OverDrive - Phillips on the Yankees' Game 3 win, Toronto's costly errors and the Blue Jays' bullpen game

Episode Date: October 8, 2025

TSN Baseball Insider Steve Phillips joined OverDrive to discuss the headlines around the Yankees' win in Game 3 against the Blue Jays, the view on a bullpen start for the team, the team's errors in the game, the Blue Jays' approach to Game 4 and more.

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Here's Steve Phillips, our TSM Baseball Insider. How comfortable are you in the idea of it being an opener for the Jays tonight? Well, I'm not comfortable with it at all in the ideal scheme of things. But the Dodgers won a World Series last year with doing it. Now, you know, their relievers were a little different than what the Jays are running out there and the confidence level that we have in them running them out there right now. I'm a little surprised, honestly, that it's Yosevich available in the bullpen today instead of Gossmann. I personally would hold Yosevic to start game five and use Gossman today.

You know, Gossman for me, you know, pits ahead of Yosevich, so he's got an extra day of rest behind him. And so I know, yeah, he's not been pits out of the bullpen, so I make sure that if I use him, I bring him in the start an inning. but I would use Gossman today and the Savage on Friday. I personally think that Gossman, you know, Yosevic is going to be on full rest in game five. And Gossman's got the extra day of rest right now. So I think he's got a better chance to be effective out of the bullpen than Yosevitz. So I would have flip-flopped it and done it the other way around.

I would have started DeSovitz on game five and use Gossman today as some part of the options if they have a lead to go out there and pitch. I agree, but why not just start Gosman altogether tonight? Yeah, I mean, you could. I just think, you know, starters on short rest are just, you know, it's not a great formula for success. I mean, it just has not been, the numbers indicate that it's not a great plan of attack. And so, you know, I would sort of go with the plan of the opener and see how it goes.

And then if you get a lead after three or four innings, then I think, all right, now that I have a lead, I'm going to give myself my best chance to win this game. And then if not, then I won't burn Gosman in this game. I'll save him for the next one. So I would hedge my bet a little bit. But in doing so, I would make him the bulk guy or the second bulk guy. If Lauer is good and you've got to, you know, it gives your couple inning and you've got a lead, then I would go all in with Gosman to win this one.

And so, yeah, I think there's a, I mean, if you want, you could start him in this one. It's just it doesn't always vote all that well for success. but he still might be the better option than Varlane or Fisher or Brule facing Yankee hitters early in the game. So it's an interesting way of doing it, but I know this. Of the ways that you could do it, I wouldn't do it the way they are doing it. Steve, how do you break down the madness of last night? Like what sticks out for you, how that game ended up for the Js? It was crazy.

They started booting it around. Judge had his moment. what do you take away from the craziness? Yeah, so, you know, you can't give extra base runners, you can't give extra outs, especially to a lineup that has thunder in it. And, you know, the defense that has been, you know, part of the strength of the Jays, let them down. Kind of Falafas injury in the first inning

and then Stanton being able to drive in the unearned run. And then barger now, the other question I would have, And again, I think it's one that, you know, I've talked to a lot of people about it because I've asked this question is, should you, when you have a 6-1 lead, make decisions offensively based or defensively based, that if I have a 6-1 lead, do I at that point want to keep adding runs, which I do, but do I make that a priority or do I make run prevention a priority? Because, you know, when they pinch it barger for kind of falafi, I know kind of falaf, I know

kind of Philepha made an error. He's still a better defender than Barger. And when you then pinch it, Barger, I think it's second or the third inning. They pinch it for kind of Phlepa. You then move Clement's second and you put Barger in at third. Now, Barger is not a stiff at third base, but their

best defensive alignment was kind of fluff at second, Clement at third, and Jimenez is it short. Maybe you don't pinch it right there until you might have to pinch it if offense becomes more important and let defense leave the way because Clement catches the pop-up. He does. He catches the pop-up. Now, David Schneider

should have been, you know, called off Barger on the pop-up down the line. Priority should have been the left fielder, but he didn't take charge on it. He let Barger who called it, but doesn't matter, you call him off. The other one is I still don't understand why Springer's the DH and Santander is the outfielder. Me neither. It just doesn't make any sense to be, And even the ball that got hit by Bellinger out there, I think Springer catches that ball. And so, you know, I don't know. I mean, part of it is I guess maybe they think that Santander needs to get into the game by playing defense and it'll help his offense. He is taking better swings.

