The Toronto Blue Jays kicked off their 2023 campaign in wild fashion as outfielder George Springer became the first Blue Jays player to record five hits on Opening Day, ousting the St. Louis Cardinals in a nine-inning thriller, 10-9.

Springer is only the second player in MLB history to record five hits and four runs on Opening Day. Springer joins MLB Hall of Famer Billy Herman as the only player to do so—Herman had five hits, and four runs scored on opening day 87 years ago with the Chicago Cubs.

The 33-year-old outfielder went 5-for-6 with five singles, four runs scored, and one RBI, which came in the top of the ninth to tie the game up at nine-all after St. Louis went up 9-8 in the bottom of the eighth.

Last year, Springer led all Blue Jays outfielders offensively with 137 hits for a .342 on-base percentage. He shockingly hit 3.5 per cent of his hits last year in Thursday’s game, now boasting a team-leading .833 batting average.

George Springer
Springer is the first Blue Jays player to record five hits on Opening Day. Photo: Jeff Marquis W/C

Despite Alek Manoah only going less than five innings for only the fifth time in his career, the Blue Jays were able to pull out a nail-biting victory behind the team’s 19 hits. Every player in the Blue Jays starting nine reached base at some point, which made up for the team’s lack of consistency in the bullpen.

Closing pitcher Jordan Romano was business as usual in the bottom of the ninth, closing the door on the Cardinals in 12 pitches to earn his first save of the season.

The Blue Jays have the day off on Friday before two more games at Busch Stadium on Saturday-Sunday. Kevin Gausman will take the mound against Jack Flaherty in what is poised to be another close matchup.