ST. LOUIS (Interstat) — The Tampa Bay Rays and St. Louis Cardinals will open their 2026 regular seasons under the lights at Busch Stadium on Thursday afternoon, each looking to erase the memory of decisive losses that ended their previous campaigns.

First pitch is scheduled for 7:15 p.m. CDT in St. Louis, with game-time temperatures around 80 degrees under cloudy skies.

The Rays will send right-hander Drew Rasmussen to the mound. Rasmussen, whose season record is 0-0, will be tasked with setting the tone for a Tampa Bay club that closed 2025 with a 13-4 loss at Toronto on Sept. 28. The Cardinals, shut out 2-0 by the Chicago Cubs in their last outing that same day, have not named a starting pitcher for the opener.

Both teams enter with identical 0-0 records, marking a clean slate after an offseason of change. The game begins a three-game, opening weekend series between the clubs, with games also scheduled for Saturday and Sunday in St. Louis before both teams embark on extended road trips.

According to Interstat’s game simulator, Thursday’s contest projects to be a tightly pitched affair, with a predicted final score of 1-0 in favor of the visiting Rays.

For Tampa Bay, the opening week presents a challenging travel schedule. Following the series in St. Louis, the Rays will head to Milwaukee for three games against the Brewers beginning Monday, followed by a three-game set in Minnesota next weekend. Their first home game at Tropicana Field is not until Monday, April 6, against the Chicago Cubs.

The Cardinals, after hosting the Rays, will welcome the New York Mets for a three-game series starting Monday. They then hit the road for six games, with three in Detroit against the Tigers followed by three in Washington against the Nationals.

Thursday’s opener will test an early-season Cardinals lineup against Rasmussen, while St. Louis’s pitching staff will aim to stifle a Rays offense seeking a more productive start than its season-ending performance in Toronto.