NEW YORK -- When the Blue Jays left Chris Bassitt and expected future Hall of Famer Max Scherzer off the roster for the American League Division Series, they knew they’d need to get creative in a potential Game 4.
The Blue Jays couldn’t seal the sweep Tuesday night at Yankee Stadium, falling 9-6, after veteran starting pitcher Shane Bieber did not make it out of the third inning.
Bieber was gifted a five-run lead after going into the third inning, but ultimately recorded just eight outs and allowed three runs (two earned) on five hits and one walk. He forced manager John Schneider to go to the bullpen early while trying to close out the series.
And now another bullpen game looms for the Blue Jays.
“No matter who you’re using or what you’re doing, you just take it a day at a time,” Schneider said. “I’ve talked about past playoffs for this group and for me. I could openly say, and I’ve said this to you guys before, that there’s a couple things I wish I did a little bit differently in some of those games to not look ahead to tomorrow. You just never know. If we have a chance to win, we’re just going to operate as usual.”
Tomorrow is here. Louis Varland, welcome (back) to the spotlight.
The 27-year-old, who the Blue Jays acquired at the Trade Deadline from the Twins, will start a bullpen game with another chance to clinch the ALDS on Wednesday. The right-hander has pitched in all three games of this ALDS and was tagged with the loss in Game 3 after surrendering a three-run homer to Aaron Judge in the fourth inning.
“Ready for anything,” Varland said postgame. “It’s all hands on deck.”
Now, everything is on the table for Game 4 where the series hangs in the balance. Schneider will have to navigate a full nine innings without a true starter.
“Again, like I said before the game, you're trying to take chances to win today, and it didn't work out,” Schneider said postgame. “Everyone is available tomorrow.”
Though everyone is available, going to the bullpen early in Game 3 to try to close out the series involved some risk, the downside of which Toronto is now facing. The gamble did not work, with the Blue Jays using six relievers behind Bieber, including Varland. And now all those arms -- four of whom gave up runs in Game 3 -- will be asked to get 27 outs in Game 4. Regardless of which order the Blue Jays roll out after Varland, the road map is long and mysterious. But it is also not too unfamiliar.
On Sept. 25, fresh off losing six games in seven days while also losing José Berríos and Bassitt to injuries, the Blue Jays rolled out a rare bullpen game led by Varland … and took a run at a perfect game. Varland, Eric Lauer and Yariel Rodríguez carried the perfect game into the seventh inning before the Red Sox finally got to Braydon Fisher.
The Blue Jays hope to run that back in Game 4.
When Scherzer battled right thumb issues earlier in the year, Lauer gave the Blue Jays a 3.18 ERA over 104 2/3 innings before transitioning smoothly into a bullpen role. Varland has been an electric addition to Toronto’s bullpen, Judge’s homer on Tuesday notwithstanding.
And beyond the core of Varland and Lauer, the Blue Jays are built up well with three other lefties in Brendon Little, Mason Fluharty and Justin Bruihl while Rodríguez, Fisher, Tommy Nance, Seranthony Domínguez and Jeff Hoffman round out the group.
Even so, the Yankees have seen Toronto’s bullpen so much in Games 1-3 that it likely gives them a bit of an advantage going into Game 4.
Even as the Blue Jays jumped out to the 2-0 lead in the series, they had to use four relievers behind Kevin Gausman in Game 1 and seven relievers to cover 3 2/3 innings behind Trey Yesavage in a Game 2 slugfest.
"It helps us a lot,” said Yankees infielder Jazz Chisholm Jr. “We’ve seen them all year a lot. Every game we’ve mostly faced them, we face three to four guys in their ‘pen every game, and today, it was probably like five, six. It helps a lot to get them in the game, get their arms in there, get them working, because baseball is an everyday game and it’s tiring. Get to see them, maybe tomorrow their stuff isn’t as good as it was in Game 1 and 2 and we go out there and do our thing."