The Arizona Diamondbacks will kickoff Opening Day with a game against the St. Louis Cardinals. The Diamondbacks will begin the season with a few key players on the disabled list, while the Cardinals return with almost the same lineup but uncertainty in their pitching rotation.
The Diamondbacks biggest offseason move was trading right fielder Justin Upton to the Atlanta Braves in return for Martin Prado. Prado will play third base. He will be a significant player for the Diamondbacks and will bat in the No. 2 spot in the order. He batted over .300 last season. Starters Adam Eaton, Cody Ross and Willie Bloomquist will begin the season on the disabled list, so the Diamondbacks cannot afford any more injuries in the lineup. Ian Kennedy gets the start on Opening Day. He won 21 games back in 2011, but skidded to a 15-12 finish in 2012 with a 4.02 ERA.
Adam Wainwright gets the start for the Cardinals. He is coming off a nice pay day that cements him as one of the franchise players for the Cardinals. He agreed to a six year contract worth $109.5 million. He went 14-13 last season with a 3.94 ERA. He missed all of 2011 because of elbow surgery. This will be Kennedy's second year in a row pitching in the Opening Day game. With his large contract, come large expectations that the Cardinals hope he comes through on. Second year manager Mike Matheny is not entirely comfortable with the Cardinals pitching rotation just yet since none of their starters are coming off practically great seasons.
