Bautista, Jays continue road trip vs. Cards
Posted June 25, 2011 2:15 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
No matter where Jose Bautista plays in the field, his biggest value to the Toronto Blue Jays remains at the plate.
After helping his team snap a four-game skid, Bautista and the Blue Jays continue their weekend set with the struggling St. Louis Cardinals on Saturday night at Busch Stadium.
Bautista hit his major league-leading 23rd home run off Fernando Salas in the ninth inning to help give Toronto (37-39) a 5-4 win at St. Louis on Friday. Bautista, expected to move from right field to third base this weekend to provide more production from the position, has homered in consecutive games after hitting one during a 22-game stretch.
“The last couple of days I’ve been feeling like I’m a little more on time consistently,” said Bautista, batting .486 with three home runs and eight RBIs in his last 11 games versus St. Louis. “After that it’s just getting a good pitch to hit and hitting it hard.”
Adam Lind and Aaron Hill each had two RBIs on Friday as the Blue Jays scored two more runs than they totaled during their four-game skid.
St. Louis (41-36), meanwhile, has lost 10 of 13 and dropped to 1-3 since losing Albert Pujols to a broken left wrist.
“We show up every day and expect to win,” Cardinals reliever Mitchell Boggs said. “It didn’t happen (Friday) but it’s not going to change the way we approach the game (Saturday).”
Matt Holliday hit a two-run homer, giving him four hits the last two games after going without one in nine at-bats over his previous three contests. He’s hit .471 (8 for 17) with two home runs and five RBIs his last four versus Toronto.
Jaime Garcia (6-2, 3.19 ERA) tries for his first win since June 3 when he takes the mound for the Cardinals on Saturday.
The left-hander is 1-1 with a 2.96 ERA over his last four starts, but has failed to complete six innings in two of those outings. Garcia allowed three runs in 5 1-3 innings of a 5-4 win over Kansas City on Sunday.
“It wasn’t the best but I was just battling and trying to stay in the game for as long as possible and give us a chance,” Garcia said.
He lasted six innings and allowed three runs – including a two-run homer to Bautista – in a 9-4 win over Toronto last June.
The Blue Jays counter with Carlos Villanueva (4-1, 3.17), who is coming off his first loss of the season. A reliever placed into the Blue Jays’ rotation last month, Villanueva is 3-1 with a 4.33 ERA in six starts.
He allowed a two-run homer in seven innings of a 2-1 loss at Cincinnati on Sunday.
“Most days, that’s a very good chance to come away with a win,” manager John Farrell said.
The right-hander is 2-2 with a 3.79 ERA in six starts against the Cardinals, but has not faced them since 2009 while with Milwaukee.
Holliday is 3 for 7 with two homers versus Villanueva.
Salas, St. Louis’ rookie closer, has allowed a homer in three of his last five appearances after giving up none his first 25 outings.
