TORONTO BLUE JAYS NOTES:
THE LATEST:
The Blue Jays rallied with a two-run 9th inning for a 10-9 win over the Cardinals on Thursday…Set a team Opening Day record with 19 hits (16 on April 7, 1977 vs. CWS)…The club has now won four straight Opening Day contests, the longest such streak in franchise history (3G, 4x). Toronto had two wins in all of 2022 when trailing after eight innings (2-59)…Have now recorded an MLBhigh 28 interleague wins since 2021 (2nd: LAD/ TB – 27).
NO FOOLIN’:
According to Stats Perform, Toronto was the first MLB team to allow a go-ahead run in the 6th, 7th and 8th innings on the road and still win the game since the Red Sox did so against the St. Louis Browns on September 20, 1938.
SPRING-ING INTO ACTION:
George Springer started the season with a single and a run scored in his 1st at-bat, following that up with singles and runs in each of the 2nd, 4th, and 8th innings, before completing his game with an RBI single in the 9th…The five-hit day set a club record for Opening Day…Became the 1st player in American League history with a five-hit, four-run Opening Day, and the 3rd in MLB history to do so (last: Billy Herman on April 14, 1936).
BO KNOWS BASE HITS:
Bo Bichette singled three times, doubled, drove in a run, and scored twice as part of a 4-for-6 afternoon… Along with Springer, marked the 14th time in MLB history that teammates had 4+ hits on Opening Day with one of those duos being Bo’s father, Dante Bichette, and Vinny Castillo for the Rockies in 1999.
A CHAPPY FEELING:
Matt Chapman recorded a trio of singles and drove in a run as he tied the game in the 7th…Finished 3-for-5 on the day…Along with Springer and Bichette, marked the 1st time in team history to have a trio of teammates record 3+ hits on Opening Day.
WELCOME TO THE VAR-SHOW:
Daulton Varsho worked a nine-pitch at-bat in his 1st plate appearance during the 1st inning yesterday, ending it with a two-RBI double to plate Toronto’s 1st runs of the campaign…Hit it with an exit velo of 112.5 MPH, the hardest hit ball of his career (2nd: 110.9 single on Aug. 11, 2021 at SF).
BRANDON IS A BLUE JAY:
Brandon Belt made his Toronto debut on Thursday after playing 1,310 games across 12 seasons for San Francisco…Went 1-for-4, doubling off Andre Pallante in the 7th inning for his 1st hit as a Blue Jay.
DEBUT DUDE:
Nathan Lukes made his MLB debut in the 7th inning of Thursday’s contest as he came on to pinch-run for Brandon Belt…Came around to score the 1st run of his career on a Matt Chapman single…Had played in 626 Minor League games from 2015-2022.
LENGTHY ROAD WORK:
The Blue Jays start the season with 10 straight road contests as renovations wrap up at Rogers Centre… Ties the longest road trip to kick off a campaign in team history (10G in 1984)…Marks the 3rd trip of 10+ games to begin a season by any team in the last 20 years, joining the 2019 Red Sox (11G) and the 2022 Athletics (10G)…After these three games in St. Louis (1-0), will pop over to Kansas City for four contests and then wrap up the trip with three games in Anaheim. Toronto’s .556 road win% in 2022 (45-36) ranked 3rd in the AL and tied for 2nd best in team history (1st: .580 in 1993)…Blue Jays hitters led the AL in road runs (416), AVG (.266), OBP (.331), SLG (.428), and OPS (.759)…The pitching staff ranked 5th in the AL in road ERA (3.70), 5th in road WHIP (1.24), and 6th in road opponents’ batting average (.245).
ALL GAUS:
Kevin Gausman gets the ball today to kick off his 2nd season as a Blue Jay…His career-best 2.32 FIP ranked 2nd among all MLB hurlers (1st: Carlos Rodón – 2.31)…Ranked 5th in the AL with 205 strikeouts and finished 11th in ERA (3.35).
STARTING PITCHER
Kevin Gausman, RHP #34
TODAY’S GAME:
Making his 1st start of the season…Beginning his 11th MLB campaign and his 2nd in a Blue Jays uniform. Owns a 2.88 FIP since the start of the 2020 season, the 2nd-best mark among qualified hurlers (1st: Corbin Burnes – 2.54).
2022 HIGHLIGHTS:
His career-best 2.32 FIP ranked 2nd among all MLB hurlers (Carlos Rodón – 2.31)…Was 5th in the AL with 205 strikeouts and finished 11th in ERA (3.35).
