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Official: Max Scherzer to start on Thursday

The Toronto Blue Jays have just confirmed that, as expected, Max Scherzer will start Thursday’s game #4 against the Mariners.

It was decided before the start of the series, and there were hints to that effect, but it has just been officially announced by Blue Jays manager John Schneider.

So basically, he’ll either be the pitcher in charge of tying the series or the one who has to keep the club alive. The Mariners lead the series 2-0.

We thought the Blue Jays wouldn’t necessarily find a playoff role for him after he was left out of the division series against the Yankees, but he’s getting better physically and the Blue Jays will trust him.

Pitching in a pitcher’s ballpark in Seattle could help him avoid long balls as much as possible.

So he’ll face Luis Castillo. Tomorrow, Shane Bieber and George Kirby will be the pitchers battling it out. And if there’s a game #5, maybe it’ll be Kevin Gausman against Bryan Woo.

Anthony Santander gets better

Still with the Blue Jays, Anthony Santander was unable to start game #2 of the series due to back pain. He was, however, available to come in and hit late in the game, but it wasn’t necessary.

He could be in the game tomorrow, either as a pinch-hitter or an outfielder.

Since the Blue Jays seem intent on keeping George Springer at designated hitter, we imagine Santander will have to be just bad enough to be the DH.

To be continued tomorrow.

PMLB
  • Game #2 tonight in the Nationals in Milwaukee.

  • Bad race yesterday: Teoscar Hernandez apologizes.

  • New bench coach in New York. He replaces John Gibbons with the Mets.

  • Blue Jays board member in the race to be Rockies boss.

  • Shohei Ohtani will start Game #4.

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MLB in brief: Ben Rice discussed | The Bat Flip turns 10

Ben Rice discussed

Some teams want him.

Confidence in young people

Will bosses want to spend on free agents in New York?

Will Jack Flaherty leave?

He has an important decision to make regarding his $20M player option.

Jeff Albert in charge of hitters in New York

Will this help the Mets?

Skip Schumaker is ready

He wants to guide the Rangers to the top.

The Bat Flip turns 10

Already?

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It was predictable, but the relief team sinks the Blue Jays

The Seattle Mariners completely dominated the Toronto Blue Jays at Rogers Centre in the first two games of the American League Championship Series and now have a 2-0 lead before returning home with a World Series appearance at stake.

The Blue Jays’ bats have certainly been cold as ice, but the main weakness Seattle has exploited is undoubtedly the Toronto relief bullpen.

Indeed, despite the fact that Kevin Gausman pitched nearly six innings in the first game of the series, the Jays still had to use five relievers to finish the game. Two gunners were able to finish an inning without allowing a run – Jeff Hoffman and Louis Varland – but they were the only ones.

And that was nothing compared to the second duel of the series. Trey Yesavage didn’t get off to a good start, as he had against the New York Yankees, and six more relievers had to come out of the bullpen.

Varland first took the mound with two runners on and no outs, and gave up a three-run home run to Jorge Polanco when the score was tied 3-3.

Later, Yariel Rodriguez was unable to get a single out, while allowing three bases on balls, which put Chris Bassitt in a precarious situation, pitching for the first time in a month, but he pulled through.

The latter, along with Eric Lauer, were the only bright spots on the pitching staff in game two as they recorded the final eight outs with a combined total of four strikeouts and just one hit allowed. But, at that point, the Jays were already behind by seven runs, so that’s not saying much.

There’s no sign on the horizon that things will change in the next few games, and barring a very long outing from Shane Bieber tomorrow (Wednesday), things will be very complicated.

Especially as Max Scherzer is likely to start game number four.

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Shohei Ohtani continues to struggle in the series

After a good 2025 campaign, but nothing more, the Los Angeles Dodgers eliminated the Reds and one of MLB’s best regular-season teams, the Philadelphia Phillies, in their Division Series. The California-based team therefore has good reason to believe it will return to the World Series after winning the big trophy last year.

But the Dodgers also have reason to worry as they approach their ultimate goal, with Shohei Ohtani yet to play up to expectations at the fall dance.

Last year, the Nippon’s ordinary performances had been somewhat overlooked due to the fact that Aaron Judge had also had his share of troubles. However, while Judge seemed to have banished his demons during the current playoffs, this was still not the case for Ohtani.

