The Toronto Blue Jays fell short in their playoff series against the Minnesota Twins, but many will remember Wednesday night’s game in which manager John Schneider made a controversial decision.
After three innings, starting pitcher Jose Berrios was removed from the game in favor of Yusei Kikuchi. The Puerto Rican didn’t hurt, on the contrary, only that the coaches enforced their decision anyway. That’s when everything started to unravel for the Jays, who were losing 2-0.
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“We had several plans available to us. Jose was aware of this, Schneider said at a press conference. He was electric. It was difficult to replace him. I think with the way they’ve built their rotation, you want to use all your weapons. It did not work.”
“You can question my decisions and those of the organization, I understand that. It’s tough. It didn’t work for us today and yesterday. That’s the reality of baseball. “There are 29 teams that will say the same thing at the end of their season,” lamented the coach.
Powerless
The main interest accepted his fate and saw Kikuchi give up two points. His seemingly promising start ultimately only lasted 47 pitches. After the meeting, Berrios appeared very emotional in front of journalists.
“After I was replaced I felt bad because I wanted to move on. “Then I told myself that I have to take advantage of this, that we are still in a good position, that I am playing the sport that I love and that I can watch my teammates,” the former Twins consoled himself as best he could .
“We had to give everything for this game and I did that. […] I only control what I can control. I did my best from the first to the 47th throw. “Life goes on,” he added.
On the field, several Minnesota players said they were relieved to see Berrios come off the mound as the right-hander did a great job of limiting the damage. Jays player Whit Merrifield didn’t like Schneider’s decision at all.
“I hated it, to be honest. “It didn’t cost us the game, but it’s the type of decision that hurts managers and baseball at this point in the game,” the second base expert said.
The same refrain
The Blue Jays have been defeated three times in a row in the playoff series, namely in 2020, 2022 and 2023. Their last victory in the playoffs dates back to 2016. Neither Vladimir Guerrero Jr. nor Bo Bichette have so far earned a win in the postseason.
“We got beaten in the playoffs two years in a row. We have to think a lot, from the players to the management, to figure out what we can do better,” the shortstop admitted.
Berrios situation aside, Toronto shot itself in the foot by picking up just one point in two games. The moral of the story is quite simple.
“We didn’t get any points. “We can’t win if we don’t score,” Bichette said.