After falling behind 2-0 in the ALCS, the Toronto Blue Jays have stormed back, winning each of the last two games to even the best-of-seven series at two wins apiece. The Seattle Mariners are still a really good team, but the Jays have reclaimed home-field advantage and have all of the momentum right now.
What's mostly impressive about the last two games is that the Jays have won with clear starting pitching disadvantages. Shane Bieber, a starter who couldn't even get out of the third inning in his Blue Jays postseason debut, managed to outduel George Kirby, twirling a quality start in the process. More shockingly, Max Scherzer, a pitcher not even on Toronto's ALDS roster, outlasted Luis Castillo and finished one out shy of a quality start of his own.
Scherzer defied everyone's expectations, even manager John Schneider's, by pitching as well as he did. Not only did Scherzer pitch his heart out in this game, but he helped exorcise years of Schneider postseason demons in the process.
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Max Scherzer held John Schneider back from repeating a familiar mistake
The pressure of the postseason causes managers to manage the game more aggressively in many cases, and this often results in starting pitchers not getting as much wiggle room as they normally do in the regular season. In his Blue Jays tenure, Schneider has been incredibly aggressive when it comes to pulling his starters, sometimes to a fault.
For example, in Game 2 of the Wild Card Series back in 2023, Schneider pulled his starter, Jose Berrios, after issuing a leadoff walk in the bottom of the fourth inning. Berrios had been pretty dominant through the first three innings, allowing just a pair of seeing-eye singles, but Schneider still pulled him for Yusei Kikuchi, who soon allowed that run and one other to score. The Twins won that game and the series by the same 2-0 score. The Jays didn't hit enough to win that game or series, but that pitching change still haunts Jays fans to this day.
We saw Schneider repeat this mistake a couple of times in this series alone. He pulled Kevin Gausman after just 76 pitches through 5.2 mostly dominant innings, and Brendon Little immediately made that move backfire after surrendering a go-ahead hit. In Game 2, Schneider pulled Trey Yesavage after 70 pitches when it appeared he had settled in, and the bullpen gave that game away as well.
Sticking with the starter helped the Blue Jays win Game 4
After surrendering a leadoff single in the bottom of the fifth inning of Thursday's game, Scherzer retired the next two hitters, giving him a path through the inning. The Jays were up 5-1, so there was some wiggle room to let Scherzer try and, at the very least, finish that frame. Schneider seemingly had other ideas, coming out from the dugout to try and pull Scherzer, but the future Hall of Famer went full-on Mad Max, refusing to come out of the game.
Scherzer talking Schneider into staying in the game turned out to be in the best interest of the team. Scherzer struck Randy Arozarena out to end that inning, and even got two outs in the sixth before getting pulled. Would the Jays still have won Game 4 even with Scherzer getting pulled when Schneider intended to relieve him? Maybe, but Toronto's bullpen has been shaky at times this postseason.
Sometimes, managers have to trust their starters to push through, especially when the bullpen is far from elite. Scherzer helped teach Schneider that on Thursday, and Schneider ought to retain that information with Toronto's World Series hopes still on the line.
John Schneider needs to trust his starters
The Jays have Gausman set to pitch in Game 5. If he doesn't have it, by all means, Schneider needs to pull him early and keep them in the game. If Gausman does pitch well, though, and get into a hint of trouble in the middle innings, he ought to let his ace try and get out of trouble rather than lean on the bullpen.
The same, honestly, goes with Yesavage. He should obviously have a shorter leash than Gausman, but the Jays have seen how good he can be. If he gets off to a good start, he should not be pulled at the first sign of trouble.
For the Jays to win the World Series, they're going to have to trust their best players to lead them there. Hopefully, the Scherzer experience helped Schneider come to that fairly simple realization.