"Instead, their Fall Classic opponent came storming back in Game 7 of the American League Championship Series. With a 4-3 defeat of the Seattle Mariners in a winner-take-all classic on Monday night, the Toronto Blue Jays won their first AL pennant in 32 years - and will have home-field advantage in the World Series against the Dodgers, with the Fall Classic set to begin north of the border at the end of this week."
"The Blue Jays had one of the best offenses in the majors this year, ranking fourth in scoring, first in batting average and third in OPS. The way they did it: By being the best lineup in baseball against off-speed and breaking pitches. Against non-fastballs this season, no team in MLB had a higher average (.258), a better slugging percentage (.423) or a lower whiff rate (25.8%) than Toronto."
"The next closest team in average against non-fastballs was the Kansas City Royals, and were 16 points behind the Blue Jays in that category. It could pose a challenge for a Dodgers staff that has leaned heavily on secondary stuff this postseason (throwing non-fastballs more than 50% of the time) and features a rotation of pitchers with premium breaking stuff (from Blake Snell's changeup to Yoshinobu Yamamoto's splitter to Tyler Glasnow 's slider/curveball combination)."
The Toronto Blue Jays secured the American League pennant with a 4-3 Game 7 victory over the Seattle Mariners and will host the World Series against the Los Angeles Dodgers. The Blue Jays reached their first World Series since 1993 and earned home-field advantage. The offense ranked fourth in scoring, first in batting average and third in OPS. Toronto led MLB against non-fastballs with a .258 average, .423 slugging percentage and a 25.8% whiff rate. The lineup hit .272 with a .431 slugging percentage against fastballs. The Dodgers have relied on secondary pitches this postseason and field a rotation rich in breaking offerings.
Read at Los Angeles Times
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