(Photo by Joe Puetz/Getty Images)
It was a day full of celebrations for the St. Louis Cardinals on Thursday.
Opening Day finally arrived, and fans got a chance to meet the 2023 Cardinals.
On top of that, top prospect Jordan Walker made his MLB debut and catcher Willson Contreras got a chance to don a Cardinals uniform for the first time.
The former Chicago Cubs catcher even picked up his first hit with his new team.
However, things turned sour late when the veteran catcher took a 103-mph fastball from Jordan Hicks to the knee and was forced to exit the game.
On Twitter, the Cardinals provided an update on their new catcher.
Injury Update: Willson Contreras was removed from the game with a right knee contusion.
— St. Louis Cardinals (@Cardinals) March 30, 2023
The 30-year-old ultimately departed with a right knee contusion.
The situation only worsened when the Blue Jays went ahead on a base-hit by Vladimir Guerrero Jr.
St. Louis battled back to take the lead, only to let it slip in the ninth inning and fall by a final of 10-9.
But after the game, the concern centered around the Cards’ new catcher.
After the retirement of both Albert Pujols and Yadier Molina, St. Louis signed Contreras to a five-year, $87.5 million contract that includes a club option for 2028.
Unfortunately, it was an errant pitch from Hicks that spelled the end of his day.
On top of that, the Cardinals couldn’t contain George Springer and Bo Bichette.
Springer picked up five hits while Bichette had four of his own.
The two teams will be back in action on Saturday for the second game of the series.
Jack Flaherty will start and face off against Kevin Gausman.
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