Indeed, the Japanese posted a low batting average of .056 with 9 strikeouts in 18 at-bats against the Phillies in the previous series. Yes, he sometimes gets on the board with bases on balls, as he did three times last night (Monday), but you have to ask more of a $700 million man.

After Game 1 of the National League Championship Series against the Milwaukee Brewers, Ohtani now has a batting average of .138 with an OPS of .631.

Admittedly, the Japanese star could come out of his shell at any moment, as he is also expected to pitch for the Dodgers in a matchup against the Brewers.

But if the Dodgers want to celebrate a second consecutive championship, they probably can’t afford for Ohtani to experience the same kind of hibernation as he did during the 2024 Fall Classic.

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The odds are stacked against the Blue Jays

With the exception of the start of the current campaign, the Toronto Blue Jays haven’t faced much adversity this season, resulting in a 94-68 record, the American League Eastern Section title and a relatively easy Division Series against the New York Yankees.

But that’s no longer the case, far from it, as the Blue Jays head to Seattle with a 0-2 deficit in the American League Championship Series after losing by a score of 10-3 in Game Two at the Rogers Centre.

Granted, the Jays are known for being a resilient team, their 49 wins after trailing in 2025 being a Major League Baseball high, but staying alive will be far from easy.

Indeed, in the history of the MLB playoffs, teams that have taken a 2-0 lead in any four-of-seven series have won their duel 78 times out of 93, or 83.9% of the time. Furthermore, in series with the current 2-3-2 format, teams that won games one and two on the road won the series 24 times out of 27 (88.9%).

The last team to overcome a 0-2 deficit in a best-of-seven series was the Arizona Diamondbacks, who did so against the Philadelphia Phillies in the 2023 National League Championship Series. The last team to do so after losing the first two games at home was the New York Yankees, who accomplished the feat against the Atlanta Braves in the 1996 World Series.

To add insult to injury, the Mariners will give the Blue Jays no further reason to believe, sending George Kirby and Luis Castillo to the mound for games three and four in Seattle.

Nothing is impossible, but it won’t be a smooth ride.

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The Dodgers were hot, but they beat the Brewers

Last night, the Los Angeles Dodgers were in Milwaukee to take on the Brewers. It was game #1 of the National League Championship Series.

Both teams wanted to take an early lead in the game. The Dodgers thought they had, but…

But it resulted in one of the most bizarre plays we’ve seen in a long time. A horrible trail run by Teoscar Hernandez (and Will Smith and all the Dodgers guys, for that matter) turned a basic play into a viral sequence.

It made for a funny game, let’s say. It’s a tough sequence to figure out the first time around, but know that the Brewers were more lit than the Dodgers on this one. Note that Muncy was safe at first and the play became forced.

Freddie Freeman, a few innings later, hit a solo home run that made it 1-0. And all the while, Blake Snell continued his outrageous dominance on the mound.

In fact, in eight innings, he gave up just one hit to the Brewers, without giving up a run. He retired 10 men. What an important player for the Dodgers, all the same.

While the Dodgers scored a second run in the ninth, Dave Roberts did the manager’s favorite thing in October: remove a starter who’s doing well to go to relief.

This gave the Brewers prospects, who scored a run against Roki Sasaki. The Japanese was unable to get the three outs and gave way to Blake Treinen, who gave up a base on balls and loaded the bases.

Fortunately for the Dodgers, Brice Turang avoided a shot that would have sent him to first base and swung at a third strike that was absolutely not a strike. This confirmed the Dodgers’ 2-1 win… but it was close.

The next game is tonight at 8pm. Freddy Peralta and Yoshinobu Yamamoto will cross swords.

PMLB
  • Tonight’s the night.

  • Trey Yesavage: nothing spectacular yesterday.

  • A Canadiens hitting a home run in Canada’s playoffs is rare.

  • He’s on his way back.

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Championship series: Mariners take 2-0 lead over Blue Jays

Last night, the Mariners won the first game of their series against the Blue Jays. Torontonians were looking to bounce back tonight to avoid going back to Seattle two games behind in the series.

For the occasion, rookie Trey Yesavage was on the mound… and in the first inning, he wasn’t helped by the umpire behind home plate. As a result, two guys ended up on the paths, and Julio Rodriguez came to bat.

And what had to happen… happened.

However, the Jays found a way to fight back. They were opportunistic on the forward end, so much so that they were able to tie the game in the second inning.

