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Here's some windy baseball lore, to tide us through a Day With No Baseball.

You see, it struck me that we might have just seen, in a little more than 24 hours, the worst start by a Blue Jays pitcher in their post-season history, quickly  followed by the best start in the team's post-season history.

It seemed possible. I tossed them all into a spreadsheet, clicked Sort by Game Score and I'm here to report:

Not quite. It just felt that way. Here are the five best:

1. Dave Stieb ALCS Game 1, 1985. Game Score 83.
    -  Stieb threw 8 innings of three-hit ball against the Royals, striking out 8 and walking 1. George Brett (who else) had a double and a single; Dane Iorg had a two-out pinch-hit double in the eighth. No Toronto starter has ever thrown a shutout in the post-season; this is the only time a Toronto starter hasn't allowed a run. Stieb didn't come out for the ninth inning. We don't know his pitch count, but we do know that Bobby Cox was already planning on having Stieb available to make three starts in the seven games.

2. Marco Estrada, ALCS Game 5, 2015. Game Score 73.
    - You saw it. This was the sixth post-season game in franchise history when the Jays were facing elimination. They lost deciding games in 1989 and 1991 (Stieb and Candiotti); they won three straight against the Rangers just last week (Estrada, Dickey, Stroman.) Obviously this was the best performance by a Toronto pitcher in a do-or-die game, and almost as impressive as the work of Curt Schilling and Danny Jackson in similar circumstances. (More on them anon.)

3. Juan Guzman, ALCS Game 5, 1993. Game Score 72
- I was in the house for the three home games against the White Sox. I can barely remember them, possibly because I was working. I do remember how this one ended. Guzman pitched seven strong innings, and handed it off to the bullpen. Castillo worked a quiet eighth inning, but in the ninth Ward gave up a two-run homer to Ventura and walked Burks. That brought the tying run to the plate, in the person of Bo Jackson. Post hip surgery Bo Jackson, but still scary. Ward struck him out to end the game. Bo went 0-10 in that ALCS, with 6 Ks, while George Bell wondered why he couldn't get off the bench.

4. David Cone, ALCS Game 2, 1992. Game Score 71
- Man, David Cone was something in 1992. Mike Moore gave the A's a strong start, but Gruber hit a two run homer in the fifth to break up a scoreless tie. Cone took a shutout into the ninth, when he allowed a leadoff triple and Henke came in to finish it up.

5. Jimmy Key, World Series Game 4, 1992. Game Score 71
- Gaston had gone with three starters in the ALCS, but neither Morris nor Cone looked good in their second starts of that series. So Key was added to the WS rotation, and he rose to the occasion. This was his final start as a Blue Jay, and he made it special. He needed to, because Tom Glavine was pitching a nice one himself. Key took a three hitter and a 2-0 lead into the eighth inning. Things got a little scary at that point, as Gant and Hunter began the inning with a double and a single, putting runners on the corners with none out. Key got Berryhill to foul out, but a Lemke groundout scored a run and moved Hunter to second. Key left the game, to an enormous ovation, and Ward came in to close out the inning. He struck out Otis Nixon, but Nixon took first on the wild pitch with Hunter moving to third. Nixon then stole second, putting the go-ahead run in scoring position, before Blauser grounded out to end the threat.

And the five worst:

1. Pat Hentgen, ALCS Game 3, 1993. Game Score 18.
- This was the first post-season game I ever saw in person, and I've pretty much completely forgotten it. The first two innings were scoreless and Hentgen retired the first two batters in the third... when suddenly the roof fell in. Raines grounded a single to left. Cora lined a single to right. A Thomas single scored a run. Hentgen walked Ventura to load the bases.Burks singled, to score two more runs. Hentgen walked Jackson to re-load the bases. Johnson lined a single to left to score two more, before Hentgen ended the inning just as he'd begun it, by striking out Karkovice. Hentgen gave up singles to Guillen and Raines to begin the fourth and Danny Cox came in to the game.

2. Jack Morris, World Series Game 5, 1992. Game Score 22.
- Morris had actually pitched pretty well in the first game of this series - it's just that the other guy (Tom Glavine) had been better. Which is something that happened to a lot of pitchers who matched up with Tom Glavine. But that's not what happened  this time. It was a 2-2 game heading into the fifth, and Morris retired the first two batters. But Otis Nixon singled, stole second, and scored on a Sanders single, putting the Braves up 3-2. Terry Pendleton's ground rule double brought up Dave Justice, and the intentional walk to Justice loaded the bases for Lonnie Smith, who hit an opposite field grand slam. And it was off to Atlanta for Game 6....

