Here are three instant impressions after the Mariners’ 8-2 loss to the Blue Jays in Game 4 of the American League Championship Series. The series is tied 2-2:
Pitching confusion
Luis Castillo needed just 24 pitches to cruise through the first two innings, then inexplicably started missing in the middle of the plate. Andrés Giménez, hitting ninth in the order, homered for the second straight night. Nathan Lukes ripped a single. Vladimir Guerrero Jr. ripped a single. Alejandro Kirk walked – although the 3-2 pitch appeared to be a strike. The hits off Castillo in the third inning looked like the letter ‘I’ right down the heart of the plate. A move needed to be made.
But it was how M’s manager Dan Wilson used his bullpen from there that’s worth questioning.
Going to Gabe Speier to replace Castillo made sense – except Speier immediately issued a bases-loaded walk to score one run. Staying with Speier the next inning to face George Springer made zero sense, especially with Matt Brash ready in the bullpen. Lukes, a lefty, was on deck, but the hitter to be worried about was Springer, not Lukes. Brash should have entered. Instead, Springer dropped an RBI double off Speier and by the time Brash entered, Springer was at third and scored on a wild pitch.
Also, what is Bryan Woo’s role at this point? Things went bad for Castillo quickly. It made sense to go with a short-term arm with Speier. But even down 4-1, Woo could have been an option rather than burning Brash early.
If a bullpen arm is needed in Game 5 and Woo is not considered, then why is he on this roster?
Being sloppy has consequences
Close games in October can often be decided by who is more careless. Not everything is earned. Which side gives away outs or runs can be the difference.
Consider what the Mariners handed to the Blue Jays in Game 4:
Speier walked Varsho with the bases loaded to force in a run as part of Toronto’s three-run third inning.
Leo Rivas was picked off at first base with Cal Raleigh at the plate.
Matt Brash bounced a wild pitch under Raleigh’s glove and off his leg, allowing George Springer to jog home from third with two outs in the fourth inning.
And Josh Naylor was thrown out from right field by Addison Barger ending the sixth inning just as Jorge Polanco crossed home plate, and ended a potential two-out rally.
When the pitching isn’t up to standard and the bats are quiet, making those kinds of mistakes can have consequences. The Mariners felt each one of them.
Are we done here?
If the lifeless feel inside of T-Mobile Park for most of the final five innings was any indication, then maybe. It was lifeless in the stands. It was lifeless when the M’s were in the field. It was lifeless at the plate. It was lifeless on the bench.
Meanwhile, Toronto starter Max Scherzer was yelling at his manager to let him stay in the game and the Blue Jays fans that made the trip into town were given plenty of opportunity to be the louder fans in blue inside the stadium.
It’s a 2-2 series. The ebb and flows of playoff baseball create irrational, emotional swings with fans. It’s understood that’s going to be the case. Right now feels bleak. The 2-0 series lead is gone. Home-field advantage is gone. The chance to clinch a World Series berth at home is gone.
The series is now a best-of-three. By the time Friday evening rolls around, the dire feeling of this night could be replaced by the M’s holding a 3-2 series lead and in need of only one win in Toronto.
It also could be the Blue Jays one step away from the World Series and a trip back to Rogers Centre on the horizon.
This is what October is all about.