Garcia would get credited with the win after the Jays final comeback of the night, a result that was sealed when closer Jordan Romano came in for a 1-2-3 ninth inning to lock it down and record his first save of the season.
AROUND THE BASES
Springier had a hit and run scored in each of his first three plate appearances and became just the third player in MLB history with at least five hits and four runs scored on opening day — the first since Billy Herman in 1936 … Though Bichette struggled in the field, he had four hits and a pair of runs scored … The 19 Jays hits didn’t include a home run … After a scheduled off day to rest from the wackiness, the teams resume their three-game series on Saturday with the Jays’ Kevin Gausman facings the Cards’ Jack Flaherty … Nathan Lukes made his major-league debut as a pinch runner in the seventh inning, taking over for Brandon Belt, who had doubled. The move to get the speed in the lineup paid off immediately as Lukes scored on a Matt Chapman single to tie the game … Canadian Tyler O’Neill had one of the two Cardinals, hitting one out for a fourth consecutive opening day, tying an MLB record.
ST. LOUIS — The improved pitching — a purported cornerstone of this retooled Blue Jays team — can wait for another day.
And if the hits just keep on coming as they did on opening day, perhaps even longer than that.
In a wildly entertaining 10-9 opening day victory over the Cardinals before a sellout crowd at Busch Stadium on Thursday, the Jays got their season started not exactly in style, but with the offensive flair that has defined them over the past two seasons.
Led by George Springer’s five hits in six at-bats—- some of them with the precision of a PGA Tour golfer with a gap wedge in his hands — the Jays punched out 19 hits, a franchise record for a season opener.
Doing so helped them overcome a dodgy effort by starter Alek Manoah — who surrendered nine hits for the first time in his career — and some calamitous work from the bullpen and mostly showed just how explosive they can be.
But for a team that has vowed to grind out wins any way it can, it was a tone setter. Or something.
“You always want to start out like that and it’s only one game, but I’ll take all the hits I can get,” said Springer, feeling strong and confident after off-season elbow surgery.
We’ll return to the mound mayhem in a bit, but this was a game that seemed to be tossed in the dumpster so many times that it’s almost difficult to believe the Jays exited with a victory.
Incredibly, the visitors gave away go-ahead runs to the Cardinals in the sixth, seventh and eighth innings and still won. Not an easy task or likely outcome.
The little things that had been the subject of manager John Schneider’s sermons throughout spring training came to fruition in this one. Like Kevin Kiermaier, who made an outstanding play in centre field in the eight and then in the ninth dashed from first to third on a Springer single.
Now in scoring position, Kiermaier scored on a Vlad Guerrero Jr. sac fly to secure the win.
“Kiermaier going from first to third … that’s the stuff we talk about that wins games,” Schneider said of the former Jays killer while with the Rays. “We’ve been seeing him do that against us for how man years.”
Even amid the sloppiness — a couple of awful throws from Jays shortstop Bo Bichette stand out — there were the little things that came through. Those two plays by Kiermaier, a great running catch by Springer in right field and some savvy plays on the other side of the outfield by Daulton Varsho, who had an RBI double in the first.
“It just lets us know that everything we’ve talked about, everything that we’ve preached, it matters,” Springer said. “Stuff like that doesn’t show up in a box score. It’s a long year and its hard to do that all the time. But that’s the style of game everybody expects to play in there.
“You just feel like you’re never out of it.”
When you belt out 19 hits, it’s difficult not to feel otherwise.
Schneider said he “felt like he was wearing out a path to the mound” at times as he used no fewer than seven relievers on the day.
And not all of it was pretty.
There was Tim Mayza, who allowed three consecutive singles to the three batters he faced and allowing one run before being removed and Anthony Bass could muster just one out while also allowing a run before exiting.
What appeared to be the final damage came in the Cardinals eighth when Yimi Garcia, who certainly appeared to have had a strong spring, came in to attempt to shut it down. Instead, the righty started by walking Lars Nootbaar before giving up back-to-back doubles to Paul Goldschmidt and Nolan Arenado.
Just like that an 8-7 lead was a 9-8 deficit, much to the delight for a sellout crowd of 47,649 at the Missouri baseball shrine.
Garcia would get credited with the win after the Jays final comeback of the night, a result that was sealed when closer Jordan Romano came in for a 1-2-3 ninth inning to lock it down and record his first save of the season.
AROUND THE BASES
Springier had a hit and run scored in each of his first three plate appearances and became just the third player in MLB history with at least five hits and four runs scored on opening day — the first since Billy Herman in 1936 … Though Bichette struggled in the field, he had four hits and a pair of runs scored … The 19 Jays hits didn’t include a home run … After a scheduled off day to rest from the wackiness, the teams resume their three-game series on Saturday with the Jays’ Kevin Gausman facings the Cards’ Jack Flaherty … Nathan Lukes made his major-league debut as a pinch runner in the seventh inning, taking over for Brandon Belt, who had doubled. The move to get the speed in the lineup paid off immediately as Lukes scored on a Matt Chapman single to tie the game … Canadian Tyler O’Neill had one of the two Cardinals, hitting one out for a fourth consecutive opening day, tying an MLB record.