The Blue Jays will turn to hard-throwing pitcher Louis Varland to start Game 4, as Toronto gets a second chance to eliminate the Yankees in the Bronx on Wednesday evening.
Toronto has a 2-1 lead in the best-of-five American League Division Series (ALDS), meaning the Blue Jays can advance to the next round of the playoffs with a win against New York.
The Yankees, on the other hand, face a second day of do-or-die baseball. If they lose, their season is over.
If they win, there will be a Game 5 at Toronto’s Roger Centre on Friday that would be a must-win for both teams.
Varland, a 27-year-old reliever who came to Toronto via a deadline deal with the Minnesota Twins, has already pitched in the first three games of the series, but Toronto will send him out to start Game 4 — an unusual scenario resulting from Toronto having no other starters available to pitch on Wednesday night.
Several of Toronto’s regular starters, José Berríos and Chris Bassitt, were left off the roster for this series, as was veteran starter Max Scherzer. Both Berríos and Bassitt were dealing with physical setbacks late in the season.
‘It’s a chess game’
When Varland is done on Wednesday, his fellow relievers in the bullpen will be called upon to get the Jays through to the end of the game.
Blue Jays manager John Schneider says managing pitchers during a playoff series amounts to ‘a chess game.’ (Ishika Samant/Getty Images)
Blue Jays manager John Schneider was asked Wednesday about the challenges of deploying relievers so many times against the same team in a playoff series.
“It’s a chess game,” Schneider told reporters ahead of Game 4. “I think that’s what makes these series interesting and fun, and you can’t take anything for granted.”
The Yankees are sending rookie pitcher Cam Schlittler to the mound, looking to him to help win at least one more game to get a shot at knocking the Jays out of playoff contention in a potential Game 5.
Game 3 not what Toronto wanted
Game 3 was a bad day at the ballpark for Toronto.
Though the Jays held an early lead against New York thanks to a two-run homer from Vladimir Guerrero Jr., ultimately it was a combination of fielding errors and a tough lineup of Yankees hitters that left the team on the wrong side of a 9-6 final score.
Addison Barger of the Toronto Blue Jays is seen dropping a ball during Tuesday’s Game 3. The Jays lost 9-6 to the Yankees. (Al Bello/Getty Images)
Blue Jays starter Shane Bieber was pulled from the game in the third inning, as was his Yankees counterpart, Carlos Rodón.
The first two games of the series played in Toronto over the weekend, saw the Jays outscore the Yankees by a margin of 23-8, via a 10-1 rout in Game 1 on Saturday, and a 13-7 win in Game 2 on Sunday.
Yankees manager Aaron Boone, speaking before Wednesday’s game, acknowledged the Jays’ success against New York’s starting pitchers in the first three games of the series.
“Hopefully, we can turn that around with a good one tonight and push this thing back to Toronto,” he said, referring to a potential Game 5.
A tough opponent in the Yankees
Both teams finished the regular season with the same number of wins, but Toronto took the division title because it won more of its regular season games against New York.
WATCH | Boos for O Canada?:
Yankees fans boo O Canada during Jays game
Last night’s Blue Jays-Yankees game got a little tense as baseball fans mercilessly booed the Canadian national anthem before Game 3 of the American League Division Series in New York. The Yankees battled back in a 9-6 victory to prevent a three-game sweep for Toronto.
The Yankees last won a World Series in 2009, but the franchise has won 27 championships over its long history — more than any other organization in Major League Baseball.
The Blue Jays last made it to the World Series when they won back-to-back championships in 1992 and 1993.
To get back to the World Series, the Blue Jays have to win the current series, then win a best-of-seven American League Championship Series (ALCS).
