MARINERS QUIET BLUE JAYS’ BATS, TAKE ALCS GAME 1
TORONTO — Fatigue was not a factor Sunday night for the Seattle Mariners, who show no signs of getting tired of winning.
Bryce Miller pitched six strong innings on three days’ rest, Cal Raleigh homered and the Mariners defeated the Toronto Blue Jays 3-1 in Game 1 of the American League Championship Series.
Jorge Polanco had two RBI singles for the Mariners, who erased Toronto’s home-field advantage in the best-of-seven series.
They enter Game 2 on Monday assured of at least a split of the first two games before the series moves to Seattle for the middle three games as needed.
The Mariners needed 15 innings to defeat the Detroit Tigers 3-2 on Friday night in the deciding fifth game of their American League Division Series. Then their flight from Seattle was delayed.
“Coming back tonight and getting Game 1 is obviously a big momentum shift for us,” Seattle manager Dan Wilson said. “And a lot of work to do yet.”
George Springer hit a solo homer on the first pitch that Miller (1-0) threw in the first inning and the Blue Jays had just one more hit in the game.
“We just didn’t hit,” said Toronto star Vladimir Guerrero Jr., who was 0-for-4. “It’s just one game.”
Seattle had runners on the corners with one out in the first against right-hander Kevin Gausman (1-1) after singles by Raleigh and Julio Rodriguez. The rally was blunted when Raleigh was thrown out at home on Polanco’s grounder to third.
Springer’s homer to right on a fastball was his second homer this postseason and the first to lead off a playoff game in team history.
Gausman retired 16 in a row before Raleigh hit his second home run of this postseason with two outs in the sixth — a blast to right center on a 2-2 splitter.
Asked if he had considered walking Raleigh, who hit a major league-leading 60 homers this season, Toronto manager John Schneider said: “Every single time he comes to the plate I’m considering it, to be honest with you.”
Rodriguez followed the homer with a walk, and left-hander Brendon Little replaced Gausman. After a wild pitch, Polanco stroked an RBI single to left.
“I gave up a home run and a walk, up to that point, I’d been throwing the ball really well and had the game right there,” Gausman said. “This one’s on me.”
Gausman allowed two runs, three hits and one walk with five strikeouts in 5 2/3 innings.
Miller retired 13 straight before walking Addison Barger with two outs in the home sixth.
The right-hander allowed one run, two hits and three walks with three strikeouts in six innings before lefty Gabe Speier took over to toss a perfect seventh.
“The job that Bryce Miller did tonight was phenomenal,” Wilson said. “Coming back on short rest and getting behind early there with the first pitch of the game. … After that first inning, he went into a different gear, and you saw him getting ahead using all his stuff. The fastball kept coming out really good.”
Randy Arozarena walked to lead off the eighth against righty Seranthony Dominguez and stole second and third. Rodriguez walked with one out and Polanco grounded an RBI single to right.
Seattle’s Matt Brash pitched a perfect eighth and Andres Munoz a clean ninth to earn the save.
Toronto’s Myles Straw replaced Nathan Lukes in right field in the fourth inning. Lukes fouled a ball off his right knee in the first and sustained a contusion, but tests showed no fracture and he could be available to play on Monday.
MARINERS TURN TO RHP LOGAN GILBERT, JAYS TO ROOKIE TREY YESAVAGE IN GAME 2
TORONTO — After snatching home-field advantage from the Toronto Blue Jays in the American League Championship Series, the Seattle Mariners will go for a 2-0 lead in the best-of-seven set on Monday.
The Mariners won the series opener Sunday night 3-1, showing no signs of fatigue from their 3-2, 15-inning victory over the Detroit Tigers on Friday night in the deciding fifth game of their American League Division Series.
The series then goes to Seattle for the middle three games as needed.
Mariners manager Dan Wilson said after the series opener that right-hander Logan Gilbert (1-0, 1.13 ERA in the postseason) will start Game 2.
Gilbert pitched two innings of relief on Friday but, when asked, said that he would be ready to pitch in Game 2.
“We talked about it (on Sunday), and they basically just asked me if I was good to go,” Gilbert, 28, said after the game on Sunday. “Of course, I said yeah right away. They wanted me to see how I felt in catch play, if my arm felt normal, and it did. It was kind of unusual circumstances a few days ago, but I don’t know, I treat it as a bullpen or very high-intensity bullpen and, hopefully, just be feeling good, ready to go.”
Wilson said he was basing his decision on how Gilbert is feeling.
“I think the outing the other night in the 15-inning game was really a good side day for him,” the manager said. “The way we’re looking at it is he took a side session in the game with 40,000-plus people there. He’s ready to go. He’s excited. He wants the ball. So, it’ll be Logan tomorrow.”
Gilbert is 0-2, 5.24, in six career starts against the Blue Jays. He is 0-0 with a 3.86 ERA against them in one start this season, an April 19 road game which Seattle won 8-4 in 12 innings.
He will have a tough act to follow in righty Bryce Miller, who allowed one run and two hits in six innings in Game 1 while pitching on three days’ rest. It helped save a pitching staff that was taxed on Friday.
“That’s huge on short rest, for sure,” Gilbert said. “I think he’s peaking at the right time. His stuff looks great. Recently he’s pitched really well … and the team kind of needed it, especially playing that extra-inning game. And (the Blue Jays) got a few days off there, so it kind of helped us out, set us kind of equal, I guess, after the rest.”
