Locked On Cardinals - Daily Podcast On The St. Louis Cardinals - St. Louis Cardinals' 2026 Pitching Staff REVEALED! Can They SUSTAIN Their Spring Success?

Episode Date: March 23, 2026

St. Louis Cardinals finalize their Opening Day pitching staff as fans wonder: can fresh faces power a playoff push? Matthew Liberatore, Michael McGreevy, and newcomer Dustin May headline the revamped ...rotation, with Andre Pallante seizing the fifth spot after a bounce-back spring. JD Hafron breaks down each pitcher’s spring stats and potential, spotlighting the competitive bullpen battle, including standout performances from JoJo Romero, Matt Svanson, George Soriano, and Rule 5 pick Matt Pushard. Jordan Walker silences critics with a breakout Grapefruit League performance, smashing his first home run of the spring amid ongoing questions about his consistency. Other highlights include Luis Gastelum’s dominant save and Yadier Molina’s presence during opening week. Hafron explores whether Walker and Gorman can exceed expectations and propel the Cardinals forward. Don’t miss this comprehensive analysis as St. Louis aims to sustain spring success in the regular season. 00:00 Cardinals Opening Day Pitching Staff 10:27 Bullpen Final Roster Decisions 20:12 Jordan Walker Breakout & Spring Recap Follow & Subscribe on all Podcast platforms… 🎧 https://lockedonpodcasts.com/podcasts/locked-on-st-louis-cardinals/ Locked On MLB League-Wide: Every Team, Prospects & More 🎧 https://lockedonpodcasts.com/leagues/mlb/ Everydayer Club If you never miss an episode, it’s time to make it official. Join the Locked On Everydayer Club and get ad-free audio, access to our members-only Discord, and more — all built for our most loyal fans. Click here to learn more and join your team’s community: https://lockedonstlcardinals.supercast.com/ Follow on Twitter/X: @JDSPORTSRADIO Follow the show on Twitter/X: @LO_Cardinals Support Us By Supporting Our Sponsors! PlayStation This episode of is brought to you by MLB The Show 26. Visit https://mlbthe.show/lockedon and use code “LOCKEDON” to unlock a pack for use in Diamond Dynasty. Pre-Order now, Available March 17th on PlayStation 5, Xbox, and Nintendo Switch. RATED E FOR EVERYONE. Turbo Tax Intuit TurboTax now has in-person locations nationwide. You can meet face-to-face with a real tax expert, and your documents get uploaded straight to your TurboTax app on the spot. Visit https://TurboTax.com/local to find a store near you and book your appointment today. Robinhood You’re no longer just a spectator. Play by play. You decide. Trade Every Play with Robinhood. Now available across the U.S. Download the Robinhood app now to begin. Futures and cleared swaps trading involves significant risk and is not appropriate for everyone. Event contracts are offered by Robinhood Derivatives, LLC., a registered futures commission merchant and swap firm. Indeed Listeners of this show get a $75 Sponsored Job Credit to help give your job the premium placement it deserves at http://Indeed.com/podcast Gametime Today's episode is brought to you by Gametime. Download the Gametime app, create an account, and use code LOCKEDON for $20 off your first purchase. Terms and conditions apply. FanDuel Today's episode is brought to you by FanDuel. During the tournament FanDuel is offering $300 back in Bonus Bets every day for ten days. Visit https://FANDUEL.COM to get started — Play Your Game. FANDUEL DISCLAIMER: 21+ in select states. First online real money wager only. Bonus issued as nonwithdrawable free bets that expires in 14 days. Restrictions apply. See terms at sportsbook.fanduel.com. Gambling Problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER or visit FanDuel.com/RG (CO, IA, MD, MI, NJ, PA, IL, VA, WV), 1-800-NEXT-STEP or text NEXTSTEP to 53342 (AZ), 1-888-789-7777 or visit ccpg.org/chat (CT), 1-800-9-WITH-IT (IN), 1-800-522-4700 (WY, KS) or visit ksgamblinghelp.com (KS), 1-877-770-STOP (LA), 1-877-8-HOPENY or text HOPENY (467369) (NY), TN REDLINE 1-800-889-9789 (TN) #ForTheLou #stlcards #mlb #lockedoncardinals #stlouiscardinals Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

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Starting point is 00:00:00 The pitching staff is set for opening day, plus a very positive day for outfielder Jordan Walker. This is Locked on Cardinals. You are Locked on Cardinals. Your daily St. Louis Cardinals podcast, part of the Locked on podcast network, your team every day. Hey there, Cardinals fans. I'm J.D. Haffron in this episode of Lockdown Cardinals being brought to you by MLB at the show. visit MLB the dot show slash locked on. Use code locked on to unlock a pack for Diamond Dynasty. It's available now on PlayStation 5, Xbox, and Nintendo Switch,
Starting point is 00:00:38 right to E for everyone on today's show. The team had their final Great Fruit League game. Jordan Walker opened up quite a few eyes with his performance, so we'll break that game down. But we're going to start with the pitch of step, which has now been completed. We know exactly who is going to be on this roster as far as the arms go.
Starting point is 00:00:57 We don't know about the position player. officially yet, but the staff is done. So say hello to your 2026 opening day pitching staff, getting the ball in game one. Of course, we've got the left-hander Matthew Libertort, who had an outstanding spring, started four games, 1.80 ERA, 19 strikeouts and 15 innings. Pitching on Saturday in game two is going to be Michael McGreevy. McGreevy pitched on Sunday, so we'll discuss that outing in a bit. But for the spring, He had a 2.45 ERA in five starts. Was very Michael McGreevy-like throughout the entire spring.
Starting point is 00:01:34 Starting on Sunday in the finale against the raise will be the newcomer. Big Red, Dustin May, hard not to be impressed with what we got to see from him in the limited amount of work we saw, who was on that veterans program to start the season, or at least the spring training. I shouldn't say the season, but in the spring camp, three starts. What did you like to see? you like to see Velo. His Velo back up to where it was when he was one of the higher-ranked prospects in baseball. He was topping out at 99, sitting comfortably at 97, though.
Starting point is 00:02:06 1.54 ERA. Opponents sit just 171 against him this spring, and he looks healthy, which is the most important thing with Dustin May. Looks healthy. Last two spots in the rotation feature Kyle Leahy, who admittedly is going to start the first game against the Mets on Monday. but he's attempting to convert from a lever to start her to the same way Libby did last year. But it feels like to be he's a little more prepared for it,
Starting point is 00:02:34 where last year Libby's moved to the rotation was later in camp. It felt like we got caught off guard by Libby getting moved to the rotation. We all expected him to maybe compete for a spot, but he was so good at the bullpen. It was hard to see how you would do that. But Leahy, he's been a full go, started this whole time. Like they weren't hiding it. You know, they started him at the end of the season last year. Like, this is what they wanted. He ended up with five starts this spring.
Starting point is 00:03:04 And admittedly, numbers up and down as I expected, I would assume that they'll kind of be like that most of the year, at least early on. You know, I feel like you're going to, you're going to have these really good outings by him and then you're going to have games where you're like, what? I mean, this spring, one run, four runs, zero runs, four runs, zero runs. I feel like this is the roller coaster that we are destined for with one Kyle Leahy this year as he tries to get comfortable in that starter role. But he's got the goods to make it work. He had 20 strikeouts and 17 to two thirds innings of work this spring. So Kyle Leahy, he's going to be fine. But just be prepared for certain games to be like, ooh, that's not good. But then, you know, two starts
Starting point is 00:03:49 later, he's going to throw like five shutout innings. So, That's what I'm expecting at least. Then we wrap up the rotation with Andre Palante, who we all know. He had the horrific season last year. It was terrible. But because the Cardinals didn't have any depth in their system to bring up and start games, they had to keep sending Andre Palante out there who probably had like 1% of his confidence left, like he had just enough to get himself out of bed and get on the mound each day.
Starting point is 00:04:22 give the Cardinals at least a chance. But there could not have been a lot of confidence in Andre Palante last year. And he limped to that six and 15 season. He had an ERA over five. Many of us. And I'm putting myself in there. We're hoping that somebody else would beat Andre Palante out for the job as the fifth guy in the rotation. However, Palante won the spot, fair and square. He won it. Richard Fitz had a chance. And Andre Palante pitched better this spring. Good for Andre. Competition steps up. He didn't wither. He didn't fade away. He came after him. You know, you got Hunter Dobbins, who was also hurt, so that didn't help or didn't hurt his cause either. But, you know, Palante did what he had to do. He was solid.
