In the all-time collection of Cardinals home-openers, it was one of the more forgettable.
The year was 2018. The Arizona Diamondbacks, propelled forward by Robbie Ray and his nasty slider, beat the Cardinals. It was the first time the home team had lost its first home game of the season since 2015.
But looking back now, there was a win that day at Busch Stadium.
The pregame ceremony helped secure the most proven piece of this season’s prove-it rotation.
Not long after Thursday’s opening-day starter Miles Mikolas agreed to his two-year contract extension with the Cardinals this spring training, he was asked if there was a specific moment when he knew he would prefer to stick around instead of explore the free-agent market another strong season with the Cardinals could incentivize.