The St. Louis Cardinals and the Cincinnati Reds’ first game of the season went into a rain delay after just six pitches, which was barely enough time for the Cardinals fans to boo Brandon Phillips and cheer when emergency rain-aided starter Miguel Batista threw one up-and-in to St. Louis’s least-favorite baseball player since, say, J.D. Drew. Batista was named as the starter during warmups when Tony La Russa decided he didn’t want to start Kyle McClellan immediately before the rain started to fall over Busch Stadium.
Reds starter Edinson Volquez is unlikely to be affected by a significant delay, since he hadn’t yet come into the game. Batista looked less than ready for his brief audition, throwing six balls, including two wild pitches, to start the game.
The Cardinals currently have no update as to how long the rain delay will last, but updates are likely to come via the team’s official Twitter and in Viva El Birdos’s perpetually updated Game Thread. At this moment the Reds have a runner on first with Brandon Phillips at the plate.