TORONTO — The story the tea leaves were telling over the past few days pointed to something being up, but no one was going to believe it until it actually happened.
Traditionally, when your lone ace is rested and thought to be ready to open a best-of-three postseason series against a legitimate World Series contender, you hand him the ball and don’t think twice.
To kick off the organization’s first postseason trip since 2016, the Toronto Blue Jays decided to buck traditional thinking, instead pushing Hyun-Jin Ryu to Game 2 of the wild-card round on Wednesday and announcing veteran right-hander Matt Shoemaker will start Game 1 on Tuesday evening at Tropicana Field against the Tampa Bay Rays.
Calling the decision “creative” when he explained it Monday afternoon, Jays manager Charlie Montoyo pointed to the way his pitching staff was structured throughout the 60-game regular season.
“In a three-game series, the goal is to win two of them,” Montoyo said. “Putting our ace in the middle makes sense to us for several reasons. Plus, our bullpen’s fully rested. We said we were going to be creative from the beginning and that’s how we got here, being creative.
“To beat one of the best teams in baseball, we’re going to have to be creative.”
That creativity Montoyo points to is the lack of a traditional rotation — other than Ryu, of course — that’s counted on to pitch deep into ballgames.
Over 60 games, the Jays got just 255.1 innings out of the rotation, 27th-most in baseball, while the bullpen threw 269.1 innings, fourth-most in baseball.
With Shoemaker on some sort of pitch count Tuesday — he’s only thrown three innings and 54 pitches since Aug. 21 due to a lat strain that he returned from Sept. 21 — it’s clear that the bullpen will be relied on heavily in Game 1, with lefty Robbie Ray potentially following the veteran right-hander.
Putting Ryu in the middle of Shoemaker and Taijuan Walker is also designed to, ideally, give the bullpen a rest in Game 2 when their ace will be asked to get as many outs as possible.
Unlike a traditional five or seven-game series, Ryu can only pitch once, so the Jays are placing equal importance on each game, and his start will be seen as a must-win, no matter if it’s Tuesday or Wednesday.
Of course, being down 1-0 with a handful of tired relievers won’t be ideal and the criticism will be swift if that happens, but that’s the risk the Jays are willing to take.
“The goal is to win two, so it doesn’t matter when he pitches,” Montoyo said. “That makes a big difference. If it was five (games), then you’d have him for two (starts). A three-game series, pitching the second game with an extra day, that’s our best chance.”
Ryu’s schedule has been talked about a lot this summer.
The Los Angeles Dodgers had a tendency to give the oft-injured lefty five days off between starts rather than the traditional four, but the numbers are similar regardless of rest over the course of his career.
This year, the Jays gave Ryu an extra day seven times in 12 starts, and he responded with a 2.29 ERA, compared to 2.74 on regular rest.
That result is skewed a bit, however, by the fact he was more hittable with an extra day, evidenced by a .605 OPS against on four days and a .620 OPS against on five days of rest.
It would explain a lot if Ryu physically felt he needed the extra day of rest, especially coming off a season-high seven innings and 100 pitches in his final outing of the season on Thursday, one that helped the Blue Jays clinch with three games to spare.
But Montoyo shot that down, saying Ryu didn’t request more rest and that the 33-year-old was physically fine.
They likely wouldn’t want to even hint at some sort of injury limitation, even if it’s debatable what kind of edge the Rays would gain in that scenario.
“We’re looking at the numbers and our best chance and that’s what we came up with,” Montoyo said.
The decision to go with Shoemaker over Walker, who was clearly their second best starter this season with a 2.70 ERA and a .214 batting average against, was about all of the lefty bats the Rays can insert into their platoon-based lineup.
While Walker held right-handed hitters to a measly .178/.252/.263 slash line, lefties teed off to the tune of a .265/.351/.518 slash and an ugly .869 OPS.
With those numbers in mind, it’s clear Jays decision-makers weren’t keen on exposing Walker to a deep and talent Rays lineup early on in the series.
On the other hand, Shoemaker has been able to get either side out with the same success rate throughout his entire career and has limited lefties to a .194 batting average this year.
“Last time he pitched he was really sharp,” Montoyo said of Shoemaker. “He was throwing 94, 95 (mph) because he’s been rested now. I really feel good about him taking the mound. He’s been one of our best pitchers all year, he just got hurt.”
Shoemaker found out he’d be making his first postseason start in six years Monday, as the Jays decided to scrap his final regular season start over the weekend in order to keep their options open.
“Postseason baseball, it’s different,” Shoemaker said. “It’s exciting to say the least.
“This is only going to be my second time pitching in the postseason. I got a really good taste of it early on a few years ago and you always miss it when you’re not there.”