3. Todd Stottlemyre, World Series Game 4, 1993. Game Score 23.
- This was the fabled 15-14 game of immortal memory. No one who saw it will ever forget. The Jays staked Stottlemyre to a 3-0 lead in the top of the inning. In the home half, Stottlemyre walked four batters and then gave up a bases loaded triple to hand the Phillies a 4-3 lead. Todd then came to the plate for the first at bat of his major league career to lead off the second inning. He drew a walk, and with two out tried to go first to third on Alomar's single to centre. Fans watching were treated to possibly the worst head first slide in the history of the game. Stottlemyre came up short of the bag, landing hard on his chin, where he was tagged out to end the inning. He took his bloody chin back out to the mound and allowed a two run homer to Dykstra in his second inning of work. They pinch hit for him in the third inning, in the midst of a four run rally that would give the Jays a 7-6 lead in this utterly insane game...

4. Tom Candiotti, ALCS Game 1, 1991. Game Score 23.
- Candiotti's best pitch - by far - was a knuckleball, but it wasn't his only pitch. As Pat Borders couldn't catch a knuckleball, he always tried to get Candiotti to use his other pitches as much as possible. This seldom went well. On this day, the Twins scored two runs on three hits in the first inning. They scored two runs on four hits in the second inning.  They got one more on a walk and a double in the third before Gaston called for David Wells. I have always regarded Gaston's failure to have Greg Myers catch Candiotti in the two games against the Twins as the most incomprehensible blunder of his managerial career. Not only did Candiotti have a 0.91 ERA in his 8 starts with Myers catching - the Twins couldn't get Myers out that year (Myers hit .563/.563/.813 against the Twins that year.) Still makes me crazy.

5. Jack Morris, ALCS Game 4, 1992. Game Score 27.
- Morris pitched pretty well in the first game of this series (it's still the only complete game ever thrown by a Blue Jays starter in the post-season) but the other guy - Dave Stewart, in this case - was better. Again, that's not what happened this time. Working on three days rest, Morris made it through the first two innings unscathed, but was rocked for five runs on four singles, a double, and three walks in the third inning.

Dickey's effort on Tuesday - Game score 28 - is the next entry on this List of Futility. It is noteworthy for being the quickest hook we've seen any starter given in a Toronto post-season game.

Toronto has never shut out the opposition in a post-season game. Stieb's first game came the closest. It's the only time a Blue Jays starter didn't allow a run (Henke would give up a meaningless ninth inning run that night.) The Blue Jays have been shut out three times, including the performance by Volquez and three relievers in Game One of the current series with the Royals. Two opposing starters have tossed complete game shutouts at them. And oddly enough, neither of those two performances top the list of best starts by opponents.

1. Tom Glavine, World Series Game 1, 1992. Game Score 81.
- The best performance by any pitcher in a post-season series that involved the Blue Jays was Tom Glavine's work in the 1992 World Series. Glavine doesn't have a great post-season reputation, but he pitched a lot of very good games in October over the years, and in 1992 he was outstanding. He made two starts, finished both of them, allowed just 3 runs - and split the decisions. The Braves scored just 4 runs in the two games. In the 1992 series opener, Glavine threw a four-hitter to beat Jack Morris, the one blemish being a Joe Carter homer. (Morris, also allowed just four hits, one of them a homer - but Berryhill's dinger came with two men on base, and that was the ball game.) Later in the series, Glavine was on the losing end of Jimmy Key's brilliant effort in Game 4. Opposing starters have completed six games against the Jays - Glavine's game against Key was the only one that came in a losing effort.

2. Curt Schilling, World Series Game 5, 1993. Game Score 80.
- Hate him or hate him (I think there's a consensus around here!), Curt Schilling was one of the greatest post-season pitchers who ever lived. Him and Gibson and Mathewson. Guys like that. Schilling was just beginning work on his October legend in 1993. He had made two outstanding starts against the Braves in the NLCS (and then cowered in the dugout as Mitch Williams finished them off.) The Jays roughed him up in the first game of the 1993 World Series, and when Schilling pitched again the Phillies were facing elimination. He rose to the occasion and then some, tossing a five-hit shutout to beat a very sharp Juan Guzman 2-0, while throwing a whopping 147 pitches.

