Tyler O’Neill started his 2022 season in style by driving in five points in an unequivocal 9-0 victory for the St. Louis Cardinals over the Pittsburgh Pirates on Thursday night at Busch Stadium.
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The left fielder was the third in front of pitcher JT Brubaker (0-1) and went there with a single to second base that allowed Dylan Carlson to score the first run. In the next set, O’Neill pulled off his stunt of the day by hitting a long ball good for three runs.
The 26-year-old capped off a productive night’s work with a sacrifice fly for a run in the eighth inning. O’Neill wasn’t the only contributor to the dramatic win, with Tommy Edman and Nolan Arenado also homering.
Adam Wainwright (1-0) was smoking on the mound allowing only five hits for the Pirates batters in six innings. The veteran also struck out six men.
A promising hope stands out
In Kansas City, MLB’s No. 1 rated prospect, third baseman Bobby Witt Jr., was part of the Royals’ 3-1 win over the Cleveland Guardians.
Under pressure with the Royals having two outs against them, the 21-year-old phenom broke a 1-1 tie in the bottom of the eighth inning by hitting a double to left field. It allowed Michael A. Taylor to score to the cheers of the fan crowd, already won over by the second player selected in the 2019 draft.
Witt himself was pushed to the plate moments later by Andrew Benintendi’s single. Nicky Lopez drove in the Royals’ first run in the fifth, on a double.
Zack Greinke was the Royals’ starting pitcher for the game and allowed one run on five hits from the safe area in five and two-thirds innings. The victory, however, went to the record of Scott Barlow (1-0), who held on for the last two at bats for the Guardians.