Twirled 6.1 innings of one-run ball in Game 1 of a doubleheader on 5/7 at CLE, giving up 6 hits with 5 strikeouts while walking his 1st batter of the season (Franmil Reyes with 2 out in the 4th)…Faced 136 consecutive batters to the begin the year without issuing a walk, the longest
streak in franchise history (Paul Quantrill – 90 in 2001), and the 3rdlongest streak across the Majors since 1974 (Mark Eichhorn – 146 in 1991, Dan Quisenberry – 146 in 1982).
Tossed 7.0 shutout innings on 6/27 vs. BOS, scattering 4 hits and a pair of
walks with 10 strikeouts…Threw a season-high 110 pitches (77 strikes),
the most thrown by a Blue Jays pitcher since Robbie Ray on 8/25/21 vs.
CWS (111 pitches).
Earned the win on 8/2 at TB, throwing 8.0 shutout innings with a hit, a walk, and 10 strikeouts…Became the first Blue Jays pitcher to go 8+ scoreless since Alex Manoah on 9/13/21 vs. TB, and the first to do so on the road since Ryan Borucki on 9/17/18 at BAL…Recorded double-digit strikeouts for the 4th time this season and 3rd time in his last 6 starts.
Named AL Player of the Week for 8/1-8/7, going 1-0 with 14.0 scoreless innings pitched (7H, BB, 15K)…Was his 1st PotW nod…Was the 9th Blue Jays pitcher to take Player of the Week honours…Became the 2nd pitcher in team history to tally at least 15 K’s without more than 1 BB across 2 consecutive scoreless outings, joining Brandon Morrow (4/28-5/3/12).
Picked up his 9th win on 8/19 at NYY…Scattered 4 hits and a walk over 7.0 scoreless innings with 7 strikeouts… Marked his 6th scoreless outing of the season and the 3rd in his last 4 starts.
Landed a no-decision on 9/21 at PHI as he tossed 6.0 scoreless innings 5H, 2BB, 8K)…Was his 6th outing of 6+ scoreless IP.
Took a no-decision on 9/26 vs. NYY, giving up 2 runs on 6 hits and a walk over 6.1 innings with 7 punchouts…Became the 2nd pitcher in team history to record 200 K’s in his 1st season as a Blue Jay (Roger Clemens – 292 in 1997).
OTHER HIGHLIGHTS:
Set career-best marks in 2021 innings pitched (192.0), wins (14), quality starts (20), ERA (2.81), strikeouts (227), opponents’ AVG (.210), and WHIP (1.04).
Named an All-Star for the 1st time in his career in 2021 and finished 6th in NL Cy Young voting…Signed a 5-year deal with Toronto on 12/1/21.
Selected by the Baltimore Orioles in the 1st round (4th overall) of the 2012 First-Year Player Draft.
VS. THE CARDINALS:
Facing the Cardinals for the 10th time in his career, making his 6th start…In three career trips to St. Louis, has tossed a combined 8.0 shutout frames, giving up six hits with a pair of walks and 11 strikeouts…Has pitched into the 5th inning and struck out at least six batters in each of his five starts.
ST. LOUIS CARDINALS NOTES:
RECENT REDBIRDS: The defending NL Central Division Champion St. Louis Cardinals and visiting Toronto Blue Jays play the second game of three-game series today at Busch Stadium … Thursday’s battle of the birds opener featured 19 runs scored, 34 hits, 44 baserunners, 14 pitchers, 384 pitches, four lead changes, one injury delay, one mound repair and 3 hours and 38 minutes of action, MLB’s longest game of the season thus far and the Cardinals longest Opening Day game (home or road) since April 5, 1999 vs. Milwaukee (10-8 loss lasting 3 hours, 44 minutes at Busch II).
DEATH BY A THOUSAND PAPER CUTS: The Cardinals on Thursday set a franchise record for most hits allowed on Opening Day (19), surpassing 18 that happened three prior times, most recently in 1955 at Wrigley Field … The last time St. Louis and its opponent combined for 34+ hits in any game was Aug. 22, 2008 vs. Atlanta, an 18-3 Cardinals win with 36 combined hits at Busch Stadium III (STL 26, ATL 10) … Adam Wainwright allowed five hits that night and also went 3-for-5 from the dish. – Elias
DID I CATCH A NINER IN THERE: Before Thursday, the Cardinals were 170-0 when scoring nine or more runs in a game, with their last loss being a 10-9 defeat in 16 innings at Arizona on April 3, 2013. – Orf
APRIL FOOL’S DAY: The Cardinals are 4-5 all-time on April Fool’s Day (1-2 at home) … The last time St. Louis played on April 1 was 2021 Opening Day in Cincinnati, winning 11-6 at Great American Ball Park thanks to a six-run opening frame that was highlighted by a Dylan Carlson three-run homer … Coach Willie McGee was a career 4-9 (.445) with a homer, double, three RBI, and two runs scored in a pair of April Fool’s Day games (1996-97) … The Cardinals have played three April Fool’s games in St. Louis (2002, 2007, 2008).
