[ALCS GM 4] Blue Jays (Scherzer) vs Mariners (Castillo): 10/16/26, 8:33pm

[Brock Beauchamp]

Now it all comes down to Mad Max. And an 8:30pm start? C'mon, baseball. Cut it out.

[SeranthonySantander]

I wonder if Bo is ready for the World Series.

[DAAJankeesLose]

6 minutes ago, SeranthonySantander said:

I wonder if Bo is ready for the World Series.

Only thing he's ready for free agency lol.

[DAAJankeesLose]

Remember the 2015 ALCS, we blasted the Royals in game 3 to get back in it, only for ERA Dickey to go out the next day and get his s*** rocked. Hope this doesn't happen to Max.

[Governator]

I went through the last game day thread as I wasn't online yday. By page 5, we were done, cooked, game over, swept.  By page 10, you'd think we won the World Series.

Continue the momentum boys, support Scherzer.

[Olerud363.354]

19 minutes ago, DAAJankeesLose said:

Remember the 2015 ALCS, we blasted the Royals in game 3 to get back in it, only for ERA Dickey to go out the next day and get his s*** rocked. Hope this doesn't happen to Max.

That's the simulation theory.  Universe is a simulation and re-uses code.  Run the same code. 40 year old vtrn' starter gets destroyed to ruin momentum.  

Wonder how long the leash is.  Dickey went bunt, homerun, walk.  Have they game-planned what to do in that scenario?  Will they get a Bassett or Varland in right away?  Hopefully don't have to worry about that.  Do not want repeat of 2015 game 4. 

[Omar]

I figure the Jays want him to go one time through the order. If he's dealing they have to make a decision.  Anything more than once through the order unscathed is gravy. 

[Laika]

Scherzer vs Castillo

This game could be anything. We could see Max Scherzer throw a legacy game and leave it all on the field. We could see the Blue Jays flummoxed by the veteran Castillo, with lots of weak contact. Or we could see one or both SP get destroyed because neither is a reliable shut down SP anymore and both of these offenses can slug and jump pitchers. 

Gausman vs Woo

Have to feel okay about this matchup since Woo could be rusty and Gausman has been pretty solid all playoffs and was so good to end the regular season. Woo could dominate but how many pitches is he good for?

Yesavage vs. Miller/Gilbert - Game 6

This possible game on Sunday in Toronto is interesting. Bounce-back attempt for Yesavage, with extra rest, hopefully with a homeplate ump who can call the strikezone properly and let the f***ing catcher throw balls back. Did Bryce Miller earn himself this start? Logan Gilbert would be the clear favourite based on all available information other than Miller's stellar game 1. I think as a Jays fan I would prefer to see Miller get the ball. 

Bieber vs. Kirby - Game 7

Would be fun! How about we just win in 6 though? Kirby would be on regular rest. 

 

[Laika]

5 minutes ago, Omar said:

I figure the Jays want him to go one time through the order. If he's dealing they have to make a decision.  Anything more than once through the order unscathed is gravy. 

I am prepared for the fans to be angry, lol

If he gets through the order once, or 3 IP clean, I would support the hook but it would definitely enrage the fanbase 

[wewlad]

One game at a time, lets get this s***!

[Laika]

They didn't need to use most of the A relievers last night so Schneider has tons of options for navigating this game. 

He can go from Max to a bullpen game finish. He can use Bassitt and Lauer. 

Fisher and Flu only threw 12 and 15 pitches so they are available along with Hoffman, Little, Varland, Dominguez. 

One annoying thing about the Mariners is that Raleigh and Polanco are kind of split-proof. It makes the top 4 of their lineup harder to navigate. No Ben Rice or Trent Grisham in there to pwn with a loogy or changeups 

[glory]

My guess is Schneider wants Max, Bassitt, and Lauer to get through 6, then he can mix and match Little, Varland, Dominguez, and Hoffman for the final 3. As mentioned, this game could go so many different ways and none of the scenarios would be surprising. Definition of a toss up game.

[ComeTogether]

Same playbook. 

Hope Max is sharp and has his stuff early.  

Bats are alive. 

[SeranthonySantander]

Yea someone said secret bullpen game, guessing his leash is short.  Go until he looks bad don’t let him cost us more than a run or two 

[ComeTogether]

Need more of this 

 

[JaysAllMighty]

Go Jays Go

 

 

[mphenhef]

I was looking at Max's splits and noticed a stark difference when it comes to catchers.

