Cardinals’ Miles Mikolas Embraced Heckling From Dodgers Fans

The Los Angeles Dodgers handled the St. Louis Cardinals in a 7-1 win on Thursday, flexing their loaded roster with a wave of power early in the game.

Miles Mikolas, who quipped about the Dodgers’ offseason spending spree, was rattled for five earned runs on seven hits. The right-hander lasted just 4.1 innings, struggling to figure out how to quiet the big three at the top of the Dodgers lineup.

Mikolas joked after the game that his comments were all in the spirit of playful banter to rile up the competitiveness of sport and he enjoyed getting heckled by Dodgers fans, per John Denton of MLB.com:

“Money talks, right?” said Mikolas, who lost the third Opening Day start of his career. “Talk a little smack here and there and I don’t think there’s anything wrong with that. … I’m sure the fans had fun with [his trash talk]. I heard a lot of people yelling that [‘checkbook baseball’] at me when I was warming up, and it’s fun.”

Mikolas’ comments about the Dodgers’ high payroll do have merit, but in the spirit of Major League Baseball, teams are entitled to spend as much as they please.

The Cardinals signed Mikolas to a three-year contract last season, worth $55.75 million, that runs through the 2025 campaign. Furthermore, the Cardinals’ payroll currently sits at $175.5 million, ranking 12th in MLB.

Their salary commitments to starting pitching is $68.9 million, ranking fourth in the National League.

Looking ahead to Cardinals and Dodgers series

Bobby Miller gets the ball for the Dodgers on Friday, dueling against Cardinals lefty Zack Thompson.

Thompson is coming off an average season for the Cardinals, pitching to a 4.48 ERA, 1.42 WHIP and .270 batting average allowed in 66.1 innings. He made 25 appearances last year, with nine of those coming in the form of a start.

Miller makes is regular season debut, hoping to expand on his solid rookie year. The 24-year-old became an anchor in the Dodgers’ rotation, earning his stripes with a 3.76 ERA, 1.10 WHIP and 119 strikeouts in 124.1 innings (22 starts).

Because of the left-hander on the mound for the Cardinals, expect the Dodgers to roll out their platoon bats to counter Thompson.