For the Toronto Blue Jays, their postseason destiny can be decided by how properly they’ll rebound on the highway towards what has been a dominant Seattle Mariners squad to this point within the ALCS.
Seattle outscored Toronto by a 13-4 margin to take a commanding 2-0 lead within the best-of-seven sequence that now shifts to the Pacific Northwest for 3 video games. Historical past actually favors the Mariners, as groups taking a 2-0 lead in any best-of-seven sequence in MLB historical past go on to win 78 out of 93 instances.
That is an 83.9 % impediment staring the Blue Jays within the face. So how can they arrive again towards Seattle? Listed below are three issues that should occur.
Blue Jays want Vladimir Guerrero Jr. to catch hearth
The face of the Toronto lineup, Guerrero has gone 0-for-7 to this point towards the Mariners, which is among the primary the reason why the Blue Jays’ offense has been largely dormant.
Because the sequence shifts to T-Cell Park, Guerrero has to seek out his swing…and Seattle has been a tricky place for him to try this to this point this season. In 15 plate appearances, Guerrero is slashing simply .167/.333/.167 with a pair of his doubles as his solely hits.
Since making his debut early within the 2019 marketing campaign, he is a .256 hitter in Seattle, so there’s hope for him to bounce again from his lack of efficiency within the three-game sequence in early Might. Toronto will want that to occur shortly in Recreation 3.
Blue Jays must make Seattle their house discipline
There may be little doubt that Toronto will get its fair proportion of help from Canadian followers making the drive throughout the border to Seattle. Traditionally, it has been estimated that 20,000 Blue Jays followers attend when Toronto makes its annual look in Seattle, making T-Cell Park sound like Rogers Centre West occasionally.
That, after all, has been throughout the common season. How in a position Blue Jays followers are to get tickets in Seattle because the Mariners make their first ALCS house look since 2001 stays to be seen.
Toronto did sweep the Mariners in Seattle in Might, outscoring the house group 21-7 within the course of. Included in that was a 6-3 victory the place the Blue Jays tagged Seattle starter Luis Castillo for 5 runs and 7 hits in 5 innings, resulting in his loss.
Castillo is scheduled to start out Recreation 4, so tapping again into these early-season moments when the Blue Jays’ offense shone towards him could possibly be massive for the guests.
Blue Jays must restrict Mariners’ house runs
Seattle has blasted 4 house runs within the first two video games of the sequence towards Toronto, together with three in Recreation 2 that accounted for seven of the ten runs plated by the Mariners.
For Toronto to have an opportunity to rally, it should pressure the Mariners to play small ball and stop an enormous fly from turning into a chance for the Seattle crowd to blow up. With Toronto’s offense not clicking within the first two video games, protecting the ball within the park is crucial if the Blue Jays are going to rally.
