At 4 p.m. this Friday, the Blue Jays and Mariners will meet in the first game of two (or three) between the two teams.
At stake? The right to go face the Astros in Houston as part of a divisional series.
The challenge will be important for both formations since we are talking about two big teams, anyway. Both clubs have chances to move to the next level.
The matches will take place in Toronto, which may give the Canadian club some chances, but that will not be proof of everything. That said, the guys are happy to play in Canada.
Mariners Season
For the first time since 2001, the Mariners have managed to stay in the running to make the playoffs. One of the big reasons? The hatching of Julio Rodriguez, who took the baseball world by storm in 2022.
The Mariners’ rotation, led by Luis Castillo, Robbie Ray, George Kirby and Logan Gilbert in the top-4, has taken its toll.
The club is not full of stars, but everyone had a role within the club and that helped to limit the slack periods throughout the season.
And just like that, the longest drought in professional sports in North America came to an end.
Blue Jays season
In Toronto, expectations were high. After losing Robbie Ray (to the Mariners, as it happens) and Marcus Semien, the club acquired Kevin Gausman and Matt Chapman, who have done well this season in town.
The club’s stars (Vladimir Guerrero Jr., George Springer, Bo Bichette, Alejandro Kirk and Teoscar Hernandez, among others) took turns doing their batting work, which made the club successful.
On the mound, a few guys did well, but Alek Manoah was just plain dominating. The starter has done everything on the field and he is going to have Cy Young votes.
The pitchers performed well, in the end.
Compare pitching personnel
If the Blue Jays have, in my eyes, the best pitcher (Manoah, who plays Friday), the depth advantage still belongs to the Mariners.
After all, to choose between Manoah, Kevin Gausman, Ross Stripling and Jose Berrios or the guys from Seattle (Luis Castillo, Robbie Ray, George Kirby and Logan Gilbert), I choose the guys from Seattle.
The Mariners also have a better ERA at the relief level, which is deeper than the Jays.
We have to give the Mariners the advantage…and that’s bound to put pressure on Manoah to have a big game on Friday night.
Compare Attacks
From that side, the star power is much stronger with the Blue Jays and the offensive depth of the bench is also very interesting.
George Springer has plenty of playoff experience and is currently healthy. This could make the difference for his people, just like Vladdy and Bo Bichette, who is on fire in September.
Note that Jesse Winker will be absent and that Lourdes Gurriel Jr. and Santiago Espinal should be present in the series.
With all due respect to the Julio Rodriguez, Mitch Haniger, Ty France and Eugenio Suarez of this world, if the Jays’ steamroller kicks in… good luck stopping them.
imponderables
Playing at home will help the Jays, but it will also be important for Robbie Ray (ex-Jays) and Abraham Toro. If the Quebecer gets playing time, he will be motivated by the idea of demonstrating his importance in front of family and friends.
Defensively, the Mariners have done better than the Jays and at shortstop, JP Crawford has a better glove than Bo Bichette. This could help limit four-out innings.
Managers Scott Servais and John Schneider have never made the playoffs as major league baseball managers, but since Servais is not interim and has played in the playoffs in his life (in 1998 with the Cubs), I will give it a little lift.
But in the end, if I had to get wet, I’d say the Jays will win Game 1, lose Game 2 before beating the Mariners in Game 3.
