Blue Jays manager comes under fire for controversial pitching change

On just the second day of the 2023 MLB postseason, we officially have our first managerial controversy courtesy of Game 2 between the Toronto Blue Jays and Minnesota Twins.

Righty Jose Berrios got the start for Toronto and was dialed in early, sailing through the first three innings while allowing just three hits and striking out five. It looked like we were headed for another pitcher’s duel, much like Minnesota’s 3-1 win in Game 1 — but with his back against the wall, Blue Jays manager John Schneider wasn’t willing to risk leaving Berrios in one batter too long.

Berrios issued a walk to Royce Lewis to lead off the bottom of the fourth. Despite having thrown just 47 pitches, Schneider decided he’d seen enough: With lefties Max Kepler and Alex Kirilloff due up, he brought in lefty Yusei Kikuchi, Toronto’s fourth starter who’d been relegated to a long relief role in a best-of-three series.

In a vacuum, you can understand the logic; Berrios was about to face two of Minnesota’s best hitters for the second time, with very little margin for error given how well Sonny Gray was pitching on the other side. One mistake could wind up costing Toronto the game and their season, so why not bring in the lefty Kikuchi — who’s been very solid for the Jays all year — and utilize the platoon advantage?

Of course, postseason baseball isn’t played in a vacuum, and all of that completely ignores how things felt in the moment. Berrios was absolutely dialed in, clearly motivated going up against his former team, and he’d retired both Kepler and Kirilloff relatively easily in their previous turn through the order. He’s also a huge part of what got Toronto to the postseason, and pulling him in that spot felt like a predetermined decision — looking at a spreadsheet the day before to determine what the best matchup is and sticking with it in spite of new evidence to the contrary.

Because the baseball gods are not without a sense of irony, it immediately backfired. Kepler singled and pinch-hitter Donovan Solano drew a walk to load the bases, leaving Kikuchi now in a tough spot against righty Carlos Correa — a righty that Kikuchi had to face due to MLB’s three batter minimum rule. Correa came through with his biggest moment so far as a Twin, driving in two runs with a single back up the middle.

As you might imagine, Blue Jays fans were … less than thrilled with their skipper.

It remains to be seen whether it’ll cost the Jays their season, or Schneider his job, but if Toronto doesn’t rally it’s going to hang over this team for a long, long time.