Blue Jays need to find a way to contain this Jays killer to have any chance in ALCS 

Pretty rarely does a series outcome rests entirely in the hands of one player. But for the Toronto Blue Jays to have any chance of winning the ALCS, there is actually one player on the Seattle Mariners that could do exactly that. That player is none other than the modern day Blue Jays killer Cal Raleigh.

Raleigh was at it once again on Sunday night in Game 1 of the ALCS against the Blue Jays. With the Mariners down 1-0 in a tight match in the sixth inning, the star catcher delivered by crushing a game-tying home run off Jays ace Kevin Gausman to get his team in flight.

Raleigh would finish the game with two hits, one run scored and one RBI in four at-bats. From there, it gave Seattle the necessary jolt to kickstart their offense as they went on to steal a victory away from the Jays 3-1.

Blue Jays need to find a way to contain this Jays killer to have any chance in ALCS 

That game-changing power has actually become a normalcy whenever Raleigh faces Toronto. In fact, he has been the most successful hitter against the Blue Jays during the past few seasons. Despite having only played 24 career regular season games against Toronto, Raleigh has recorded 10 home runs and 20 RBIs in those matches. If taking into account the postseason as well, the 28-year-old catcher now also has two home runs in three career playoff games against the Jays.

It also doesn’t help that Raleigh happens to be the Mariners’ hottest player in the postseason at this moment as well. He has batted a blazing .400 with a 1.163 OPS, along with 10 hits, three runs scored, one double, two home runs and five RBIs in six playoff games.

No one else in the Mariners’ current regular lineup has more than six hits or a batting average above .240 and OPS above .750. Therefore, it shows the dire significance for the Jays to shut him down 

So running into a surging elite power hitter who has already been a renowned Jays killer throughout his MLB career could make things turn ugly for Toronto really fast. As a result, they must find a way to neutralize Raleigh as much as possible, much like how they eventually did so to Aaron Judge of the New York Yankees to some extent in the ALDS.

If it takes four intentional walks per game to do it, so be it, as the best strategy is to minimize any chances of Raleigh beating the Blue Jays with his bat. If Toronto fails to accomplish the daunting task, this ALCS could end way earlier than anticipated.