Like any pitching decision, the results will tell the story of whether it’s right or wrong.
If the Jays can somehow cobble together enough offence and outs to beat Blake Snell and the Rays in Game 1 and then send their ace to the hill with a chance to finish the series Wednesday, they’ll look like geniuses.
If Shoemaker gets shelled and the Jays use up a handful of bullpen arms, they’ll quickly be facing elimination and the pressure will be on Ryu to save their season, rather than deliver a quick and decisive blow at the outset of the series.
Cunningly creative or overly cute?
The answer to that question lies in the performance of Shoemaker and the bullpen arms that will undoubtedly follow on Tuesday.
TORONTO – Reigning PWHL MVP and scoring champ Natalie Spooner will miss the start of the regular season for the Toronto Sceptres, general manager Gina Kingsbury announced Tuesday on the first day of training camp.
The 33-year-old Spooner had knee surgery on her left anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) after she was checked into the boards by Minnesota’s Grace Zumwinkle in Game 3 of their best-of-five semifinal series on May 13.
She had a goal and an assist in three playoff games but did not finish the series. Toronto was up 2-1 in the semifinal at that time and eventually fell 3-2 in the series.
Spooner led the PWHL with 27 points in 24 games. Her 20 goals, including five game-winners, were nine more than the closest skater.
Kingsbury said there is no timeline, as the team wants the Toronto native at 100 per cent, but added that “she is doing really well” in her recovery.
The Sceptres open the PWHL season on Nov. 30 when they host the Boston Fleet.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 12, 2024.
LAHORE, Pakistan (AP) — A top official of the Pakistan Cricket Board declined Friday to confirm media reports that India has decided against playing any games in host Pakistan during next year’s Champions Trophy.
“My view is if there’s any problems, they (India) should tell us in writing,” PCB chairman Mohsin Naqvi told reporters in Lahore. “I’ll share that with the media as well as with the government as soon as I get such a letter.”
Indian media reported Friday that the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has communicated its concerns to all the Champions Trophy stakeholders, including the PCB, over the Feb. 19-March 9 tournament and would not play in arch-rival Pakistan.
The Times of India said that “Dubai is a strong candidate to host the fixtures involving the Men in Blue” for the 50-over tournament.
Such a solution would see Pakistan having to travel to a neutral venue to play India in a group match, with another potential meeting later in the tournament if both teams advanced from their group. The final is scheduled for March 9 in Pakistan with the specific venue not yet decided.
“Our stance is clear,” Naqvi said. “They need to give us in writing any objections they may have. Until now, no discussion of the hybrid model has happened, nor are we prepared to accept one.”
Political tensions have stopped bilateral cricket between the two nations since 2008 and they have competed in only multi-nation tournaments, including ICC World Cups.
“Cricket should be free of politics,” Naqvi said. “Any sport should not be entangled with politics. Our preparations for the Champions Trophy will continue unabated, and this will be a successful event.”
The PCB has already spent millions of dollars on the upgrade of stadiums in Karachi, Lahore and Rawalpindi which are due to host 15 Champions Trophy games. Naqvi hoped all the three stadiums will be ready over the next two months.
“Almost every country wants the Champions Trophy to be played here (in Pakistan),” Naqvi said. “I don’t think anyone should make this a political matter, and I don’t expect they will. I expect the tournament will be held at the home of the official hosts.”
Eight countries – Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, England, Australia, South Africa, New Zealand and Afghanistan – are due to compete in the tournament, the schedule of which is yet to be announced by the International Cricket Council.
“Normally the ICC announces the schedule of any major tournament 100 days before the event, and I hope they will announce it very soon,” Naqvi said.
RIYADH, Saudi Arabia – Ottawa‘s Gabriela Dabrowski and Erin Routliffe of New Zealand are through to the doubles final at the WTA Finals after a 7-6 (7), 6-1 victory over Nicole Melichar-Martinez of the United States and Australia’s Ellen Perez in semifinal action Friday.
Dabrowski and Routliffe won a hard-fought first set against serve when Routliffe’s quick reaction at the net to defend a Perez shot gave the duo set point, causing Perez to throw down her racket in frustration.
The second seeds then cruised through the second set, winning match point on serve when Melichar-Martinez couldn’t handle Routliffe’s shot.
The showdown was a rematch of last year’s semifinal, which Melichar-Martinez and Perez won in a super tiebreak.
Dabrowski and Routliffe will face the winner of a match between Katerina Siniakova and Taylor Townsend, and Hao-Ching Chan and Veronika Kudermetova in the final on Saturday.
Dabrowski is aiming to become the first Canadian to win a WTA Finals title.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 8, 2024.
