TORONTO – The hope for the Mariners and their fans is that “Walter” was allowed into Canada. If the Mariners needed to smuggle him in on their charter, so be it.
On Saturday evening, following a light workout at the Rogers Centre, manager Dan Wilson made the expected announcement that Logan Gilbert will start Game 6 of the American League Championship Series.
Gilbert started Game 2 of the ALCS at Rogers Centre – Oct. 13 – under unusual circumstances. He’d thrown two innings of relief (34 pitches) in the marathon Game 5 victory over the Tigers in the American League Division Series just two days earlier.
“For a lot of us, it’s the first time doing different things,” he said. “With (Bryan) Woo the other day in relief, Bryce (Miller) pitching on short rest. That’s the playoffs and that’s kind of the fun of it, too.”
While he said he felt fine physically, it was clear that his stuff and command weren’t quite up to normal levels. He pitched three innings, allowing three runs (two earned) on five hits with no walks and two strikeouts. Per MLB Statcast data, the velocity and spin rates on all of his pitches were down a little from his season averages. He had trouble spotting the split-finger fastball – his best swing-and-miss pitch, throwing it only 11 times and getting two whiffs.
But Gilbert will have five full days of rest when he takes the mound on Sunday evening.
“He had a little bit shorter outing his first time here,” Wilson said. “Logan is a guy you love to give the ball to. He’s that guy that has that focus, that desire to win and he wants the ball in these situations. Logan is a guy that just really has learned that mental approach to pitching, and he’s a guy that just wants the ball, wants to challenge you, and he’s ready for tomorrow, for sure.”
After his abbreviated start in Game 2, Gilbert wouldn’t use the unusual throwing schedule as an excuse and wouldn’t do it again on Saturday afternoon during the required media session.
“Arm? Health? And all that? It was fine. It wasn’t too bad,” he said. “I think there’s so much adrenaline now, so the day after, you kind of pay the price a little bit because it’s masked or whatever from the adrenaline, but it’s also a good thing that anytime you’re out there, you usually feel pretty good. So, honestly, it really wasn’t too bad.”
But the Mariners expect him to be better. Over his career, Gilbert has posted a 3.25 ERA while working on five full days of rest vs. a 4.44 ERA on four days of rest or less.
“But we’re kind of creatures of habit too, so it’s nice being back in the normal routine,” Gilbert said. “Even pitching here last time and now coming back here, there’s just a little familiarity.”
The adrenaline will certainly be flowing with a chance to help send the Mariners to the World Series for the first time in franchise history. It would be fitting since he was named the Mariners opening day starter.
“It’s been such a long year,” he said. “Just to get to this point is amazing. But to be the one to have the ball, you grow up dreaming of moments like this, and you don’t know how many you’ll get over the course of your career. Some guys never get this, so it’s a really big deal and hopefully just contribute to the team.”
The Blue Jays will start rookie Trey Yesavage, who also pitched Game 2. While Gilbert likes to use his splitter to get strikeouts, Yesavage, who was taken in the first round of the 2024 draft, relies on it even more. The Mariners knocked him out after four innings, scoring five runs off him, including a three-run homer from Julio Rodríguez in the first inning.
“We were able to put some pitches on him early,” Wilson said. “We were fairly patient when we had to be. I think that was a big key for us. Then when we were able to get pitches that we were able to hit, we were able to do something with them. Again, that’s a big part of the postseason is being able to generate the offense when you have the opportunities, and we certainly were able to do that the first time around, and that’s what we’ll be looking to do again this time around.”
Blue Jays manager John Schneider admitted Yesavage can’t go with his same game plan.
“I think there’s definitely going to be an adjustment,” he said. “What that is I’ll keep with us. You know what I mean? But I think that, yeah, that’s the cat-and-mouse game of a seven-game series when you’re facing a starter a couple times.”