ST. LOUIS -- After squandering away three leads earlier in the night, the Blue Jays finally held onto one to escape Busch Stadium with a 6-5, 11-inning win in their series opener against the Cardinals on Tuesday.
The Cardinals' sloppy play led to unearned runs in the ninth and 11th, the latter of which scored on the team's fourth error of the night. A pinch-hit, one-out double by starting pitcherMarcus Stroman set up Toronto's game-winning rally.
The Cardinals were positioned to work around it, until shortstopAledmys Diaz made an errant throw to first after fielding a two-out grounder by Steve Pearce, allowing Stroman to score.
The Cardinals were positioned to work around it, until shortstopAledmys Diaz made an errant throw to first after fielding a two-out grounder by Steve Pearce, allowing Stroman to score.
Starters Marco Estrada and Michael Wacha each allowed two runs over six innings, but things turned especially interesting after they departed. The Blue Jays inched ahead with a two-run seventh that featured an incredible flip into home plate by Chris Coghlan, whose aerial act helped him avoid catcher Yadier Molina. The Cardinals answered back in the bottom half of the inning with Jose Martinez's first career home run, a two-run shot that tied the game at 4.
The two teams traded runs again in the ninth. Jose Bautista's RBI single helped the Blue Jays capitalize on a wild pickoff throw by reliever Brett Cecil. The Cardinals answered with Dexter Fowler's two-out infield single against Roberto Osuna
MOMENTS THAT MATTERED
Flippin' fantastic: After drawing a one-out, pinch-hit walk, Coghlan gave the Blue Jays a seventh-inning lead with a diving flip over Molina. Stephen Piscotty's throw from right field took Molina into Coghlan's path, but instead of barreling over the catcher, Coghlan flew above him. With a somersault in the air, Coghlan cleared Molina and came down on home plate to give Toronto a 3-2 lead. The run snapped reliever Matt Bowman's 19 2/3-inning scoreless streak.
Surprise contributor: With no position players left on his bench, Blue Jays manager John Gibbons summoned starting pitcher Marcus Stroman to pinch-hit with one out in the 11th. Stroman, hitless in five career at-bats, laced a one-out double off reliever Miguel Socolovich. Stroman is the first American League pitcher to connect for a pinch-hit, extra-base hit since Gary Peters in 1971.
If you enjoyed this article, please consider sharing it!