 

It's probably just small sample size but does make you wonder if there is something there.

[G-Snarls]

29 minutes ago, mphenhef said:

I was looking at Max's splits and noticed a stark difference when it comes to catchers.

 

It's probably just small sample size but does make you wonder if there is something there.

Wouldn't be crazy to have Heneimann catch and Kirk DH but you also only expect 3-5 innings at most from Scherzer. So do you bother?

[Stangstag]

3 minutes ago, G-Snarls said:

Wouldn't be crazy to have Heneimann catch and Kirk DH but you also only expect 3-5 innings at most from Scherzer. So do you bother?

But then you’re ignoring the splits that say Springer hits way better in the DH spot

[harvey16]

I have a good feeling about Scherzer tonight! This is the exact type of game he was brought in to pitch! He's been in situations like this countless times throughout his career and won't succumb to the pressure. He is a true gamer and is built for games like this! In Scherzer we trust!

[G-Snarls]

17 minutes ago, Stangstag said:

But then you’re ignoring the splits that say Springer hits way better in the DH spot

Yeah true 

Idk I prob just play Kirk at C

[Terminator]

Will be interesting to see who hits cleanup tonight.

Castillo sucks vs. LHP so they could stick with Taters, go back to Barger, or use Varsho there.

[L54]

Not worried about Castillo, the offense will be fine with him on the bump. With Max starting I think you have to go Straw/Varsho/Lukes defensively in the outfield tonight to start. Max is the fly ball king and I don’t wanna see Santander out there navigating Safeco 

[Laika]

10 minutes ago, Terminator said:

Will be interesting to see who hits cleanup tonight.

Castillo sucks vs. LHP so they could stick with Taters, go back to Barger, or use Varsho there.

Lefties nuke him! Almost makes me want to do some weird stuff with the lineup

[Vancouverite]

12 minutes ago, Terminator said:

Will be interesting to see who hits cleanup tonight.

Castillo sucks vs. LHP so they could stick with Taters, go back to Barger, or use Varsho there.

i know Santander hasn't produced much this post season but he's had very good AB's. I think for Cam Schlittler too something like 25-30% of all his pitches were thrown to Santander.

I'm hoping for a big game from him one of these games to get the monkey of his back and start producing. IT would be a huge win for the team

[harvey16]

15 minutes ago, Terminator said:

Will be interesting to see who hits cleanup tonight.

Castillo sucks vs. LHP so they could stick with Taters, go back to Barger, or use Varsho there.

I'd stick with the same lineup as last night, if it ain't broke don't fix it.

[Governator]

1 hour ago, JaysAllMighty said:

Go Jays Go

 

 

Their artwork for this has been second to none.  This should be the direction for everything going forward.

[Orgfiller]

18 minutes ago, Terminator said:

Will be interesting to see who hits cleanup tonight.

Castillo sucks vs. LHP so they could stick with Taters, go back to Barger, or use Varsho there.

6 minutes ago, Laika said:

Lefties nuke him! Almost makes me want to do some weird stuff with the lineup

Honestly fine with running back last night's lineup, but if we wanted to do it to stack the favourable matchups then probably either Barger - Santander - Varsho or Varsho - Santander - Barger makes the most sense. Putting Varsho and Barger back to back could work if you just think Davis Schneider will eventually pinch hit for Barger once a lefty comes in.

[Governator]

52 minutes ago, G-Snarls said:

Wouldn't be crazy to have Heneimann catch and Kirk DH but you also only expect 3-5 innings at most from Scherzer. So do you bother?

 

I mean that big risk of using a catcher as DH if if Heneimann gets injured would suck. Kirk moves to C and pitcher has to take the DH spot I believe.

That said, it's almost a shame Henimann isn't used in the postseason when he's a legit bat.

[Orgfiller]

57 minutes ago, G-Snarls said:

Wouldn't be crazy to have Heneimann catch and Kirk DH but you also only expect 3-5 innings at most from Scherzer. So do you bother?

No chance Heineman should start, even if I wanted to believe the ERA splits by catcher - I don't, Max sucked at the end of the season and obviously Kirk was out there often. Kirk is a big bat for us, and an even better defensive catcher. Scherzer is gonna need every close pitch near the corners to go his way and Kirk is the best guy for the job.