The Toronto Blue Jays are just one win away from reaching the World Series and are turning to veteran Shane Bieber to get the job done.

After Trey Yesavage did his part yesterday to keep the Jays playoff hopes alive, Bieber returns to the mound to try and push the Jays into championship territory, the first time since Toronto went back to back in 1992 and 1993.

Bieber struggled in his lone ALDS outing against the Yankees ( 2 2/3 innings, five hits, two earned runs, and one walk), as he lost command of the strike zone early and built himself up to 54 pitches before the third inning was over. The right-hander did bounce back in Seattle, going six strong while allowing just two runs off of four hits and one walk while striking out eight. Bieber surrendered a two-run shot in the first inning and then kept the Mariners bats off balance the rest of the way before the Jays bullpen took over to close out the game, with Toronto winning a pivotal Game 3 matchup by a score of 13-4.

The Jays starter has yet to make a postseason start at the Rogers Centre, as the Jays used Bieber as the starter at the opposing stadium following Yesavage in both series. Looking back at the regular season, Bieber compiled a 3.27 ERA across four starts, posting a 2-1 record while allowing just eight runs across 22 innings of work. He allowed five home runs and got hit around a bit more at home compared to on the road (.777 OPS compared to .556 through 18 1/3 innings) but he did face some stronger clubs at the Rogers Centre (Milwaukee, Houston, Baltimore, and Tampa) compared to on the road (Miami, Cincinnati, and Kansas City).

Turning to Bieber is a fine move, because not only is he rested and ready to go, but his veteran presence and swing-and-miss aresenal will hopefully continue into this matchup against the Mariners. However, should Bieber struggle out of the gate early, manager John Schneieder should not hesitate to reach for a different arm.

The Jays have a relatively rested bullpen outside of a few arms that pitched last night, such as Louis Varland (22 pitches) and Jeff Hoffman (35 pitches) but Schneider mentioned earlier today that everybody is on the table tonight in this do-or-die situation.

Chris Bassitt and Eric Lauer can give the Jays some length, Braydon Fisher, Mason Fluharty and Seranthony Dominguez are rested, and Yariel Rodriguez and Brendon Little are around if the Jays pull ahead by a comfortable margin. Both Rodriguez and Little have struggled as of late in the postseason, and should not be the go-to arms compared to the others mentioned above. Fisher is also one arm that got hit around against Seattle, so he may not be high on the lsit as well.

Schneider also mentioned that Kevin Gausman and Max Scherzer are available as well, emphasizing the all-hands-on-deck approach with postseason hopes on the line. Again, avoiding using those two would be the ideal option, however, if needed, both arms can give the Jays some advantage points in short relief stints.

The best case scenario is Bieber gives the Blue Jays some length before turning things over to the bullpen, going five plus innings being a great starting point; anything more than that would be more to the benefit of the club. After that, using Varland in select spots (real short stints – think one or two outs to get out of the inning) and saving Fisher, Fluharty, and Dominguez for the more high leverage spots with a clean inning would be the best spot. Gausman and Scherzer would follow this plan as well, and although Hoffman is the Jays closer and should be arm to consieder for these moments, tossing a season high 35 pitches last night is tough to turnaround from to go out and do it again, even if the Rogers Centre crowd is on his side.

It would also benefit the Jays if the bats can get to George Kirby and the Mariners pitching staff early, giving some cushion for Schneider to give Bieber some wiggle room to work out of some tight spots early if the situation requires. However, that’s not guaranteed, even if the Jays got to Kirby last time they faced off, and this game has the potential to be a chess match between both managers by the end of the night, with intricate moves being made between both sides.

Bieber gets the nod tonight but if he struggles early, Schneider has to be willing to pull him and put in a new arm if the situation requires. There’s no wiggle room to try and let a pitcher settle in, and tough decisions may need to be made. That also requires the correct moves to be made when it comes to bringing in a new pitcher (see Game 5), and the top arms need to be used.