TORONTO — After winning a marathon elimination game at home on Friday night, the Seattle Mariners made the long trip to visit the Toronto Blue Jays for Game 1 of the American League Championship Series on Sunday night.
The Mariners earned their way to the ALCS with a 3-2 home win in 15 innings against the Detroit Tigers in Game 5 of their American League Division Series.
They used seven pitchers, including three starters — George Kirby (five innings), Logan Gilbert (two), and Luis Castillo (1 1/3).
As a result, the Game 1 assignment will go to right-hander Bryce Miller (0-0, 4.15 ERA), who will pitch on three days’ rest. He is 0-1 with a 6.97 ERA in two career starts against the Blue Jays; in one start this season, he surrendered seven earned runs in five innings.
“I think we understand that he’s coming back on short rest,” Mariners manager Dan Wilson said on Saturday. “He didn’t have a ton of pitches in his outing in Detroit, so that’s kind of a blessing for us in some ways.”
Miller was the only available starter who did not pitch on Friday with Bryan Woo on the injured list. It is possible that Woo, who has not pitched since Sept. 19, could return later in the ALCS from pectoral inflammation.
“It’s really depending on his bullpen sessions.” Wilson said. “Yesterday, he had a bullpen session that really went well, so we’ll see … how he bounces back from that today.”
Right-hander Kevin Gausman (1-0, 1.59) is listed as Toronto’s starter. He is 2-4 with a 2.94 ERA in 12 career outings (11 starts) against the Mariners. He is 1-0 with a 5.06 ERA in one start against them this season and has a 6.35 ERA against Seattle in one postseason start.
The Blue Jays wrapped up their ALDS against the New York Yankees in four games with a 5-2 road victory on Wednesday.
Toronto manager John Schneider was an invested viewer of Seattle’s Game 5.
“It kept me on the edge of my seat,” he said on Saturday. “It was entertaining for sure. But glad I wasn’t part of that one. That’s a big-time baseball game right there.”
Wilson was not sure fatigue would be a factor on Sunday.
“I don’t know if it’s really fatigue,” he said. “I think a lot of times players will gain some energy from that. This is a team that (does) a lot of traveling. We do a lot of East Coast traveling. This is something that we’re actually pretty used to. I think in a lot of ways … it’ll just be an extension of the season in some ways.”
Schneider still faces roster decisions. Shortstop Bo Bichette, who has been out since Sept. 7 with a sprained knee, was running the bases for the first time on Saturday. He has been hitting, and Schneider said a decision will be made on his status depending how he emerges from the Saturday workout.
Schneider said it is likely that the team will again go with 13 pitchers but a starter such as Max Scherzer or Chris Bassitt, both omitted from the ALDS roster, could be added for the ALCS.
“They’re both feeling good and are definitely ready and available,” Scheider said. “Different format, obviously, seven games, three in a row, all that kind of stuff. Yeah, could definitely see them being part of it.”
The Mariners won two of three at Toronto April 18-20, and the Blue Jays recorded a three-game sweep at Seattle May 9-11.
“But I think kind of how Seattle is playing now, yeah, way different from the last time we saw them, for sure,” Schneider said. “Whether it’s how the bullpen is used, some guys they’ve added offensively, some guys that have stepped up offensively. They’re a really good team. They’re a good team for a lot of different reasons.”
“We’ll have our hands full,” Wilson said. “But I think we feel like we’re in a good spot with our club. We’re coming off a highly emotional series and have gained some momentum from that. I feel like we’re in a good spot.”
Seattle swept the Blue Jays in two games in a 2022 AL wild-card series at Toronto.
–Larry Millson, Field Level Media