This Day in St. Louis Sports History: April 3
April 3, 2006: St. Louis Cardinals Defeat Philadelphia Phillies 13-5 on Opening Day
On this day nine years ago, the St. Louis Cardinals opened up what would go on to be their first World Series Championship season since 1982 by defeating the Philadelphia Phillies 13-5 at Citizens Bank Park.
The Cardinals were able to come away with the blowout win despite a start from Chris Carpenter that was mediocre at best. Carpenter, the reigning NL Cy Young winner, gave up four earned runs on nine hits and a walk through five innings. The offense was sparked primarily by contributions from Scott Rolen, who went 3-for-5 with a homer and four RBI, Aaron Miles, who went 4-for-5 with two doubles and a triple, and Albert Pujols, who hit home runs in both of his at-bats. The team collected 17 hits in total, and everyone in the starting lineup (plus reserve left fielder Skip Schumaker) had at least one hit.
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Though it was not his major-league debut, this game served as the first big-league action in a meaningful game for Adam Wainwright. After making the team out of spring training as part of the bullpen, the then-24-year-old Wainwright threw a scoreless eighth inning against the Phillies. This performance kicked off a successful year of relief for Wainwright which culminated with him picking up the save in Game 5 of the World Series to clinch the Cardinals’ first World Series victory in 24 years.