TORONTO — When a team combines for only one hit after the second inning in back-to-back games, there can be only so much debate about the manager’s pitching moves.
In Game 1 of the American League Championship Series, a 3-1 loss to the Seattle Mariners, Toronto Blue Jays manager John Schneider perhaps did not stick with right-hander Kevin Gausman long enough.
In Game 2, a 10-3 drubbing on Monday night, Schneider arguably stuck with rookie righty Trey Yesavage for too long. But on both nights, the Jays’ offense faded, their bullpen imploded and a series of unfortunate events — a wild pitch, a throwing error, a foul ball off catcher Alejandro Kirk’s mask — also conspired against them.
Schneider has evolved as a manager since his infamous removal of José Berríos in the fourth inning of Game 2 of the Jays’ 2023 wild-card series against the Minnesota Twins. He can’t be accused, as he was then, of following a front-office script. He’s reading game situations in real time and reacting. It’s just that his relievers are erratic and possibly fatigued, helping cause some of his decisions to backfire.
Yesavage’s fastball velocity dipped into the 92-93 mph range in the third and fourth innings Monday night. That’s well below his season average of nearly 95 mph, which he maintained during his wondrous 5 1/3 no-hit innings in Game 2 of the Division Series against the New York Yankees. Schneider said he considered pulling Yesavage before he faced the top of the Mariners’ order a third time. But, as the manager put it, “it’s tough to really just continue to churn through bullpen arms.”
Which is the whole problem with how many clubs run their pitching staffs in the postseason. Starters get yanked at the first sign of trouble, a strategy that often works out well when the relievers are on point — or even to near-perfection in the type of bullpen game the Jays employed in their clincher against the Yankees.
The Blue Jays’ bullpen, though, was inconsistent all season, even after the deadline additions of right-handers Seranthony Domínguez and Louis Varland. And while the Jays had three days of rest between the DS and LCS, Schneider has used at least four relievers in each of the Jays’ six postseason games. He wound up summoning five after pulling Gausman with two outs in the sixth inning of Game 1.
Gausman retired 16 in a row before losing his shutout on a homer by Cal Raleigh, then walking Julio Rodríguez. Schneider yanked him at 76 pitches, one more than Gausman threw in Game 1 of the Division Series, when he also ran into trouble in the sixth. This time, Schneider summoned lefty Brendon Little, whom the Jays wanted to turn around Jorge Polanco, a switch-hitter with fairly even splits.
The reasoning was that Polanco had yet to bat right-handed, and the next hitter was a lefty, Josh Naylor. Well, Little proceeded to throw a wild pitch, advancing Rodríguez to second. Then, instead of throwing his signature knuckle-curve in an attempt to get Polanco to chase on 3-2, he tried his four-seam fastball, a pitch that comprised only 1 percent of his offerings during the regular season. Polanco crushed it 110.7 mph for the go-ahead single.
In the aftermath, Gausman seemed to have no problem with his removal, telling reporters, “We’re in the playoffs. You don’t really see guys go that deep into games.” But in Game 2, Schneider clearly wanted more out of Yesavage, in part because he didn’t want to tax his bullpen again.
The fifth inning started with Randy Arozarena hitting a 96.8-mph grounder up the middle. Shortstop Andrés Giménez, a former Platinum Glove winner at second base, fielded the ball cleanly, then threw it into the Mariners’ dugout, enabling Arozarena to take second.
With a base open and none out, Schneider ordered an intentional walk to Raleigh. Then he removed Yesavage rather than allow him to face Rodríguez, who had hit a three-run homer off him in the first inning.
The new pitcher? “Everyday” Louis Varland, who has pitched in every one of the Jays’ postseason games. Varland struck out Rodríguez, then allowed a three-run homer to Polanco, giving the Mariners a 6-3 lead. The Blue Jays never threatened again.
JORGE POLANCO IS JUST RIDICULOUS! #ALCS pic.twitter.com/vkairlteWX
— MLB (@MLB) October 13, 2025
So much for the Mariners’ 15-inning marathon in Game 5 of the DS exhausting their pitching staff. The Mariners also have worked their relievers hard, but in the first two games of this series, their bullpen pitched nine scoreless innings — and that’s without using their high-leverage arms Monday. The Jays’ bullpen, on the other hand, has allowed six runs in 8 1/3 innings while also allowing four of nine inherited runners to score. Tired or not, their relievers need to make like their Mariners’ counterparts, and find ways to get outs.
Both Varland and righty Braydon Fisher struck out three Monday, but also allowed homers. Working between them, lefty Mason Fluharty might have escaped the sixth unscathed, but an odd play occurred when the Mariners’ J.P. Crawford fouled a 3-2 pitch off Kirk’s mask.
The ball popped straight in the air. Schneider said Kirk probably could have caught it, but Kirk said he lost track of it, adding that fielding a foul off his mask is the hardest play for him. Crawford followed with an RBI single on the next pitch, extending the Mariners’ lead to 7-3.
Asked about his relievers, Schneider said, “I’m going to continue to trust everyone that either starts the game or comes in. Sometimes bullpens can be volatile. There’s certain situations where you’re chasing matchups, you’re chasing velo, you’re chasing stuff for certain guys. The first two games it hasn’t worked out.”
And in the process, the Blue Jays lost behind their two best starters.
Righty Shane Bieber, who lasted 2 2/3 innings in the Jays’ only loss to the Yankees in the DS and hasn’t pitched more than five innings since Sept. 20, is scheduled to start Game 3 against Mariners righty George Kirby. Righty Max Scherzer, who last pitched on Sept. 24, is the expected starter in Game 4 against Mariners righty Luis Castillo. One way or another, the Jays’ bullpen figures to continue carrying a significant load, leaving Schneider with more difficult choices.
The last team to win a best-of-seven series after losing the first two at home was the Yankees against the Atlanta Braves in the 1996 World Series. The Jays’ 49 comeback victories during the regular season were the most in the majors, so perhaps they can summon one more burst. But it will only happen if their offense returns to the form it showed against the Yankees, scoring 34 runs in four games.
That kind of cushion would give the Jays’ bullpen greater margin for error — and their manager a chance to start looking smart again.
– The Athletic’s Mitch Bannon contributed to this story.