But it did cost him some with him being in the outfield instead of Springer. Yeah, I don't know that about it, Steve. I mean, O'Dag liking Santander out there to a co-ed softball player who just had nine beers. He looked helpless, did he not? he looks like Stanton playing the outfield you know i mean that's you know they avoid that for the yankees as much as they can you know they only did it when judge couldn't throw from the outfield but i don't know any circumstances with springer's limitations why that would be the case

uh to do it and you know he hasn't played a lot this year to begin with uh and he sluggish he just doesn't move all that great and so yeah so it's hard to know you know i don't unless there's in look whenever something it doesn't make sense, and it seems kind of obvious. I think there's something that I don't know about why they're doing what they're doing, which could be injury-based or help-based or whatever.

Maybe Springer's playing through some leg things and some back things, and they're trying to protect them. With Steve Phillips, our TSM baseball insider game for tonight, Jay's Yankees. So look into the future for us here, Steve. For the Blue Jays to win tonight, how does it play out? How does it happen? What do they have to do?

early lead margin for error where the pitchers have the confidence to throw it over the plate they keep tacking on runs lower needs to be fantastic and and give them four or maybe five innings and you've got to get it to sir anthony dominguez and hoffman at the end without having to go through a lot of the middle relief and the guys who threw yesterday You've got to try to find some length from Lauer, I'm assuming, or Yosevich, to get you there. But, you know, you've got to avoid the, you know, the five or six reliever performance game on a day that it's a bullpen day. What about Schlittler, Steve? How confident are you that he backs it up?

Hayes was talking about, you know, he's still a kid, he's a rookie, they shouldn't be too intimidated by this guy. He did have an outstanding performance against the socks, but how confident are you that he backs it up or brings something? similar. Yeah, so he's not going to strike out 12 Blue Jays. And, you know, that's the other thing is he had a great start. There's no question. It was a bit of a perfect storm with the lineup for the Red Sox. But I think that, you know, we're talking about a lineup that takes the pitches out of the zone. When you come in the zone, they make you pay a price for it. They're locked in a bit. And so I do think now, you know, Fernando Cruz has split, got some of the guys fooled some. yesterday. And the split seems to be the pitch de jure where everybody is getting swings and misses on that split finger fastball. But yeah, I think that

they could do some damage on Slittler. I don't think we're looking at an eight- inning shutout. I don't think he's that guy. I like Yosevic better than I like Schlittler. And I think that that, you know, so I do think that, you know, but Schlitler, listen, he's

a good young pitcher and he's got the 100 mile power fastball in addition to the split but a split's not as good as a seven and his release point's not and he's young and so you know he's not pissed all that great this year against

Jay so I think they've got a shot against them but I don't think that you know they're going to win a three to two game they need to score some runs yeah it feels like it's just going to be a shoot out again tonight man like it's just going to be one of those nights multiple home runs on both

and maybe whoever gets to like 8 or 10 tonight is going to win the game. But it's been fun so far, and the beauty of it is, we get to see how it plays out tonight. Always great catching up with you, Steve. Enjoy the games. We'll do it again soon. All right, you got it, guys. In Detroit, just tied it up on Seattle. Seattle was up 3-0 in Detroit now 3-3 with runners on first and third, two outs in the fifth.

Love it. Mama Phillips will be happy about that. All right. Yes. Love hearing that. Thanks, Steve. Steve Phillips, our TSM Baseball Insider. Introducing Brian Adams Radio on IHard Radio. Hosted by Brian Adams himself.

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