HEIR JORDAN: At 20 years, 312 days old Thursday, Jordan Walker became the youngest American-born Major Leaguer to record a hit since Bryce Harper (20.312 on 8/24/13) and the 4th-youngest Cardinal to record a hit on Opening Day and youngest to do so in an MLB debut (chart left) … Since 1920, Walker is the 6th Cardinal to record a hit in his first career plate appearance on Opening Day, joining PH Brian Barton (4/1/2008), CF Wally Moon (4/13/1954), 1B Dick Sisler (4/16/1946), PH Red Jones (4/16/1940) and PH Eddie Morgan (4/14/1936) … Walker is currently the youngest player in MLB this season and only one born in the year 2002. – Elias
TODAY’S STARTING PITCHER: RHP JACK FLAHERTY (2-1, 4.25 ERA IN 2022)
TODAY’S GAME
• Makes his 2023 season debut today. Didn’t make his 2022 debut until June 15 as he recovered from shoulder ailment.
• Was the Cardinals Opening Day starter in both 2021 and 2020. Is pitching on April 1st for the first time since 2021 season opener at Cincinnati (11-6 Cardinals win).
• Owns a career mark of 7-2, 3.32 ERA in 12 career starts in the monh of April. Has won 5-straight April decisions, with his last April loss coming on 4/16/19 at MIL.
• Trails only Wainwright & DeJong in years of Cardinals service on current roster.
• Is facing the Blue Jays for the 1st time in his career; also his first AL East team.
• Was 1-2 with a 6.41 ERA in Spring Training play, facing the Houston Astros in four of his five Grapefruit League starts.
• Is 19-13 in 49 career games (46 starts) at Busch Stadium. His .190 opponent batting average is the lowest in stadium history (min. 100 IP), while his 288 strikeouts and 2.84 ERA at Busch both rank 8th among all pitchers in the ballpark’s history (since 2006).
• Has held his opposition to six hits or fewer in 25 consecutive starts dating back to Sept. 20, 2020, 2nd only to Jacob deGrom (34) among non-opener starting pitchers (Stanek 56, Lamet 46).
• Has held his opposition to a .206 career batting average, ranking 15th among MLB pitchers with more than 500 career innings pitched in the Live Ball Era (post-1920).
• Missed a total of 122 games last season due to a right shoulder injury (64 games from April 7-June 14 and another 58 games from June 27-Sept.4)
• Since becoming a full-time starting pitcher in 2018, ranks 13th among MLB pitchers with a 10.40 strikeouts/9 IP (min. 500 IP).
• St. Louis sports a 52-46 overall record in Flaherty’s 98 career starts. In his first 51 starts from his MLB debut (9/1/2017) until the 2019 All-Star Break, St. Louis went 21-30 (.412). In his last 46 starts (July 16, 2019-present), St. Louis is 31-16 (.660).
• In 98 career starts, is 33-10 when receiving 2+ runs of support, 26-2 when receiving 3+ runs, and 23-0 with 4+ runs of support. Has received 2 or fewer runs of support in 59 of 98 (60.2%) career starts.
2022
• Notched his 600th career strikeout in a 1.0-inning relief outing for his final regular season appearance on 10/4 at Pittsburgh, becoming the 31st Cardinals pitcher to reach that milestone and in 523.1 IP is the fastest to reach the mark in club history.
• Posted season highs in strikeouts (9), innings pitched (6.0) and pitches thrown (99) in a 5-4 win at SD (9/22) for his first win of the season and since 8/13/21 at KC.
• Returned to the Busch Stadium mound on 9/5 vs. WSH for the first time since June 26 and worked 5.0 IP, allowing one run on six hits. Took the loss, as the Cardinals were blanked, 6-0, by the Nationals, managing just 3 hits.
• Previously was activated from the 60-day Injured List on June 15 and made his season debut vs. Pirates. Took ND in Cardinals 6-4 loss, allowing 3 unearned runs (4 total) in his 3.0 IP while throwing 60 pitches.
CAREER
• Since 2018, Flaherty (.203, 28%), is one of three MLB pitchers to record an opponent batting average of .203 or less and a strikeout pct. of 25% or higher (min. 1,800 batters faced), joining Jacob deGrom (.188, 36%) and Justin Verlander (.185, 34%).
• Two-time NL Pitcher of the Month award winner (August and September 2019). Is the only Cardinal to win twice in a single season since the award was first given out in 1975.
• Finished 4th in 2019 National League Cy Young Award voting, 13th in NL MVP voting, and was named to the All-MLB Team Second Team at Starting Pitcher.
• Is a member of eight-person MLBPA Executive sub-committee.
