Cardinals 2 Blue Jays 7
Two wins in a row. When was the last time that happened? 2015?
We were 1-1 in the bottom of the sixth, and the Jays had the bases loaded with one out, so I was worried about how they would blow this great chance. Ernie Clement grounds one right at the drawn-in shortstop. The throw home beats Nathan Lukes to the plate by 20 feet. I think a 6-2-3 double play is coming, but the catcher drops the ball and doesn’t notice until after Lukes scores. It is nice to see other teams messing up.
Alejandro Kirk follows with a ground out to first second, scoring our third run. Then Addison Barger singles to right, and it is 4-1. Then Davis Schneider, who homered earlier in the game, lines a single to left, and we are up 5-1.
We got one more in the seventh. Lukes tripled to the right field corner, and Vladimir Guerrero followed with a ground single (hit at 112.3 mph, almost hit the pitcher) to put us up 6-1. After a Spencer Horwitz walk, Kirk drove in another with a single. 7-1.
What a great start for José Berríos. Seven innings, just two hits, one earned (a Jordan Walker home run), two walks and four strikeouts. I’ve always thought good starting pitching was contagious; you get a couple of good starts in a row, and it seems to snowball. He kept the ball on the ground, with ten ground outs and three flyouts (but still, Nathan Lukes made a couple of nice catches in center).
Ryan Burr pitched the eighth, a clean inning, other than John Schneider and the trainer coming out when it looked like Burr was hurting, but he finished the inning.
Luis Frías started the ninth. He gave up a double off the center field wall that I expect Lukes to catch (Varsho would have).
The Jays had 10 hits today. Davis Schneider had three (including the home run). I hope this starts another hot streak. Lukes and Barger each had two. Horwitz had three walks. Springer (0 for 5, 2 k, and still hitting leadoff), Clement (0 for 4) and Luis De Los Santos ( 0 for 3, he came into the game when Loperfido came out) had 0 fors.
Of note:
- Joey Loperfido left today’s game with ‘left adductor muscle discomfort’. Since I’m unsure if I have a left adductor muscle, so I feel safe.
- Vlad became the youngest player in Jays history to drive in 500 runs. We always forget how young he is.
Jays of the Day: Berrios (.258 WPA), Schneider (.119), and Horwitz (.091).
The Other Award: Springer (-.097).
Tomorrow we look for the sweep with Yariel Rodriguez (1-6, 4.42) and Miles Mikolas unless he gets bitten by a radioactive spider (edit note: that was Miles Morales, you dim bulb) (8-11, 5.55).