ST. LOUIS—So this is how the Jays play when they’re sleep-deprived. Russ Martin starts at third base. Chris Coghlan creates a piece of baseball lore for himself. Marcus Stroman doubles and scores the winning run in the 11th and the Jays win 6-5.With one out in the 11th inning, Stroman pinch-hit for Jason Grilli, the eventual winning pitcher. He worked a 2-and-2 count, and then stroked a solid double down the left-field line for his first major-league hit. Steve Pearce then grounded to Aledmys Diaz, who threw the ball away for an error and the winning run. Crazy stuff.On most nights the Jays seem to play just well enough to lose. Blame it on hitting, the bullpen, umpiring, scheduling, whatever, but they have to stop blaming outside factors and start creating luck. Tuesday was one of those nights.There was a downside. The heart of the bullpen blew saves in both the seventh and the ninth. First it was Joe Biagini surrendering a two-run lead in the seventh on a two-run homer by Jose Martinez. Then it was closer Roberto Osuna, yielding the tying run in the ninth on an infield single by Dexter Fowler, supposedly the prime free-agent target of the Jays this past winter.In the ninth, with former Jays reliever Brett Cecil on the hill for the Cardinals, Jose Bautista responded with a clutch RBI single, scoring Kevin Pillar to give the Jays the lead. They handed the ball to Osuna, who is now 1-for-3 in save opportunities.While the Jays’ run in the ninth was routine, the run that people will be talking about for years to come arrived in the seventh.It was Pillar, nicknamed Superman by his fans, who had driven a Matt Bowman pitch high off the right-field fence. As it bounded back towards the infield, chased by outfielder Stephen Piscotty, Coghlan paused making sure the hit fell in, then raced around the bases — an improvised run that launched a thousand GIFs.As he approached a blocked-off plate, Coghlan launched himself at full speed — flyi ...
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