3. Danny Jackson, ALCS Game 5, 1985. Game Score 76.
- We were all talking about Danny Jackson yesterday - in 1985, with the Royals facing elimination down 3 games to 1, it was Jackson who scattered 8 hits to beat Jimmy Key 2-0. Interestingly, this was Jackson's only start in the ALCS, as the Royals used all five of their starters. Liebrandt and Saberhagen started twice, Black, Gubicza, and Jackson started one game apiece. The Jays would get some payback against Jackson in the 1993 Series, as Pat Hentgen beat him 10-3 in the third game.

4. Wilson Alvarez, ALCS Game 3, 1993. Game Score 73.
- This was the first post-season game I ever saw in person, and I've pretty much completely forgotten it. This was the game when the White Sox scored 5 runs on Hentgen in the third inning, as discussed above, and Alvarez cruised the rest of the way, scattering seven hits in a complete game. Alvarez is the answer to a trivia question - "Who was the first person born in the 1970s to appear in a major league game?" It's Wilson Alvarez, who was all of 19 years old when he took the mound for his major league debut against the Jays on July 24, 1989. Junior Felix led off with a single. Tony Fernandez and Kelly Gruber followed with back-to-back home runs. Alvarez - possibly a little spooked - walked Bell and McGriff, and Bobby Valentine came walking out of the dugout to get another pitcher.  Which means someone else is the answer to the trivia question "Who was the first guy born in the 1970s to record an out?"  That would be Alvarez' only appearance in a Texas uniform - they traded him to the White Sox five days later, along with Scott Fletcher and a skinny young outfielder named Sammy Sosa for a 30 year old DH (Harold Baines.)

5. Mike Moore, ALCS Game 2, 1989. Game Score 70.
- Moore pitched 7 innings of two-hit ball, allowing a single unearned run, and came out holding a 6-1 lead. I don't remember this game, either. I can barely remember Mike Moore, come to think of it. Maybe it's because he spent most of his career in the Pacific time zone, and there was nothing flashy or memorable about him. He was like your generic number 3 starter. He lasted a long time, he had some pretty good years (won 17 or more four times) and I still can't remember a damned thing about him. Big right-hander. That's about it.

And the five worst:

1. Johnny Cueto, ALCS Gane 3 2015. Game Score 10.
- Johnny! You da man.

2. Tommy Greene, World Series Game 4 1993. Game Score 12.
- The other half of the legendary 15-14 game. Greene allowed 3 runs in the top of the first, but his Phillies promptly abused Todd Stottlemyre, as noted already, and Greene took a 6-3 lead into the third. With one out, Greene walked Olerud, gave up consecutive singles to Molitor, Fernandez, and Borders and excused from the rest of the proceedings. All the inherited runners came around to score, and with the Phillies down 7-6, Greene was (briefly) on the hook for the loss.  Little did we know that another sixteen runs were going to score that night.

3. Derek Holland, ALDS Game 4, 2015. Game Score 21.
- That was also quite recent, and I gotta say - it serves the guy right. A guy who pretends to wipe his butt with one of the towels the fans were waving at the Dome should not be complaining about anyone flipping a bat after a home run.

4. Charlie Liebrandt, ALCS Game 1, 1985. Game Score 21.
- Liebrandt was one of the most famously star-crossed pitchers ever to work in October. He had a career record of 1-7 in the post-season, although his post-season ERA - 3.77 - isn't  that bad at all. He pitched very well indeed in some of those games. Liebrandt lost post-season games when he posted Game Scores of 74, 63, and 60. He was on the hook to lose Game 6 of the 1985 WS, despite another brilliant effort (Game Score 69) when Don Denkinger came to the Royals' rescue (and don't you think that there still ought to be some karmic payback due to Kansas City for that. Now would be a good time.) Liebrandt also lost two games out of the bullpen that the fan bases in Minnesota (Kirby Puckett's 11th inning homer in Game 6 of the 1991 WS) and Toronto (Dave Winfield's 11th inning double in Game 6 of the 1992 WS) will never, never forget. But this game really was a stinker, one where Liebrandt actually deserved his fate. Not that it made much difference what he did anyway, because this game was also Stieb's masterpiece.

