The Seattle Mariners won game one of the ALCS by shutting down the hottest offense in the playoffs in a big way. George Springer hit the first pitch he saw into the right field seats to lead off the bottom of the 1st. The Blue Jays got 1 hit to go with 3 walks the rest of the game. The game stayed 1-0 until the top of the 6th inning. Kevin Gausman was cruising along, throwing a 2-hit shutout through 5 innings. He got the first two outs in the top of the 6th. Cal Raleigh took a 2-2 splitter just above the knees and blasted it 420 feet to tie the game 1-1. Gausman walked the next batter on 5 pitches. He had thrown just 76 pitches and was removed from the game. Sorry, this is not an elimination game. This is also a 7-game series. The more you allow a team to see your bullpen, the more likely they are to start hitting them. You are now turning around Jorge Polanco to bat right-handed. His slash line right-handed is .305/.345/.543. Batting left-handed, it is .254/.321/.481. I don’t know why you would bring in the left-hander, let alone take out Gausman. Brendon Little wild-pitched the runner to second base. Polanco singled to left field to make the score 2-1. A big 2-out lightning inning for the Mariners. Polanco drove in the insurance run in the top of the 8th batting left-handed, so he is no slouch from that side. However, Gausman to me was showing no signs of fatigue. The Blue Jays’ bats were pretty much dead for this game, but you never know if the score remained tied at 1-1. The Blue Jays still have a good process going on, striking out only 4 times for the game. I still like the Blue Jays to win the series, but their offense has to come alive today. On the Mariners’ side of the ledger, even though they won, there are some areas of concern. Randy Arozarena continues to struggle at the plate. He is 4 for 27 in the playoffs. Eugenio Suárez is even worse, going 3 for 25. If these two don’t get going soon, it would seem the Mariners will not be able to win this series.
The Dodgers and the Brewers play game one tonight in Milwaukee. The Dodgers have yet to play an elimination game so far this postseason. I think it is essential for the Brewers to set the Dodgers back on their heels tonight. The Brewers know how to beat the Dodgers, as they won all 6 games they played during the regular season. I do not believe that really affects a team during the playoffs, but it would help if the Brewers kept the momentum going tonight. It should be just another 2 great games tonight in what has been a great postseason.
The Goofy Game of Golf/Life Searching for the Answer 