Colorado Rockies: The mixed thoughts and opinions of Nolan Arenado’s Thursday comments

The St. Louis Cardinals had their home opener today and former Colorado Rockies third baseman Nolan Arenado suited up as a Cardinal for the first time in the regular season wearing the home, white Cardinals jersey.

After Brewers manager Craig Counsell inexplicably pulled his starting pitcher early for the second straight game, the Brewers bullpen blew the lead for the second straight game for them. (Counsell pulled Brandon Woodruff out of the game against the Cubs after tossing seven innings of one-hit ball against the Cubs on 74 pitches on Wednesday and he pulled Corbin Burnes after six scoreless innings after allowing only one hit on 86 pitches).

The Brewers bats haven’t been particularly lighting the world on fire either but the Cardinals, at least on Thursday, weren’t either. They hadn’t scored a run in the first six innings but Eric Yardley allowed a run in the seventh to tie the game at one.

The bottom of the eighth inning comes around and Drew Rasmussen relieves Yardley, still in a 1-1 tie. Tommy Edman strikes out to lead off the Cardinals half of the inning and Austin Dean, a pinch-hitter, walks.

Up comes Nolan Arenado.

On the first pitch he sees from Rasmussen, Arenado launches a 97 MPH fastball that was middle-in and it landed 373 feet away in left field for a two-run home run that made it 3-1 Cardinals where the game would stay and the Cardinals would win.