TORONTO — Everybody was talking about it. How could you not?
Even here at Rogers Centre, a building bursting with anticipation for ALCS Game 1 on Sunday, folks were bleary eyed from taking in the eternal thrill ride that was Game 5 of the ALDS between the Seattle Mariners and Detroit Tigers. With the victorious Mariners airborne en route to Toronto, many of the Jays players and coaches were asked how they experienced the chaotic, 15-inning marathon the night prior.
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Some stayed up into the wee hours to see which team the Blue Jays would square off against with a trip to the World Series on the line. Others, by design or by accident, went to bed.
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The latter the case for Game 1 starter Kevin Gausman, who admitted during his Saturday media conference that he didn’t watch the mayhem. Manager John Schneider went out to dinner with his wife on a rare night off this month; he was surprised to see the game was still going when he returned home. Starting pitcher Shane Bieber stayed up until the 13th inning but then called it quits, perhaps exhausted by the sheer number of runners stranded in extras.
Ty France, the Jays’ backup first baseman who spent four years in Seattle, also conked out around the 13th but was shaken awake by his wife, who happened to wake up just before Jorge Polanco ended the evening. Ernie Clement was proud to share he made it through all 15 from the comfort of his couch. Daulton Varsho didn’t watch a pitch.
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But the best tale from Blue Jays land about ALDS Game 5 came from outfielders Myles Straw and Davis Schneider, who decided to watch the winner-take-all contest from a bar. The duo thought it would be a relatively relaxing evening — grab a few brews, watch a ballgame, see who their opponent would be.
“We were literally like, ‘All right, we’ll just watch the game, but we’re not leaving ’til the game is over,’” Schneider told Yahoo Sports. “And then it f***ing took forever.”
Straw and Schneider did stay for the whole thing, chatting with Jays fans about whom they’d rather face in the next round. Given Schneider’s conspicuous mustache, he and Straw were easy to spot, and they had a fun night. Thankfully, the Jays had just a light workout Saturday, with an afternoon start time.
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For the Mariners, the turnaround is much more imposing. By the time J.P. Crawford touched home in the bottom of the 15th, sending T-Mobile Park into revelrous pandemonium, the clock was already past 10 p.m. local time. On the East Coast, Friday had already turned to Saturday. But the Mariners didn’t skip town in a rush; there was some well-earned Champagne that needed popping. In fact, the team didn’t head east until Saturday morning — and only after the team charter was delayed.
The Mariners are alive, but they are also running on fumes, with a pitching staff depleted from the eternal madness of Game 5. Had they won that contest in anything resembling normal fashion, Seattle would have almost certainly started Luis Castillo in ALCS Game 1. But he pitched in relief Friday for the first time as a big leaguer, earning the unlikely win. Instead, the M’s will turn to Bryce Miller, who took the ball in Game 3 of the ALDS, on short rest.
The Seattle bullpen, too, even with the so-called off day, will not be at full strength Sunday. It’s a dynamic that benefits the Jays, who watched Game 5 with increasing glee. But speaking Saturday, Mariners manager Dan Wilson seemed unfazed by this latest wrinkle.
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“I think a lot of times players will gain some energy from that,” he said of the epic victory.
Besides, his team is used to this. “The Mariners do a lot of traveling. We do a lot of East Coast traveling,” he said. “It’ll just be an extension of the season in some ways. We should be good to go.”
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