In what proved to be a disappointing outing for the Toronto Blue Jays, Toronto fell 4-1 to the St. Louis Cardinals in their second game of the season. After recording an impressive 19 hits in their season opener just two days prior, the Blue Jays could only muster three hits against the Cardinals on Saturday.

Despite the low hit count, Toronto managed to draw a number of walks and even hit a couple of batters, which left a total of 11 men stranded on base. Their only run of the game came from a wild pitch, which saw Vladimir Guerrero Jr cross the plate.

The Blue Jays had a golden opportunity in the first inning to get on the scoreboard, when Cardinals’ starting pitcher Jack Flaherty struggled with his control and walked three batters – Guerrero, Daulton Vaarsho and Matt Chapman. However, with the bases loaded and two outs, Brandon Belt struck out, leaving all three runners stranded.

Toronto’s starting pitcher Kevin Gausman put in a solid performance, pitching six innings, giving up eight hits and no earned runs while striking out seven. However, he was unlucky to be on the mound for the Cardinals’ three runs in the third inning. An error committed by Chapman with two outs proved to be costly, as it resulted in three runs for the Cardinals. Despite this, Gausman wasn’t charged with any of the runs, due to the error.

All in all, it was a frustrating game for the Blue Jays, who will undoubtedly be looking to bounce back Sunday in the series finale. While they drew a number of walks and had a few hit batters, they were simply unable to get the clutch hits they needed to capitalize on their opportunities. They’ll need to take advantage of their chances in the coming games.