TORONTO BLUE JAYS NOTES:
THE LATEST: The Blue Jays drew 10 walks yesterday but were limited to three hits as they were downed, 4-1, by the Cardinals…Was the first time since Aug. 11, 2013 vs. Oakland that the Jays walked 10+ times in a losing effort. Toronto is now 1-1 to begin a season for the 4th time in the last five years (2-0 in 2022)…Went 5-6 in rubber games last season and 12-8-6 in road series.
ALL GAUS: Kevin Gausman threw 90 pitches (64 strikes) across 6.0 innings yesterday…Was tagged with three unearned runs on eight hits to go with a walk and seven strikeouts…Now owns a 3.24 ERA (65 ER/180.2 IP) across his 32 starts in a Toronto uniform, 7th best through 32 starts in club history. The righty has kept a 2.52 FIP since the start of last season, 2nd-best among all qualified pitchers…Over that span, also ranks 5th in the AL with 212 strikeouts and sits 11th with his 3.24 ERA.
KK WITH THE HH: Kevin Kiermaier broke up a potential no-hitter yesterday as he singled with one out in the 7th inning…Singled again to lead off the 9th to register his 2nd straight multi-hit game…Is now 4-for-9 with a run scored to start his Blue Jays career…Hit .228 while limited to 63 games for the Rays last season.
BO KNOWS BASE HITS: Bo Bichette recorded Toronto’s only other hit of the day, via a single in the 8th inning…Is now 5-for-10 with a double and two runs to start the season…Has piled up an AL-high 385 hits since the start of the 2021 campaign, trailing only Trea Turner’s 392 for the most in the Majors.
PATIENT APPROACH: Vladimir Guerrero Jr. drew a trio of walks yesterday and managed to score Toronto’s only run on a wild pitch…The three BB’s tied a career-best for the 3rd time, also doing so on April 30, 2021 vs. ATL and April 20, 2022 at BOS…The run marked the 300th of his
career, becoming the 4th-faster player to reach the mark in team history (506 games).
BASSITT IS A BLUE JAY: Chris Bassitt makes his Toronto debut this afternoon… Established career highs in wins (15), starts (30), quality starts (19), innings pitched (181.2), and strikeouts (167) while with the Mets last season… Went 8-3 with a 2.94 ERA (26 ER/79.2 IP) after the All-Star Break…His eight wins were tied for the 3rdmost in the Majors and the most in his career in the back half of a season.
HITS WITHOUT HOMERS: The Blue Jays have notched 22 hits without recording a home run so far this season…This marks the 9th time in club history to start a campaign with two straight homerless games…Have never gone three straight contests without a home run to begin a season.
Toronto’s team batting average of .306 is tied for 3rd in the AL as the season begins…Also rank 3rd in OBP (.416), 6th in OPS (.763), and 7th in SLG (.347)
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 (1-1), 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).
INTERTAINMENT: Toronto has started a season vs. a National League opponent for the 1st time in team history…Led the AL with 13 interleague wins last season, which was one off the franchise’s all-time single-season record, set in 2021 (14). The Blue Jays have hit 647 home runs all-time in Interleague Play, the most among all 30 teams
MORE THAN YOUR AVERAGE TEAM: The Blue Jays led the Majors in 2022 with a .264 team batting average and 1,464 hits…Also led the AL in OBP (.329), SLG (.431), and OPS (.760) while ranked T-1st in extra-base hits (519), 2nd in runs (775), 2nd in doubles (307), and 3rd in home runs
(200)…Topped the AL in AVG, OBP, SLG, and OPS for the 1st time in team history.
STARTING PITCHER – Chris Bassitt, RHP #40
TODAY’S GAME:
Making his 1st career start in a Blue Jays uniform…Signed a three-year $63 million deal on 12/16/22. Has finished seven of his eight career Major League seasons with a sub4.00 ERA, including each of the last five campaigns.