Nathan Lukes scored his team’s third point.

Except in the fifth inning, things started to go wrong again for the home side, as Jorge Polanco came to bat with two guys on the paths.

And just like Rodriguez in the first inning, Polanco hit a three-run home run.

The problem was, the Jays didn’t answer back. In fact, it was the Mariners who kept adding… and adding quite a bit.

J.P. Crawford singled in the seventh, then Josh Naylor hit a two-run homer. The score was 9-3 in favor of the Mariners.

Crawford produced another run in the seventh with a sacrifice fly… and that nailed the Jays’ coffin for good.

It’s worth noting that, late in the game, Chris Bassitt came in to eat innings for the Jays. So there’s reason to believe that Max Scherzer will be on the mound to start game #4.

The Mariners won by a score of 10-3 and now lead the series 2-0… as it heads to Seattle.

The Blue Jays will now need to win (at least) two of the next three games, all on the road, to avoid elimination and return home. And the club will need to find a way to score runs against the Mariners’ solid pitching.

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Pete Alonso seeks at least seven-year contract

After being at the heart of the last off-season, Pete Alonso is expected to attract attention once again this winter. This time, however, with a much longer-term contract, as he has already announced his intention to opt out of the two-year, $54 million deal he signed with the New York Mets last season.

Indeed, according to Mike Puma of the New York Post, the Polar Bear is reportedly seeking a pact of at least seven years, which would take him at least to his 37th birthday.

Alonso is coming off an excellent 2025 season, posting a .272 batting average with 126 runs produced, a .871 OPS and 38 home runs, surpassing Darryl Strawberry as the Mets’ all-time leader in long balls with 253 career bombs.

The first baseman now has 264 career home runs in just seven years in Major League Baseball.

Admittedly, a contract for at least seven more years could age him badly, but the risk is somewhat mitigated by the fact that Alonso has played every one of his team’s regular-season games for the second year in a row. His state of health is not a problem in sight.

However, we’ll have to see which version of the Polar Bear takes the field in the years to come, as the 2025 campaign was a stark contrast to what Alonso produced at bat in the previous season, as evidenced by his .240 batting average in 2024, with 34 home runs, 88 runs produced and a career-worst .788 OPS.

But with his 2025 numbers, he’s likely to get what he wants.

PMLB
  • Sandy Alomar Jr. passed away.

  • Would Albert Pujols be a good manager?

  • Bruce Bochy in San Diego?

  • Bryan Woo gets better.

  • Baseball in 2027 affected by the National Championship Series?

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MLB in brief: Anthony Santander has a sore back | Rob Thomson keeps his job

Anthony Santander has a bad back

Davis Schneider takes his place today. Nathan Lukes is playing. During the season, he would not have played because of his knee problem.

Rob Thomson keeps his job

He’ll have to win more playoff games in 2026.

A ring for his father

Vladimir Guerrero Jr. wants to win to give his father a ring.

A.J. Hinch stays in Detroit

Behind the scenes, he signed a contract extension this summer.

The Mariners’ plan

George Kirby and Luis Castillo will pitch games #3 and #4.

Trey Yesavage impressed Max Scherzer

With good reason.

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Dodgers vs. Brewers: setting the table for the series

The National League Championship Series gets underway today. The Milwaukee Brewers will host the Los Angeles Dodgers for the occasion.

Here’s the schedule for the championship series in both leagues.

The Milwaukee Brewers got there by winning a playoff round for the first time since 2018. Beating Craig Counsell and the Cubs was… satisfying for the folks in Wisconsin.

The Brewers are playoff regulars (since 2018, they’ve been part of the fall dance every year except 2022), but not of winning playoff rounds.

In fact, in their entire history, the Brewers have never won two playoff rounds.

Will that change this year? Will the 2018 scenario (when the Dodgers beat the Brewers in the championship series) be repeated instead?

After all, the Dodgers are playoff regulars, and they’re not going to take it lying down. After beating the Reds and Phillies fairly easily, Dave Roberts’ men are still hungry.

In Los Angeles, it’s the World Series or bust. Nothing less.

The pitchers

If you ask people in Major League Baseball which club will have the edge on the mound, their answer is simple: the Dodgers. They ranked all four Dodgers starters ahead of any Brewers pitcher.

