We always worry about Yu Darvish's wildness but he's usually much, much better at Petco Park and has looked pretty good overall in two starts this year, one at home. Miles Mikolas, meanwhile, was bombed in his opener at the Dodgers and regressed quite a bit in 2023. Nolan Gorman (27 HR last year) is out of the STL lineup. The Padres had just one runner in scoring position in Monday's loss, which is pretty hard to do. You know they want this W for ex-fired Cards manager Mike Shildt after that defeat.

Ideally I would play the Padres in the first five minutes but for this site that’s not an option. So I’ll take the clergy for the full game. Yu Darvish over Mikalos is the prime reason; Cards bullpen is a bit taxed helps too.

The Cards opening day starter was awful in his first outing and I think we've seen the best of him. STL's alleged pitching upgrades don't do much for me and their bullpen is already taxed. Like the way the Pads have swung the lumber and I like Yu Darvish in this spot. Tough way for the Cards to open the season the West Coast. Seeing some quality arms