TORONTO – Jeff Hoffman walked to his locker in Toronto Blue Jays' where a group of reporters and cameras were waiting for him. He had an ice pack strapped to his right shoulder, and the closer asked for time to take it off and change before starting his postgame interview.
“I was literally frozen,” Hoffman said.
Given the hard work Hoffman put in Sunday night at the Rogers Center, a cryogenic freezer would have been a more appropriate aid in his recovery.
The right-hander put the exclamation point on the Blue Jays' 6-2 win. Seattle Mariners as a result, the American League Championship Series became a winner-take-all seventh game. Hoffman pitched the eighth and ninth innings hitless and scoreless, striking out four of the seven batters he faced. He was in dominant form, registering eight catches and throwing a season-high 35 passes, the most he has made in a game since June 2022.
“That was probably the best I've seen him,” said Blue Jays pitcher Louis Warland, who pitched 1.1 innings in relief of starter Trey Yesavage. “He really stepped up when the team needed him and made it happen.”
Hoffman entered the contest eighth to face the heart of the Mariners lineup – Cal Raleigh, Jorge Polanco and Josh Naylor. It was the same set of hitters that would appear in the eighth frame of Game 5 as the Blue Jays held a 2-1 lead at T-Mobile Park.
You know what happened then. Blue Jays manager John Schneider decided to use left-hander Brandon Little, who gave up a game-tying home run before walking two batters. Ceranthony Dominguez replaced him and ended up allowing a big hit to Eugenio Suarez, prompting Schneider to face a lot of criticism and questions about the decision not to use his closer.
After Sunday's win, Schneider was asked if the plan is always to use Hoffman for two innings if the Blue Jays are ahead.
“Yes,” Schneider replied.
Hoffman, with his dominant performance, helped soften some of the existing narratives about the manager's use of the bullpen. Critics' desire to bemoan the topic was lessened by the fact that Schneider got it right on Sunday.
“There are so many decisions made throughout the year, and of course if somebody doesn't get it right at the end of the year like they are now, everyone is going to have something to say,” Hoffman said. “But the reality is we have a team of 26 guys and every single one of them has contributed this year. And that's why decisions are made to use certain guys at certain times.
“It didn’t work,” Hoffman continued. “But there should have been more decisions made tonight and they should have worked. That's what happened.”
Schneider, for his part, claims that outside opinions don't bother him.
“I don't give a damn what people think of me, except in my club,” he said while sitting in front of a microphone during a pre-game media appearance. “I've talked about this a lot this year – I think you just have to be very prepared, very confident in your decision, trust the people around you who have helped get to this point. You make a decision, you move on. do go right.
“You realize you're in this position and you try to do what's right for the group.”
This group is currently on the cusp of something special, just one win away from their first World Series berth since 1993. Shane Bieber will take the ball for the Blue Jays against Mariners right-hander George Kirby in Monday's game at 8:08 p.m. ET. (Sportsnet, Sportsnet+).
Hoffman, who allowed one run on three hits over 6.1 innings with nine strikeouts in the postseason, said his arm feels “great” and that he will be ready for Game 7, adding that he expects the same from all of his teammates.
“If you don't, I don't know if you have a pulse,” Hoffman said. “That's why we do this. To have this opportunity, to do something special. I'm pretty sure everyone will be fighting to get on the field tomorrow.”
Said Schneider: “Yes, everyone is available tomorrow. Biebs is obviously a starter, so that takes him out of the equation in the bullpen, but every person who is active on our roster will be available to play tomorrow.”