Freddy Peralta is the lucky one at #7. He’s behind Blake Snell, Shohei Ohtani, Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Tyler Glasnow. Snell and Yamamoto will pitch the first two games to get back into the series, and it’s unclear when Ohtani will pitch, but he’ll be used as a starter.

In Milwaukee, in addition to Peralta (who will pitch Game #2), Quinn Priester (who did poorly against Chicago) is the other true playoff starter. Aaron Ashby and Trevor Megill were also starters against Chicago.

Brandon Woodruff, who suffered a season-ending injury, has yet to start pitching again. He is not an option in the championship series.

However, the Brewers have the advantage in relief. Jose Quintana, Chad Patrick and Jacob Misiorowski (three starters) are notably in the bullpen in the playoffs, providing a helping hand. Misio could be used as a starter, on the other hand.

In 30 innings pitched, the Brewers bullpen has a 1.20 ERA in the playoffs. Only the Padres (in 15.1 innings) have done better at 1.17 – and we were talking about the best bullpen in a long time in the playoffs.

In addition to the players we’ve already mentioned, Grant Anderson, Nick Mears and excellent late-inning specialist Abner Uribe are players to keep an eye on.

For the Dodgers, the bullpen is truly horrible due to the lack of depth. Good thing Roki Sasaki has risen to become the club’s “primary ninth-inning option”. #Machine

Could Tyler Glasnow help out in the bullpen? The schedule doesn’t allow for much, but let’s just say that Clayton Kershaw, Blake Treinen, Alex Vesia and Emmet Sheehan don’t inspire confidence. This is THE big flaw in the club – and in the baseball of 2025, it’s a big one.

In addition to Sasaki, Anthony Banda (one inning) and Jack Dryer (five strikeouts over two outings) have given nothing away in the bullpen since the start of the playoffs.

Position players

If I told you that the Brewers had a better OPS (on-base average and power average) than the Dodgers since the start of the series, would you believe me?

But it’s true.

Both teams are in the MLB top-3 since the start of the series (far behind the Blue Jays’ .974 as of Sunday) with a .753 and .748 mark. It’s really tight, yes.

Yet, on paper, the Brewers shouldn’t have as many home runs (7) as the Dodgers since the start of the series.

The Dodgers have Shohei Ohtani (who is useless, but needs to give more). Teoscar Hernandez, Mookie Betts, Freddie Freeman, Max Muncy and Kiké Hernandez, among others.

But the Brewers guys are capable of standing up. I don’t know if they’ll be able to stand up against Dodgers starters, but they can destroy the Los Angeles bullpen, for example.

Andrew Vaughn, Jackson Chourio and William Contreras were excellent against Chicago. Jake Bauer (who was used less), Christian Yelich and Caleb Durbin also know how to play well.

And don’t underestimate the likes of Brice Turang and Isaac Collins: do as Blake Snell does and keep in mind that they’re good.

The managers

Dave Roberts will never be the unanimous choice in the playoffs, but so far, so good. Aside from the fact that he could have trusted Roki Sasaki quicker in some games, he’s doing well right now… and he’s got experience in spades. #TwoRings

The guys in Milwaukee love playing for Pat Murphy. Will his lack of experience catch up with him? I don’t think so – and it’s going to make for a big chess match between the two managers, in my opinion.

The imponderables

The Brewers’ forward is comparable to the Dodgers’ when everything goes right. The bullpen really is better in Wisconsin – and that’s really important in 2025 baseball.

But even so, the Dodgers are the heavy favorites. Everyone understands why.

I always had a feeling it was going to be a long series, and I didn’t know which team was going to have the upper hand. I changed my mind every five minutes before sending my official prediction to colleague Sébastien Berrouard.

But what tipped me in favor of the Brewers (in 7) was this: the Milwaukee lineup, if you go back to 2024, has won its last eight games against the Dodgers.

This season, the six meetings between the two teams took place in the space of two weeks in August. It’s been six Brewers wins.

I know that the regular season and the playoffs are two different things – especially since the Brewers are historically better in the season and the Dodgers in the playoffs. I also know that the Dodgers’ rotation is healthier than it was in August, and that Mookie Betts is currently better after a difficult season.

But let’s just say that Shohei Ohtani better wake up early to turn the tide in favor of a team that has a 0-6 record against the Brewers this season.

The Brewers were the best team in baseball in 2025… and the Dodgers are the most talented club. It’s going to be a great series.

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