Opening Day is finally here! MLB is back with a full schedule of games starting April 7 to October 2. Here is a look at the starting pitchers who will take the mound for their teams. As each team’s manager announced, here’s who got the nod to pitch on the mound to kick off the 2022 season.
The NL’s Opening Day Starters
Cincinnati Reds
Tyler Mahle
2021 season (13-6, 3.75 ERA, 180 IP, 210 SO, 1.233 WHIP)
Tyler Mahle will start for the Cincinnati Reds against the World Series champions Atlanta Braves. Mahle was successful in spring training, racking up 14 strikeouts over 10 innings of work. He finished last season with a 13-6 record and a 3.75 ERA in his first full major league campaign. In 94 major league starts, Mahle is 26-31 with a 4.34 ERA.
Chicago Cubs
Kyle Hendricks
2021 season (14-7, 4.77 ERA, 181 IP, 131 SO, 1.348 WHIP)
Kyle Hendricks is back for this third straight Opening Day start. The Chicago Cubs will lean on Hendricks to be the team’s ace. He will look to have a bounce-back campaign after he struggled mightily in 2021. In his Opening Day start in 2020, Hendricks threw a complete game shutout against Milwaukee. But he would lose in his start last year against Pittsburgh.
Pittsburgh Pirates
J.T. Brubaker
2021 season (5-3, 5.36 ERA, 124 1/3 IP, 129 SO, 1.295 WHIP)
J.T. Brubaker made his big league debut in 2020. Two years later, Brubaker will be the starter for Pittsburgh as they kick off the 2022 season against St. Louis. Brubaker becomes the Pirates’ seventh Opening Day starter in the last seven seasons and a favorite for the position on most betting sites of 2022. Chad Kuhl, Joe Musgrove, Jamieson Taillon, Ivan Nova, Gerrit Cole and Francisco Liriano all took to the mound in those starts.
Milwaukee Brewers
Corbin Burnes
2021 season (11-5, 2.43 ERA, 167 IP, 234 SO, 0.940 WHIP)
Corbin Burnes will get the nod for the Brewers. It’s the obvious choice as Burnes won the NL Cy Young Award last season. Furthermore, Burners is the first Brewers pitcher to start on Opening Day after winning the award. Rollie Fingers and Pete Vuckovich pitched for the season openers in 1981-1982. In his last start at Wrigley Field, Burnes threw eight scoreless innings with 15 strikeouts.
St. Louis Cardinals
Adam Wainwright
2021 season (17-7, 3.05 ERA, 206 1/3 IP, 174 SO, 1.057 WHIP)
In his 18th and potentially final season, Adam Wainwright gets the start for St. Louis. Last year, Wainwright was lethal for the Cardinals, helping win 17 consecutive games en route to the NL Wild Card Game. He will be on a Cardinals roster that features other veterans, Yadier Molina and the return of Albert Pujols. Wainwright gets his seventh Home Opener start, surpassing the great Bob Gibson. Plus, Wainwright’s sixth Opening Day start for the Cardinals is second to Gibson’s 10.