5. Jack McDowell, ALCS Game 1, 1993. Game Score 22.
-  The Blue Jays always had McDowell's number. Always. Of all the teams Black Jack made 10 or more starts against in his career, he had his worst ERA (5.25) and his only losing record (5-8) against Toronto. But he was Gene Lamont's ace, he was the 1993 Cy Young winner, and he did win 22 games that year. I assume that's why he was left in to pitch into the seventh inning. He ended up allowing 13 hits and 7 runs. No pitcher has given up as many hits in a post-season game (Stroman is the only other to hit double figures) and only Johnny Cueto has allowed more runs in a game.

Do we need a Data Table? Of course we do. Here's all the post-season starts, sorted by Game Score.

First the Jays:

                   Series    Year    Date    Opp    Rslt    Dec  IP    H   R   ER   BB   SO   HR   HBP    BF   Pit    GSc
                                                                               
Stieb    TOR    ALCS g1  1985   8-Oct    KCR    W,6-1    W    8    3  0    0    1    8    0    0    28   ---    83

Estrada    TOR    ALCS g5  2015  22-Oct    KCR    W,7-1    W    7.2  3   1    1    1    5    1    0    26   108    73
Guzman    TOR    ALCS g5  1993  10-Oct    CHW    W,5-3    W    7    3   1    1    1    6    1    0    24   112    72
Cone    TOR    ALCS g2  1992   8-Oct    OAK    W,3-1    W    8    5   1    1    3    6    0    0    30   107    71
Key    TOR    WS g4  1992  21-Oct    ATL    W,2-1    W    7.2  5   1    1    0    6    0    0    27    91    71

Guzman    TOR    ALCS g6  1992  14-Oct    OAK    W,9-2    W    7    5   1    1    2    8    0    0    29   118    69
Guzman    TOR    WS g3  1992  20-Oct    ATL    W,3-2    -    8    8   2    1    1    7    0    0    32   115    66
Stieb    TOR    ALCS g4  1985  12-Oct   @KCR    W,3-1    -    6.2  2   1    1    7    6    0    0    28   101    65
Guzman    TOR    WS g5  1993  21-Oct   @PHI    L,0-2    L    7    5   2    1    4    6    0    0    29   105    63
Estrada    TOR    ALDS g3  2015  11-Oct   @TEX    W,5-1    W    6.1  5   1    1    0    4    0    0    24    89    63
Cone    TOR    WS g6  1992  24-Oct   @ATL    W,4-3    -    6    4   1    1    3    6    0    0    25   103    63
Stewart    TOR    ALCS g6  1993  12-Oct   @CHW    W,6-3    W    7.1  4   2    2    4    3    0    1    30   120    61
Stewart    TOR    ALCS g2  1993   6-Oct   @CHW    W,3-1    W    6    4   1    1    4    5    0    0    26   ---    61
Hentgen    TOR    WS g3  1993  19-Oct   @PHI    W,10-3   W    6    5   1    1    3    6    0    0    25    99    61

Morris    TOR    ALCS g1  1992   7-Oct    OAK    L,3-4    L    9    6   4    4    4    4    3    0    35   119    59
Stroman    TOR    ALDS g2  2015   9-Oct    TEX    L,4-6    -    7    5   4    3    2    5    0    0    28    93    56
Stroman    TOR    ALDS g5  2015  14-Oct    TEX    W,6-3    -    6    6   2    2    1    4    1    0    25   98    55
Key    TOR    ALCS g3  1991  11-Oct    MIN    L,2-3    -    6    5   2    2    1    1    0    0    23   92    54
Morris    TOR    WS g1  1992  17-Oct   @ATL    L,1-3    L    6    4   3    3    5    7    1    0    27    98    54
Dickey    TOR    ALDS g4  2015  12-Oct   @TEX    W,8-4    -    4.2  5   1    1    0    3    0    0    19    78    53
Guzman    TOR    ALCS g2  1991   9-Oct   @MIN    W,5-2    W    5.2  4   2    2    4    2    0    0    24   102    51
Price    TOR    ALDS g1  2015   8-Oct    TEX    L,3-5    L    7    5   5    5    2    5    2    2    29   90    50
Price    TOR    ALCS g2  2015  17-Oct   @KCR    L,3-6    L    6.2  6   5    5    0    8    0    0    26    96    50
Guzman    TOR    ALCS g3  1992  10-Oct   @OAK    W,7-5    W    6    7   2    2    3    3    0    1    27   102    50
Estrada    TOR    ALCS g1  2015  16-Oct   @KCR    L,0-5    L    5.1  6   3    3    0    6    1    0    23    90    50