Starting point is 00:05:09 He made four starts, finished with a 2.57 ERA. We know what Palante is. Okay. There are no tricks. There are no gimmicks here. We know exactly what he is. When he is on, he gets a lot of ground balls. lot of ground balls. So the infield better be ready when Palante is on the mound. He does have a tendency to get wild at times and that's when he really gets in trouble. Okay, I can handle the solo home run here and there from time to time. I can, that's fine. But it's when he's walking people and he puts him on, sets himself up for failure and then gives up a home run or then is getting the pitches up in the zone when he's a sneaker ball guy needs to have it down. And they start driving the ball against him. and that's where, you know, you want to pull your hair out of your head because you're just like, oh, my gosh, dude.
Starting point is 00:05:57 But that's his thing. If he cuts down the walks, if he keeps the ball on the ground, keeps it in the ballpark, he can be a serviceable fifth pitcher. I have no doubt about that. This is not some old man who doesn't have a good arm because he does, but he's got to be a lot better than he was last year. And if it doesn't work, the beauty of this is if Andre Palante doesn't work, they can move him to the bullpen, on how things are going there. But you've got people behind him that you feel are capable of taking over a spot in the rotation in Richard Fitz and Hunter Dobbins.
Starting point is 00:06:31 They're on standby. They're ready to go. Daven's coming back from the knee injury. Fitz showed some good stuff, flashes of good stuff this spring, but didn't win the job, ultimately. So he's going to go down. And both of these guys are going to have to get revved up because if there is any sort of failure or injury in the starting rotation.
Starting point is 00:06:51 Those are your first two guys who were set to come up. Now the bullpen, it had a ton of competition here in the spring, which I thought was awesome. You know, it was a lot of fun to watch to see these guys. The unknown of it all, I found very intriguing. Each guy, you know, putting their best foot forward each time they took the hill. Only a few spots were guaranteed. So let's just kind of start with those guys.
Starting point is 00:07:12 You had Jojo Romero coming back after all the trade rumors this offseason. And everybody thought he was going to get shipped off in Heimblum. hung on to him. And much like last year, he's expected to be not only the top left-handed arm in the pin, but he might be the best arm overall out there. So he's a guy that they're going to use. Hopefully he has a great season. They're going to dangle him as trade bait at the trade deadline. That's for sure because he's going to be a free agent. So seven appearances this spring. You look great. 2.5.70.E. 7 strikeouts. opponents were hitting 174 against him. very Jojo Romero like. Matt Sonson is set to be one of the top right-handed arms,
Starting point is 00:07:53 returning after his breakout season in 2025, where he boasted that 1.94 ERA in 39 appearances, although he did not record a save. This spring, it was more of the same from Svonson. He looked great, eight innings, seven appearances, 1.13 ERA, seven strikeouts. He looked good. Free agent pickup, Ryan Stannick, and his electric arm, triple digits, right? He was a, guarantee to make the squad. Five appearances this spring, five innings struck out six, 1.80 ERA brings a lot of thunder with that right arm of his. Riley O'Brien, we know was dealing with a calf issue early on, which kept them out of that WBC, although he had a couple of hiccups after he did return. He had one game where he walked, four guys, had another
Starting point is 00:08:36 one where he gave up three hits. But he finishes with five appearances in a 1.93 ERA. Health and control are always the biggest hurdles with Riley O'Brien. He's got so much movement. he can be so nasty, but sometimes he can't find the zone or a release point. He has issues. Another familiar face returning is Chris Roycroft. Struggle the last couple of years when he'd get brought up to the big leagues and Ali admitted it to us when we were doing our Q&A with them that, you know, the league was moving a million miles an hour for Chris Roycroft.