The Blue Jays have tabbed rookie right-hander Trey Yesavage (1-0, 0.00) to start Game 2. In his fourth major league start, he struck out 11 in 5 1/3 innings in Game 2 of the American League Division Series against the New York Yankees.
“I’m just looking to … not put too much pressure on myself, just go out there and be who I am and be the pitcher I’ve always been and trust my defense, trust my catchers, trust my offense,” Yesavage, 22, said on Sunday.
Toronto manager John Schneider said it was not a hard decision to start Yesavage even with the addition of veteran starters Max Scherzer, 41, and Chris Bassitt, 36, to the ALCS roster. The right-handers were not on the ALDS roster.
“I think watching how unique his stuff can be, especially against teams that haven’t seen him, and his demeanor has been really damn good,” Schneider said on Sunday. “So, it was a pretty easy choice just by watching how he’s conducted himself and watching what he’s doing on the mound.”
BLUE JAYS NAME ROOKIE RHP TREY YESAVAGE ALCS GAME 2 STARTER
The Toronto Blue Jays named rookie right-hander Trey Yesavage as their starter for Game 2 of the American League Championship Series on Monday against the Seattle Mariners.
Yesavage, 22, did not make his major league debut until Sept. 15 and went 1-0 with a 3.21 ERA in three regular-season starts.
In his lone appearance during the American League Division Series against the New York Yankees, Yesavage started and earned the win in Game 2 with 5 1/3 hitless innings while striking out 11 batters. The strikeout total was a franchise record for a playoff game.
The No. 20 overall draft pick in 2024, the East Carolina alum made his minor league debut this season and went 5-1 with a 3.12 ERA in 25 appearances (22 starts) over four different levels that included a 3.63 ERA in six appearances (four starts) at Triple-A Buffalo.
DODGERS HAVE STARTING PITCHING ON SCHEDULE FOR NLCS VS. BREWERS
MILWAUKEE — The well-rested Los Angeles Dodgers should have an advantage in starting pitching over the Milwaukee Brewers in the first game of the National League Championship Series on Monday.
The defending World Series champion Dodgers have been idle since Thursday when they wrapped up their National League Division Series, three games to one, with a 2-1 home victory over Philadelphia in 11 innings.
Milwaukee cobbled together a bullpen game and advanced with a 3-1 home victory over the Chicago Cubs on Saturday in the decisive fifth game of its NLDS.
Left-hander Blake Snell, who has won both of his postseason starts, is scheduled to start for the Dodgers. The Brewers have not named a starter but could opt for an opener.
Milwaukee has the No. 1 overall seed and home-field advantage for the entire postseason after winning a franchise-record 97 games during the regular season.
“I think that they’re similar to what we saw earlier this year in the sense of, I think they’re playing really good baseball,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said Sunday. “Towards the end of the year, they kind of scuffled a little bit, but they’re back to playing the way they play.”
Milwaukee is in the playoffs for the seventh time in eight seasons, but the Brewers had not won a playoff series since the NLDS in 2018. They lost to the Dodgers four games to three in the NLCS that season.
The Brewers were 6-0 this season against the Dodgers, sweeping three-game series at home and away.
“We’re not overconfident, that’s for sure,” Brewers manager Pat Murphy said Sunday. “The Dodgers are a powerhouse, what can you say?”
The Dodgers’ four-man rotation of Snell, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Shohei Ohtani and Tyler Glasnow is rested and ready. Yamamoto is scheduled for Game 2, Roberts said.
Snell has allowed two runs in 13 innings, striking out 18 and walking five in his two postseason outings. Snell, who missed much of the season with shoulder inflammation, was 5-4 with 2.35 ERA in 11 games during the regular season.
Mookie Betts is hitting .385 in six postseason games, and Teoscar Hernandez is at .308 with three homers and nine RBIs.
Either Quinn Priester or Jose Quintana could serve as the Brewers’ opener for Game 1, Murphy said. Priester, 13-3 during the regular season, failed to get out of the first inning in Game 3 of the NLDS, allowing four runs and getting just two outs.
Milwaukee had to resort to bullpen games twice against the Cubs, with hard-throwing rookie Jacob Misiorowski winning both.
Misiorowski was named to the All-Star team after just five major league starts, but the right-hander struggled in the second half. In the NLDS, however, he allowed just one run in seven innings, striking out seven and walking two.
Right-hander Chad Patrick pitched in four of the five games, tossing 4 2/3 scoreless innings. Righty Abner Uribe did not allow a run in three innings, locking down Game 5 with a two-inning save.
Jackson Chourio hit .389 in the NLDS with a homer, two doubles and six RBIs. William Contreras hit .300 with two homers.
Brewers rookie third baseman Caleb Durbin, who hit .256 with 11 homers during the regular season, was asked about the David vs. Goliath perception of facing the Dodgers.
“Since Opening Day, that’s been kind of the idea, but I think we just really worry about ourselves, and that’s why we’ve been able to click throughout the entire year,” Durbin said Sunday. “It’s not really about who is on the other side; it’s about us.
“Obviously, the Dodgers have a really good team over there, but it’s no different this series.”