Stieb    TOR    ALCS g5  1989   8-Oct    OAK    L,3-4    L    6    4   4    4    4    4    0    0    25   102    48
Guzman    TOR    ALCS g1  1993   5-Oct   @CHW    W,7-3    W    6    5   3    2    8    3    0    1    32   ---    47
Key    TOR    ALCS g3  1989   6-Oct    OAK    W,7-3    W    6    7   3    3    2    2    1    0    26   102    46
Stewart    TOR    WS g6  1993  23-Oct    PHI    W,8-6    -    6    4   4    4    4    2    1    0    28   120    46
Key    TOR    ALCS g5  1985  13-Oct   @KCR    L,0-2    L    5.1  8   2    2    1    3    0    0    23    71    46
Guzman    TOR    WS g1  1993  16-Oct    PHI    W,8-5    -    5    5   4    4    4    6    0    0    24   121    43
Stewart    TOR    WS g2  1993  17-Oct    PHI    L,4-6    L    6    6   5    5    4    6    1    0    27   122    42
Stottlemyre  TOR    ALCS g4  1993   9-Oct    CHW    L,4-7    L    6    6   5    5    4    4    2    0    26    93    40
Stieb    TOR    ALCS g1  1989   3-Oct   @OAK    L,3-7    L    5.1  8   4    4    2    6    2    0    26    88    40

Candiotti    TOR    ALCS g5  1991  13-Oct    MIN    L,5-8    -    5    9   4    2    1    3    1    0    26   102    39
Stottlemyre  TOR    ALCS g2  1989   4-Oct   @OAK    L,3-6    L    5    7   4    4    2    3    1    0    22    80    38
Alexander    TOR    ALCS g6  1985  15-Oct    KCR    L,3-5    L    5.1  7   5    5    3    6    1    0    27   103    37
Alexander    TOR    ALCS g3  1985  11-Oct   @KCR    L,5-6    -    5    7   5    5    0    3    3    0    22    76    36
Cone    TOR    WS g2  1992  18-Oct   @ATL    W,5-4    -    4.1  5   4    3    5    2    0    0    22    94    36
Stroman    TOR    ALCS g3  2015  19-Oct    KCR    W,11-8   W    6.1 11   4    4    1    1    0    0    31    94    35
Stieb    TOR    ALCS g7  1985  16-Oct    KCR    L,2-6    L    5.2  6   6    6    2    4    1    1    25    92    35
Key    TOR    ALCS g2  1985   9-Oct    KCR    W,6-5    -    3.1  7   3    3    1    2    1    0    18   ---    35
Cone    TOR    ALCS g5  1992  12-Oct   @OAK    L,2-6    L    4    6   6    3    2    3    1    0    21    80    33
Stottlemyre  TOR    ALCS g4  1991  12-Oct    MIN    L,3-9    L    3.2  7   4    4    1    3    1    1    19    72    33
Flanagan    TOR    ALCS g4  1989   7-Oct    OAK    L,5-6    L    4.1  7   5    5    1    3    3    0    19    65    31

Dickey    TOR    ALCS g4  2015  20-Oct    KCR    L,2-14   L    1.2  4   5    4    2    1    2    1    12    48    28
Morris    TOR    ALCS g4  1992  11-Oct   @OAK    W,7-6    -    3.1  5   5    5    5    2    0    0    20    71    27
Candiotti    TOR    ALCS g1  1991   8-Oct   @MIN    L,4-5    L    2.2  8   5    5    1    2    0    0    16    60    23
Stottlemyre  TOR    WS g4  1993  20-Oct   @PHI    W,15-14  -    2    3   6    6    4    1    1    0    13    53    23
Morris    TOR    WS g5  1992  22-Oct    ATL    L,2-7    L    4.2  9   7    7    1    5    2    0    23    83    22

Hentgen    TOR    ALCS g3  1993   8-Oct    CHW    L,1-6    L    3    9   6    6    2    3    0    0    19    64    18



