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Cardinals manager Oli Marmol鈥檚 lineup decisions were an expression of trust more than they were about analytics, matchups or signaling a new era for the franchise.

Particularly in the cases of Alec Burleson and Masyn Winn, Marmol trusted they鈥檇 know the difference between stepping into the batter鈥檚 box looking to be a hitter and stepping in looking to be a hero.

That trust manifested in the form of Burleson and Winn's spots as the Nos. 3 and 4 hitters, respectively, in the Cardinals opening day lineup. It鈥檚 where Cardinals teams from the recent past featured some of the franchise鈥檚 most notable sluggers batting back to back, such as Albert Pujols and Jim Edmonds, Pujols and Matt Holliday, Holliday and Allen Craig, or Paul Goldschmidt and Nolan Arenado.

This season鈥檚 configuration has a decidedly different flavor. It could prove ill-considered a few weeks into the season. If things go sideways, Marmol might jettison the idea before Memorial Day. This lineup isn鈥檛 carved in stone.

However, one game into the season, there鈥檚 clearly a method to Marmol鈥檚 lineup madness. Burleson hit the decisive home run and collected three hits as well as two RBIs, while Winn smacked an extra-base hit, scored a run and combined with Burleson to ignite the eight-run inning that flipped the game on its head.

鈥淚t鈥檚 amazing,鈥� Winn said of the confidence Marmol and the coaching staff expressed in him. 鈥淚t鈥檚 real nice whenever I didn鈥檛 even hit my body weight in spring training. No, it鈥檚 great though. Obviously, I鈥檓 used to hitting in front of Burley, but I mean, shoot, watching that dude, watching his approach on deck I feel like kind of locks me in a little bit.

鈥淪o I love it. I鈥檓 glad that they trust in us. I鈥檓 glad that they trusted in me to put me that high.鈥�

Winn, who has 26 career home runs and a .376 career slugging percentage, has distinguished himself more for his ability to put the ball in play than being able to put the ball into the stands. He entered the season with a .252 career batting average.

More to the point, Winn has swung and missed at a lower rate than 79% of big league hitters the past two seasons. Last season, when Winn admittedly chased home runs and power numbers too much, he still struck out just 19% of the time. The previous season, he struck out just 17.1% of the time and collected the second-most two-strike hits in the majors (80).

Winn pledged to again focus on hitting line drives and using the entire field this season. Marmol has bought into what Winn's selling.

鈥淚 think whether you put him first, second, fourth or eighth, he has an understanding of what鈥檚 going to give him success moving forward, and he鈥檚 committed to that,鈥� Marmol said Thursday鈥檚 opener. 鈥淪o I trust him, regardless of where we put him, that he鈥檒l stick to that.鈥�

Burleson recorded his first multi-hit opening day performance, and he also became the first Cardinal to score two runs and have two hits in the same inning since he and Winn did so in a game against the Chicago Cubs on July 13, 2024.

Burleson, who won his first Silver Slugger Award as a utility player last season, demonstrated he's a dangerous left-handed hitter with his 18 home runs in 2025.

Though, at his best Burleson remains more of an all-around hitter than a pure slugger. Burleson entered the season with a career slugging percentage of .422 in the big leagues.

Exercising plate discipline is one of Burleson's ongoing battles. He鈥檚 got a knack for putting the bat on the ball, even when it comes to pitches outside of the strike zone.

Burleson knows being selective makes him an even more potent hitter, but sometimes the desire to deliver for his team in a big spot overrides his desire to be a more discerning hitter. That will be his big challenge.

If opposing pitchers don鈥檛 give him anything to hit in hopes they can bait him into getting himself out, can he stay patient? Will he be too anxious to drive in runs to hold off on swinging? Is he ready to handle that?

鈥淪omething you find about," Marmol said. "Right?"

"But do I trust it? Yes.鈥�

Placing Burleson behind rookie leadoff hitter JJ Wetherholt and catcher/slugger Ivan Herrera means the Cardinals will rely on Wetherholt and Herrera to get on base and then relay on Burleson to read the situation and maintain enough of a level head that opponents can鈥檛 take advantage of him being overly aggressive or free-swinging.

鈥淚 think that 2 through 4 is we鈥檙e going to have good at-bats, and obviously, we鈥檙e going to hit,鈥� Burleson said. 鈥淲e鈥檙e going to have good at-bats. We鈥檙e going to have an approach. We鈥檙e going to stick to it, and yeah, it鈥檚 good to have the trust from, not only Oli but the staff to be able to plug us in there.

鈥淚 think it鈥檚 going to take more than just two through four to win ballgames. So we have to continue to have one through nine have those really good at-bats, which we did a really great job of today.鈥�

Trailing 7-1 going into the bottom of the sixth, the Burleson-Winn combination started the rally with back-to-back hits. Burleson swatted a 2-2 change-up from reliever Ian Seymour into right field for a single. Then Winn lined a 2-2 cutter on the inner half of the plate to left field for a double.

Eight batters later, Burleson came to the plate with the score tied and Victor Scott II on third base.

Burleson took a first-pitch ball, swung and missed at a pair of sweepers from reliever Griffin Jax, fouled off two more sweepers from Jax, then put a monster swing on a fastball and blasted the 98.6 mph heater 432 feet into the right field stands to cap the scoring in the eight-run inning and give the Cardinals a 9-7 lead.

鈥淓nded in a homer, but he stayed within himself the whole at-bat,鈥� Marmol said. 鈥淎nd that鈥檚 something he鈥檚 going to do. I do feel like situations presented themselves in the 2 and the 4, and I liked the look of it. At times, it went our way. At times, it didn鈥檛. But I like the overall feel of what we did today.鈥�

This is what the heart of the Cardinals order looks like in 2026.听