TORONTO — Trey Yesavage spun an 88.1 m.p.h. slider to the outside corner of the strike zone, leading Randy Arozarena to start his walk toward the visitors’ dugout at Rogers Centre. It was a pitcher’s pitch on a 1-2 count and it froze the Seattle Mariners’ leadoff hitter in the first inning.
The thing is, it wasn’t called a strike by home plate umpire Doug Eddings. As Arozarena crossed home plate and stepped into the other batter’s box, he realized it was ruled a ball and that his at-bat would continue.
Two pitches later, Arozarena headed to first base after being hit by a pitch. Two batters later, Julio Rodriguez launched a three-run homer to put the Mariners up early.
Now, the missed call isn’t why the Toronto Blue Jays ultimately suffered a 10-3 loss to the Mariners in Game 2 of the American League Championship Series on Monday. However, it was still one of the key moments from a contest that put the club in an 0-2 hole as the series heads to Seattle.
If Yesavage gets the strike-three call on that slider, who knows? Maybe the outcome of the inning — or, even the game — is different.
“I mean, that was a strike,” said Blue Jays catcher Alejandro Kirk. “That was completely in the zone, but you can’t do anything. You just have to keep going.”
Yesavage refused to blame the call for anything.
“It is what it is at the end of the day,” Yesavage said. “Got to make better pitches late in the count there. Can’t be hitting a guy 3-2. That’s on me.”
The rookie right-hander was coming off a post-season debut for the ages. Yesavage’s no-hit, 5.1-inning, 11-strikeout performance in Game 2 of the Division Series against the New York Yankees simply made him look invincible. Yet Monday’s start underscored that he’s a 22-year-old pitcher who began the season in low-A and has only made five career starts at the big-league level. These kinds of outings are bound to happen.
“It was alright,” said Yesavage. “I would say nothing was spectacular today.”
Following Rodriguez’s home run, Yesavage struck out three of the next four hitters to escape the first inning without further damage. He pitched out of trouble in the third, but after Arozarena reached on an infield single to open the fifth, Yesavage issued an intentional walk to Cal Raleigh and was removed for reliever Louis Varland. The right-hander promptly surrendered a three-run shot to Jorge Polanco that proved the difference-maker in the contest.
Because of that homer, Yesavage’s pitching line — five runs on four hits over four innings, with three walks and four strikeouts — looked much worse. Nonetheless, his splitter wasn’t as effective as usual on Monday and there was no denying that he wasn’t in peak form.
“Velo went down a little bit as he went — I think that was the biggest thing,” said Blue Jays manager John Schneider. “Had the three strikeouts but wasn’t getting as much swing-and-miss.”
The right-hander recorded just seven whiffs on 31 swings Monday compared to 18 whiffs on 31 swings in his last start.
“His split wasn’t as good as the last outing,” said Kirk. “But it’s just one bad outing.”
Without his best splitter, Yesavage relied more on his slider, throwing it 23 times (33 per cent).
“I had belief in the slider as much as the splitter today,” he said. “The slider was a little bit better than it has been in the past. I had full trust in that so I was happy to throw it.”
And as for the dip in velocity — his average fastball declined a tick each inning — the right-hander said he noticed it but “couldn’t give you a rhyme or reason” for why it was happening.
The next step for Yesavage in his whirlwind season is unclear. The Blue Jays will head to Seattle for an off day before resuming the best-of-seven ALCS on Wednesday at T-Mobile Park. His regular preparation won’t change, but whether he pitches again in these playoffs will likely depend on if the Blue Jays can extend the series.
Yesavage has no doubts of that.
“All these guys have played a lot of baseball in this clubhouse. They’ve lost, they’ve won at a high level,” he said. “I wouldn’t count this group out. This group’s special.”
