Deep Left Field with Mike Wilner

Guest: Blue Jays reliever Mason Fluharty The first ALCS to open up in Toronto since 1992 began the same way the last one did - with a Blue Jays loss. The Jays got a leadoff home run from George Springer and then just one more hit the rest of the night and fell to the travel- and extra-inning-weary Seattle Mariners 3-1. Mason Fluharty got two huge outs in the top of the eighth, striking out Josh Na...

Guests: Chris Bassitt and Davis Schneider   The American League Championship Series begins tonight and for the first time since 1993, it's opening up in Toronto.   The Blue Jays are getting set to take on their expansion cousins, the Seattle Mariners, with the well-rested Kevin Gausman facing off against Bryce Miller, who will be pitching on three days' rest.   We're joined by Chris Bassitt, who t...

Guests: Toronto Star baseball columnist Gregor Chisholm, Kim's Convenience/The Mandalorian's Paul Sun-Hyung Lee      It took a while, but the Toronto Blue Jays have an opponent in the American League Championship Series that begins Sunday night at Rogers Centre.   The Seattle Mariners beat the Detroit Tigers 3-2 in the decisive Game 5 of their American League Division Series, but it took them an a...

The Blue Jays are going to the American League Championship Series!   The Jays shrugged off their ugly loss to the New York Yankees in Tuesday's Game 3 and did all the things that got them to this point on Wednesday - great defence, timely hitting, making their opponents pay for mistakes - and combined that with an outstanding performance from eight relievers to knock the Yankees out of the post-s...

The Blue Jays quite literally kicked away their chance to sweep the Yankees in the American League division series, uncharacteristic errors and shoddy fielding giving New York the opportunity to overcome a five-run deficit and roar back to win the game and keep their playoff hopes alive for at least one more day.   We'll go through the gory details for you on this special playoff bonus episode of...

Guests: Blue Jays pitcher Kevin Gausman, infielder Isiah Kiner-Falefa Two games into their post-season, the Blue Jays are doing things that have never been done before – not just by them, but by anyone. No team had ever scored 23 runs in the first two games of a post-season until the Jays did it in taking a two games to none stranglehold on their best-of-five American League Division Series with t...

On this playoff bonus episode of Deep Left Field, we go over the Blue Jays' blowout of the New York Yankees in Game 1 of their ALDS on Saturday, the Jays' first post-season win in nine years and one that snapped a seven-game playoff losing streak. Many demons were slayed, especially by Vladimir Guerrero Jr., who doubled his career playoff hit total and tripled his career playoff RBI total in a gam...

Guest: RUSH frontman and Blue Jays fanatic Geddy Lee The Blue Jays are on the eve of their American League division series against the New York Yankees, which begins Saturday afternoon. We talk to the Jays' most famous fan, the lead singer, bassist and keyboardist from the legendary Canadian rock band Rush, who also happens to be a massive baseball geek. Geddy Lee shares his thoughts on the Blue J...

Guests: 2025 Blue Jays MVP, Rookie of the Year and Unsung Hero We don't want to spoil the surprise for you, so as the Jays' American League division series draws ever closer, check out this episode of Deep Left Field to find out who the players, coaches and other uniformed personnel voted as their end-of-season award winners. We're joined by the MVP, who got 45 of 53 votes cast, Rookie of the Year...

Guests: Blue Jays infielder Ernie Clement, pitchers Jeff Hoffman and Eric Lauer As the Blue Jays prepare to play in the American League Division Series for the first time since 2016, we take you back onto the field in the wake of their division-clinching win Sunday. Ernie Clement is the poster boy for the Jays' cast of unsung heroes and versatile contributors, and he joins us to talk about his mul...

Guests: Blue Jays shortstop Bo Bichette, Toronto Star baseball columnist Gregor Chisholm The Blue Jays are American League East champions. They clinched the division with a 13-4 mauling of the Tampa Bay Rays at Rogers Centre Sunday, giving them the AL East crown for the first time in ten years. It was the first time they'd clinched at home since 1993. We talk to injured shortstop Bo Bichette about...

Guest: Blue Jays pitcher Tommy Nance With 161 games done and the American League East still in question, we present a bonus episode of Deep Left Field. The final game of the regular season goes Sunday, and a Blue Jays home win over the Tampa Bay Rays gives them their first division title since 2015. So does a Yankees home loss against Baltimore. We talk to Tommy Nance, whose scoreless eighth innin...

Guest: Blue Jays Associate Manager DeMarlo Hale The Blue Jays are going into the season's final weekend having clinched a playoff spot but not knowing whether they'll be the first, second or fourth seed in the American League. The only thing that's assured is that they will open the playoffs at home, whether that's in the wild card round or with a first-round bye. We talk to Jays' associate manage...