Then the Other Guys:

                   Series    Year    Date    Opp    Rslt    Dec  IP    H   R   ER   BB   SO   HR   HBP    BF   Pit    GSc
                                                                               
Glavine    ATL    WS g1  1992  17-Oct    TOR    W,3-1    W    9    4   1    1    0    6    1    0    30   ---    81
Schilling    PHI    WS g5  1993  21-Oct    TOR    W,2-0    W    9    5   0    0    3    6    0    0    33   147    80

Jackson    KCR    ALCS g5  1985  13-Oct    TOR    W,2-0    W    9    8   0    0    1    6    0    0    35   113    76
Alvarez    CHW    ALCS g3  1993   8-Oct   @TOR    W,6-1    W    9    7   1    1    2    6    0    0    33   126    73
Moore    OAK    ALCS g2  1989  4-Oct    TOR    W,6-3    W    7    3   1    0    2    3    0    0    26   113    70

Volquez    KCR    ALCS g1  2015  16-Oct    TOR    W,5-0    W    6    2   0    0    4    5    0    0    24   111    69
Avery    ATL    WS g3  1992  20-Oct   @TOR    L,2-3    L    8    5   3    3    1    9    2    0    29   116    68
Stewart    OAK    ALCS g5  1992  12-Oct    TOR    W,6-2    W    9    7   2    2    3    5    1    0    35   139    67
Liebrandt    KCR    ALCS g4  1985  12-Oct    TOR    L,1-3    L    8    5   2    2    2    1    0    0    29   117    63
Stewart    OAK    ALCS g1  1989   3-Oct    TOR    W,7-3    W    8    5   3    3    3    6    1    0    31   114    63
Stewart    OAK    ALCS g5  1989   8-Oct   @TOR    W,4-3    W    8    8   2    2    0    3    2    0    31   110    61
Black    KCR    ALCS g2  1985   9-Oct   @TOR    L,5-6    -    7    5   3    2    1    5    0    1    27   ---    61
Welch    OAK    ALCS g4  1992  11-Oct    TOR    L,6-7    -    7    7   2    2    1    7    1    0    29   117    61
Fernandez    CHW    ALCS g2  1993   6-Oct    TOR    L,1-3    L    8    8   3    1    3    5    0    0    33   123    60
Glavine    ATL    WS g4  1992  21-Oct   @TOR    L,1-2    L    8    6   2    2    4    2    1    0    31   114    60

Hamels    TEX    ALDS g2  2015   9-Oct   @TOR    W,6-4    -    7    6   4    2    0    6    1    0    27   114    59
Morris    MIN    ALCS g4  1991  12-Oct   @TOR    W,9-3    W    8    9   2    2    1    3    0    0    34   110    58
Smoltz    ATL    WS g2  1992  18-Oct    TOR    L,4-5    -    7.1  8   3    2    3    8    0    0    31   ---    57
Hamels    TEX    ALDS g5  2015  14-Oct   @TOR    L,3-6    L    6.1  4   5    2    2    8    1    0    28   111    57
Moore    OAK    ALCS g2  1992   8-Oct   @TOR    L,1-3    L    7    4   3    3    4    3    1    0    28   105    56
Fernandez    CHW    ALCS g6  1993  12-Oct    TOR    L,3-6    L    7    7   3    2    3    5    0    1    33   132    55
Darling    OAK    ALCS g3  1992  10-Oct    TOR    L,5-7    L    6    4   3    2    2    3    2    0    22    91    55
Smoltz    ATL    WS g5  1992  22-Oct   @TOR    W,7-2    W    6    5   2    2    4    4    0    0    27   114    54
Saberhagen   KCR    ALCS g7  1985  16-Oct   @TOR    W,6-2    -    3    3   0    0    1    2    0    1    14    45    54
Stewart    OAK    ALCS g1  1992   7-Oct   @TOR    W,4-3    -    7.2  7   3    3    3    2    2    0    31   108    52
Young    KCR    ALCS g4  2015  20-Oct   @TOR    W,14-2   -    4.2  3   2    2    2    4    0    0    19    78    52
Gallardo    TEX    ALDS g1  2015   8-Oct   @TOR    W,5-3    W    5    4   2    2    1    1    0    0    20    79    51

