Saturday Bantering: Game Two Notes

We have four games again today. We can use this as a thread for the non-Jays games

The Rays/Guardians game starts at noon eastern.

The Jays lineup is posted. No surprises but I’m happy to see Springer in there. It is a right-handed heavy lineup, but then it always is. Ray has had more troubles against RHB.

Yesterday's Umpire Scorecard. It was a large strike zone. The Jays were favoured (the team losing early is often, subconsciously, favoured. Just human nature) but I think the large zone hurt them, especially since they were down early.

I will admit, I hate short series. I also hate that we have some idea that one playoff game means more than a full season.

We get the ‘this team isn’t built for the playoffs, after one loss....if Manoah had pitched up to our expectations and someone ran into a pitch at the right moment, we would be built for playoffs. I don’t think that Castillo is a better pitcher than Manoah, I think he pitched better yesterday and likely used the larger strike zone to his advantage.

Of course, in that first inning Manoah didn’t know there was going to be a huge strike zone, so pretty tough to take advantage of it.

I don’t think the Mariners are better ‘built for the playoffs’. They won a game. It is baseball. Sometimes the better team doesn’t win.

Seven years ago today.

The Rangers beat the Jays in game one of the ALDS, 5-3. Rougned Odor and Robinson Chirinos each homered. For the Jays, Jose Bautista homered in his first playoff game.

It was the Jays first playoff games since winning the 1993 World Series.