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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.