The Toronto Blue Jays ended the New York Yankees' season in the ALDS and then caught seemingly every break. When they clinched, they had no idea which team they were going to play with the American League Pennant on the line. As it turns out, the teams that had a chance to face them had to battle in a 15-inning winner-take-all game. This meant that the Seattle Mariners, the eventual victors, had to tire out their pitching staff and travel across the country to take on a rested Blue Jays team on the road.
These advantages didn't matter, as the Mariners stole Game 1, causing Blue Jays fans to panic. While a sense of panic is understandable, just how panicked should the fans be after just one game?
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Blue Jays lost a game they seemingly had to win
There's no sugarcoating just how bad a loss this was for the Jays. Because the Mariners' pitching was in such a bad spot, they started Bryce Miller, a pitcher who had a 5.68 ERA in 18 starts in the regular season, on three days' rest. Going against Miller was Kevin Gausman, Toronto's ace, on extra rest. Seattle's bullpen was taxed heavily in its series against the Tigers, while the Jays' bullpen, again, was rested.
When George Springer hit a lead-off home run against Miller, I thought for sure that the Jays were going to roll to victory. They even got two men on base after the first-inning home run, but failed to add another run to their tally. They managed just one hit the rest of the way. The Blue Jays pitched pretty well, but John Schneider made a couple of questionable decisions, and what was a 1-0 lead wound up ending in a 3-1 loss.
If the Jays were to lose this series, they'll look back at this game as the one they let get away. They had a 1-0 lead and had Miller, a starter pitching on short rest for the first time in his career, on the ropes. They had a chance to put Seattle away right there but didn't, and that wound up being the game. They had the pitching advantage. They had the rest advantage. They had home-field advantage. None of these things wound up mattering. It was an inexcusable loss for Toronto.
Now, they're going to have to win at least one game at T-Mobile Park, a very hard place to play, and they've handed the momentum to Seattle. Oh yeah, Logan Gilbert is looming for Game 2, too.
Mariners are prime example of why this series is far from over
It's understandable for Jays fans to think that this loss ended their season, but if anything, the Mariners are proof that this series truly is far from over. Just last round, the Mariners had seemingly every advantage. They had an exhausted Detroit Tigers team that had to travel across the country at home while they were fresh off a bye. The Mariners had their choice of who to start, while the Tigers went with a bullpen game.
The Mariners needed a win with Tarik Skubal slated to start the next day, but they lost that game. Despite that, they won the Skubal start, stole a game in Detroit, and then won a winner-take-all game at home against Skubal. They beat the best pitcher on the planet twice in one series.
I'm not saying that Sunday's game wasn't disappointing, but at the end of the day, there are no gimmes in October. It would've been nice for the Jays to have won Sunday's game, but it's not as if they're incapable of beating good teams and good pitchers. In the ALDS, we saw Toronto beat Max Fried and Cam Schlittler to advance.
Blue Jays fans should be slightly concerned, but that's it
Should Blue Jays fans be concerned? Absolutely. Again, it felt like Game 1 was one they really should've won, and if they lose this series, it'll be easy to look back at that outcome and wonder 'what if?' The Mariners have now stolen home-field advantage and should have better pitching situations the rest of the series.
With that being said, though, losing one game in a best-of-seven, especially given how good the Jays have been all year, can't be seen as the end of the world. The task of coming back from a 1-0 deficit in a best-of-seven series isn't nearly as difficult as it is in a best-of-three or best-of-five.
A win in Game 2 gets these teams even, and if the Jays were to win just one game in Seattle, they'd reclaim home-field advantage. Their path to the World Series is obviously tougher after losing this game, but there should be no mindless panicking after just one game. If the Jays lose Game 2, though, all bets are off.