It wasn’t pretty, but the Toronto Blue Jays earned the right to host tonight’s American League Wild Card game against their division rival Baltimore Orioles.
But it wouldn’t be the Blue Jays’ 2016 season without a little more controversy and second-guessing.
Marcus Stroman will get the call over Francisco Liriano to start the game for the Jays against Orioles right-hander Chris Tillman. Many fans were hoping for Liriano to be named the starter over Stroman, for a number of compelling reasons.
Stroman’s struggles against Baltimore this season are well documented. He’s sporting a bloated 7.04 ERA in four starts against the O’s. And for those who still consider the win a relevant statistic, Stroman hasn’t recorded one of those since mid-August.
Another point in favour of the southpaw Liriano is the Orioles’ challenges with left-handed pitching. Baltimore collected the fewest hits against lefties in the American League this season.
But in the end, familiarity won out over the hot hand, and the general consensus appears to be that Gibbons will have the hook ready should Stroman struggle. In that case, Liriano would likely be the next pitcher up — especially around the third time through the batting order — so perhaps the order the two enter the game won’t be all that important.
Beyond the starters, the bullpen could be a major factor in this one-game playoff. The Jays’ bullpen woes of late are less than encouraging, blowing five saves in the final eight games of the season.
Conversely, the lights-out 2016 performance of Orioles’ closer Zach Britton (a perfect 47-for-47 in save chances, along with a microscopic 0.54 ERA ) essentially reduces a nine-inning game to eight.
Toronto’s offence will need to get to Tillman early and simply cannot count on scoring late runs against Britton and company, who sport the lowest bullpen ERA in the American League at 3.40.
Speaking of the offence, it’s proven to be the Jays’ biggest question mark of all; something no one could have predicted in 2015 when home runs left the Rogers Centre and opposing ballparks on a regular basis.
Instead, the bats have been quiet, notching five runs or more in a game just four times in the last 15 games of the season. And the team’s inability to avoid leaving multiple runners on base down the stretch is certainly an alarming trend.
All this said, it does all come down to one game. And given the long, arduous road travelled to get to this point, Jays fans across the country should take pride in the team’s accomplishment of reaching the postseason for a second consecutive year.
Chris Suppa is a freelance writer and photographer based in Toronto. Follow him at @Suppa55 for somewhat-coherent ramblings about the Blue Jays and on Instagram at @chrissuppaphotography.
