Good morning, sports fans, I’m Tyler Lauletta here with your SI:AM for today. Last I heard, your usual host, Dan Gartland, was still stuck in traffic leaving Dodger Stadium—and he’s got to turn around to head back pretty soon for Game 4.
In today’s SI:AM:
Wednesday was a loaded day of high-stakes baseball, with four teams facing elimination from the postseason. Of the four teams playing on a knife-edge, three scrapped their way to another game. The Blue Jays, however, had no intention of letting the Yankees stick around, and instead punched their ticket to the American League Championship Series and punched their AL East rivals’ tickets to Cancun.
How did Toronto pull it off? With a meticulous team effort, careful planning and some of the gutsiest managing that you’ll ever see on the diamond.
The Blue Jays entered Game 4 knowing they’d be pitching a bullpen game against Yankees rookie ace Cam Schlittler. This was less than ideal, as Game 3 on Tuesday had also turned into something of a bullpen game, with starter Shane Bieber pitching less than three innings and six relievers ultimately taking the mound, four of whom conceded runs.
Rather than shy away from the tough outing on Tuesday, the Blue Jays took a look in the mirror and marched back out to the mound. Louis Varland earned the starting nod for Toronto—less than 24 hours after surrendering a monster home run to Aaron Judge that felt like it flipped the momentum of the entire series—which gave the Blue Jays pitcher a shot at near-instant redemption against the top of the Yankees’ lineup. While Judge got on base with a single, Varland refused to break, pitching through 1 ⅓ scoreless innings before handing the ball off.
Next up was Mason Fluharty, who conceded a solo shot to Ryan McMahon that tied the game up at 1–1. He struck out the other three batters he faced before taking his leave.
From there, Seranthony Domínguez, Eric Lauer, Yariel Rodríguez, Brendon Little and Braydon Fisher combined for more than five innings of work without giving up a single run to a Yankees side that had hung nine runs on them the previous night. When Jeff Hoffman entered the game to secure the last four outs, Toronto had put together a 5–1 lead. While he would give one run back, Hoffman stopped the bleeding there, and with it, stopped the Yankees’ season.
Any bullpen game is a heroic team effort, but Wednesday’s win had to be especially satisfying for the Blue Jays’ pen. Three pitchers who conceded runs during the Yankees’ comeback on Tuesday—Varland, Fisher and Little—were right back up on the mound on Wednesday, and they held New York scoreless.
It takes guts for a manager to steer into the skid with his bullpen with wounds so fresh, but it turns out that was the plan all along.
As soon as the Yankees’ lineup was made official, the Blue Jays’ staff, led by manager John Schneider, got to work devising a game plan around when and where each reliever could be deployed.
The bullpen game turned the baseball on the field into a chess match, and, as it turns out, Schneider is one hell of a chess player.
“John’s got some of the best feel in the game,” Lauer said of his manager. “I think him and [pitching coach Pete Walker] and all the guys that create everything that we do—the lineups, the pitching changes—are good baseball guys. They understand the flow of the game, pockets where guys need to be used, what situations are bigger and smaller. That’s all them. Having the trust to bring in every guy that they brought in and get the job done. When you have that, it’s an unquantifiable trait, but it’s very real.”
While that trait might not be quantifiable, its returns sure are, with Toronto now heading to the ALCS with a chance to reach the World Series for the first time in more than 30 years.
They await the winner of Friday’s Game 5 between the Tigers and Mariners, and will have the luxury of a bit of extra rest heading into the next round. The Blue Jays won their season series against both teams, and, after taking down the Yankees, they must feel close to unstoppable. There’s simply nothing like playoff baseball.
…things I saw yesterday:
5. Apparently, Wemby grew another couple of inches in the offseason, and he’s certainly dunking like it.
4. Vladdy Jr. and the Blue Jays celebrating as Kings of New York.
3. Kyle Schwarber hit a ball off the dang roof of Dodger Stadium.
2. One Battle After Another (it’s good, folks).
1. A’ja Wilson at the buzzer. Just inevitable. This has been about as close of a 3–0 series as you will ever see in sports.
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