St. Louis Cardinals at Toronto Blue Jays

All weekend, Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol stressed the need for a timely hit. For two games, St. Louis put runners on base but struggled to cash them in. That finally changed in Sunday’s 5-1 win. José Fermín delivered the breakthrough base hit, lining a go-ahead single up the middle in the ninth inning to snap a 1-1 tie, though the rally started quietly before that. Masyn Winn worked a leadoff walk against Louis Varland, the typically steady Blue Jays closer, before Bryan Torres grounded a single into right field to put runners on the corners. That set the stage for Fermín. Marmol loved his team’s tight, simple approach against the flamethrower Varland -- specifically the patience to work a walk and get some early traffic. “That's what good teams learn to do,” Marmol said. “Once there's a tight game, \[they\