Game One of the Mariners/Jays wild card series pits righty vs. righty, Castillo against Manoah, in what should be a pitchers' duel. The Mariners have swept the Jays this year; those four straight losses to Seattle were the Jays' low point, resulting in a management change. The two teams are 2nd and 3rd in MLB offense over the last two weeks, although it is not as close as it sounds. The Jays have a considerable edge recently and for the season. The Jays are very tough on right-handed pitching.
Castillo had been scuffling a bit, with an ERA of over 5.00 in his last three starts, but rebounded with a 6 inning, 2 run outing last time out. He held the Jays to the same line when he faced them in May.
The Jays' Manoah has been very sharp L7 and has given up just 1 run over 19 innings in his last three appearances. He pitched into the eighth, giving up 2 runs when he last faced the Mariners.
The Mariners have an excellent bullpen but they have given up more runs than expected lately, against sub-.500 teams. The Jays' pen is solid when called upon for a couple of innings but can struggle past that.
Manoah has been very impressive down the stretch, and gets the nod in game one. The Jays also have the edge on offense, and are a much better team when playing at home. Take the home team Jays to win game one.