ST. LOUIS (AP) – Danny Jansen hit a three-run homer and a solo shot by Vladimir Guerrero Jr. also went deep and the Toronto Blue Jays defeated the St. Paul Cardinals. Louis by 8-1 Tuesday night.
“It was my first time at the stadium here and obviously it’s a very beautiful stadium,” Jansen said. “It was fun. It was nice for us to have some breathing space. The guys were doing big swings on the ball and getting punched. The punch is contagious. It’s always contagious.”
Kevin Gausman (4-3) threw six goalless innings with eight strikeouts and no balls. He allowed four hits and defeated the Cardinals for the first time in eight appearances.
“For us to get our mojo back and have that energy so high and everyone talking in the dugout, it was nice to see it,” Gausman said. “Any of these guys can do a home run at any time.”
Toronto split the series into two games and finished the Cardinals’ winning streak at four.
“It was a great day,” Blue Jays manager Charlie Montoyo said. “We needed that day. Gausman gave us what we needed. We rested the bullpen. It was great to see how the attack came to life.”
Jordan Hicks (1-4) pitched more than three innings in his first career start against the Blue Jays. He allowed four runs with four hits with five passes.
“The whole game I felt I didn’t have mastery of my fastball,” Hicks said. “The fast ball is what changes the game for me. I can’t be out there throwing a slider or a curved ball at every throw. It’s frustrating.”
Alejandro Kirk led the fourth with a single and Matt Chapman walked before Jansen beat Hicks 3-2 from the free kick on the left to make it 4-0.
“I just hoped it didn’t stick too much,” Jansen said. “That was really cool. I talked about getting out of my way. I’m good at throwing the ball.”
Jansen led the seventh with an estimated 427-foot blast for his fifth homer this season and the third-most multi-jerk game of his career.
The Blue Jays added three runs to the sixth. George Springer hit a low line on the right field for a triple to score Raimel Tapia and chase reliever Nick Wittgren. A sacrificial fly took Springer home.
Guerrero then greeted reliever Drew VerHagen with a homer on the left. He had made a single in the first inning to get a drought of 0 of 14.
“Obviously, if I told you I didn’t like it, I’d lie to you,” Guerrero said through a translator. “When you hit a homer, you have to enjoy it.”
It was the second home run of the month by Guerrero and the first in 15 games.
“Before I did, I was talking to the dugout that feels closed for the first time,” Montoyo said. “It simply came to our notice then. That bomb that hit, it was good to hear it. “
Debutant Brendan Donovan had a single RBI in the seventh for the Cardinals.
“The game escaped us,” said the St. Louis coach. Louis, Oliver Marble. “He gave up some extra outs. It’s not our best baseball.”
STREETS IN THE CROWD
The great NHL Wayne Gretzky sat with Cardinals President Bill DeWitt III in the owner’s box next to the St. John’s dugout. Louis. … Hall of Fame member Ted Simmons attended the match and received a replica of the bronze statue erected outside the stadium in 2021. The item will be given away as a promotion for Sunday’s match against Milwaukee.
PUTTING ON THE BASE
Paul Goldschmidt walked in the first inning and has reached base safely in 30 straight games, the longest streak of the majors this season. It’s the Cardinal’s longest base streak since Matt Carpenter hit in 35 games from July 8 to August. 17, 2018. Goldschmidt made a single in the third to extend his batting streak to 16 games.
UNTIL NEXT
Blue Jays: Open a four-game series at the Los Angeles Angels on Thursday night with Hyun Jin Ryu (1-0, 6.00) likely to begin.
Cardinals: Adam Wainwright (5-3, 2.87) begins the opening of a home series against Milwaukee Thursday night. He is 20-13 against the Brewers, his second-highest win against any rival, behind Pittsburgh (23).