"The first reason was that the Mariners didn't bite on the split-finger like the Yankees did. Both Bryce Miller and George Kirby utilize this pitch, so the Mariners' batters knew what to look for. The hitters were very disciplined, letting low pitches go and drilling mistakes left up in the zone. This strategy eliminated Kevin Gausman and Trey Yesavage's strikeout pitches, which was leaving the Yankees off-balance."
"The reason this can be considered optimistic is that Shane Bieber, who is starting Game 3, doesn't throw a splitter, so hopefully the difference in pitch arsenals can get the Mariners' hitters out of sync. His arsenal consists of a four-seam fastball, slider, knuckle curve, changeup, and cutter. These pitches have led to success against the AL West in his career, pitching 132 innings and posting a 2.52 ERA."
Toronto Blue Jays trail 0-2 to the Seattle Mariners in the ALCS after scoring four runs across the first two games, with three runs produced in first innings. Seattle's pitching, after producing 39 runs in four ALDS games against the Yankees, suppressed the Blue Jays' offense. Mariners hitters were disciplined against split-finger offerings, letting low pitches go and attacking mistakes up in the zone, which neutralized Kevin Gausman and Trey Yesavage's strikeout approaches. Yesavage experienced a tighter strike zone and reduced control compared with his 11-strikeout postseason debut. Shane Bieber starts Game 3 and does not throw a splitter; his diverse arsenal has produced sustained success against AL West hitters.
Read at Jays Journal
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]