Jon Lester, Jake Arrieta will start Cubs’ first two games of the season

It came as no surprise Thursday morning when manager Joe Maddon informed left-hander Jon Lester he will pitch the Cubs’ April 2 opener in St. Louis.

This will mark the sixth opening-day assignment for Lester, who was 2-0 with an 0.87 ERA in three starts against the Cardinals last season.

Jake Arrieta will start the second game, and the Cubs will determine the rest of the rotation alignment later.

“Jon brings that experience from multiple World Series, playoff experience, opening-day starting experience,” outfielder Jason Heyward said. “He’s a guy who is hungry and just loves to be on the mound, and you’ve got to take the ball from him.”

Maddon’s mistake: Maddon admitted he should not have instructed John Lackey to warm up in the 11th inning of a victory over the Cardinals on Aug. 11. Lackey pitched three days later and experienced stiffness, and he spent three weeks on the 15-day disabled list that cost him a shot at 200 innings.

“I screwed up by permitting him to warm up,” Maddon said.

Lackey, 38, said he feels good and started throwing later than usual after a long postseason. He will make his spring training debut Tuesday against Team Italy.

“We’ll see if it fits into my golf schedule,” Lackey joked.

“I’ve been in quite a few playoff runs, so I know how to ease into these spring trainings after that. I’m not reinventing anything. It’s been a long time. I am who I am. At this point, I’ll just try to fine-tune things and try to execute.”

Injury updates: First baseman Anthony Rizzo was listed as day to day after experiencing lower-back tightness that caused him to be scratched from Thursday’s game against the Reds.

Infielder Jemile Weeks is expected to miss the remainder of spring training after suffering a left ACL sprain and bone bruise. Infielder Tommy La Stella (hamstring) might return Friday.

Extra innings: Relievers Pedro Strop, Hector Rondon and Carl Edwards Jr. will make their spring debuts Saturday, followed by Wade Davis, Koji Uehara and Justin Grimm on Sunday. … Maddon said he is “OK” with the new rule eliminating the four-pitch intentional walk.