Guests: Children Ruin Everything star Aaron Abrams, Clare Blackwood of The Beaverton and Second City After finishing in last place just a year ago, the Blue Jays clinched a post-season berth with their 8-5 win over the Kansas City Royals Sunday, becoming the first American League team to do so. In honour of the return of playoff baseball to Toronto for the first time (actual Toronto, as in a home...

Guest: Blue Jays pitcher Kevin Gausman Kevin Gausman has taken a huge leap forward over his past four starts, dominating the playoff-bound Milwaukee Brewers, New York Yankees and Houston Astros before turning in a solid September 17 performance in a 2-1 Blue Jays loss to the Tampa Bay Rays. The right-hander has a sparkling 0.90 ERA over those four starts - and just 2.30 over his past 15 outings -...

Guests: Blue Jays infielder Isiah Kiner-Falefa, catcher Tyler Heineman     The Blue Jays had a rare losing week, but still carried a three-game lead in the American League East into Thursday's rubber match against the AL West-leading Houston Astros. Isiah Kiner-Falefa and Tyler Heineman both played huge roles in the Jays securing the first game of the series, and they both join us this week in Dee...

Guests: Blue Jays home run leader George Springer, New York Mets bench coach John Gibbons and starting pitcher Jonah Tong September is upon us and the tension of the pennant race has ratcheted up. George Springer knows all about it, having played on three straight division winners with the Houston Astros and he is off to a tremendous September start, with three home runs and a 2.031 OPS to begin t...

Guests: Blue Jays starter Max Scherzer, left fielder Davis Schneider, reliever Tommy Nance The Blue Jays are getting set for a three-game series against the Milwaukee Brewers, who have the best record in MLB, and they'll go into it just half a game behind the Detroit Tigers for the best record in the American League. Bullpen questions abound, and we discuss those on this episode of Deep Left Field...

Guests: Blue Jays closer Jeff Hoffman, reliever Seranthony Dominguez, infielder Ty France   This week in Deep Left Field, we talk to the closer. Jeff Hoffman melted down in embarrassing fashion in Los Angeles on August 10, causing panic among the fans and calls to put him in a lower-leverage role in the Jays' bullpen. Since that outing, Hoffman has appeared in four games and allowed only one hit,...

Guests: Blue Jays top prospect Trey Yesavage, Gold Glove centrefielder Daulton Varsho, rehabbing Jays starter Alek Manoah  This week in Deep Left Field, we head down to the farm and talk to right-hander Trey Yesavage, the Jays' first-round pick last July, as he prepares to make his debut with the Buffalo Bisons - the fourth team in the Jays' system for which he has suited up in this, his first sea...

The Blue Jays spent the weekend in Los Angeles almost getting swept by the defending World Series champions and the drama was so far through the roof that a bonus episode of Deep Left Field was required so we could all process it. From the high of a club-record 45 runs scored over three games in Colorado to just two runs combined in the first two games at Dodger Stadium and just two more through t...

Guests: Blue Jays rehabbing pitcher Shane Bieber, Buffalo Bisons catcher Brandon Valenzuela     Two of the Blue Jays' trade deadline acquisitions have yet to make their debuts with the big club, and you'll meet them both this week in Deep Left Field! Shane Bieber spoke after his first rehab start in Buffalo, in which he threw five innings against the Syracuse Mets, allowing two runs on five hits w...

The trade deadline has passed and the Blue Jays made a deal right up against the clock, picking up big-armed back-end reliever Louis Varland from the Minnesota Twins to help bolster their bullpen, at the cost of prospect pitcher Kendry Morales and young, promising outfielder Alan Roden. They also got Ty France in that trade, for some reason.   I'm joined by my Toronto Star colleague Gregor Chishol...

Guest: Blue Jays pitcher Chris Bassitt   They added to their bullpen Tuesday by acquiring Seranthony Dominguez from Baltimore, but a dozen more trades were made across the majors on Wednesday and the Jays weren't involved.   Big Toronto targets Jhoan Duran and Ryan Helsley, a couple of huge relief arms, and slugging third baseman Eugenio Suarez all came off the board, going to Philadelphia, the Ne...

Guest: Blue Jays Associate Manager DeMarlo Hale       The Blue Jays got swept in their Tuesday doubleheader in Baltimore and they've lost four in a row, but they've still got the best record in the American League and a four-game lead in the AL East. There is, quite literally, no need to panic.   Between games of the double-dip, they made their first deal of Trade Deadline Week, acquiring big-arme...