TORONTO — George Springer led off the bottom of the first inning on Sunday by crushing an opposite-field home run that sent the Rogers Centre crowd into a frenzy. In that moment, it looked like the Toronto Blue Jays were going to carry their offensive momentum from the previous round right into this American League Championship Series.
They put two more runners on base and had Seattle Mariners starter Bryce Miller on the ropes, yet the big hit never came. Not during the rest of that first inning and not for the rest of Game 1, a 3-1 loss to the Mariners in front of 44,474.
“We just didn’t hit,” Vladimir Guerrero Jr. said through interpreter Hector Lebron in a quiet Blue Jays clubhouse following the contest.
Yes, it’s an oversimplification, but to be fair, there’s not much else to say.
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Watch the Blue Jays in the ALCS on Sportsnet
The Toronto Blue Jays face the Seattle Mariners in Game 2 of the ALCS on Monday at 5 p.m. ET / 2 p.m. PT. Catch the game on Sportsnet or Sportsnet+.
Miller, who was pitching on three days’ rest, completely carved up the Blue Jays. After his shaky, 27-pitch first frame, the right-hander allowed just two baserunners across the rest of his six-inning outing. He wasn’t necessarily overpowering, but Miller was economical with his 76 pitches, featured increased velocity across the board, pounded the zone and worked off his fastball with nicely executed splitters and sinkers.
“Was getting ahead, attacking, and it’s a recipe for success,” said Miller, who noted this was the biggest start of his three-year major-league career.
“He was throwing a lot of strikes,” said Blue Jays infielder Ernie Clement. “I think they had to get some length out of him so he was filling up the zone. A lot of times we put a good swing on it and hit it just right at guys, so we couldn’t really get anything going.”
Blue Jays manager John Schneider said he thought his lineup didn’t have much “batted ball luck,” but also commended Miller.
“This pitching staff has good stuff,” Schneider said. “He’s definitely one of them and I think he did a good job of kind of flipping the script.”
The challenge won’t get any easier on Monday afternoon, when the Mariners will hand the ball to Logan Gilbert as they look to take a commanding 2-0 lead in the best-of-seven series (5:03 p.m. ET/ 2:03 p.m. PT on Sportsnet and Sportsnet+). The right-hander tossed two innings on 34 pitches out of the bullpen during the Mariners’ 15-inning, Game 5 win over the Detroit Tigers on Friday. Gilbert said he essentially treated that outing as a “very high-intense bullpen,” and expects to be fine on Monday.
If that’s the case and Gilbert is indeed himself, look out. The 28-year-old has been among the better starters in the league over the past four years with his 12.6 fWAR ranking fifth among AL hurlers during that span. His 32.3 per cent strikeout rate this season is in the 94th percentile, while his 5.8 per cent walk rate is in the 86th percentile. As well, in Gilbert, the Blue Jays know they’ll see another right-hander with a good fastball.
“Their whole organization preaches the fastball and up and down the rotation everyone can really kind of throw hard and spin the fastball a little bit,” said Blue Jays outfielder Davis Schneider, who flew out to right field during a pinch-hit appearance in the eighth inning.
“A staff like that, you know that you’re probably not going to get much to hit,” said Springer. “So, you got to be aggressive. But you got to be smart at the same time.
“If they throw something to hit, you got to hit it.”
As for what the Blue Jays can do differently on Monday, several hitters expressed confidence that if they continue with their usual solid approaches at the plate, it will lead to better success.
“I think it’s one of those things that some balls fall, obviously it’s a little bit of a different story (in Game 1),” said Springer. “But that’s the game. Sometimes that’s going to happen. It’s not pushing a button. It’s not getting all concerned about anything.
“You got to go out and play and have a good quality at-bat. And I expect us to go out there tomorrow with that same mentality.”
