Mariners must reset as Blue Jays tie ALCS with 8-2 win in Game 4

The Seattle Mariners look listless for a second consecutive night and must now return to Toronto no matter what happens in Game Five.

It wasn’t meant to be like this, with the Mariners returning home in this AL Championship Series with a 2-0 advantage after taking both of the first two games in Toronto. However, their seemingly strong position has now evaporated with the Blue Jays taking two games in Seattle in dominant fashion, including a 8-2 win on Thursday evening in Seattle.

As a result we’re now tied at two games apiece and with the series now down to a best-of-three, with a place in the World Series beckoning. The Mariners have gone from being in control to looking out of ideas, and with the opportunity to clinch their first ever AL pennant at home now gone.

On the subject of home, perhaps the outcome on Thursday evening was actually quite predictable, at least based on the history between the Mariners and Blue Jays. In an interesting quirk the road team has won all six postseason games ever played between the two teams.

Certainly the Mariners would accept this scenario continuing for the remainder of the ALCS, with two of the final three games taking place in Toronto. However, it’s going to take more than past results for the M’s to find a way to recover from the demoralizing impact of two consecutive listless performances and getting back on track.

Mariners manager Dan Wilson knows the team missed a chance to put a strangle-hold on the series. Speaking to the media postgame, he said:

“Obviously we wanted to get a couple of wins here in the series at home. We haven’t been able to do that, but tomorrow we have a chance to bounce back and that’s where our focus is going forward.”

Mariners must eliminate unnecessary errors

The Mariners must reset, but it’s going to take more than just better effort and productivity to turn this thing around. It’s also going to mean more focus and less sloppy play by a team which had a myriad of crucial mistakes on Thursday evening in front of a disappointed crowd of 46,891 people inside T-Mobile Park.

The Mariners had taken an early lead for the second straight game, this time courtesy of a solo home run by Josh Naylor in the bottom of the second. However, it all began to go wrong in the top of the third as Luis Castillo suddenly couldn’t hit the side of a barn as he allowed a two-run blast from Andrés Giménez and subsequently loaded the bases with just one out.

Mariners manager Dan Wilson then made the right decision in taking Castillo out no matter how unhappy he was. Although this then led to the first important sloppy mistake of the night, as Castillo’s replacement Gabe Speier immediately issued a bases-loaded walk to increase the Blue Jays’ advantage to 3-1 at the midway point of the third.

The next error came from Leo Rivas in the bottom of the third, with him ruining getting on board via a walk of his own, by being picked off at first base with Cal Raleigh at the plate. To make this even more frustrating, Blue Jays pitcher Max Scherzer’s last pickoff was back in 2016, and he had never previously had one in the postseason.

Bullpen doesn’t do any better than Luis Castillo

Things continued to go disastrously wrong in the top of the fourth, with a RBI double by George Springer putting the visitors up 4-1 and leading to Speier being replaced by Matt Brash. However, this led to Springer himself crossing home plate courtesy of a wild pitch by Brash with two outs, to make it 5-1 midway through the fourth.

The final crucial error came in the bottom of the sixth on a sequence which began with a Eugenio Suárez single bringing Jorge Polanco home to pull the Mariners to within 5-2. However, Josh Naylor was thrown out at third base just after Polanco had scored, to end the threat and the inning.

As much as it’s tough to ever win when your bats only manage five hits and your starter only goes 2.1 innings, it becomes almost downright impossible when you make four crucial mistakes. Especially when you know all of them were unnecessary and avoidable.

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Where the Mariners go from here is anyone’s guess, but the mood in Seattle right now within the fanbase is one of anxiety and concern. Their teams has gone from looking all but certain to finally make the World Series, to potentially not winning another game in this ALCS.

It doesn’t help that history isn’t on the Mariners’ side, when considering previous postseason seven-game series which are tied at 2-2 after four. In this scenario, the lower seed has gone on to win the series 28 out of 67 times.

Not that this scenario is out of reach for a Mariners team which has shown time and time again that they have a mental fortitude which can’t be beaten. This is a close-knit team which has repeatedly faced and overcome adversity this season, but they really do need to cut out the costly mistakes.

More offense needed at T-Mobile Park

At the same time, the bats need to warm up and just do a better job at T-Mobile Park. The Mariners might have had the second-best home record in the AL during the regular season, but they’ve only managed 14 combined runs during five playoff games in Seattle which is quite simply unacceptable.

Additionally, the starting pitching has to get back on track after consecutive poor and short starts by George Kirby and Castillo. Bryce Miller gets the ball in Game Five looking to repeat his outstanding performance in Game One of this ALCS, while Bryan Woo finally looks set to return to action from his injury and be used out of the bullpen.

Friday’s game is not an elimination scenario, but it is as important as any that the Mariners have played in franchise history. Win, and you’re one game away from a first World Series berth, but lose, and you stand on the verge of throwing away the most golden of opportunities to do something extremely special.

J.P. Crawford discussed how tough the game of baseball can be and acknowledged the importance of Game Five. As per Ryan Divish of The Seattle Times, he said:

“No one said it was going to be easy. We’ve got to do our best to flush these two days and look forward to tomorrow. … Baseball is a cruel game sometimes, but we’ve got to keep pushing forward. We all know what’s at stake here.”

Photos court​‌esy of Tim Rogers Photography

What stood out to you most on Thursday night and what are you predicting for Game Five? Overall, do you have confidence in the Mariners winning the ALCS, or are you concerned the Blue Jays will now advance to the World Series? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below.