ST. LOUIS – Sonny Gray. Opening Day. That’s how the St. Louis Cardinals will start the 2024 season.

Gray will take the mound for the Cardinals’ first game of the new season on March 28, 2024, against the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Cardinals manager Oli Marmol confirmed that plan to media members on Tuesday, just hours ahead of Gray’s first spring start and nearly one month away from Opening Day.

Gray, the 2023 American League Cy Young runner-up with the Minnesota Twins, joined the Cardinals on a three-year, $75 million contract in the offseason.

Gray will become the first Cardinals pitcher since Kyle Lohse in 2008 to start an Opening Day matchup without having previously played for St. Louis.

The 34-year-old pitcher is gearing up for his 12th MLB season and has spent time with four previous teams. His 2023 season was one of his best to date, leading to a 2.79 ERA, 183 strikeouts, and only eight home runs allowed over 184 innings pitched.

Gray will make his first Cardinals spring start on Tuesday against the Boston Red Sox in Jupiter. He is expected to pitch around two innings or stretch out to around 35 pitches.

Gray is one of three former All-Star starting pitchers to join the Cardinals in the offseason. The other two, Lance Lynn and Kyle Gibson, are both expected to start in the upcoming days.

Marmol has not yet determined a schedule for the rotation order behind Sonny Gray and may even consider a six-man starting rotation to start the season as the Cardinals embrace a demanding schedule early on.

The rotation, barring any unforeseen setbacks, should consist of Gray, Lynn, Gibson, Miles Mikolas and Steven Matz.