NFL
By: Greg Rector
Toronto Blue Jays (92-70) vs Seattle Mariners (90-72) 4:07 PM Eastern
The MLB playoffs will begin on Friday with the wild card round. The 6th seeded Seattle Mariners travel north of the border to face the third-seeded Toronto Blue Jays. While the Mariners won the season series we all know this is a brand new season. Let’s look at this match-up. This will be the Mariners’ first post-season appearance since 2001, while the Blue Jays are back after missing the wild-card round by one game in 2021.
Blue Jays Pitching vs Mariners Hitting
The Mariners boast a below-average batting order and rely upon timely hits, stolen bases, and walks from opposing pitchers to score most of their runs. They do have the likely AL Rookie of the Year Julio Rodriguez with his 28 home runs and 25 stolen bases, he needs to be kept off base. Eugenio Suarez (31 HRs 87 RBIs) Ty France (20 HRs 85 RBIs) and Cal Raleigh (27 HRs 63 RBIs) provide the power for the Mariners. A team batting average of .228 however means they have been very inconsistent. Not an ideal situation when facing Alec Manoah (16-7 2.24 ERA) who in his first full season has put himself into the Cy Young conversation by being in the top 5 in every pitching category, while pitching most of his games in home run havens like the Rogers Center, Yankee Stadium, Fenway Park, and the worst ballpark in the majors Tropicana Field. Not since the Cy Young season from Roger Clemens has a Blue Jays pitcher been as tough on opponents. He is a horse who went at least 6 innings in every start. The Jays will follow up Manoah likely in game two with veteran Kevin Gausman (12-10 3.35 ERA) don’t let the record fool you, Gausman had a few starts where the offense didn’t get him many runs. The third starter if needed will be former Dodgers pitcher Ross Stripling (10-4 3.01 ERA) after working out of the bullpen and spot starting under former manager Charlie Montoya (Fired July 13th) he was a full-time and very effective starter for interim manager John Schneider ( 46-22) Schneider and pitching coach Pete Walker have had tremendous success with the bullpen with very occasions when a pitching change hasn’t worked out. If the games are close the Blue Jays turn to closer Jordan Romano (5-4 2.11 ERA 36 Saves) Romano will a Markham, Ontario native will be extra pumped to be pitching in the playoffs in his hometown.
Mariners Pitching vs Blue Jays Hitting
Here’s where the Mariners are in trouble unless they get outstanding performances from Luis Castillo (8-6 2.99 ERA) ex- Blue Jay Robbie Ray (12-12 3.71 ERA) and Logan Gilbert (13-6 3.20 ERA) along with their bullpen. The reason is from leadoff hitter George Springer on down this Blue Jays batting order can light you up in a hurry. 5 hitters with over 20 HRs most in the AL, league leaders in OPS, and several other hitting categories the Blue Jays hitters have mostly been on fire since Schneider took over in July. Bo Bichette, Vladamir Guerrero Jr, Matt Chapman, and Teoscar Hernandez can all go yard consistently. While Guerrero Jr didn’t come close to last year’s 48 HR season (32 HRs) he along with the other heaviest Blue Jay in All-Star catcher Alejandro Kirk led the team in infield singles. Five times this season the Jays had 20 or more hits in a game. It’s a scary thought for any opposing pitching staff. This included putting up an insane 28 runs against the Red Sox. There’s a balance to the lineup and even the bench players have contributed a lot especially since regulars Lourdes Gurriel and Santiago Espinal both went down with injuries.
Prediction
This is a far different Blue Jays than the Mariners saw earlier in the season. Having watched the Blue Jays do this many times in the past when they are at Rogers Center and they know not just the city of Toronto but the entire country is behind them, they tend to play very well. It’s one of the best crowds in baseball and opponents know they will be electric. Since Schneider was hired the biggest change has been his ability to relate to his players. He managed most of them in the minors and guys like Bichette and Guererro Jr absolutely love him. With better starting pitching and stronger batting order, I have the Blue Jays winning two in a row to advance to face the Houston Astros.
As always you can find me on Twitter @GregsCowboys
