Everything that could go wrong, did go wrong in playoffs for Blue Jays

The Toronto Blue Jays started their 2022 season by overcoming a seven-run deficit against the Texas Rangers, storming back to win in spectacular fashion 10-8 during the home opener on April 8.

In their last game of the season, the Blue Jays blew a seven-run lead, losing in spectacular fashion, 10-9 to the Seattle Mariners. Baseball can be a cruel mistress.

While many still haven’t come to the grips with the Blue Jays’ season ending, now that it’s been nearly 48 hours since the aftermath, reality has set in. Just as quickly as Toronto’s postseason journey began, it’s over.

For many, it wasn’t the fact the Blue Jays lost to the Mariners. Seattle has a talented team and deserved to be the postseason. But it’s how the Blue Jays lost the series via death by a thousand paper cuts that will linger for a long time.

Let’s start with Game 1; Alek Manoah gets roughed up for four earned runs and has one of his worst starts of the season at the worst possible time. The man who had 25 quality starts in 31 games during the regular season could not find his rhythm.

But Game 2 of the Wild Card series will undoubtedly haunt Blue Jays fans for years to come. A laundry list of little things led to a catastrophic meltdown, blowing a 8-1 lead with 10 outs left in the game.

What led to the Game 2 collapse

During the regular season, the Blue Jays were 61-6 when leading after five innings, and 18-0 when scoring nine or more runs in a game. Game 2 of the Wild Card series was a true outlier for the Blue Jays this season.

Then you have everything that led up to the meltdown. Raimel Tapia wasn’t even supposed to be in left field, but because Whit Merrifield got hit on the helmet with a pitch in the bottom of the fifth, he was taken out of the game and Tapia took over in the outfield.

Then, Tapia missed a catch which led to the bases loaded for Kevin Gausman in the top of the sixth inning. With Gausman out of the game, Tim Mayza came in and gave up a wild pitch. He had two wild pitches in 63 appearances during the regular season.

Opting to use Mayza in that situation against switch hitter Carlos Santana may not have been the best chess move for Blue Jays manager John Schneider, and it backfired promptly when Santana deposited a ball over the left-centre outfield wall.

Anthony Bass had 23 scoreless appearances in 28 games for the Blue Jays this season. Despite his impressive body of work, Bass gave up three consecutive hits and three earned runs against the Mariners, his worst appearance of the season. It was the only time this season Bass failed to record an out in an appearance.

Jordan Romano, who had been lights-out all season, came in to save the day with one of his most challenging appearances of the season. Tasked with getting the final six outs of the game with the bases loaded, he couldn’t weather the storm.

Then there was the play that sunk the Blue Jays’ season, the collision in centre field between Bo Bichette and George Springer. It looked ugly from all angles and it seemed like the play was a car crash in slow motion, and no one could do anything to stop it.

You could blame Bichette for going too hard after the play. You can blame Springer for not calling off his infielders. The truth is, it was a fluke play in a Bermuda Triangle in the outfield. If Springer makes that catch, we’re having a much different conversation.

Did the Blue Jays beat themselves?

Now the Blue Jays have the unfortunate distinction of authoring one of the biggest single game collapses in postseason history. This one’s going to sting, and it’s going to sting for a very long time. More than last year, when the Blue Jays won 91 games and missed out on the playoffs by a single game.

Second guessing and pointing fingers won’t change much, but as Schneider said, anything that could go wrong went wrong for Toronto in that game. Once the bleeding started in the sixth inning, it felt like there was nothing they could do to stop it.

In most circumstances, a seven-run lead with 10 outs left in the game is more than enough of a cushion to secure victory. But as we’ve witnessed in the playoffs, anything can happen. Baseball is random, baseball is weird, and baseball is heartbreaking.

Did the Mariners beat the Blue Jays, or did the Blue Jays beat themselves in that series? Maybe it’s a bit of both, but the number of freak occurrences that led to the 10-9 victory by the Mariners was astonishing.

If Merrifield doesn’t get plunked, does he make those catches in left field? If Schneider keeps Gausman in the game, does he escape the inning unscathed? And if Springer makes that catch in centre field, does it save the Blue Jays’ season?

These are the questions that will be replayed in everyone’s heads over and over this offseason. This squad that had World Series aspirations, only to be bounced from the postseason in two games, just like they were back in 2020.

For fans, I think it hurts that much more because Game 2 looked like it was in-hand. A seven-run cushion with their reliable relievers ready at a moment’s notice. Everything was lining up for the Blue Jays to win comfortably.

There’s something to be said for having a victory snatched out of your hands at the worst possible moment on the grandest stage. That’s why it stings so much. That’s why it’s going to take a long time to forget, if ever.

In Game 2 of the AL Wild Card series, the Blue Jays experienced the highest highs and the lowest lows. They now have extra time to reflect on what transpired, learn from it, and come back next year and be better.

Anything worth something has to be earned. If the Blue Jays come back next year and get better from this experience, they’ll earn everything that comes their way.