2022 MLB Playoffs: Mariners’ offense, pitching come out strong to take Game 1

By Pedro Moura
FOX Sports MLB Writer

The Seattle Mariners used a ferocious first inning to win their first postseason game in 21 years Friday in Toronto. They bested the Blue Jays 4-0 in Game 1 of the American League Wild Card Series at Rogers Centre. 

Three of those runs came early, as Eugenio Suárez doubled in rookie sensation Julio Rodríguez on the game’s 10th pitch, and Cal Raleigh followed by launching a two-run homer. That was already enough offense, and then Suárez tacked on one more run in the fifth.

Raleigh, of course, sent the Mariners to the playoffs with a walk-off home run precisely one week earlier. The power-hitting catcher kept his momentum going, and so did his team.

What went right for the Mariners

It was not exactly an offensive breakout. More than their hitters, what won Seattle the series opener was an elite performance from midseason acquisition Luis Castillo. Castillo had been closer to good than great since his Aug. 3 Mariners debut, but he was beyond great Friday.

Pumping his stuff up to 100 mph, Castillo threw 72% strikes and didn’t walk a Blue Jay. That efficiency allowed him to last 7⅓ innings, the longest shutout start in franchise history.

Manager Scott Servais was prepared to turn to his bullpen at a few points, but he needed to only once: for young right-hander Andrés Munoz, who handled the final five outs with aplomb.

What went wrong for the Blue Jays

Toronto produced only three opportunities to bat with a runner in scoring position — and converted none of them. This had been a powerful and patient offense throughout the second half, but it wasn’t in the postseason opener. The Blue Jays didn’t work a single walk, which allowed the Mariners to use only their two most electric pitchers and save the rest of their bullpen for Games 2 and (possibly) 3.

Further, right-hander Alek Manoah was not his usual spectacular self. He couldn’t finish six innings, and he couldn’t strike out Seattle hitters when he needed to do so.

Key moment of the game

Raleigh battled Manoah to a tense 3-2 count, then pounced on a mistake pitch for the two-run home run that supplied the Mariners crucial breathing room. The pitch was a 95 mph sinker, with the requisite action but poor location, up and over the middle of the plate. 

Even so, what Raleigh did with it was unexpected.

Manoah threw 762 sinkers in the regular season. Only once did a hitter manage to hit one for a home run. Manoah faced 90 3-2 counts in the regular season. From all of those, hitters produced hits only seven times and homers only twice.

Raleigh’s home run increased Seattle’s win probability by more than 14%. Before the Blue Jays even batted, their odds of winning had decreased below a quarter. They hardly increased past that thereafter.

What to watch in Game 2

The Blue Jays will turn to Kevin Gausman to save their season. They chose to sign Gausman last offseason rather than pursuing a new contract with their 2021 Cy Young winner, Robbie Ray. 

The Mariners, of course, will be starting Ray after Canada adjusted travel requirements to allow unvaccinated visitors just in time for this series. The matchup again offers two elite pitchers, though Seattle’s relievers will be significantly fresher.

The health of Blue Jays leadoff hitter George Springer warrants monitoring, too, after Castillo’s final pitch Friday drilled him in the wrist. Springer was one of the few Jays to register a good offensive day, and he has for years rated as an elite postseason performer.

Pedro Moura is the national baseball writer for FOX Sports. He previously covered the Dodgers for The Athletic, the Angels and Dodgers for the Orange County Register and L.A. Times, and his alma mater, USC, for ESPN Los Angeles. He is the author of “How to Beat a Broken Game.” Follow him on Twitter @pedromoura.