Blue Jays come up aces by posting an extra-innings win over the St. Louis Cardinals
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At Busch Stadium, the Blue Jays would ride an emotional roller coaster that would see a eighth inning 3-0 lead disappear in the wake of a three-run home run that resulted in a 4-3 deficit.
Seemingly poised to lose the series opener to the host St. Louis Cardinals, Jonatan Clase hit his first homer of the season, a one-out solo blast, in the ninth inning to tie the game.
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Blue Jays come up aces by posting an extra-innings win over the St. Louis Cardinals Back to video
They’ve made late-game drama fashionable and Monday’s suspense-filled ending was no exception, a night that required extra innings.
In terms of entertainment and intrigue, this was as good as it gets.
The stress factor added to the experience.
After scoring one run in the 10th inning, the Jays hit into an inning-ending double play with the bases loaded.
Enter closer Jeff Hoffman in the home half, a shaky closer who faced the top of the Cards’ order.
He sealed the deal as the Jays won a 5-4 thriller to complete their 20th comeback win of the season.
The following are three takeaways on a night Alejandro Kirk recorded a four-hit game, while launching his fourth homer of the season, an assisted long ball hit into straight-away centre that went off the glove of Victor Scott II, and knocking in the winning run, a night reliever Yariel Rodriguez served up a three-run belt.
1. Berrios at Busch
A key start for Jose Berrios as he looked to build on his recent streak of solid outings.
He was given a boost when his offence jumped out first in giving Berrios a 1-0 lead.
A total of 11 pitches were used to retire the side in order in the home half.
When Berrios started the second inning, the Jays were leading 2-0.
He led it off by issuing a free pass, but then induced a weak pop out followed by an inning-ending double play.
The first sign of trouble came in the fourth, which featured a walk, a hit and an error, but Berrios survived.
He pitched well, but could have used more runs and should have been pitching with a greater lead had Toronto been able to hit with runners in scoring position.
In fact, the Jays were completely stymied once they built their early advantage.
Berrios wasn’t at his best and only recorded one strikeout in 6.2 innings, but it was a professional outing as his ERA dropped to .338 on the season.
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2. Grasping at pitching straws
Whether it’s Berrios, Chris Bassitt, Tuesday’s starter versus the Cards, or Kevin Gausman, no team can afford to rely on three reliable starters, no team capable of remaining in playoff contention if a starting rotation has been rendered so thin.
Two straight poor starts by embattled Bowden Francis and yet the Blue Jays are bent on letting the right-hander make his next scheduled start, which arrives this weekend in Philadelphia.
What the Jays are attempting to execute is this fine balancing act where the Big Three isn’t over-used, while also using then enough to put the Jays into a winning position.
Spencer Turnbull’s callup won’t fill the obvious hole in the rotation.
In fact, Turnbull is expected to slide into this multi-inning role, beginning perhaps as early as Wednesday in the series finale in some kind of piggy-back setup with Eric Lauer.
One of Lauer or Turnbull, will start Wednesday, according to manager John Schneider.
As for the injury prone Max Scherzer, the veteran appears to be on track to make a rehab start in triple-A this Friday, which will follow a bullpen session either Tuesday or Wednesday.
Beyond that, per Schneider, Scherzer will require an additional rehab start, but that’s assuming all goes well with the right-hander in the interim.
The goal is to get Scherzer up to the 80-pitch mark.
As Scherzer is trying to forge a path back to the big leagues, Trey Yesavage, a 21-year-old right-hander, continues his climb through the Jays’ system.
His promotion to double-A seemed logical as it was warranted.
Uncertainty, overall, is never welcome when sizing up a major-league starting rotation.
The Jays, however, are dealing with all kinds of uncertainty.
And with it, the triumvirate of Berrios, Bassitt and Gausman are left to shoulder too much of a burden.
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3. Sustainable Springer
Only time will tell if Springer’s resurgence is for real or merely a reflection of an extended period when the veteran has turned back the clock at the plate.
So far, so good as Springer has clearly established himself as one of the team’s best hitter, if not the best.
He entered Monday’s game sporting a club-leading .852 OPS, a level not many envisioned.
His team-high 10 homers entering the second week of June is another feat no one saw coming.
Springer hit fifth in the order Monday.
In his first at-bat, stroked a double into the left-field corner to score a run.
It should have scored two, but the runner on first base happened to be Kirk.
Up next
The Jays will be facing Cards starter Miles Mikolas Tuesday night (7:45 p.m. first pitch); the veteran right-hander has recorded a quality start in three of his past four outings; the 36-year-old has surrendered four home runs in his past six starts; Bassitt is coming off his longest outing of the season when he went seven complete innings, while yielding one run in earning the win against the visiting Phillies.
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