The St. Louis Cardinals have set their pitching rotation to open the 2023 season. For the second time in five years, Miles Mikolas will be the club's starting pitcher on Opening Day.
Adam Wainwright will begin the season on the Injury List with a groin injury, but he hopes to only miss a month.
Mikolas will start the club's first game of the season Thursday against the Toronto Blue Jays at Busch Stadium. Jack Fleharty, who started the Cardinals' Opening Day games in 2020 and 2021, will slot in as the club's no. 2 starter behind Mikolas. He'll take the mound Saturday against the Blue Jays.
Sunday, Jordan Montgomery will start in the series finale. The Cardinals acquired Montgomery in a swap for Harrison Bader with the New York Yankees minutes before the trade deadline.
Jake Woodford will make his second career start Monday in the Cardinals' series against the Braves. Steven Matz will round out the club's five-man rotation, pitching against the Braves on Tuesday.
Here's a look at the Cardinals' five-man pitching rotation to open the season, including 2022 statistics:
1) Miles Mikolas: 12-13, 3.29 ERA, 32 starts, 202.1 IP, 1.03 WHIP, 3.92 SO/W, 116 ERA+
2) Jack Fleharty: 2-1, 4.25 ERA, 8 starts, 36 IP, 1.61 WHIP, 1.50 SO/W, 91 ERA+
3) Jordan Montgomery: 6-3, 3.11 ERA, 11 starts, 63.2 IP, 1.08 WHIP, 4.69 SO/W, 123 ERA+
4) Jake Woodford: 4-0, 2.23 ERA, 1 start, 48.1 IP, 1.12 WHIP, 4.5 SO/W, 172 ERA+
5) Steven Matz: 5-3, 5.25 ERA, 10 starts, 48 IP, 1.25 WHIP, 5.40 SO/W, 73 ERA+
More must-reads: