St. Louis Cardinals (30-28 in 2020) vs. Cincinnati Reds (31-29 in 2020)
Game No. 1 • Road Game No. 1 • Great American Ball Park • Thursday, April 1, 2021
RHP Jack Flaherty (4-3, 4.91 in 2020) vs. RHP Luis Castillo (4-6, 3.21 in 2020)
OPENING DAY: The St. Louis Cardinals open their 130th season of play in the National League today as they visit the division-rival Cincinnati Reds in the opening
game of the regular season … The Cardinals are 59-68-2 (.464 win pct.) overall on
Opening Day, including a 23-36 (.393) mark on the road. ROAD OPENERS: Since
2010, the Cardinals open their season on the road for the 9th time in 12 seasons
(at Busch Stadium in 2011 vs. SD, 2017 vs. CHI, & 2020 vs. PIT).
VS. THE RED LEGS: Today marks St. Louis’ 19th Opening Day meeting against
Cincinnati, with the Cardinals holding an all-time 10-8 margin (9-8 in Cincinnati)
and winning the last three (2014, 2010, 1994) and five of the last six. OPENERS
IN CINCY: Seventeen of 18 season openers between the Cardinals and Reds
have taken place in Cincinnati, with the only opening day vs. the Reds in St. Louis occurring in 1948 at Sportsman’s Park (4-0 win)… the last time the Cardinals
and Reds faced off on Opening Day was 2014 at Great American Ball Park in a
1-0 win, thanks to Yadier Molina’s 7th inning solo homer and 7.0 scoreless IP
from Adam Wainwright … St. Louis opened the 2010 campaign with an 11-5 win
over the Reds as Albert Pujols went deep twice and scored four runs; Molina
also hit a three-run homer in the 9th inning … Ray Lankford led off the 1994
season by homering off Cincy’s José Rijo in a 6-4 win at Riverfront Stadium on
ESPN Sunday Night Baseball.
ROOKIES & FIRST TIMERS: Jake Woodford, John Nogowski, Edmundo Sosa,
Dylan Carlson, and Justin Williams are the five rookies on the Cardinals Opening Day roster, while this marks the first Opening Day rosters for Alex Reyes,
Woodford, Nogowski, Carlson, and Williams.
NEW TO THE FLOCK: Nolan Arenado is the only first-time Redbird on the Opening Day roster, while 19 players were developed within the Cardinals organization.
OPENING DAY NOTABLES: Paul DeJong’s fourth straight Opening Day start at
shortstop (2018-21) is the club’s most since Edgar Renteria’s six consecutive
(1999-2004) … At age 22.160, Dylan Carlson today becomes the the 3rd-youngest starting center fielder in Cardinals Opening Day history behind Jack Smith
(20.294 in 1916) and David Green (22.111 in 1983). Notable recent younger
MLB center fielders to start Opening Day include Byron Buxton (22.108 in 2016)
Mike Trout (21.237 in 2013), Andrew Jones (21.347 in 1999), Carlos Beltran
(21.346 in 1999), and Ken Griffey Jr. (19.133 in 1989).
LINEUP CHATTER: For the second consecutive season (2020-21), four infielders (excluding catcher) occupy the first four spots of the Cardinals Opening Day lineup, something that never occurred over the club’s previous 120 Opening Days from 1900-2019 … Last season, the Cardinals (Wong, Edman, Goldschmidt, DeJong) were joined by Cleveland and Toronto with four infielders batting 1-4 on Opening Day. (Elias)
IN THE CARDS: Entering his 18th season (2004-21), Yadier Molina sports the longest active tenure with only one franchise in MLB, ahead
of Washington’s Ryan Zimmerman (16, 2005-18, ‘20), and Adam Wainwright (16, 2005-10, ‘12-21) … Molina’s 18th season with the same
organization is the most by any primary catcher in MLB history, surpassing 17 by Bill Dickey (Yankees, 1928-43, ‘46), Johnny Bench (Reds,
1967-83), and Jorge Posada (Yankees, 1995-2011) … Molina’s 18 seasons with the same franchise tie for 29th-longest tenure with one team
in MLB history and is the longest since Hall of Famers Derek Jeter (20, 1995-2014, Yankees) and Chipper Jones (19, 1993, ‘95-2012, Braves).
MORE MOLINA MILESTONES: Yadier Molina makes his 17th straight (2005-21) Opening Day start at catcher, extending his Cardinals franchise record for most consecutive starts at a single position … Yadi’s 17 consecutive Opening Day starts rank 2nd in franchise history, trailing
only Stan Musial (18, 1946-63) … Molina’s 17 Opening Day starts at catcher surpass Benito Santiago for 2nd-most all-time by a catcher
in MLB history, trailing Ivan Rodríguez (20), while Molina is the only catcher in MLB history (since 1913) to make 16 or more Opening Day
starts with only one team, surpassing White Sox’s Ray Schalk (15, 1913-27) and Yankee’s Bill Dickey (15, 1930-43, ‘46).
250 GOLDY DINGERS: Paul Goldschmidt’s next homer will be the 250th of his career, as he seeks to become the 9th player to hit home run
250 in a Cardinals uniform and join Stan Musial (9/4/53 at Milwaukee Braves), Ken Boyer (7/10/65 at Chicago Cubs), Orlando Cepeda (6/9/67
at LA Dodgers), Jim Edmonds (7/18/03 at LA Dodgers), Reggie Sanders (4/9/04 at Arizona), Albert Pujols (10/1/06 vs. Milwaukee), Scott
Rolen (8/23/06 at New York Mets), and Matt Holliday (9/27/13 vs. Chicago Cubs) … Nolan Arenado enters the season with 235 career homers.
CINCINNATI CONNECTIONS
Daniel Ponce de Leon (38th round in 2012) and
Tyler Webb (48th round in 2011) were both selected by the Reds, but did not sign.
Daniel Ponce de Leon (July 23, 2018 at GABP)
and Alex Reyes (August 9, 2016 at Busch) made
their MLB debuts vs. Cincinnati.
Mike Maddux was born in Dayton, Ohio…originally selected by the Reds in the 36th round of
the 1979 MLB draft, but did not sign to attend the
University of Texas at El Paso.
David Bell previously served as a Cardinals assistant hitting (2014) and bench coach (2015-17)…
played parts of four seasons with St. Louis (1995-
98)…traded by Cleveland with Pepe McNeal and
Rick Heiserman to St. Louis for Ken Hill (July 27,
1995).
Reds Executive Advisor to the CEO Walt Jocketty served as the Cardinals GM for 13 seasons
(1995-2007)…during tenure, St. Louis compiled
seven NL Central Division championships (1996,
2000-02, ‘04-06), two NL Championships (‘04,
‘06), and one World Series Championship (‘06)…
named MLB Executive of the Year (2000, ‘04, ‘10).
Reds broadcaster Jeff Brantley pitched in 48
games for St. Louis in 1998.
Reds first base coach Delino DeShields played
two seasons with St. Louis (1997-98).
Cardinals Hall of Famer Scott Rolen played his
final four seasons with the Reds (2009-12), where
he was a 2010 Gold Glove Award winner and twotime All-Star (2010-11).
Cardinals broadcaster and Hall of Famer Jim Edmonds played 13 games for the Reds during his
final professional season in 2010.
Cardinals Hall of Famer Vince Coleman played in
33 games for the Reds in 1996.
Reds Assistant Hitting Coach Joe Mather was
selcted by the Cardinals in the 3rd round of the
2001 MLB draft…played parts of two seasons with
St. Louis (2008, ‘10).
Cardinals Principal Owner and Chief Executive Office William DeWitt Jr. was a prior owner of the
Reds and shareholder of the Cincinnati Bengals…
his father, William O. DeWitt, was a sole owner
of the Reds from 1961-67.
Reds pro scout Bruce Manno worked in the Cardinals for six seasons as Director of Player Development (2002-06) and Senior Director of Pro
Scouting & Special Assistant to the GM (2007).
Reds Bullpen Coach Lee Tunnell pitched in 32
games for St. Louis in 1987.
Reds Special Asst. to the GM Marty Maier spent
24 seasons with St. Louis as an area scout, Latin
American coordinator, asst. director of scouting,
scouting director and special asst. to the GM.
Reds Special Assistant to the GM, Player Personnel Cam Bonifay played two minor league seasons with the Cardinals…later worked for St Louis
as a professional scout and special assistant.
Reds Player Performance Special Asst. Eric Davis
played two seasons (1999-2000) for St. Louis.
Reds Special Assistant to the GM John Morris
played five seasons for St. Louis (1986-90).
Reds CEO Robert Castellini, Chairman W. Joseph
Williams Jr. and Vice Chairman Thomas Williams
were Cardinals investors from 1995-2006…interests were sold as a condition of their acquisition of
a controlling ownership stake of the Reds.
CARDINALS vs. REDS
All-Time (1892-2020):…………………..1,197-1,091
in St. Louis (1892-2020) …………………………… 663-478
at Sportsman’s/Robison Field (1892-1920).. 125-143
at Sportsman’s Park/Busch I (1920-66)……. 319-171
at Busch Stadium II (1966-2005)…………….. 139-119
at Busch Stadium III (2006-20)…………………… 81-45
in Cincinnati (1892-2020): …………………..531-612
at League Pk/Palace of the Fans (1892-1912)…. 71-123
at Crosley Field (1913-1970)…………………… 299-308
at Riverfront/Cinergy Field (1970-2002)……… 86-107
at Estadio de Béisbol Monterrey (2019)…………… 1-1
at Great American Ball Park (2003-20) ……..76-74
2020……………………………………………………………. 6-4
at Busch Stadium……………………………………….. 4-3
at Great American Ball Park …………………………. 2-1
2019………………………………………………………….. 12-7
2018………………………………………………………….. 12-7
2020 SCHEDULE AND RESULTS (6-4)
8/20 at STL …….W, 5-4………………….Elledge-Iglesias
8/21 at STL …….L, 4-2 …… Lorenzen-Cabrera-Iglesias
8/22 at STL …….W, 3-0…………….Kim-Miley-Gallegos
8/23 at STL …….W, 6-2………………….. Cabrera-Mahle
8/31 at CIN……..W, 7-5…..Hudson-DeSclafani-Gallegos
9/1 at CIN……….W, 16-2…………………………Kim-Gray
9/2 at CIN……….L, 4-3 …………………Iglesias-Gallegos
9/11 at STL …….L, 3-1 …………CASTILLO-Wainwright
9/12 at STL …….W, 7-1………………….Hudson-Antone
9/13 at STL …….L, 10-5 …………Bradley-Gant-Iglesias
Last Cardinals sweep (3G):… April 20-22, 2018 at CIN
Last Reds sweep (4G):………….. June 5-8, 2017 at CIN
Jack Flaherty 22
HT: 6-4 WT: 225 BATS: Right THROWS: Right
FULL NAME: Jack Rafe Flaherty
AGE: 25 BORN: October 15, 1995 in Burbank, California
SCHOOL: Harvard-Westlake School (Los Angeles, California)
BECAME A CARDINAL: Selected in the first round (34th overall) of the
June, 2014 First-Year Player Draft
CONTRACT STATUS: Signed through 2020
ML SERVICE: 3.006 MLB DEBUT: September 1, 2017 at San Francisco
TODAY’S GAME
• Takes the mound in season opener after drawing starting assignment in final game of
Cardinals’ 2020 season in Game 3 of the National League Wild Card Series at San Diego
(10/2/20).
• Joins Chicago White Sox’s Lucas Giolito and Atlanta Braves’ Max Fried as today’s
Opening Day starters who graduated from Harvard-Westlake School in Los Angeles,
California.
• Today marks his second consecutive Opening Day start (2020-21). Since 1901, becomes the 5th pitcher in Cardinals history to make multiple Opening Day starts before
turning age 26, joining Joe Magrane (3), Dizzy Dean (3), Lee Meadows (2), and Johnny
Lush (2).
• Is honoring late Hall of Famers Lou Brock and Bob Gibson on his Opening Day baseball
cleats today. Also featured is a depiction of the St. Louis arch surrounding the Cardinals
logo and mural of other Black baseball legends that includes other historic Cardinals.
• His most previous April appearance was in 2019, also vs. Cincinnati (4/28/19), tossing
7.0 scoreless innings of four-hit ball in a 4-2 win at Busch Stadium.
• Owns the 6th-lowest ERA vs. the Reds (2.48) among active pitchers with seven or more
career starts (Scherzer 2.01; Fiers 2.17; Hamels 2.30; Greinke 2.38; Kennedy 2.44).
SPRING TRAINING
• Made four starts in Grapefruit League games going 0-2 with a 5.40 ERA.
• Pitched in two practice games including a “B” game at Houston (3/5) and an Intrasqaud
game at the Cardinals complex (3/16).
• Rolled over first two innings pitched vs. WSH (2/28) in his first Spring Training start
retiring Victor Robles on a strikeout and allowed seven straight batters to reach safely.
• Matched zeroes with Max Scherzer for three innings in his second game start at WSH
(3/10) including not allowing a hit to his first 10 batters faced before a single to Trea
Turner and a two-run home run by Starlin Castro.
• Pitched a Spring schedule high 5.1 innings vs. WSH (3/22) compiling 90 pitches.
2020 SEASON
• Had a streak of 22 consecutive regular season starts holding his opposition to three
runs or less snapped at MIL (9/15), when he surrendered a career-high nine runs. The
22-game streak was the longest in Cardinals history out-distancing Bob Gibson (19) in
1968 and Lance Lynn (19) in 2014. It came up nine games short of the MLB record by
a non-opener held by the Mets’ Jacob deGrom (31).