Starting point is 00:09:08 And he just could never find his spot. And you look at him and you're like, I mean, he's six, eight. a monster out there on the mound. You feel like you've got some things to work with here. And the Cardinals were not prepared to move on from him or give up on him. He spent the winter in St. Louis working at a pitching facility working on his arm slot and movements to become effective again specifically with the sinker. So give him credit. He pitched his way onto the club. Had seven scoreless settings until Sunday's game for the spring. He makes eight appearances, allows one run over eight and two thirds. He strikes out eight ERA of 1.08. You can see
Starting point is 00:09:46 how that six foot eight frame, that kind of release point coming in at you, like that you can see how that could be naughty. So I hope the best for Chris Roycroft, man. I was certainly somebody who was ready to give up on him, but he proved me wrong. And hopefully he continues to do that. Final three spots ended up going to guys who weren't even with the club or the organization last year. George Soriano, Matt Puschard, and Justin Bruill. We're going to talk about those new acquisitions and why they made the cut coming up next on Locked on Cardinals. Today I'm throwing to be talking about our sponsor, NLB the show 26.
Starting point is 00:10:27 The greatest game in baseball is back with its newest installment. And admittedly, I've had a hard time putting it down. I love it. It's my favorite game that I own. Already got a Cardinals team built. Need to still get Liam Doyle, though, who is available in the spring breakout portion. I think you have to get him through the conquest maps.
Starting point is 00:10:48 but I got Stan Musial, Victor, Burley as my outfield right now, which is a little rough because Burley doesn't run well. But rolling at third, Red Cheney's is playing over at shortstop. He's just higher and a switch enter than Mason when. So I got him at short with JJ over at second base. Matt Carpenter is playing first base. Serenio Rodriguez is my catcher with his ginormous thighs. Have you seen this?
Starting point is 00:11:13 I'll have to show you guys a picture in another episode, but it's crazy. He's got like balloons in his thighs, man. They're monstrous. Yvonne Herrera is my D.H. Bob Gibson at the top of my rotation. Lee Smith is my closer. They're not the most highest rated team yet, but I am having a lot of fun using them so far.
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Starting point is 00:13:16 Thanks again for making Lockton Cardinals, your first listen of the day. Thank you for making Locked on the number one sports podcast network. Don't forget to check out that every day or club. Add free episodes, access to a group chat with myself and other listeners of this show. Tap the link in the show notes or go to locked on STL Cardinals. That supercast.com for more information. So the final three spots for the bullpen, which were up in the air, end up going to some guys who weren't even with the organization last year.
Starting point is 00:13:43 You got George Soriano, who was acquired in the trade for Andre Grenio. And if you remember, when the trade went back. down that was in February, February 10th. A lot of us were questioning, I don't really get it. Why a righty for a righty? For whatever reason, it never seemed like the Cardinals were sold on Andre Griginal, for whatever reason. I don't know what it is, but they never seem sold on him as being a part of their future. They swap him out for Soriano, who showed us exactly why they made a trade like this by giving up no earned runs and eight appearances during the spring, 11 strikeouts, no walks, over eight innings. That'll do. That'll open up some eyes. And he certainly did. So great to have
Starting point is 00:14:26 George Soriano on board. Matt Puschard was another guy that was added this year. For rule five pick, they made snagging him from the Miami Marlins, eight appearances this spring. He allowed three runs in eight and two-thirds innings and struck out nine batters. But it was reported that he was sick early on. He was under the weather, lost a significant amount of weight early on in camp. And that was kind of hindering his effectiveness as things started at camp. And that's when he gave up those runs. He definitely looks stronger down the stretch, very much effective, not allowing a run in his final four appearances.
Starting point is 00:15:00 Of course, being a Rule 5 pick, didn't hurt his cause either. But he can also pitch multiple innings, which is something they were looking for out of the pin. So that's why they went with Pushyard, because they can, as long as they keep them on the roster, he can stay with the team, being the rule five pick, if they were going to send him down, they would have to offer him back to the Marlins and then they'd have to put him through waivers
Starting point is 00:15:21 and they'd rather not do that. Gordon Gricefo was at the WBC. He's going to go down to Memphis. They want him to see if he can work on keeping his velocity up over multiple innings because that's the kind of role they see him in moving forward. And then you've got the lefty Justin Brule. The only other lefty in the bullpen along with Jojo Romero got him in exchange for cash considerations.
Starting point is 00:15:45 Hold on if you're on video. Let me get them up there. It's one of my favorite. There he is. Cash considerations. That's who they traded to get Justin Brul back in January. I made the deal with Cleveland. He was competing with Nick Raque and Pachy Norton, five-year veteran.
