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)

 

ALDS GAME 3 - Toronto Blue Jays (2-1) @ New York Yankees (1-2) - Game recap

 

Vladimir Guerrero Jr. hit a 2-run HR in a losing effort as the Yankees came from behind to defeat the Blue Jays 9-6

After another resounding win over the Yankees thanks to 5 no hit innings from Trey Yesavage and a team effort offensively, the Blue Jays were looking to extend the win streak to 6 games and eliminate the Yankees. Shane Bieber got the start with Alejandro Kirk behind the plate. Anthony Santander was in RF, Ernie Clement was at the hot corner and IKF was at 2B. Could the Blue Jays extend the win streak to 6 games and eliminate 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 whacked a 2-2-run blast to left-center and into the Blue Jays bullpen; also scoring Davis Schneider 
• The Yankees got one back in the bottom half of the inning as Giancarlo Stanton singled scoring Aaron Judge 
• The Blue jays added a run in the top of the 3rd as Daulton Varsho singled home Schneider
• A batter later, Ernie Clement singled scoring Guerrero Jr.
• A batter after that, Anthony Santander singled scoring Clement and Varsho
• Carlos Rodon pitching line: 2.1IP 6H 6R (all earned) 2BB 2K 67 pitches (44 for strikes)
• The Yankees got one back in the bottom of the 3rd as Judge doubled scoring Trent Grisham
• Three batters later, Cody Bellinger scored on a sac fly by Stanton 
• Shane Bieber pitching line: 2.2IP 5H 3R (2 earned) 1BB 2K 54 pitches (36 for strikes)
• The Yankees tied it in the bottom of the 4th as Judge hammered a 3-run bomb off the left foul pole; also scoring Austin Wells and Grisham 
• The Yankees took the lead in the bottom of the 5th as Jazz Chiaholm Jr. hammered a solo omb off the basing of the second  deck in right.
• Three batters later, Wells singled scoring Arned Rosario
• The Yankees added a run in the bottom of the 6th on a sac fly by Ben Rice that scored Judge
• David Bednar got the last 5 outs for his 2nd save of the postseason
• Final score: Yankees 9 Blue Jays 6

My Take:

• Shane Bieber lasted just 2.2 innings,  giving up 3 runs (2 earned) on 5 hits while walking 1 and striking out 2. John Schneider continues to not trust his starters in crucial playoff games and it cost the team with Aaron Judge ripping a 3-run bomb off the left foul pole to tie the game.  With the bullpen such a wild card,  I would have let Bieber try to at least escape the 3rd inning
• After giving up 7 runs over 3 innings yesterday, the bullpen imploded again, giving up 6 runs on 7 hits while walking 3 and striking out 4 ove 5.1 innings. Louis Varland was taken deep twice, including the 3-run HR that tied the game and the go-ahead HR. Yariel Rodriguez was the only reliever to retire every batter faced. If the Yankees come back and win the series, Pete Walker should be the scapegoat. The bullpen hasn't been great in the last month or two, his mound visits have been largely ineffective, with the opponent usually scoring shortly afterwards. I said all along that the bullpen was going to be the X factor that determines how deep this team goes. If Blue Jays fans thought tonight ws a nail biter, they best put something bitter on those nails because the Blue Jays are expected to go with a bullpen game tomorrow as they try to elimnate the Yankees tomorrow night.
• The bats certainly did their job with 6 runs. Vladdy has been the difference maker the Blue Jays were hoping for with a huge 2-run HR to give the Blue Jays the lead in the 1st inning. Anthony Santander had a clutch 2-run single that gave the Blue Jays the 5-run cushion that should have been enough on most days
• The Blue Jays were 3-8 with runners in scoring posittion
• It's never a good idea to wake a sleeping giant. Thrtr has no be regrets sbout pullimg Trey Yresavage when they did because it gave Yankees hitters confidence, even though the Blue Jays held on to win two nights ago
• Up next, the dreaded bullpen game. Look for Louis Varland to be the opener and Eric Lauer to get the nod as the bulk inning guy. The Yankees will counter with righty Cam Schlitter.