• Held his opposition to three runs or less in eight of his nine starts.
• Threw a career high 43 pitches in the 1st inning at Chicago Cubs (9/4), the most by a
Cardinal in the 1st inning that season and the most since Daniel Ponce de Leon hurled
41 vs. CLE (8/28).
• The Cardinals were 5-4 in his starts with three losses coming when he received zero
runs of support.
• Pushed his mark to 9-1 with a 0.99 ERA in 14 career starts in August, making him the
MLB leader in August ERA and opponent BA (.139) since the Live Ball Era (1920).
CAREER
• In 75 career starts, is 23-7 when receiving 2 runs of support or more, and 18-1 when
receiving 3 runs or more.
• Has the 4th-lowest day game ERA (2.48) among active pitchers with 20 or more starts,
trailing only (Jacob deGrom 1.82, Mike Clevenger 2.21 & Clayton Kershaw 2.36).
• At age 24.283, was the 16th youngest Cardinal to make an Opening Day start (since
1904) and youngest since Joe Magrane (Age 24.275) on April 3, 1989 vs. the NY Mets.
• Has struck out 482 batters over his first 76 career games, the most ever by a Cardinal
and 12th-most in National League history (since 1908).
• Recorded five double-digit strikeouts games in 2019 and has nine for his career. His
eight games with 10+ strikeouts in his first 67 career games are a Cardinals record.
• Is the third Cardinal in franchise history to strike out 180 or more in two of his first three
career seasons (2018-19), joining Dizzy Dean (1932-33), and Lance Lynn (2012-13).
• Struck out 231 in 2019 (6th in NL), becoming the 8th different Cardinal (19th instance)
and youngest in franchise history to strike out 200 or more in a season.
• Two-time 2019 National League Pitcher of the Month award winner (August and September). Became the first NL pitcher to win the award in back-to-back months since
Max Scherzer (April & May 2018) and first Cardinal to win twice in a single season since
the award was first given out in 1975.
FLAHERTY vs. CINCINNATI REDS
W-L ERA AVG G GS IP H R ER BB SO HR
CAREER 2-2 2.48 .222 7 7 32.2 26 9 9 14 34 4
at GABP 1-1 3.31 .262 4 4 16.1 16 6 6 8 22 3
2020 — — — — — — — — — — — —
2019 2-0 0.55 .213 3 3 16.1 13 1 1 6 16 1
LAST APP: 8/8/19 at CIN (W, 5-4) 1 1 5.0 3 1 1 3 5 1
LAST WIN: 8/8/19 at CIN (W, 5-4) 1 1 5.0 3 1 1 3 5 1
• Did not pitch against the Reds in 2020, the only N.L. Central team he did not make
an appearance against.
• The Cardinals have won his last three starts against the Reds, going 2-0 with an 0.55
ERA over three starts covering 16.1 innings, all in 2019.
• Has only received more than two runs of support in 1-of-7 career starts vs. CIN
(8/8/19) in a 5-4 Cardinals win at Great American Ballpark.
• Has not allowed more than three runs or six hits in any of his seven career starts
vs. the Reds.
• Made one start prior to July against the Reds, April 28, 2019 and fired 7.0 scoreless
innings of four-hit ball in a 4-2 win at Busch Stadium.
MOST STRIKEOUTS IN FIRST 76 CAREER GAMES – MLB HISTORY
MLB Rank Team(s) Season(s) Strikeouts
- Yu Darvish Rangers 2012-14 626
- Dwight Gooden Mets 1984-86 606
- José Fernández Marlins 2013-16 589
- Hideo Nomo Dodgers 1995-97 584
- Mark Prior Cubs 2002-05 577
- Jack Flaherty Cardinals 2017-20 482
Since 1908
MULTIPLE OPENING DAY STARTS BY A CARDINAL BEFORE AGE 26
Rank Opening Day Starts
Joe Magrane 3 1988 at Cincinnati
1989 at New York Mets
1990 vs. Montreal
Dizzy Dean 3 1933 at Chicago Cubs
1934 vs. Pittsburgh
1935 at Chicago Cubs
Rank Opening Day Starts
Jack Flaherty 2 2020 vs. Pittsburgh
2021 at Cincinnati
Lee Meadows 2 1917 at Cincinnati
1918 vs. Chicago Cubs
Johnny Lush 2 1908 vs. Pittsburgh
1909 at Chicago Cubs
COURTESY ST. LOUIS CARDINALS & MLBpressbox.com