Starting point is 00:16:02 He's been in the league with the Dodgers, the Rockies, the Pirates, the Blue Jays. So he's been in some good franchises and some guys who have struggled. But it's something that obviously they needed. Now, Packing Norton, don't get me wrong. tremendous spring for Packing Norton. Nobody was rooting more for Pachy Norton than I was. I loved seeing him do what he did this spring one run, seven innings, eight strikeouts,
Starting point is 00:16:25 but they want to make sure that he's going to stay healthy. Like they don't want to put him through anymore. It's been two years that this guy has been hurt, and they don't want to screw that up. They want to continue, you know, building him up so he can handle the rigors of a major league schedule after missing as much time as he has with an injury. So Norton goes down, but not forgotten.
Starting point is 00:16:48 Don't worry. They haven't forgotten about him. Certainly a guy that will be on that Memphis shuttle going back and forth this year when they need him. So Brole becomes the guy. He had one really yucky appearance at the end of February against the Mets. But since then, six appearances, just one run against, struck out six. You'll take that. So he's going to be the other left team moving forward.
Starting point is 00:17:11 And there you have it. That's what your rotation and your bullpen is. going to look like for the start of the 2026 season. On call at Memphis, you'll have Gordon Gressopho, you'll have Pachy Norton, Ryan Fernandez will be there, Nick Rakey, Richard Fitz, Hunter Dobbins, Tinkins, and Bryson, Bryson, Mott's, are also on the 40 man. Scott Blewett, the veteran also at a very good spring. Didn't make the club, though, wasn't on the 40 man. So he's somebody they can call upon. And again, the spring training numbers are what they are. Okay, you can look at him and go, oh, look how good this guy is and, oh, look how bad this guy is.
Starting point is 00:17:47 You can say, hey, it's just spring training. They're working on things when guys struggle. But you can't say that these guys didn't earn their way onto this team this spring. Excellent stuff from all of them that are going to be going to St. Louis with the squad. And hopefully it's sustainable. Really, that's all we're hoping for is that these numbers aren't just teasing us for something that is not going to be even remotely is good, which is the biggest fear is that like, oh, look how great they are. And then they face full major league rosters when the regular season rolls around and it all goes
Starting point is 00:18:23 so it's one of the things about this team is that, you know, there's the ceiling where things could go really, really well. But there's also a lower floor this year where things can go really, really bad because there's just nobody knows. There's a lot of unknown when it comes to this. So Carls did play one final grapefruit league game on. Sunday that featured what's going to be Saturday starter, Michael McGreevy, and an eye poppy performance from Jordan Walker in a good way, which is great.
Starting point is 00:18:54 We like to talk about good things. So we'll break that one down for you. Coming up next on Lockdown Cardinals. Hey, this is Jeff Carr from Lockdown Reds. And you know, I've reached the point in my life where my wife and I are looking toward the future. We've got the house. We've got the career.
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Starting point is 00:21:32 Your first list another day. Thank you for making it locked on the number one sports podcast. Now, where Cardinals wrapped up great fruit league action on Sunday with the three to two win over the Houston Astros, which was their fifth win in a row. They ended up going eight one and one like a hockey team in their last 10 games. And they actually finished the spring at 17 to 9 overall. So I think that made them the division champions. And it was the second best record in Grapefruit League behind the Braves who were 19 and 7.
Starting point is 00:21:58 Doesn't mean anything. Nothing at all. But hey, it's a positive thing. And you got to enjoy the way that these guys competed, even when the regulars would come out of games, the way that the minor league guys would compete and fight to the very end, a lot of late game victories for the Cardinals. So kudos to them, you know, building a winning culture is part of this whole rebuild, retool thing that's going on.
Starting point is 00:22:21 So good to see him putting some dubs up. Three stars in the game. Let's begin with everyone's favorite whipping boy. How about Jordan Walker? All right. Let's say some good things about Jordan Walker, because I say it jokingly where he's everybody's favorite whipping boy. It's been a tough go, right?
