Andres Gimenez hit a three-run homer and Alejandro Kirk added a two-run blast as the visiting Toronto Blue Jays outlasted the St. Louis Cardinals 10-9 Tuesday night.
Bo Bichette (3-for-5, three runs), George Springer (2-for-4, run, RBI) and Addison Barger (2-for-5, run, RBI) also had productive nights in the upper half of the order as the Blue Jays pounded out 16 hits while winning for the 11th time in 13 games.
Blue Jays starter Chris Bassitt (7-3) allowed four runs on six hits in seven innings. He struck out three and walked two. Jeff Hoffman got the final out in the ninth to claim his 17th save.
Nolan Arenado went 3-for-4 with a homer, two runs and three RBIs, Nolan Gorman went 2-for-3 with a three-run homer and Willson Contreras hit a 3-run homer for the Cardinals, who lost their third straight game.
Cardinals starter Miles Mikolas (4-3) allowed six runs on nine hits in five innings. He struck out two and walked none.
St. Louis infielder/outfielder Brendan Donovan left the game after eight innings with left toe discomfort.
Toronto jumped to a 3-0 first-inning lead on singles by Bichette and Kirk and Gimenez’s homer.
The Blue Jays increased their lead to 4-0 in the fourth inning in singles by Springer, Ernie Clement and Alan Roden.
St. Louis tied the game 4-4 in the bottom of the inning. Bassitt hit leadoff hitter Donovan with a pitch, then one-out singles by Alec Burleson and Arenado produced a run.
Gorman followed with his homer, his third in as many career at-bats against Bassitt.
The Blue Jays regained the lead 6-4 in the fifth inning. Singles by Jonatan Clase and Bichette set up Barger’s RBI double, then Springer’s sacrifice fly produced another run.
Toronto made it 8-4 in the seventh inning on Barger’s single and Kirk’s homer.
The Cardinals cut the margin to 8-6 in the eighth with Burleson’s single and Arenado’s homer. The Blue Jays responded by pushing their lead to 10-6 in the ninth on Gimenez’s RBI single and a wild pitch.
With two outs in the ninth, Contreras greeted Hoffman with a three-run homer to cut the lead to 10-9. Hoffman induced a Burleson grounder to second to end the game.
–Field Level Media
