.
“I remember telling Tony one year, when he started Carp Opening Day, I said ‘next year, you’re not going to have a choice in the matter–I’m going to make you start me on Opening Day.’ And that really, for me, that pushed me. Now, it’s just about competing–whether that’s the first day or the fifth day.”
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