The Toronto Blue Jays fell short in their playoff series against the Minnesota Twins, but many will remember Wednesday night’s game for a controversial decision by manager John Schneider.
After three innings, starting pitcher Jose Berrios was removed from the game in favor of Yusei Kikuchi. The Puerto Rican didn’t hurt, the opposite even, except that the coaches still went ahead with their decision. That’s when everything started to unravel for the Jays, who lost 2-0.
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“We had several plans at our disposal. Jose was aware, Schneider said at a press briefing. He was electric. It was difficult to replace him. I think with the way they’ve built their rotation, you want to use all your weapons. It did not work.”
“You can challenge my choices, those of the organization, I understand. It’s difficult. It didn’t work for us today or yesterday. This is the reality of baseball. There are 29 teams who will say the same thing when their season is over,” lamented the instructor.
Powerless
The main interested party accepted his fate, then seeing Kikuchi award two points. His seemingly promising start ultimately only lasted 47 pitches. After the meeting, Berrios appeared very emotional in front of journalists.
“After being replaced, I felt bad, because I wanted to continue. Then, I told myself that I had to take advantage of it, that we were still in a good position, that I was practicing the sport that I love and that I could observe my teammates,” said the former Twins, who is consoled as best he could.
“We had to give everything for this match, and that’s what I did. […] I only control what I can control. I did my best from the first to the 47th throw. Life goes on,” he added.
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On the field, several Minnesota players said they were relieved to see Berrios leave the mound, since the right-hander limited the damage very well. Jays player Whit Merrifield didn’t like Schneider’s decision at all.
“I hated it, to be honest. “It’s not what cost us the game, but it’s the kind of decision that hurts managers and baseball at this point in the game,” said the second cushion expert.
The same refrain
Thus, the Blue Jays have been swept three times in a row in the play-off series, in 2020, 2022 and 2023. Their last victory in the playoffs dates back to 2016. Neither Vladimir Guerrero Jr. nor Bo Bichette have yet enjoyed a victory during the post-season schedule.
“We’ve been battered two years in a row in the playoffs. We have a lot of thinking to do, from the players to the management, to find out what we can do better,” admitted the shortstop.
Beyond the Berrios situation, Toronto shot itself in the foot by producing only one point in two games. The moral of the story is quite simple.
“We didn’t score any points. We can’t win if we don’t score,” said Bichette.
2023-10-05 22:58:58
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