This is kinda like how I was psyched to go to college for like 3 years then the day came and I was like…. shit… I’m not ready at all. This day’s been in the back of my mind for the better part of 6 months and now it’s here and I just don’t even know what to do. What do I do with my hands? What do I normally do with my hands?
Ok, I’m good, I’m good. So tonight we start with the AL Wild Card game as the Orioles take on the Blue Jays north of the border. I was right in my preview blog yesterday about Tillman taking the hill for Baltimore, but it’ll actually be Marcus Stroman pitching for Toronto, not JA Happ. Which to be honest, really surprises me. Like many fans, I was expecting 2016 to be Stroman’s breakout season, after using last year to come back from his ACL surgery and David Price leaving an open void at the ace spot for the Jays. But the guy finished 2016 with a 4.37 ERA and only managed to win 9 games on a playoff-bound team. Happ and Sanchez both seem to be better options for a win-or-go-home game, but manager John Gibbons chose to stick with their spots in the rotation in the final week of the season. This wasn’t a terrible idea, I guess, since Toronto technically hadn’t clinched anything until the last game of the season. By any means, just not ideal for the Jays.
If you read the playoff preview, you know I picked Toronto to win this game. The pitching matchup doesn’t change that, but it does make the game itself much more interesting. Stroman is pretty inexperienced as far as playoff pitching goes, and I wouldn’t be shocked to see a rough start on his part. He’ll settle down and go at least 6 strong I think, but just something to watch for. I wouldn’t be surprised to see Baltimore jump out to an early lead, especially since Tillman is generally very effective early in games, but watch for a big swing mid-game that’ll decide who gets to go to Texas later this week.
PLAAYYYYOOOFFFFFF BAAAAASSEEEBAAAALLLLLLLLLL!!!!!!!!!!
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