Fermin's tiebreaking hit in 4-run 9th helps Cardinals beat Blue Jays 5-1, avoid series sweep

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TORONTO (AP) — José Fermin hit a tiebreaking single in the ninth inning and the St. Louis Cardinals defeated the Toronto Blue Jays 5-1 on Sunday, avoiding a three-game sweep.

Matthew Liberatore pitched six shutout innings and George Soriano (4-3) worked one inning for the win as the Cardinals used a four-run ninth to snap an eight-game losing streak against Toronto.

St. Louis won for the fifth time in 17 games since the All-Star break, and scored more than three runs for the first time since a 7-0 win over Cincinnati on July 25.

Blue Jays closer Louis Varland (3-4) walked Masyn Winn to begin the ninth. Winn advanced to third on a base hit by Bryan Torres before scoring on Fermin’s line drive single to center.

Varland hadn’t allowed a run since July 10 at San Diego.

Two outs later, Torres scored on a throwing error by second baseman Luis Urias. Jordan Walker followed with a two-run single, chasing Varland.

The four runs off Varland matched the number he allowed in 13 appearances in June.

St. Louis opened the scoring in the third inning when Nathan Church scored from first on a two-out double by Lars Nootbar.

Alejandro Kirk’s infield single in the second was the only hit off Liberatore. The left-hander walked one and struck out seven.

The Blue Jays tied it against Soriano in the eighth. Andrés Giménez reached on a two-out single and stole second before scoring on Urías’ double.

Blue Jays right-hander Max Scherzer allowed one run and four hits in six innings. Scherzer walked one and struck out five, boosting his career total to 3,512.

Cardinals RHP Michael McGreevy (4-9, 3.57 ERA) is expected to start at New York on Monday against Yankees RHP Cam Schlittler (10-6, 2.04).

Blue Jays RHP Shane Bieber (2-2, 5.74 ERA) is scheduled to start at Houston on Monday against Astros RHP Cristian Javier (1-1, 7.17).

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AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb