(Photo credit: Reinhold Matay-Imagn Images)

The Cardinals are counting on Opening Day starting pitcher Sonny Gray to serve as their staff ace this season.

But Gray, who was 13-9 with a 3.84 ERA last season, posted a 12.56 ERA in four spring appearances. That struggle will earn him extra scrutiny Thursday afternoon when the Cardinals start the season against the Minnesota Twins at Busch Stadium.

The Twins will counter with Pablo Lopez, who went 15-10 with a 4.08 ERA last season.

Cardinals president of baseball operations John Mozeliak attributed some of Gray's struggles to a recent illness. Gray returned to St. Louis ahead of the opener to recover while the team played an exhibition game in Memphis against its Triple-A affiliate.

'The last couple of starts have not gone as planned,' Mozeliak said. 'I also don't think he was feeling all that great. Especially that last one.'

Gray was unable to regain his usual fastball velocity during the spring. That forced him to adjust his pitching approach.

'I will find a way,' Gray said. 'There's no doubt in my mind about that. I will find a way. It just might look a little different than what I'm used to.'

Gray pitched for the Twins during the 2022 and 2023 seasons before signing with the Cardinals. He is 2-5 with a 5.36 ERA in nine career starts against Minnesota.

After letting first baseman Paul Goldschmidt leave as a free agent, the Cardinals will feature a different look. Willson Contreras moved to first base, leaving Ivan Herrera and Pedro Pages to catch.

Victor Scott II earned the center field job in spring while posting a 1.172 OPS. Lars Nootbaar will open the season as the new leadoff hitter, bumping Masyn Winn, who hit .080 in the spring, to the No. 9 spot.

'I'm no stranger to the bottom of the lineup,' Winn said. 'We had a conversation the other day, and he was asking me how I felt about it, how I felt about Nootbaar leading off. I'm not delusional, man. I understand that spring training wasn't the best. If I came out and hit .330 it wouldn't even be a conversation.'

Lopez finished his spring on a high note by throwing three scoreless innings in his last spring game.

'Last game, with it being the highest workload with the stuff and everything being in place, it was like, OK, with one more to go, I felt everything I wanted to feel stuff-wise in my last game,' Lopez said.

'He got some swing-and-miss against some good hitters (Friday) and his stuff looks good right now, so he's going into his Opening Day outing in a strong spot,' Twins manager Rocco Baldelli said. 'It a nice way for him to end his spring.'

Overall Lopez posted a 6.62 ERA in five spring appearances. He is 3-2 with a 2.33 ERA in six career starts against the Cardinals.

The Twins had to do some shuffling during the spring due to injuries to infielders Royce Lewis (hamstring strain) and Brooks Lee (lower back strain). Will Castro and Mickey Gasper will see time at second base and Jose Miranda could play extensively at third base.

Gasper earned his spot on the opening roster by posting a .904 OPS in 17 spring games.

'He's a very positive person, and I think he uses that to his benefit,' Baldelli said. 'And on top of all of that, he had a great camp. It's not like we just like him and we decided to give Mickey an Opening Day roster spot.'

--Field Level Media