Tuesday’s Game Report: Blue Jays 10, Cardinals 9
By Rob Rains
The Cardinals came back from a four-run deficit once on Tuesday night, but couldn’t do it again when they needed another comeback in the ninth.
Trailing 10-6 going to the ninth, a three-run, two-out home run by Willson Contreras cut the Toronto lead to one run and got the tying run to the plate, but Alec Burleson grounded out to end the game at Busch Stadium.
A three-run homer from Nolan Gorman wiped out the original four-run lead by the Blue Jays in the fourth, but Toronto responded to build the lead back up to 8-4 before a two-run homer from Nolan Arenado in the eighth pulled the Cardinals within two runs.
What seemed to be two insurance runs off Chris Roycroft in the ninth inning, the final run scoring on a wild pitch, turned out to be the difference in the game as Toronto won for the second night in a row.
The Cardinals have lost three consecutive games at home for the first time this season.
Here is how Tuesday night’s game broke down:
At the plate: The Cardinals had been 4-0 this season when hitting three home runs … It’s the second time this season they lost a game when they scored nine runs … Arenado also had a pair of singles, one of which drove in a run, in addition to his two-run homer … After Gorman’s homer in the fourth the Cardinals did not get another hit until Burleson’s two-out single in the eighth, in front of Arenado’s home run … Masyn Winn and Ivan Herrera singled with one out in the ninth, and after pinch-hitter Yohel Pozo popped out, Contreras connected with his eighth home run … Contreras has driven in 13 runs in his last 10 games.
On the mound: It was a rough start for Miles Mikolas, who allowed nine hits and six runs in five innings, including a three-run homer in the first inning … Mikolas has allowed a combined 13 runs over 15 innings in his last three starts … John King and Kyle Leahy each were charged with one run before Roycroft allowed the final two Toronto runs in the ninth.
Key stat: The Cardinals have allowed nine or more hits in 14 of their last 16 games, including the 16 hits by the Blue Jays on Tuesday night. They have allowed 85 runs in that stretch, an average of 5.3 runs per game.
Worth noting: Brendan Donovan had to come out of the game after the eighth inning because of left-toe discomfort … Lars Nootbaar got the day off after getting just five hits in his last 35 at-bats … The Cardinals have been outscored 9-1 in the first inning in the first eight games of this homestand … Tekoah Roby, promoted from Springfield to Memphis on Monday, will make his Triple A debut when he starts Wednesday night for the Redbirds at Gwinnett.
Up next: The Cardinals will try to avoid being swept in the three-game series in the 1:15 finale on Wednesday. Matthew Liberatore is the scheduled starter.
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