Mikolas will start the Sunday installment of the two-game set the Cardinals will play against the Reds in Monterrey, Mexico next weekend, Jenifer Langosch of MLB.com reports.

EDGE Analysis

Mikolas will first take the hill Monday versus the Dodgers at Busch Stadium. The veteran right-hander has endured a rocky start to the new season, allowing eight earned runs on 12 hits and three walks across 10 innings over two starts.

Mikolas allowed three runs on seven hits while walking two and striking out two in a no decision against the Pirates on Wednesday.

EDGE Analysis

The Cardinals bailed out their starting pitcher for the second straight game, erasing a lead in the eighth inning and then winning in extras. Mikolas minimized the damage in his second start of the year, but he's allowed 12 hits and three walks through 10 innings overall. He remains at 0-1 with a 7.20 ERA, 1.50 WHIP and five strikeouts through two outings this season. It's early, but this isn't the start owners envisioned for Mikolas, who made his first All-Star game last year.

Mikolas (0-1) took the loss and allowed five runs on five hits and a walk while striking out three over five innings Thursday against Milwaukee.

EDGE Analysis

Mikolas made it through the first inning unscathed but allowed a solo homer in the second followed by a three-run blast in the third and another solo shot in the fifth. Although a loss certainly isn't what he envisioned on Opening Day, he'll toe the rubber in search of a better result Wednesday against Pittsburgh.

Mikolas will start on Opening Day in Milwaukee, Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports.

EDGE Analysis

He will oppose Jhoulys Chacin of the Brewers on March 28 in Miller Park, and his second start figures to come April 3 in Pittsburgh. One of the big selling points with Mikolas is that he could eclipse 200 innings for the second year in a row, and starting on Opening Day will only help him on that quest.

Mikolas allowed five earned runs on eight hits over five innings in a 5-0 Grapefruit League loss to the Braves on Tuesday. He struck out two.

EDGE Analysis

The right-hander cruised through his first two spring starts before Tuesday's debacle, with the five runs he allowed serving the initial blemishes on his ERA during exhibition play. Mikolas is already slated to serve as the Opening Day starter, and one redeeming quality of his performance Tuesday was that he significantly built up his workload by matching the number of innings he'd logged in his first two outings combined. The 30-year-old likely figures in for two more Grapefruit League appearances before taking the hill against the Brewers to kick off the 2019 season March 28.

Mikolas pitched three innings and didn't allow a run on five hits and a walk Thursday against the Mets.

EDGE Analysis

Mikolas has yet to surrender a run through two starts, although he's surprisingly struck out just one batter through five frames. The punchouts will undoubtedly start to accumulate as he nears mid-season form. The 30-year-old right-hander will be leaned on heavily by the Cardinals once again this season, and he should be highly motivated to build off a successful 2018 campaign after agreeing to a four-year, $68 million contract extension Tuesday.

Mikolas signed a four-year, $68 million extension with the Cardinals on Tuesday, Jon Heyman of MLB Network reports.

EDGE Analysis

As had been speculated, the Cardinals decided to lock up Mikolas prior to the 2019 campaign -- which would have been his final season under contract after inking an original two-year, $15.5 million deal with St. Louis in December of 2017. The 30-year-old impressed in his first season with the Cardinals in 2018, going 18-4 with a 2.83 ERA and 1.07 WHIP across 32 starts (200.2 innings). He's slated to serve as the team's Opening Day starter against the Brewers on March 28.

Manager Mike Shildt said Saturday that Mikolas would serve as the Cardinals' starter for the team's regular-season opener March 28 versus the Brewers, Jenifer Langosch of MLB.com reports.

EDGE Analysis

Shildt made the announcement just hours before Mikolas was scheduled to take the hill for the Cardinals' Grapefruit League opener in Miami. The selection of Mikolas doesn't come as much of a surprise after the right-hander performed brilliantly in his return to North America in 2018 after a detour in Japan, compiling a 2.83 ERA across 200.2 innings. Per Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, general manager Mike Girsch also noted that it's a possibility the Cardinals will reach an extension with Mikolas prior to the regular season. Mikolas will be headed for free agency next winter while he finishes out the final season of his two-year, $15.5 million contract.

Manager Mike Shildt named Mikolas the starter for the Cardinals' Grapefruit League opener Saturday versus the Marlins, Jenifer Langosch of MLB.com reports.

EDGE Analysis

Mikolas will be followed by Jack Flaherty, with both hurlers slated to throw about 40 pitches apiece. The two are likely the leading contenders to garner the Opening Day nod for the Cardinals, especially with Carlos Martinez (shoulder) on a no-throw program for at least the next two weeks. Though he exceeded even the loftiest of expectations with a 2.83 ERA and 1.07 WHIP across 32 starts in 2018, Mikolas believes he can achieve even greater heights this season by making more use of his changeup to complement his excellent fastball-slider combination. He used the off-speed offering just 4.4 percent of the time last season, per Statcast.

Mikolas (18-4) won his fifth straight decision by pitching eight innings Saturday against the Cubs, allowing just one run (zero earned) on five hits with six strikeouts and no walks.

EDGE Analysis

Mikolas kept the Cardinals playoff hopes alive and was nicked for the Cubs' only run in the first inning on an error by Yairo Munoz. Over his last four starts the 30-year-old has allowed only four earned runs, 16 hits and two walks while striking out 27 batters over 27 innings. Mikolas has a sterling 2.83 ERA and a 1.07 WHIP this season.