{"id":314661,"date":"2025-10-19T00:05:15","date_gmt":"2025-10-19T00:05:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/314661\/"},"modified":"2025-10-19T00:05:15","modified_gmt":"2025-10-19T00:05:15","slug":"schneider-continues-to-defend-bullpen-choices","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/314661\/","title":{"rendered":"Schneider continues to defend bullpen choices"},"content":{"rendered":"

TORONTO \u2013 John Schneider isn\u2019t backing down from how he managed the Toronto Blue Jays\u2019 bullpen in a devastating 6-2 loss to Seattle in the American League Championship Series on Friday.<\/p>\n

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Schneider decided to go with inconsistent relief pitcher Brendon Little against Mariners MVP candidate Cal Raleigh with Toronto holding a narrow 2-1 lead in Game 5 of the best-of-seven playoff series.<\/p>\n

Raleigh homered to tie the game, then Little issued two walks. Seranthony Dominguez came out of the Blue Jays\u2019 bullpen next and he hit Randy Arozarena with a pitch to load the bases then served up a grand slam to Eugenio Suarez to blow the game wide open for Seattle.<\/p>\n

The Mariners hold a 3-2 lead in the best-of-seven series, a win away from reaching the World Series for the first time.<\/p>\n

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After the game Schneider said he trusts Little and Dominguez and he doubled down on that position Saturday.<\/p>\n

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\u201cWe\u2019ve gotten to the point where we\u2019ve gotten to because of every single guy on our team,\u201d said Schneider in a news conference during optional workouts at Rogers Centre. \u201cI can sit here and say it\u2019s not a mistake, and you guys will all write that I said it\u2019s not a mistake, and I\u2019ll get crushed on social media for saying that. I get it.\u201d<\/p>\n

He continued on to explain his thinking of bringing on Little against as tough an out as Raleigh rather than bring on a reliever used to more high leverage situations.<\/p>\n

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\u201cI trust my players. I trust my players,\u201d said Schneider. \u201cIn hindsight, I had a couple other options to do. That\u2019s what I decided to do. So, again, I have all the information that I need, and I don\u2019t think I made a mistake.<\/p>\n

\u201cPlayers have to go perform. There is always risk when you put a player in a situation that he won\u2019t get the job done. That\u2019s part of the game.\u201d<\/p>\n

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