2022 HIGHLIGHTS: In his lone season with the Mets, established career highs in wins (15), starts (30), quality starts (19), innings pitched (181.2), and strikeouts (167). Had 23 starts of at least 6.0 innings, his most in a single season in his career. His three starts of 8.0 innings were the most he had thrown in his career… Prior to 2022, had thrown at least 8.0 innings only three times (9.0 IP on 5/27/21 vs. LAA; 8.0 IP on 5/16/19 at DET; 8.0 IP on 8/15/15 at BAL). Made his Mets debut on 4/9 at WAS, tossing 6.0 scoreless frames with three hits, a walk, and eight strikeouts…Became the 2nd Mets pitcher to debut with a line of at least 6.0 scoreless innings with eight or more punchouts, joining Colin McHugh (Aug. 23, 2012 vs. COL). Recorded 19 quality starts, the most in his career and a team-high among Mets starters…From June 14-July 23, recorded six straight quality starts, one shy of a career high seven straight accomplished in 2015. Did not walk a batter from 6/25-7/8 (13.1 innings) which is tied for the longest streak in his career. Tied a career-high with 11 strikeouts on 7/23 vs. SD (also: 9/7/19 vs. DET). Won four straight games for the 1st time in his career from Aug. 3-19, surrendering just two runs over that span. Went 8-3 with a 2.94 ERA (26 ER/79.2 IP) after the All-Star Break…His eight wins were tied for the 3rd-most in the Majors and the most in his career in the back half of a season.
2021 HIGHLIGHTS:
Tossed the 1st complete game and shutout of his career on 5/27 vs. LAA (9.0 IP, 2H, BB, 9K). Received two 5th-place votes in AL Cy Young balloting, finishing 10th in the vote…Earned his 1st All-Star honours.
OTHER HIGHLIGHTS:
Earned AL Pitcher of the Month for September 2020, his 1st monthly award…Pitched to a 0.34 ERA that month, allowing one run over 26.2 innings in four starts…Was the lowest September ERA in the Majors since Greg Maddux had a 0.29 ERA for Atlanta in 1995. Started and won Game 2 of the AL Wild Card Series vs. CWS on 9/30/20. Selected by the Chicago White Sox in the 16th round of the 2011 FirstYear Player Draft.
VS. THE CARDINALS:
Facing the Cardinals for the 4th time in his career…In two meetings while with the Mets last season, gave up 4 runs on 11 hits and 4 walks over 12.1 innings (2.92 ERA) with 9 strikeouts…Has been on the winning team in all three career matchups with the Cards
ST. LOUIS CARDINALS NOTES:
RECENT REDBIRDS: The defending NL Central Division Champion St. Louis Cardinals and visiting Toronto Blue Jays wrap up their season-opening three-game series this afternoon at Busch Stadium … After today’s game, the Cardinals welcome the Atlanta Braves to St. Louis for a three-game series.
DONNIE BOY: Brendan Donovan ran his hitting streak to 10 games (13-39, .333) yesterday after he finished the 2022 season on a eight-game streak, currently MLB’s 2nd-longest active to Marlin and former Twin Luis Arraez (12).
INTERLEAGUE ACTION: St. Louis has won five of its last six games vs. the American League and is 220-215 all-time in Interleague play, with a .506 win pct. that ranks 3rd-best all-time among NL clubs … The Cardinals have finished with a winning Interleague record 13 times in 26 seasons (since 1997) … Last season, St. Louis was 10-10 in interleague play … With the introduction of MLB’s new balanced schedule for the 2023 season, the Cardinals will play a total of 46 games against all 15 AL opponents (32 of 46 before the All-Star Break).
HEIR JORDAN: At 20 years, 315 days old today, Jordan Walker is currently the youngest player in MLB this season and is the first MLB player to be born in the year 2002 … Through two games (three days), Walker shares the MLB rookie lead in hits (3) with Chicago White Sox rookie Oscar Colas, ranks T-2nd among rookies in RBI (2), and is one of five rookies with a stolen base.
300 NADO DINGERS: Nolan Arenado is one homer away from becoming the 7th player to hit home run #300 in a Cardinals uniform, joining Stan Musial (June 3, 1955 at Brooklyn), Gary Gaetti (June 23, 1996 at Montreal), Jim Edmonds (Sept. 4, 2004 vs. LA Dodgers), Albert Pujols (July 4, 2008 vs. Chicago Cubs), Troy Glaus (Sept. 3, 2008 at Arizona), and Paul Goldschmidt (July 16, 2022 vs. Cincinnati) … Ranking 8th among active Major Leaguers in home runs, Arenado trails only Evan Longoria (331) among active third basemen and ranks 15th all-time in MLB history among primary third basemen.
