Cardinals' Wainwright to start Opening Day
An abdominal injury that sidelined St. Louis Cardinals ace Adam Wainwright for the majority of spring will not disrupt the start to his season.
Wainwright will get the ball for the Cardinals on April 5 against left-hander Jon Lester and the Chicago Cubs, marking his third-straight Opening Day start and fourth of his career.
"(It's) just really a validation for the work you put in and the years that I've been here," Wainwright told Jenifer Langosch of MLB.com.
"I saw (Chris Carpenter) do it, and I've seen the number of times that (Bob) Gibson did it. Each time I get to, it's just a very special thing. It's an assignment that they don't hand out lightly, and I think that's why they waited until the last couple days to announce it. It's a great privilege (for) me."
The three-time All-Star made his spring debut on March 21 and followed that up with a strong outing on Tuesday, allowing one run off eight hits in 6 2/3 innings while striking out a pair.
Wainwright is coming off back-to-back seasons in which he's finished in the top-3 in National League Cy Young voting.
The 33-year-old went 20-9 with a 2.39 ERA and 1.03 WHIP across 227 innings in 2014.