With a potential Game 5 on the line, Blue Jays manager John Schneider opted to go with a bullpen game on Wednesday night.
Yankees manager Aaron Boone chose to counter the decision with a balanced lineup in an attempt to make it difficult to hunt preferred matchups. However, Schneider executed his game plan to perfection.
The skipper exploited lefty lanes all throughout the night in a collectively dominant pitching effort by the Blue Jays’ bullpen to send the defending American League champion Yankees home packing in Game 4 of the ALDS at Yankee Stadium.
“Again, we’ve done this,” Schneider said before Game 4. “A lot of teams have done this. There’s no set script. I think everyone kind of understands where they fit within their lineup, and things can change in a hurry. … We started talking about [lanes] probably about 1:00 today.
“Again, there’s no perfect science to it. You try to put guys in the best possible spots. At the end of the day, they’ve got to go out and make pitches. They’ve got to go out and execute. Score, inning, all that kind of stuff comes into play. You’re just trying to find the right spots for it.”
Schneider’s pen allowed just six hits and two runs the entire night, dominating the team that scored the most runs in baseball entering the postseason.
Louis Varland opened for the Jays and tossed 1.1 scoreless innings before handing it off to Mason Fluharty, as the southpaw was the only lefty reliever to allow a run — on a Ryan McMahon solo shot. Fluharty was also one of three left-handers used throughout the evening, joining Eric Lauer (who threw 1.2 shutout innings) and Brendon Little, who threw a scoreless seventh.
Seranthony Dominguez, Yasiel Rodriguez and were among the right-handers who got in on the action, combining for two scoreless innings.
Braydon Fisher got into some trouble in the eighth inning, allowing two runners to reach before Schneider called on closer Jeff Hoffman for the final four outs. Hoffman got Austin Wells to fly out with the bases loaded to end the eighth.
The closer recorded to final three outs, and the Jays celebrated on the Yankees’ field, winning the series in four games.
Now, the Blue Jays will await the winner of Game 5 between the Tigers and Mariners to see who they will face in the American League Championship Series.
