It appears many Toronto Blue Jays fans aren’t ready to forget the team’s controversial decision to pull Jose Berrios in last year’s final wild-card game just yet.
In Monday’s home opener, Blue Jays manager John Schneider was booed by the sellout crowd at Rogers Centre when he came out to replace Berrios with Yimi Garcia with Toronto up 4-0 with two out in the seventh.
The scenario was far different than last year when the Blue Jays pulled a similarly effective Berrios in the fourth inning of what was a 0-0 game against the Minnesota Twins — with many fans outraged with a game-plan that ultimately didn’t work.
On Monday, Berrios had thrown 101 pitches when Schneider went to the bullpen after his starter gave up a broken-bat base hit to right to Ty France. The move worked out fine as the Blue Jays won 5-2.
In his post-game press conference, Schneider was asked if he had trouble suppressing a smile when he heard the reaction.
“No, it is what it is,” Schneider said with a grin. “He’s not going to throw a complete game every day.”
Schneider didn’t make an immediate move to the bullpen as he approached Berrios, with Sportsnet’s Buck Martinez speculating whether he might keep him in during the mound discussion.
“This is not a popular decision it would seem at the moment in the ballpark,” Sportsnet’s Dan Shulman said.
“Well, obviously it goes back to last year,” Martinez said.
The boos turned to loud cheers as a pumped-up Berrios walked to the dugout and saluted the crowd. He gave up just four hits and walked one while striking out six.
Berrios has been excellent this year with a 1.45 ERA in three starts, all of which have been six innings or longer.