STILL TO COME: Aside from pitchers in the starting rotation, the only Cardinals yet to see action after the first two games are relief pitchers Packy Naughton, Giovanny Gallegos, and Chris Stratton, and utility infielder Taylor Motter.
WINNING WAYS: 2022 was the Cardinals 15th consecutive winning season (2008-22), the 22nd in the last 23 years, and the 82nd in franchise istory … The 15 consecutive winning seasons matches a franchise record established from 1939-53 when the Cardinals appeared in four World Series and won three (1942, 1944, 1946) … Only the Yankees (30 seasons) sport a longer active consecutive winning season streak in MLB … St. Louis has made the playoffs in 17 of the last 27 seasons (1996-2022) while winning 13 division titles, four NL pennants, and two World Series championships (2006, 2011).
TODAY’S STARTING PITCHER: LHP JORDAN MONTGOMERY (9-6, 3.48 ERA IN 2022)
TODAY’S GAME
• Made his fourth Opening Day Roster and first with the Cardinals, adding to 2018, 2021 and 2022 with the Yankees. Was on the Injured List in 2019 and Taxi Squad in 2020.
• Was acquired at the trade deadline from the New York Yankees in exchange for OF Harrison Bader on August 2, 2022.
• Has held left-handed batters to a .252 on-base percentage since 2017, ranking 4th among left-handed pitchers trailing only Josh Hader (.232), Chris Sale (.242), Robbie Ray (.250); minimum 350 total batters faced.
• Became the second MLB pitcher in the modern era to go 4-0 with no more than one run allowed over his first four starts with a team after joining the Cardinals. Rookie Fernando Valenzuela is only MLB pitcher to yield one run over his first five starts (45.0 IP) with the 1981 Dodgers.
• Has held his opposition to three earned runs or fewer in 79% (85-of-108) of his career starts. Ranks 20th among left-handed pitchers since 2017 with 85.
• Set a career-high in strikeouts with 162 in 2021.
• Following the trade with the Yankees, was 6-3 with a 3.11 ERA in 11 starts as a member of the Cardinals with the team posting an 8-3 record.
• Set single-season career highs in innings pitched (178.1), starts (32) and quality starts (14).
• Began his Cards career with a five-game winning streak (Aug. 6-Sept. 2), longest by a starting pitcher to begin his career with the Cardinals since Miles Mikolas (6-0 in 2018).
• Led the Cardinals through the end of the season with 61 strikeouts following his acquisition at the trade deadline.
• Held left-handed batters to a .198/.213/.264 slash with just one HR (Rafael Devers on July 15), five extra-base hits, and just one walk to 109 LH batters faced.
• Since 1974, became only the 16th pitcher to face 100 or more batters in a season and allow one walk or fewer to a left-handed batter. First Cardinals pitcher to do so since Edward Mujica in 2013.
• Is one of three starting pitchers to have won each of their first four appearances to begin a Cardinals career, joining 1927 rookie Fred Frankhouse (5-0 in first 5 starts) and 1941 mid-season acquisition Harry Gumbert (4-0 in first four starts).
• Logged season-best 13.1 scoreless innings over his first three starts with St. Louis, tying Alex Reyes (2016) and John Urrea (1977) for 5th-longest to begin a Cardinals career. Also was the longest by a starting pitcher in his first three starts since Kyle Lohse (15.0 IP) in 2008.
• 2022 POSTSEASON: Appeared in relief in Game 2 of the Wild Card Series vs. Philadelphia and threw 2.2 scoreless innings. It was his first relief appearance since Sept. 15, 2019 vs. Toronto with the Yankees.
CAREER NOTES
• Drafted in 4th round by the Yankees in 2014 out of the University of South Carolina.
• Finished 6th in AL Rookie of the Year voting in 2017 and was named to the Topps MLB All-Star Rookie Team. Led AL rookies in starts (29), strikeouts (144) and innings pitched (155.1) his rookie season.
• At time of his trade, had 2nd most starts for the Yankees (97) among pitchers in the organization, trailing only Luis Severino (104). His 61 starts from 2020-22 ranked T6th most in the American League in that time span & T18th in the majors among all pitchers.