Starting point is 00:22:37 I know there are some people who want to move on from him already, but the majority of fans, they just want to see the kids succeed. And I'm definitely one of them. As you know, if you're an everyday area of the show, the Cardinals are once again backing him as they're starting right field during 2026. And this time it's not about the defense that everybody's giving him crap about. It's because the offense has been so bad this spring. It's been really, really rough. But Sunday, he looked more like the guide that was once one of the top hitting prospects in
Starting point is 00:23:06 baseball. Third inning, he correctly challenges a call. This is a great turn of events for him. Challenges a call that would have called him out on strikes. He was going to get punched out on strikes. We've seen him strike out way too much this spring. But instead, taps the helmet, gets it overturned to a ball. Next pitch, Jordan mashes it over the wall and left center for his first home run of the spring, 413 feet, 11.3 off the bat, probably a huge weight lifted off his massive shoulders with that ball flying over the wall after the game. He said, for me, it's mental.
Starting point is 00:23:40 What's best is to just hit the ball. Today I told myself, whatever happens, go swing at the ball, and it happened to be my best day. Today I saw the ball better than my other at bats because I think it's best. just to shut my brain off and just react to whatever is thrown at me. Today was a reaction day, and I liked where I was. And he hit the ball well today. Ali actually approved what he saw today, too, said it was a very good day for him. And I hope is he can build off of it from a competent standpoint.
Starting point is 00:24:05 So he is starting to feel it a little bit. That's a good thing. And the one thing is you don't want to get, you don't want to blow it out of proportion that, you know, one good day does not eliminate all of the horrible days that we've seen out of Jordan Walker. But, you know, the home run. And then he rips a single to left in the fifth inning, 106.5 off the bat, finishes the day two for four, had another strikeout, but also when he lined out in his last at bad, you know, it was a line drive at the center fielder. So three well-struck
Starting point is 00:24:37 balls on the day, you know, let's focus on the positives for Jordan Walker, positive vibes for the big man moving forward into the season. And we hope that all the hard work that he and the coaching staff and everybody's put into this to try to get him back to where he needs to be, we hope it all pays off, right? That's what we really want because if Jordan Walker becomes the guy that we caught a glimpse of in that first year where, you know, he was hammering the ball. And then things just kind of went off the rails for a couple of years. So if we can get him back to where he was, that's going to be huge because nobody's expecting
Starting point is 00:25:14 it out of him at all. Everybody's expecting him to fail. And that sucks. you know, you hate to hear that, but that's what he's shown over the last couple of years. So we're all rooting for him. We want to see a big season for him and for Nolan Gorman. Same thing for him. You know, he's had the glimpses of what we thought he was going to be as a former first round pick.
Starting point is 00:25:34 And it has not worked out the last couple of years. And those are the two guys that if they can become what we all thought they were going to be at one point, this season may not be as bad as we all think it will be. So positive vibes. Keep it that way. Second star is going to go to Michael McGreevy. He finished off this spring, allowing one run over five innings on three hits.
Starting point is 00:25:55 The one run was a home run. Five strikeouts, which is great. Another solid star for the former first round pick, who was slotted to start game two of the season on Saturday. Third start of the game, though, going to my man. My dude, I know. Look how badass he looks. Luis Gastilum.
Starting point is 00:26:14 Then hyping him up all spring. Every day, as you know this, I've been doing it on other shows. This is the guy that I am super excited about. And he delivered again on Sunday, picking up the save, striking out the side in the ninth inning. All three strikeouts came on that wicked changeup. Jeff Jones from the Belleville News Democrat friend of the show tweeted, Luis Gastilum is no doubt the prospect who most emphatically jump from name on a page to serious weapon in the mix for some around the Cardinals this spring. assuming he stays healthy, his debut could come quickly.
Starting point is 00:26:49 If you didn't know his name, you should learn it and know it. Because that change up is devastating and it is special. And people noticed, people noticed. And he went off to the WBC. He was with Team Mexico, didn't get a lot of action. But you see him come back and like, people can't touch it. They can't touch. It just falls off.
Starting point is 00:27:14 the table. It's nuts. Jeff also shared that Yaddea Molina's remaining with the team should be in uniform for the opening homestands. So that's cool. And Cardle's exhibition in Springfield on Monday, Dustin May is scheduled to start. And according to Derek Gould, it is the goal that is the free game of the day on MLB. So you'll be able to watch it if you want to. I don't know what the lineups are going to look like. I have no clue. All we know is Dustin May is going to start as he continues in the rotation for his first start as the St. Louis Cardinal during the regular season, which will happen on Saturday at Bush Stadium. All right, that's it.
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