The Toronto Blue Jays entered the ALCS with all of the momentum in the world. Not only did they thoroughly dominate the New York Yankees in the ALDS, but their opponent, the Seattle Mariners, played a 15-inning game less than 48 hours before the start of the next round. They used a slew of pitchers, including three starters in that game, just to move on.
The Mariners are a really good team, but so are the Jays, and they seemingly had every advantage entering this series. The Mariners were exhausted, the Jays were rested. The Mariners had to travel across the country; the Jays got to relax at home. Seattle's bats struggled in the ALDS; Toronto's bats excelled. Both of Seattle's starters in Toronto were on short rest, while both of Toronto's starters were on extra rest.
You had to think that in the very worst-case scenario, this series would be tied at a game apiece before the scene shifted to Seattle for Game 3. That couldn't have been further from the truth. The Blue Jays dropped each of the first two games of this best-of-seven series, putting them in the seemingly impossible position of needing to win four of their next five games, three of which will take place on the road at T-Mobile Park. It isn't over, but it feels like the season is on the brink.
The entire team has played poorly to this point, but these five Blue Jays deserve most of the blame for the position Toronto is in.
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5) Brendon Little, relief pitcher
Kevin Gausman was dealing until suddenly, he wasn't. The Jays led 1-0 entering the sixth inning of Game 1 and Gausman got the first two batters out to begin the frame. Unfortunately, Cal Raleigh knotted the score by launching a solo shot. Gausman followed that up by walking Julio Rodriguez, and that ended his night. John Schneider pulling Gausman in that spot was pretty controversial given how well he had pitched for most of the night, and putting Brendon Little in was even more surprising.
Little was one of the Jays' best relievers in the first half of the year, but had been maddeningly inconsistent down the stretch. Despite that and despite Jorge Polanco, the next man up for Seattle, having far better numbers against lefties than righties, Little was pressed into action. As strange as the decision was on paper, all Little had to do was record one out to keep the game tied entering the bottom of the sixth. He was unable to accomplish that task.
A wild pitch allowed Rodriguez to advance to second base, and then he'd score on a Polanco RBI single. Little's wildness allowed Rodriguez to advance to scoring position, and then he served up the go-ahead knock on a 3-2 pitch that caught too much of the plate. I can, and do somewhat, blame Schneider for putting him in an inopportune spot, but all Little had to do with a runner at first and two outs was get one out. He failed.
4) John Schneider, manager
I think the Jays would've lost both of these games regardless of who was managing, but John Schneider has not had a good start to the ALCS. The decision to pull Gausman made some sense, but inserting Little into the game did not. In Game 2, Schneider made a similar move, pulling Trey Yesavage in the fifth inning of a 3-3 game. He did not give Yesavage a chance to work out of a jam that he didn't create, and again, he let a reliever, this time Louis Varland, get beat by Polanco in a huge spot. To make matters worse, each of the four relievers he pressed into action after Yesavage allowed at least one run.
It's easy to second-guess in hindsight, and again, the Jays need to play better than they have, but when seemingly every decision Schneider has made thus far has backfired, that's a problem. He isn't the reason they're down 2-0, but he's undoubtedly contributed in a negative way in this series.
3) Louis Varland, relief pitcher
Little was the relief pitcher to blame in Game 1, and Louis Varland is the reliever to blame in Game 2. To be fair, the spot he entered the game at was much tougher than Little's spot, but the end result was also far worse.
The game was tied at three apiece and Varland entered the game with runners on first and second with nobody out and Julio Rodriguez coming up to the plate. He was able to fan Rodriguez, but Jorge Polanco was on deck, and Varland didn't get lucky a second time. Giving up the lead, considering the circumstances, would've been understandable, but Polanco drilled a three-run homer, putting Toronto down by three runs in an eye blink.
We have no idea what Yesavage would've done if he had been given the opportunity to get out of that inning, and again, it was a tough spot for Varland, but he turned a tie game into a three-run deficit. It would've been one thing to allow one of those runs to score, but three coming across changed the complexion of the game, and not in the way the Jays had hoped.
2) Trey Yesavage, starting pitcher
Trey Yesavage introduced himself to the baseball world by no-hitting the New York Yankees in 5.1 innings with 11 strikeouts in his postseason debut. To say he was unable to follow that masterpiece up in an ideal way would be an understatement.
Home plate umpire Doug Eddings didn't help his cause, but Yesavage allowed a three-run homer to Julio Rodriguez before recording a single out. I don't really blame him for the two additional runs as a misplay from Andres Gimenez at shortstop and an intentional walk to Cal Raleigh came back to bite him when Varland gave up the Polanco home run, but still - he allowed five runs, all of which were earned, on four hits with three walks in just four innings of work.
He didn't pitch quite as poorly as his final line would indicate, but still - putting the Jays in an early hole before they even stepped up to bat was a really tough pill to swallow, and he wasn't getting nearly as many swings and misses as he did in his ALDS outing. All Jays fans can do is hope he'll get another start to redeem himself.
1) Vladimir Guerrero Jr., first baseman
After an outstanding ALDS showing, the Blue Jays have scored just four total runs in the first two games of this series. Yes, the Mariners can really pitch, but as mentioned above, the Jays had every possible advantage against an exhausted staff to put up runs in bunches. The fact that they failed to do so isn't only Vladimir Guerrero Jr.'s fault, but as the leader and best player of the team, doing what he did in these games was pretty unacceptable.
Guerrero went 0-for-4 in Game 1. Yes, the Jays managed only two hits in that game, but perhaps if Guerrero found a way to spark them, the rest of the team would've rallied behind him. In Game 2, things only got worse for him.
Guerrero came up in the first inning with a runner in scoring position and nobody out, and rather than keep the rally going, he grounded out to shortstop. In the bottom of the second inning, the Jays tied the game and had runners on the corners with two outs - Guerrero grounded out once again. In the bottom of the sixth inning, right after the Jays gave up the lead, they had a runner at first base and one out for Guerrero. Wouldn't you know it, he grounded out again. He walked in the eighth inning, but by that point, the Jays were trailing 10-3.
Guerrero is now 0-for-7 with a walk in this series. For the Jays to score enough runs against this elite Seattle staff, their best player, Guerrero, must show up. Hopefully, he can find a way to rediscover his swing in Seattle.