Welch    OAK    ALCS g4  1989   7-Oct   @TOR    W,6-5    W    5.2  8   2    2    1    4    0    0    27   100    48
Gubicza    KCR    ALCS g6  1985  15-Oct   @TOR    W,5-3    W    5.1  4   3    3    3    2    0    0    22    78    47
Mulholland   PHI    WS g2  1993  17-Oct   @TOR    W,6-4    W    5.2  7   3    3    2    4    1    0    25   105    45
Erickson    MIN    ALCS g3  1991  11-Oct   @TOR    W,3-2    -    4    3   2    2    5    2    1    0    20    82    45
Tapani    MIN    ALCS g2  1991   9-Oct    TOR    L,2-5    L    6.1  8   4    4    2    5    0    0    27    86    44
Ventura    KCR    ALCS g2  2015  17-Oct    TOR    W,6-3    -    5.1  8   3    3    2    6    0    0    25    97    44
Davis    OAK    ALCS g3  1989   6-Oct   @TOR    L,3-7    L    6.1  5   6    5    2    3    0    0    25    81    42
Avery    ATL    WS g6  1992  24-Oct    TOR    L,3-4    -    4    6   2    2    2    2    1    0    19    60    42
Morris    MIN    ALCS g1  1991   8-Oct    TOR    W,5-4    W    5.1  8   4    4    0    4    0    0    23    89    40

Jackson    PHI    WS g3  1993  19-Oct    TOR    L,3-10   L    5    6   4    4    1    1    1    0    22    89    39
Volquez    KCR    ALCS g5  2015  22-Oct   @TOR    L,1-7    L    5    3   5    5    4    2    1    1    22    88    39
Perez    TEX    ALDS g3  2015  11-Oct    TOR    L,1-5    L    5    6   4    4    3    2    0    0    21    90    38
Bere    CHW    ALCS g4  1993   9-Oct   @TOR    W,7-4    -    2.1  5   3    3    2    3    0    1    15    49    36
Mulholland   PHI    WS g6  1993  23-Oct   @TOR    L,6-8    -    5    7   5    5    1    1    1    0    23    70    33
McDowell    CHW    ALCS g5  1993  10-Oct   @TOR    L,3-5    L    2.1  5   3    3    3    1    0    0    15    61    33
Schilling    PHI    WS g1  1993  16-Oct   @TOR    L,5-8    L    6.1  8   7    6    2    3    2    0    28    99    32

Tapani    MIN    ALCS g5  1991  13-Oct   @TOR    W,8-5    -    4    8   5    5    1    4    0    0    21    65    29
Saberhagen   KCR    ALCS g3  1985  11-Oct    TOR    W,6-5    -    4.1  9   5    5    1    4    2    0    21    81    28
Moore    OAK    ALCS g6  1992  14-Oct   @TOR    L,2-9    L    2.2  7   6    5    1    4    2    0    17    54    25
McDowell    CHW    ALCS g1  1993   5-Oct    TOR    L,3-7    L    6.2 13   7    7    2    4    1    0    35   114    22
Liebrandt    KCR    ALCS g1  1985   8-Oct   @TOR    L,1-6    L    2    7   5    5    1    0    0    1    15   ---    21
Holland    TEX    ALDS g4  2015  12-Oct    TOR    L,4-8    L    2    5   6    6    1    0    3    0    12    37    21

Greene    PHI    WS g4  1993  20-Oct    TOR    L,14-15  -    2.1  7   7    7    4    1    0    0    17    66    12
Cueto    KCR    ALCS g3  2015  19-Oct   @TOR    L,8-11   L    2    6   8    8    4    2    1    1    17    69    10

