ALCS GAME 1 - Seattle Mariners (1-0) @ Toronto Blue Jays (0-1) - Game recap

 

George Springer hit a leadoff HR in a losing effort as the Marineras came from behind to defeat the Blue Jays 3-1

After a hard-fought ALDS triumph over the Yankees, the Blue Jays opened the ALCS against expansion cousins the Seattle Mariners. The Blue Jays won the seaon series against the Mariners, outscoring the Mariners 31-24. Chris Bassitt and Max Scherzer were added to the ALCS roster and Justin Bruihl and Tommy Nance were dropped. Bo Bichette was also left off the roster. Kevin Gausman got the start with Alejandro Kirk behind the plate. Anthony Santander was in LF, Daulton Varsho was in CF and Nathan Lukes was in RF. Addison Barger was at the hot corner, Andres Gimenez was at SS, Ernie Clement was at 2B and of course Vlad got the nod at 1B. Could the Blue Jays open the ALCS with a win? Here is tonight's game recap.

Game Highlights:

• The Blue jays opened the scoring in the bottom of the 1st as George Springer led off with a solo blast to the second deck of the opposite field in right
• Nathan Lukes left the game prior to the 4th inning after fouling a ball off his right knee
• The Mariners tied it in the top of the 7th as Cal Raleigh belted a solo jack to right-center
• Two batters later, Jorge Polanco singled scoring Juliu Rodriguez
• Kevin Gausman pitching line: 5.2IP 3H 2R (both earned) 1BB 5K 76 pitches (48 for strikes)
• Bryce Miller pitching line: 6IP 2H 1R (earned) 3BB 3K 76 pitches (52 for strikes)
• The Mariners added a run in the top of the 8th as Jorge Polanco singled scoring Randy Arozarena
• Andres Munoz pitched a perfect 9th for his 2nd save of the postseason
• Final score: Mariners 3 Blue Jays 1

My Take:

• Kevin Gausman fired 5.2 innings, giving up a pair of runs on 3 his while walking 1 and striking out 5. It's unfortunate how the 6th inning played out with Gausman a strike away from a perfect inning and a solid pitch count still in the 60s. He retired 16 in a row before Cal Raleigh (who else?) took him deep.
• The bullpen surrendered 2 runs  (one charged to Gausman) on 4 hits while walking 2 and striking out 6 over the last 3.1 innings. Mason Fluharty retired every batter he faced. Louis Varland, Brandon Little and Seranthony Dominiguez scare me. Dominguez has a tendency to walk batters, Litlle struggles against righties and Varland hasn't really been himself since joining the Blue Jays 
• Offensively, George Springer hit a leadoff home run and that was about it. Vlad's magic from the ALDS didn't materialize tonight - he was 0-4 at the plate. The Blue Jays need tto show more discipline at the plate. The three Mariners relievers needed just 24 pitches to get the last 9 outs
• The Blue Jays were 0-4 with runners in scoring position. 
• Up next,  the Blue Jays try to even the series. Trey Yesavage starts for the Blue Jays. The Mariners have not named a starter for game 2 yet. They needed to use 3 starting pitchers in the 15 inning marathon yesterday and Bryan Woo is just coming off the injured list and may not be at his best.

ALCS #1 Seattle Mariners (0-0) v. Toronto Blue Jays (0-0)

 

Saturday Night Spanish Guitar aka WTFJITH aka The Calm before the Storm aka Game #5 Chicago Cubs (2-2) v. Milwaukee Brewers (2-2)

 

ALDS GAME 4 - New York Yankees (1-3) @ Toronto Blue Jays (3-1) - Game recap

 

Nathan Lukes drove in a pair of runs in a 5-2 win over the Yankees to advance to the ALCS for the first time since 2016

After the bullpen Blue yesterday's game, the Blue Jays were looking to eliminate the Yankees and avoid a decisive game 5. It was a bullpen game today with Louis Varland starting with Alejandro Kirk behind the plate. Nathan Lukes was in LF. Addison Barger was at the hot corner and Ernie Clement was at 2B. Could the Blue Jays finish off the Yankees? Here is tonight's game recap. 

