Wednesday’s Game Report: Blue Jays 5, Cardinals 2
By Rob Rains
Tucked in between a highly-anticipated series against the Dodgers and four games against division-rival Milwaukee, the three games against the Blue Jays always had the chance to be a trap series for the Cardinals.
That’s exactly the way it played out.
The Blue Jays bludgeoned the Cardinals pitching staff to the tune of 39 hits, including 10 more on Wednesday, as they completed a sweep of the three-game series at Busch Stadium.
After winning the first two games against the Dodgers, the Cardinals lost the last four games of the homestand and finished the nine games against the Royals, Dodgers and Blue Jays with a 3-6 record.
The loss on Wedesday came after the Cardinals took an early lead with a run in each of the first two innings, but then saw the Blue Jays come back with five unanswered runs.
The Cardinals have lost six consecutive games to Toronto dating back to last season.
Here s how Wednesday’s game broke down:
At the plate: Willson Contreras drove in the Cardinals’ first round with a single in the first inning, following a two-base throwing error on a pickoff attempt by Eric Lauer … Contreras drove in 12 runs during the homestand … Yohel Pozo hit his second home run of the season in the second inning but the Cardinals were held to four more hits the rest of the game … They did get the potential tying run to the plate in the eighth inning after a walk to Alec Burleson and a single from Nolan Arenado, but Nolan Gorman struck out for the third time in the game to end the inning … Lars Nootbaar was back in the lineup after sitting out Tuesday night’s game but was hitless in five at-bats and struck out four times for only the second tine in his 457 games in the majors. Nootbaar was just 4-of-33 on the homestand and struck out 13 times.
On the mound: Matthew Liberatore lost his third consecutive start. He gave up five runs, three earned, on eight hits over five innings … Riley O’Brien allowed two hits but no runs in his two innings of work and Chris Roycroft worked the final two innings, allowing only one walk.
Key stat: During the nine games, the Cardinals allowed a combined 105 hits, including 10 home runs, and 46 earned runs in 83 innings, an ERA of 4.99.
Worth noting: Brendan Donovan was out of the Cardinals lineup after having to come out of Tuesday night’s game with discomfort in a toe on his left foot. Donovan underwent an MRI on Wednesday … Jordan Walker, who has been out since May 28 because of inflammation in his left wrist, is scheduled to begin a rehab assignment on Thursday with Memphis at Gwinnett County, which will allow Walker to be near his suburban Atlanta home … Tekoah Roby made his Triple A debut on Wednesday, allowing 10 hits and six runs in 4 2/3 innings. He walked one and struck out five and was not involved in the decision … Tink Hence, whose rehab assignment was moved from Palm Beach to Peoria as he recovers from a rib cage issue, will get the start for the Chiefs on Friday night at Cedar Rapids.
Up next: The Cardinals will open a seven-game road trip on Thursday night with the first of four games against the Brewers in Milwaukee. Sonny Gray will get the start in the opener while one of the Brewers top prospects, righthander Jacob Misiorowski, will make his major-league debut for Milwaukee.
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