John Schneider’s 'optimism' tested as Blue Jays stare down 0-2 deficit in ALCS

Things have changed dramatically since the ALDS, and now, it's the Toronto Blue Jays who are facing a 0-2 deficit in the ALCS. Their chances are better than the New York Yankees' were in the previous stage, but Toronto will still need a lot of optimism to keep its World Series hopes alive.

They were two tough losses for the Blue Jays to swallow. They were leading Game 1 with a 1-0 score until the sixth inning, but they couldn't back up starter Kevin Gausman offensively. The right-hander pitched five scoreless innings, but in the sixth, he allowed a solo home run to Mariners catcher Cal Raleigh that played a large role in the outcome of the game.

In the second game, the Blue Jays fared much worse. Rookie Trey Yesavage couldn't match, or even come close to, the level he showed in Game 2 of the ALDS against the Yankees, allowing five earned runs and striking out only four Mariners. Still, the Blue Jays kept the game tied until the fifth inning, but then, Seattle put the pedal to the metal and went on to win, 10–3.

Optimism is the watchword in Toronto, and the first to set the example was manager John Schneider.

"Always going to have optimism about this team," he told reporters after Game 2. "I think just looking at it as a whole, we got to figure out ways to generate some more offense, you know, and give the guys a ton of credit for coming back, you know, down three, you tie it. They just made more swings than us last two games, kind of what it comes down to. So we got to figure out a way to limit damage, one, and two, generate more offense."