Blue Jays have historically great start to playoffs, and can't let up now

The next set of pitching challenges arrive for Toronto

The Yankees announced that Carlos Rodon will be tasked for Game 3. Rodon has posted an 18-9 record with a 3.09 ERA, 203 strikeouts, and 3.2 fWAR. He's been a reliable starter for New York, with much of his value in high percentiles per Baseball Savant. He's able to get batters swinging, with his Whiff in the 84th percentile.

Rodon has been efficient in two starts against the Blue Jays, despite getting a loss in one game and not going past five innings in both. Rodon gave up a total of 11 hits and limited the damage to just three runs. Guerrero and Kirk each got doubles against Rodon.

Should the Blue Jays want to be successful again against Rodon, they're going to have to continue to make him work for an early hook. Rodon threw 107 and 96 pitches in those games, respectively. Getting to the bullpen in Games 1 and 2 has done wonders for the Blue Jays en route to their high-offensive performance. If that happens, then the possibility of a sweep increases.

If the Blue Jays can't get to Rodon and drop Game 3, then they would have to deal with rookie sensation Cam Schlittler. The young phenom has been on a tear and helped the Yankees advance to the ALDS after pitching eight strong shutout innings with 12 strikeouts against the Boston Red Sox.

Since Schittler's poor performance against the Blue Jays on September 5, he has posted a 2.35 ERA with 28 strikeouts and is building his confidence. It's not the pitcher the Blue Jays want to see in a potential Game 4.

Buckle up, Toronto. It's about to be a rowdy one in the Bronx. Game 3 is scheduled for Tuesday evening, with the first pitch at 8:08 p.m. ET.