The Toronto Blue Jays seemed all but dead after the first two games of the American League Championship Series.
They lost twice at home, 3-1 in Game 1 and 10-3 in Game 2. The offence that dominated the Yankees in the American League Division Series, scoring 34 runs in four games, had disappeared. The bullpen, which had stabilized at the end of the season, was struggling again.
The Jays gave away home-field advantage and failed to capitalize on the fact that the Mariners needed 15 innings to defeat the Detroit Tigers in Game 5 of the ALDS. Seattle used three starting pitchers in that marathon game, while also wearing down their bullpen. They survived, then flew to Toronto and owned the Jays in the first two games.
But the series wasn’t over, and the resilient Blue Jays have rallied to tie the series heading into tonight’s Game 5. All season long, whenever the Blue Jays have looked like they were going to disappear and fade away, they have instead responded.
In Game 3, it was former Cy Young Award winner Shane Bieber who stepped up and delivered. He looked like he was going to get knocked out early after surrendering a two-run homer in the first inning, but he rebounded in the second inning by striking out the side.
That inspired the offence, which put up five runs in the top of the third. Bieber tossed six innings of just two-run ball while the offence kept churning. They Jays hit five homers. Six hitters drove in at least one run, and six had multiple hits. The Jays were right back in the series.
Toronto started 41-year-old Max Scherzer in Game 4. He was 0-3 with a 10.20 ERA in September and hadn’t pitched in a game since Sept. 24. He has dealt with a thumb injury and back spasms at different times during the season and was left off of the roster for the ALDS. The odds were stacked against him, but he delivered in a way beyond what any of us expected, except for him. He is a warrior and showed that, as the Toby Keith song says, “I ain’t as good as I once was, but I’m as good once as I ever was.” He mustered 5.2 innings of one-run ball. I didn’t see that coming.
Scherzer’s curveball wiped out three hitters in big situations. First innings have been a major issue for him all season long with a 12.96 ERA, but he got a huge double play to get out of trouble in the first on Thursday after two walks. Then he picked a runner off of first base in the third inning.
Getting outs without throwing extra pitches made a big difference. This was a proud veteran making his 500th career start, digging deep to throw his highest average fastball of the season. He threw a pitch at 96.5 mph, which was the fastest he has thrown since June 2023. The added velocity and arm speed made all of his stuff better.
It feels like the momentum has shifted in a significant way. After the first two games, it felt like the Jays might be swept. Now it feels like they will win the series in six games.
There is a saying that momentum is only as good as your next day’s starting pitcher. In this era of baseball, I’m not sure that is true – especially with these Blue Jays, a team that thrives on adversity and has led baseball in come-from-behind wins.
What the turnaround has ensured is that the series will return to Toronto and this team will either advance to the World Series or their season will end in front of their home fans.
Blue Jays show their true mettle
One of the most impressive things about this group of players is their response to adversity.
They got off to a slow start this season, but nobody panicked. The starting rotation was not as good or as consistent as they had hoped. The bullpen struggled horribly at times. The offence was prone to streaks out of nowhere. But every component of the game always bounced back. Even in the playoffs, down two games to none, with doomsday talk all around them, they found a way to even the series.
They lost shortstop Bo Bichette to injury, but Andres Gimenez is filling in and doing his best Bo Bichette offensive imitation while playing better defence. Outfielder Anthony Santander was removed from the roster because of his sore back before the game on Thursday, which moved Addison Barger to right field. Barger made two outstanding catches and threw a runner out at third base.
With Barger moving to the outfield, seldom-used utilityman Isiah Kiner-Falefa got a start at second base and played flawless defence while getting two hits, scoring two runs and advancing two runners on a sacrifice bunt who both later scored.
This is truly a team that plays connected baseball. They feed off of each other offensively and defensively. It’s a credit to manager John Schneider and the leaders on the team.
I also really appreciate the performances of Bieber and Scherzer in Games 3 and 4. This is what general manager Ross Atkins envisioned when he signed Scherzer as a free agent and traded for Bieber at the deadline – two battle-tested veterans making a big difference in a postseason series. The reality is that those two guys saved the Jays season. Sure, the offence erupted in the past two games, but the results might have been different if they didn’t provide shutdown innings after the Jays scored. If it turned into a battle of the bullpens the Jays would be home right now.
Spitting Seeds
- The National League Championship Series is all but over. The Los Angeles Dodgers are ahead three games to none with Shohei Ohtani scheduled to pitch in Game Four.
The Dodgers’ starters have been overpowering and even the struggling bullpen got the last 10 outs of Game 3. The Brewers haven’t been able to find any offence, scoring just one run in each game.
The Dodgers look like a juggernaut. Their starting pitching is nearly unhittable, while they have so many clutch hitters who have power. Plus, they are playing excellent defence.
L.A. looks like the best team in baseball, but as we have learned, it’s not the best team that wins, it’s the team playing the best.
