Blue Jays bring too much offense to St. Louis the week
Game Result
The Cardinal homestand ends with a thud. After staking Liberatore to an early 2-run lead, Libby ran out of gas at 60 pitches again. The Blue Jay opener and bullpen crew held the offense down for the last seven, scoreless inning and they leave town with a sweep and visions of playoffs in Toronto air.
Pre-game Notes
- On the MiLB side, Drew Rom returns to the IL. Hancel Rincon promoted to AA. Who is Hancel Ricon?
- Tekoah Roby made his AAA debut earlier today. He got hit a little bit, but not horrible for a first-time experience.
Line-up (and roster) Machinations
- Yet another LH faces the Cardinals today, Lauer. Liberatore for the Cardinals.
- Pozo gives Pages a break behind the plate.
- Herrera in at third-hole as Donovan gets the day off with a sore foot.
- Gorman remains in the lineup. One player’s injury is another player’s opportunity.
The Game
An inning-by-inning breakdown, with score card entries and observations along the way. This format is one I usually reserve for day games during the week, with a bit more detail as I suspect people can’t readily listen or watch.
T1 – K. Single. F8. P4. A good start for Liberatore. Velo 95-96 on FB. A good sign.
B1 – Nootbar K’s again. Boy, is he struggling. Pulling off everything. Winn singles, then gets to third on a pick-off throwing error by Lauer. Herrera dribbles out 3u, but Contreras picks him up with an RBI single. Burleson pops out. Cards up 1-0.
T2 – Loud double to start the inning. Another P4. 3u. Runner to third. A sharp curve K’s the third out.
B2 – Arenado flies out to center. Gorman lines out to center. Pozo with a solo HR! Scott 3u. Cards now up 2-0.
T3 – A lead-off double, 63 mph that goes between Libby’s legs, then the second base bag and dribbles into the OF. Talk about BABIP luck. Single. 5-4 force out scores a run. Another single makes it first and third. A sharp line out to center results in SacFly RBI. Another single. A K ends an arduous inning. FB velo down a tick. DIdn’t throw it much, as if avoiding it. I hadn’t noticed before now but there is only 4 mph difference between Libby change and FB??? Or is Statcast misreading really bad FB as change-ups? Game now tied 2-2.
NOTE: After a little Statcast research, I see an average 5.5 mph difference between FB and Change. That is not enough. Especially since the movement profile of the Change pretty much matches his Sinker and Fastball. Needs an adjustment there. But it is his Change they are picking up.
SECOND NOTE: Later, the lead-off double was changed to an E-4. I’m not sure the story there. Gorman, the ball and bag all came together. Perhaps they determined it did not hit the bag?
B3 – Nootbar leads off with yet another awkward K. Winn lines out. Herrera walks. Contreras HBP. I don’t think Lauer minds that, though. He’d rather face Burly. He K’s.
T4 – Lead-off bunt single. Then a walk. This against the bottom of the order. 6 of last 9 batters have reached. Red flags everywhere. This could get way ugly. He is over 60 pitches and appears gassed. Velo down a lot now. Last FB was 91.7. Down 4 ticks since start of the game. SacBunt makes it second and third. Top of the order. SacFly gives Blue Jays the lead. An RBI single. Blue Jays sitting breaking ball. Stolen based. Captain Kirk K’s (unusual for him). Toronto now up 4-2.
B4 – Arenado lines out. Gorman K’s. Pozo pops out.
T5 – Libby back out. F9. F8. HR. F7. FB was in the 92 range this inning. 4 hard hit balls. 3 outs. BABIP gods smiled this inning. Blue Jays now up 5-2.
B5 – Scott singles. Nootbar makes contact, grounding out second. Fisher in for Laurie. Winn pops out. Herrera backwards K.
T6 – O’Brien in. K. Line out. Walk. 1-3. Quick inning. Hasn’t been many reliever innings with no runs scored recently.
Libby’s final line: 5 IP, 5 R, 3 ER, 4 K, 1 BB, 90 pitches. A slog.
B6 – Turnbull in for Fisher. Contreras doubles. Burleson pops out. Arenado grounds out to third. Gorman K’s.
T7 – O’Brien out for a second inning. Single. Single. Followed by an unusual 5-4 GIDP where Arenado stepped on third and got the force at second. That was all followed by a caught stealing. Good throw by Pozo. Blue Jays still up 5-2.
B7 – Pozo grounds out to SS. Scott with another single. Nootbar with yet another K. Scott steals second but is stranded there when Winn pops out.
T8 – Roycroft in for O’Brien. Obligatory leadoff walk. I hate walks. First one of the game, I believe. SacBunt moves runner up. Blue Jays play a lot of old-fashioned small ball. K. 4-3. Threat ended.
B8 – Little in for Turnbull. Herrera K’s. Contreras K’s. Burleson walks!! Albeit on 4 pitches that were not close enough to hit with a broom stick. They pitched around him and he did not take the bait. Gorman K’s.
T9 – Roycroft back out. L7 (110 mph). L8 (104 mph). 4-3. The BABIP gods smile again. Quick inning.
B9 – Rodriguez in for Little. Pozo pops out. Been a lot of those today. Scott grounds out 4-3. In a poetic end, Nootbar K’s for the fourth time. Ugh. Cards lose 5-2.
Post-game Notes
- The bullpen got 4 innings without damage, so that is a positive. 2 IP each for O’Brien and Roycroft. I’d be a tad surprised if both go to Milwaukee, but then again the Cardinals have to manage the number of times they send a guy down (5 max). They are close already with Munoz, I believe, although they may chose to lose him and try out Granillo.
- Cardinals close out the homestand with 4 consecutive losses. That Blue Jay team can hit.
- Off to Milwaukee for a 4-game series. It will be nice to play in the NL Central for a bit. I’ll have the series preview up tomorrow morning.