While the Toronto Blue Jays did a great job of winning series throughout August — taking seven straight (not counting a make-up game loss to the Cubs) before losses to the Yankees and Royals — a proper sweep eluded them.
In the thick of a tight American League wild-card race, getting that third or fourth win in a series means much more than just bringing out the brooms. It can be life or death as the season enters its final stretch.
The Blue Jays have a chance at a sweep once more on Sunday as they head into the finale of a three-game set against the Seattle Mariners (Sportsnet, 1:30 p.m. ET / 10:30 a.m. PT), who also find themselves in the hunt for that final wild-card spot.
After a tight 4-3 win on Saturday, courtesy of a solid outing from Jose Soriano and some heads-up offence, the Blue Jays are 1.5 games behind the Cleveland Guardians for the final wild-card spot, while the Mariners dropped to four games back.
Looking to expand the gap between the two clubs, the Blue Jays will send Max Scherzer to the mound, who's looking to build on a solid two-run outing in his last start against the Royals.
Scherzer (1-7) has struggled for form this season between injury absences and coming to grips with the inevitability of Father Time, as he carries a 7.02 ERA and 1.54 WHIP in his age-41 season.
Though he gave up only two runs to the Royals on Tuesday — an improvement from a seven-run outing against the Rays last week — he gave up a season-high five walks to go with only four strikeouts.
Fortunately for him, he's coming up against a Mariners side with the fifth-worst on-base percentage in the majors at only .308. And despite a semi-return to form for former MVP contender Cal Raleigh, who has five of his 19 home runs this year in the last week, the Mariners have continued to struggle for offence, plating only 3.5 per game in August.
Opposite Scherzer will be Logan Gilbert (11-7), who last took the mound on Monday in a 9-2 win over the Philadelphia Phillies. Gilbert, 29, has remained consistent through his sixth season, carrying a 3.36 ERA and 1.024 WHIP heading into Sunday's contest.
Much like the Mariners, the Blue Jays have struggled for offence all season and rank second-to-last in runs per game (3.95) and on-base percentage (.307). That should be music to the ears of Gilbert, who is fifth in the AL in WHIP.
Hoping to threaten on the base paths for Toronto is rookie deadline-day standout Brett Bateman, who is batting .329 with a .366 OBP since earning the call-up with the Blue Jays.
The 24-year-old was a major contributor in three of the Blue Jays' four runs on Saturday, scoring on a wild pitch in the fifth then finding the left-field grass for an RBI single in the sixth, which also put Myles Straw in position to score the game-winning run soon after on an Alejandro Kirk single.
He'll lead off for the Blue Jays once more, doing so for his 13th straight game and 14th overall since being called up in early August, 18 games ago.
Behind him will be Vladimir Guerrero Jr., whose power struggles remain an issue, having yet to hit a home run at Rogers Centre. Kirk, who batted second on Saturday, will hit third, and Nathan Lukes will hit fifth and play in right after a rest day yesterday.
Though a series sweep would go a long way in the race for the wild card, the Blue Jays are still counting on losses from the Guardians and Baltimore Orioles, both of whom are ahead of Toronto in the wild-card standings.
The Orioles will take on the Athletics later on Sunday, while the Guardians close their series against the Royals. Toronto can gain some series ground next week, however, as it opens a three-game set at home against Cleveland on Tuesday, meaning it can head into Sunday's game no holds barred.