So... big game tomorrow.
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Mike Green - Thursday, October 22 2015 @ 01:58 PM EDT (#313902) #
Seeing Guzman's name so often at the top of the list made me wonder about his overall post-season record.  It was pretty impressive- 5-1 in 8 starts (51 innings) with a 2.44 ERA. He was, of course, at the top of his game in 91-93 when the Blue Jays were in the playoffs, but still...
Magpie - Thursday, October 22 2015 @ 02:09 PM EDT (#313903) #
And Guzman's one loss was the Schilling game. Little Juan was easily the best October pitcher in franchise history.
vw_fan17 - Thursday, October 22 2015 @ 02:22 PM EDT (#313904) #
Estrada already has 2 in the top 10, in less than 2 full series. Guzman probably had 8 or 9 series total, 1991-1993.. Talk about a rising stock!
Mike Green - Thursday, October 22 2015 @ 02:43 PM EDT (#313905) #
I remember thinking as the playoffs approached in 1991 that I would have tried to have Guzman throw Game 1.  I guess they wanted to keep the heat off him. Which was understandable in view of his youth.
uglyone - Thursday, October 22 2015 @ 02:48 PM EDT (#313906) #
both of estrada's gems came in elimination games, no less, and I don't think the rest of the top ones did.
John Northey - Thursday, October 22 2015 @ 03:02 PM EDT (#313907) #
I remember that Stieb game and how bringing in Henke for the 9th was viewed as a message that Stieb is no longer a one man show for the Jays. Before 1985 and even during much of '85 Stieb pretty much had to be dragged off the field as he expected the pen to blow every lead he had. Sadly, the next year was one of his worst and by the time he was back to being the star pitcher his arm was about to blow up - although none of us knew it at the time.
Gerry - Thursday, October 22 2015 @ 03:19 PM EDT (#313908) #
I think I saw Guzman's name on the top of a list of best post-season ERA for the Jays. It was shown on TV somewhere over the last few days.
Alex Obal - Thursday, October 22 2015 @ 03:56 PM EDT (#313909) #
Todd then came to the plate for the first at bat of his major league career to lead off the second inning. He drew a walk, and with two out tried to go first to third on Alomar's single to centre. Fans watching were treated to possibly the worst head first slide in the history of the game. Stottlemyre came up short of the bag, landing hard on his chin, where he was tagged out to end the inning. He took his bloody chin back out to the mound and allowed a two run homer to Dykstra in his second inning of work.

Three weeks ago, the headfirst slide and the Dykstra homer were literally my only two memories of Toronto postseason baseball.
Cracka - Thursday, October 22 2015 @ 04:12 PM EDT (#313910) #
If you're feeling really baseball-deprived today, I'll remind you that almost all of these games are above are available on YouTube in their entirety (commercials included if you are feeling really nostalgic).

The aforementioned "Stottlmyre Slide" -- must be seen to be believed: https://youtu.be/89pj7214FNg?t=59m34s

Magpie - Thursday, October 22 2015 @ 04:18 PM EDT (#313911) #
I guess they wanted to keep the heat off [Guzman]

I think they were also going with theory of starting the knuckle-baller in the first game, in the hope that it will mess up the opposition hitters in the following games. (Of course, you would have needed Borders to actually call for a few knuckleballs for it to work.) So they had Guzman make a 3 inning tune-up start on the final Saturday, and he pitched Game 2 on Wednesday.
Magpie - Thursday, October 22 2015 @ 04:25 PM EDT (#313912) #
[Stieb] expected the pen to blow every lead he had.

Well, yeah. That very season, the bullpen blew seven leads Stieb had entrusted to them.
John Northey - Thursday, October 22 2015 @ 05:26 PM EDT (#313913) #
Sad. IF the pen held those 7 leads he would've had 21 wins and the ERA title which might have got him the Cy or at least close instead he got two Cy Young votes (3rd place ones at that). Bret Saberhagen got it instead with his shiny 20 wins and park assisted low ERA of 2.87, Stiebs was 2.48 (171 ERA+ for Stieb, 143 for Sabs). Of course back then voters were statistically non-inclined shall we say, as Damaso Garcia got a couple of MVP votes, and Don Mattingly (at 1B) got the MVP even though he was nearly 100 OPS points below George Brett (who played 3B) and Rickey Henderson was 3rd with almost the same OPS as Mattingly while playing CF and stealing 80 vs 10 CS. Boy were voters addicted to RBI's and wins back then.
Mike Green - Friday, October 23 2015 @ 09:24 AM EDT (#313925) #
I did not know about the public library war.  I can't figure out whether "The Magnificent Defeat" or "The Strange Defeat" belongs under "The Price They Pay" for tonight's game.
jerjapan - Friday, October 23 2015 @ 11:41 AM EDT (#313928) #
Thanks for the post Magpie - I do love myself some 'windy baseball lore' ...

I actually can't think of a sport better equipped to be romanticized and historicized in this manner, TBH.  hopefully we add to this lore tonight!

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