BALTIMORE – There’s achievement in baseball by just doing the grind, showing up day after day, putting in the work, catching up on the field, and fighting through the accumulated toll. The rigor of the schedule makes it all the more difficult to find and sustain achievements. So to end up among the last teams really means something.
“You know, 162 is tough,” said interim manager John Schneider after a 5-1 win for his Toronto Blue Jays on Wednesday and secured a double header split with the Baltimore Orioles and a 92-70 finish on the final day.
“People who do it every day recognize that and it’s something they don’t take for granted. So it’s a collective effort, from start to finish, with today being the exclamation mark. But 162 games, 92 of them won, very, very proud of the boys, everyone who is here, everyone who was here. I’m really looking forward to the post-season.”
That could be heard throughout the Blue Jays’ clubhouse, as well as a sigh of relief that they had emerged unscathed from the unexpected – and unwanted – double bill. With Game 1 of the wild card series against the Seattle Mariners scheduled for Friday at Rogers Center — and yes, Alek Manoah is starting, officially and announced — it could easily have upended their 18-inning plans, especially after they won on had won the home field on Monday.
Instead, everything played out as they envisioned, with assists Trevor Richards, Adam Cimber, Yimi Garcia and Jordan Romano each throwing a shutout inning ahead of Mitch White in a 5-4 loss in the opener while David Phelps, Anthony Bass and Tim Mayza each get an inning ahead of Casey Lawrence, Yusei Kikuchi and Trent Thornton in the nightcap.
Some, if not most, of their primary bullpen arms would likely have been used on Wednesday to stay sharp even if Tuesday’s contest hadn’t rained, but the key is nobody safe on Friday’s wildcard list stands, was overwhelmed.
The same was true on the positional player front, as bench-only players started both contests with Otto Lopez leading the way with five total hits and three RBIs and Gabriel Moreno with four hits, including his first home run in the major leagues.
“The pitchers were pretty efficient with their number of pitches,” Schneider said. “Boys have the bats they needed. We’ve talked about it and Friday night is so different, whether you haven’t played four days, five days or you’ve played 18 innings today, you’ll be ready to go. But overall we wanted to bring guys in, stay sharp, put guys at the bats. That worked out well.”
As is the ability to place players in different spots for a quick look, from Moreno playing catcher, left field, second and third, to Lopez getting reps on both second and shortstop, to Whit Merrifield. With Lourdes Gurriel Jr. (hamstrings) and Santiago Espinal (bent) flying back to Toronto early to do their work at the Rogers Center on Wednesday, the Blue Jays are yet to figure out what position the players will have on their roster next Friday , which affects how many pitchers are selected.
Moreno is one of those calls and while there are merits in carrying a third catcher, especially when using Danny Jansen and Alejandro Kirk, a display of his versatility and offensive prowess adds to the considerations.
“I had a feeling that it could happen at some point during those two games, and it happened and I was ready for it,” Moreno said of interpreter Hector Lebron’s play for the diamond. “Grateful to have the opportunity to play all these positions “I can say that I have the ability to play in different positions and I worked for that. I’m just having fun, I’m full of emotions. But I had fun .”
White, who allowed five runs in four innings, was optioned between games for Thornton, meaning he’s ineligible to play for the next 15 days unless he gets injured. The same goes for Nate Pearson, who was reinstated from the 60-day injured list after his rehab assignment expired and was voted back to triple-A.
Intriguingly, Kikuchi has himself back into consideration for the postseason list with four straight scoreless appearances, including 1.2 clean innings with two strikeouts in the second game against the Orioles. Since moving to the bullpen in mid-August, he’s hit 33 batters in 18.1 innings over 12 outings, though he’s had some tough ones there too as he adjusts to a new role.
The swing and miss stuff is enticing, though, and “I feel like I’m able to attack and get into that attacking mentality,” Kikuchi said through interpreter Kevin Ando.
“We’ve all talked about it since the beginning of the year, but I just haven’t been able to do it,” he continued. “But now I really feel like I can focus on one spot at a time, focus on this moment and just this moment and just go out there and attack.”
Kikcuhi is yet to be sure of his status for the postseason and Schneider was careful not to shake his hand, although his comments left speculation open.
“I love how he looked out of the bullpen against lefties. He throws strikes, knocks out guys. Today was just another example of that,” he said. “What he’s proven all the way through is that we’re not afraid to put him in spots that matter, spots that are big. He also provides length.”
Barring an upset, the Blue Jays shouldn’t need as much of him in the postseason if their rotation lives up to expectations. Schneider didn’t reveal if it would be Kevin Gausman, who left his last start with a cut on his right middle finger but was reportedly fine, or Ross Stripling in Game 2, but both are good complements to Manoah, the obvious choice for game 1.
“Seeing him in those really big moments and obviously the month of September that he’s had,” Schneider said, “like the way he competes against everyone, other than confident he’s just taking on the vibe and doing that, what he’s been doing all year.”
Ditto for the rest of the Blue Jays who have completed one grind and are now ready for the next.
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