The wild-card round officially kicks off Friday, October 7th at 12:07 PM EST with the Rays hosting the Guardians. Later on in the afternoon, the Jays begin their hunt for postseason glory as they’re set for first pitch at 4:07 PM against the Mariners at the Rogers Center.
The new wild-card template forces the Mariners to play out the series’ entirety in front of Toronto’s notorious playoff fans.
The last time Toronto saw a glimpse of the promise land was in 2020 when the Blue Birds were swept by the Rays in the wild-card round. Tampa outscored the Jays 11-3 in the series as Blake Snell and Tyler Glasnow combined for 11 & 2/3rds innings, 2 earned runs, 19 strikeouts, 3 walks and 2 wins.
Although recent playoff memory prescribes Torontonians with doubt surrounding the Jays ability to compete with the talent and depth of post-season teams. The recent level of baseball being played by Canada’s team has been nothing short of remarkable. Jays ‘interim’ manager John Schneider finished off the year sporting a dazzling 46-28 record since taking over for ex-boss Charlie Montoyo.
Friday’s matchup features Jays ace Alek Manoah and his AL Cy Young contending 2.24 ERA against the Mariners trustworthy Luis Castillo. Though the rest of the starters for the series have yet to be named, we can assume game 2 will feature former Jay reigning Cy Young winner Robbie Ray. If that doesn’t sweeten the storyline enough for you, his replacement Kevin Gausman should be taking the mound as well. Both hurlers signing eerily similar contracts in the offseason. Game 3 if necessary will likely see M’s Logan Gilbert. A young dominant right hander with a 3.20 ERA and 174 strikeouts on the season. While Jays faithful assume they’ll be cheering on Ross Stripling if a rubber match ensues.
Bookmakers have had the home team favoured since lines were announced. With the Blue Jays -155 (Bet365) to win the series and -145 (Bet365) to take Game 1.
(Photo: Canadian Press/Gregory Strong)