Game Highlights:

• The Blue Jays opened the scoring in the top of the 1st as Vladimir Guerrero Jr. singled scoring George Springer
• Louis Varland pitching line: 1.1IP 1H 0R 0BB 2K 20 pitches (12 for strikes)
• The Yankees tied it in the bottom of the 3rd as Ryan McMahon whacked a solo blast to right
• The Blue jays retook the lead in the top of the 5th on a sac fly by Springer that scored Ernie Clement 
• The Blue Jays added a pair of runs in the top of the 7th as Nathan Lukes singled scoring Clement and Andres Gimenez 
• Cam Schlittler pitching line: 6.2IP 8H 4R (2 earned) 0BB 2K 88 pitches ( 69 for strikes)
• The Blue jays added a run in the top of the 8th as Myles Straw singled scoring Alejandro Kirk
• The Yankees got one back in the bottom of the 9th as Aaron Judge singled scoring Jasson Dominguez
• Jeff Hoffman got the last 4 outs for his first save of the postseason
• Final score: Blue Jays 5 Yankees 2

My Take:

• Opener Louis Varland bounced back very nicely after giving up 2 home runs last night and getting tagged with both the loss and the blown save. Tonight he got the first 4 outs and held the Yankees to a hit and a hit batter
• The rest of the bullpen to 2 runs on 5 hits and 6 walks while striking out 8 over the last 7.2 innings. This was a good lineup, the key was executing pitches when they had to. Some good defense behind them helped too. Jeff Hoffman got Austin Wells to fly out to end the 8th and escape a bases loaded jam. Probbably not wise to pitch to Aaron Judge in the 9th, but at least there were 2 outs and Hoffman kept him in the ball park. None of the relievers retired every batter they faced.
• The veterans came through tonight. Vlad opened the scoring in the top of the 1st with a clutch RBI single. There is going to be tons of scrutiny on Vlad next year when his $500 million, 14 year deal, especially when he slumps, but at the moment it looks like a steal. Vlad became the first player in ALDS/NLDS history to have 9 hits and 9RBI in a single ALDS series. Veteran George Springer scored once and drove in a run. Nathan Lukes drove in a pair, and Myles Straw had a huge RBI single in the 8th to give the bullpen a 4-run cushion with 6 outs to get
• The Blue Jays were 3-17 with runners in scoring position
• Inckluding the postseason, the Blue Jays were a combined 11-6 against the Yankees, outsoring their division rivals 107-75
• It will be interesting to see if some injured players come back. If Chris Bassitt and Bo Bichette are healthy, both will surely be added to the ALCS roster. Likely, Justin Bruihl and IKF would be left off the roster if both are ready to roll. Could Max Scherzer also be on the ALCS roster. He is 4-2 against the Mariners with a 2.97ERA over 9 starts in his career. He would also surely relish the opportunity to eliminate one of his former teams. Mind you, he is 2-3 with a 3.34ERA against the Tigers over 5 starts.
• Up next, the ALCS where the Blue Jays will face off against the winner of the Tigers/Mariners game 5 on Friday. The Blue Jays won the season series 4-3 against the Tigers, outscoring the Tigers 35-27. The Blue Jays won the season series against the Mariners 4-2, outscoring the Mariners 31-24. The road team won all series in both season series. The Blue Jays swept the Mariners in Seattle. Who starts game 1 for both teams will be largely determined by the health of Bassitt, but it'll likely be Kevin Gausman taking the bump first. With the winner of the Mariners/Tigers game on Friday needing to travel cross country, the ALCS will likely start on Thanksgiving Monday.

ALDS Game #4 Toronto Blue Jays (2-1) @ New York Yankees (1-2)