The Toronto Blue Jays and Seattle Mariners square off this weekend in Toronto for the first time since the latter team’s stunning wild-card win at Rogers Centre last year.
Few will forget the epic comeback by the Mariners in Game 2 as the visitors erased a 7-0 deficit to win 10-9.
The joy didn’t last long for the Mariners, though, as they were swept by the eventual champion Houston Astros in the next round.
Still, Seattle ended a 21-year playoff drought with a promising, young team — led by AL rookie of the year Julio Rodriguez.
Here’s a look at the Blue Jays-Mariners series, which starts with the same pitching matchup as Game 1 of the wild-card set.
Probable Pitchers
Friday, 7:07 p.m. ET / 4:07 p.m. PT: Toronto RHP Alek Manoah (1-1, 5.13 ERA) vs. Seattle RHP Luis Castillo (2-0, 1.52 ERA)
Saturday, 3:07 p.m. ET / 12:07 p.m. PT: Toronto TBD vs. Seattle RHP Chris Flexen (0-4, 8.86 ERA)
Sunday, 1:37 p.m. ET / 10:37 a.m. PT: Toronto TBD vs. Seattle LHP Marco Gonzalez (2-0, 3.32 ERA
All games on Sportsnet ONE and SN NOW.
Latest on the Blue Jays
The Blue Jays (16-9) are coming off their first sweep of the season, taking all three games against the slumping Chicago White Sox at Rogers Centre.
Toronto did it in emphatic fashion, too, notching shutout wins in the final two games and outscoring the White Sox 20-2 in the series.
Starting pitching has been a major strength recently with Toronto getting six top-notch starts in a row (and five wins).
Former Mariner Yusei Kikuchi (4-0, 3.00 ERA) continued a bounce-back campaign in the series finale, giving up no runs on four hits in 5.2 innings while striking out eight and walking one.
Latest on the Mariners
The Mariners (11-14) aren’t off to a great start, but are very much in the mix in the tightly packed AL West, sitting in fourth place and three games behind the division-leading Texas Rangers.
The first complete game of George Kirby’s career went down as a 1-0 loss to the Philadelphia Phillies on Thursday.
Rodriguez had a rough finish to the series. He went 0-for-4 on Thursday after striking out four times on Wednesday, but did manage a homer in Wednesday’s game.
The outfielder isn’t having the same success as last year so far. He’s slashing .224/.284/.430 with five homers and 13 RBI.
Seattle lost two of three against the Phillies, both by one run. They are 3-7 in one-run games this season.
Offence has been the problem for the Mariners, who are 22nd in MLB in OPS.
Ray’s Season Over
The Mariners suffered a big blow earlier this week when they announced former Blue Jays ace Robbie Ray would need season-ending surgery to repair his flexor tendon.
Ray was hurt during his first and only start of the season.
The Mariners signed Ray to a five-year, $115-million deal ahead of the 2022 season after he won the Cy Young Award with the Blue Jays in 2021.
Canadian Corner
Matt Brash continues to pitch out of the bullpen for the Mariners after the native of Kingston, Ont. made his MLB debut as a starter early last year.
The right-hander has had a rough go recently, giving up four runs in his past three innings of work.
Brash has a 5.91 ERA this season.
Trading Places
Not only do the teams have the wild-card connection from last season, they made a key off-season deal.
The Mariners got outfielder Teoscar Hernandez from the Blue Jays in exchange for reliever Erik Swanson and pitching prospect Adam Macko.
Hernandez’s stats are down from last year, but he still is second on the team with six home runs.
Swanson, meanwhile, has been a vital piece of the Blue Jays bullpen. He has a 1.54 ERA in 11.2 innings.
Another Chance
Manoah and Kevin Gausman didn’t have their best outings as the starters for Games 1 and 2 of the wild-card loss to the Mariners and will figure to have another shot against Seattle this weekend — Gausman usually follows Manoah in the rotation, though Toronto hasn’t named starters past Friday.
Manoah gave up four runs in 5.2 innings in a 4-0 loss in an opener where Castillo shut down the Blue Jays bats, while Gausman allowed four runs in 5.2 innings in the finale with Ray doing worse as the opposing starter.
Castillo is fourth among MLB starters in ERA this season.
2022 Season Series
The Blue Jays went 2-5 against the Mariners in the regular season, winning two of three in Toronto in May before being on the wrong end of a four-game sweep in Seattle in July.
That series essentially spelled the end for then-Blue Jays manager Charlie Montoyo, who was fired three days later.
Up Next
The Blue Jays begin a nine-game road trip on Monday when they open a four-game series against the Boston Red Sox.
