Nathan Lukes hit a double in the eighth inning to drive in the winning run, leading the Toronto Blue Jays to a 3-2 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals on Sunday and completing a three-game sweep.
Pinch hitter George Springer got a single off right-hander Andrew Kittredge (4-5) with one out in the eighth inning, and Lukes followed with an RBI double into the left field corner.
“Really good pitching and defense today,” Blue Jays manager John Schneider said. “Sweeping a team is really hard, no matter who it is, but it takes a lot of focus and we kind of did that.”
Lukes and Kittredge were teammates with Tampa Bay’s Triple-A team in Durham in 2019, which Lukes felt gave him an advantage in their late-game matchup.
“I kind of knew what his stuff was going to do,” Lukes said. “Just tried looking for something in the zone and put a good swing on it.”
Kittredge came into the game with an NL-leading 33 holds and had not allowed a run since August 21 against Milwaukee.
“Here’s the thing with our ’pen,” Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol said. “It gets kind of amplified when they give up a run because the margins are so thin for them. It’s been that way all year.”
Davis Schneider hit a two-run home run, his second homer in two games, to help the Blue Jays complete their fifth series sweep of the season.
Right-hander Zach Pop (2-4) retired Nolan Arenado, the only batter he faced, for the final out of the eighth inning. Righty Chad Green stranded two runners in the ninth to earn his 17th save in 20 chances.
Lars Nootbaar hit a home run for the Cardinals, who have lost six of their last nine games and are now below .500 at 74-75. St. Louis was swept for the sixth time this season.
