John Schneider once again manages a masterpiece to eliminate the Mariners

It’s been 32 years since the Toronto Blue Jays were champions of the American League. After a nail biting 4-3, Game 7 victory over the Seattle Mariners, they are headed back to the Fall Classic, looking to claim their first World Series trophy since 1993.

The big blow that sent them there is George Springers three-run home run in the bottom of the seventh. However, before and after that, Blue Jays manager John Schneider once again pushed all the right buttons to keep the game close.

Schneiders bullpen management prevails in another series clincher

During Game 4 of the American League Division Series, the Blue Jays used a bullpen game to dissect the Yankees lineup. At Yankee Stadium, up 2-1 in the series, Schneider went with an opener in Louis Varland and then paraded seven other pitchers out of the bullpen to make sure the Yankees could never get comfortable.

The plan worked, as the Blue Jays allowed just two earned runs on six hits while accumulating 10 strikeouts in a 5-2 win over New York, to advance to the ALCS. None of the pitchers got more than five outs and none threw more than 27 pitches.

It was a cold and calculated methodology that worked to perfection. Not un similar to how Gameday 7 of the American League Championship Series played out against Seattle.

While it wasn’t a bullpen game by any means, it was a well managed, push all the right buttons affair as Schneider said before the game that "everyone" was available and he meant it. Two of the Blue Jays five relievers in this game were starters as Kevin Gausman and Chris Bassitt came out of the bullpen to pick up three big outs each.

It didn't feel like this was Plan A, but it was a plan that saw the Blue Jays having the better matchups for the majority of the night. Plan A, was probably letting starter Shane Bieber get deeper into the game. The Blue Jays prized trade deadline acquisition only got into the fourth inning.

While he didn't have a bad outing, he did struggle to find the zone with consistency. He racked up five strikeouts in 3.2 innings pitched, but he gave up seven hits, allowed two runs and walked a batter - however his slider was getting hit hard and his curveball was missing the zone a lot.

After Bieber got to 74 pitches with two outs in the fourth, his night was done. Schneider then brought in a familiar face as Louis Varland trotted out of the pen for his 11th appearance this postseason. Yes, Varland has pitched in every single playoff game so far and in his last three outings, including Game 7, he's gotten five outs in each appearance.

Varland got Julio Rodriguez to ground out to third base to end the fourth, leaving two Mariners stranded and keeping the score 2-1 with Seattle in front. But a lead off home run by Cal Raleigh in the fifth certainly dampened the mood, but that home run was the last Mariners hit of the game.

Varland rebounded to retire the side and over the next several innings, the Blue Jays pitching seemed like they were in complete control. Seranthony Dominguez pitched a three-up-three-down sixth inning. Gausman walked three batters, including putting on Raleigh intentionally, but got a double play ball and another ground out to get out of the jam unscathed in the top of the seventh. It was Gausman's first relief outing since 2021.

After Springers home run in the bottom of the seventh gave the Blue Jays the lead, Chris Bassitt was asked to work the eighth inning. Bassitt threw 10 pitches, struck out one batter and got the Blue Jays to the bottom of the eighth, still holding that one-run lead.

Next up was Jeff Hoffman, who had just thrown 30+ pitches to get six outs in Game 6. Hoffman struck out Leo Rivas on six pitches, finishing with a 95 mph four-seam fastball outside. He got pinch hitter Dominic Canzone to strike out on another 95 mph four-seam fastball, this one high and away.

Then as the lineup turned over and Rodriguez at the dish, Hoffman switched things up and threw six straight sliders to the Mariners outfielder. The last one, his hardest slider of the at-bat, went 88 mph, was about a foot outside the zone, and Rodriguez chased it for the final strike.

After some very questionable pitching decisions made throughout the playoffs and some warranted questions as to what happened in Game 5 when the bullpen blew a late lead, Schneider can find some redemption in the fact that he crafted his bullpen strategy perfectly in the Game 7 clincher that sends Toronto to the World Series.