Deep Left Field with Mike Wilner

By Toronto StarSports Baseball

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64 min
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Deep Left Field with Mike Wilner episodes

October 14, 2025 It's bleak. But as bleak as it is, the Jays have overcome the odds before
Guest: Blue Jays outfielder Nathan Lukes All appears to be pretty bleak in Blue Jays land as they head north and west to Seattle trailing the best-of-seven American League Championship Series two games to none. The complete offensive collapse against the Mariners was wholly unexpected, especially given that the Jays had scored 34 runs over their four-game ALDS win against the New York Yankees and Seattle seemed ripe for the picking, coming off an exhausting and emotional 15-inning winner-take-all Game 5 in their ALDS against the Detroit Tigers. That game finished less than 72 hours before the M's put the finishing touches on their 10-3 Thanksgiving blowout of the Blue Jays. But as bleak as it is, the Jays seem to have overcome the odds time and time again this year and Deep Left Field will continue to be with them every step of the way. In today's playoff bonus episode, we speak to Nathan Lukes, who had 50% of the Jays' hits in Monday's loss, including RBI singles in both the first and second innings. The Jays only had one hit after the second inning - a Lukes single, his third hit of the game. Lukes was playing with a badly bruised right knee after fouling a ball off himself in Game 1. And, of course, we open the mailbag at [email protected] to hear your thoughts on the loss, some clinging to optimism, some resigned to defeat, some utterly off the wall.
32 min
October 13, 2025 After losing Game 1, Trey Yesavage starts Game 2 for the Blue Jays vs. Mariners
Guest: Blue Jays reliever Mason Fluharty The first ALCS to open up in Toronto since 1992 began the same way the last one did - with a Blue Jays loss. The Jays got a leadoff home run from George Springer and then just one more hit the rest of the night and fell to the travel- and extra-inning-weary Seattle Mariners 3-1. Mason Fluharty got two huge outs in the top of the eighth, striking out Josh Naylor and Eugenio Suarez to escape Seranthony Dominguez' jam and give the bats a chance to come back. They didn't. The rookie lefty joins us from a very quiet Jays' clubhouse to talk about his playoff experience so far. And, of course, we dip into the mailbag at [email protected] to hear what you have to say!
40 min
October 12, 2025 Game Day! Blue Jays Kevin Gausman vs. the Mariner's Bryce Miller in Game 1 of the ALCS
Guests: Chris Bassitt and Davis Schneider The American League Championship Series begins tonight and for the first time since 1993, it's opening up in Toronto. The Blue Jays are getting set to take on their expansion cousins, the Seattle Mariners, with the well-rested Kevin Gausman facing off against Bryce Miller, who will be pitching on three days' rest. We're joined by Chris Bassitt, who talks about the sacrifices he made during the season that wound up costing him in September and October, but how missing playoff series doesn't matter to him as long as the Jays keep winning. Davis Schneider stops by as well, to tell us about getting a hit in his first playoff at-bat ever, at Rogers Centre in Game 2 of the ALDS, and in his first playoff at-bat at Yankee Stadium two days later. Plus, as always, we open up the mailbag at [email protected] - keep those cards and letters coming!
47 min
October 11, 2025 How do the Mariners and Blue Jays match up for the ALCS?
Guests: Toronto Star baseball columnist Gregor Chisholm, Kim's Convenience/The Mandalorian's Paul Sun-Hyung Lee It took a while, but the Toronto Blue Jays have an opponent in the American League Championship Series that begins Sunday night at Rogers Centre. The Seattle Mariners beat the Detroit Tigers 3-2 in the decisive Game 5 of their American League Division Series, but it took them an all-time record (for a winner-take-all game) 15 innings to do it, which is certainly good news for the Jays, who were home and likely in bed watching things finish up just after 1:00 a.m. Eastern time. We discuss the Jays-Mariners ALCS match-up with Gregor Chisholm and Paul Sun-Hyung Lee, looking at how the short rest – and using three starting pitchers Friday night – might affect the M's as they try to get to the World Series for the first time in franchise history. For the Jays, it would be their first trip to the Fall Classic since 1993. Will Cal Raleigh be Seattle's version of Aaron Judge? Will the Mariners have anything left after an exhausting, emotional series with the Detroit Tigers, especially after having to win 17 of 18 down the stretch just to win their division? What did the Jays prove to the baseball world with their win over the New York Yankees in their ALDS? These questions and more will be answered, or at least will attempt to be answered, on this playoff bonus episode of Deep Left Field! You can be part of the next episode by sending your questions and comments to the mailbag at [email protected].
27 min
October 09, 2025 'The Yankees lose' (aka the Blue Jays win and are going to the American League Championship Series)
The Blue Jays are going to the American League Championship Series! The Jays shrugged off their ugly loss to the New York Yankees in Tuesday's Game 3 and did all the things that got them to this point on Wednesday - great defence, timely hitting, making their opponents pay for mistakes - and combined that with an outstanding performance from eight relievers to knock the Yankees out of the post-season, guaranteeing that they won't defend their American League pennant. Of the four teams that went into their games Wednesday with a chance to advance to the next round, the Jays are the only one that managed to do it. They're in the League Championship Series - one of the last four teams standing - for the first time since 2016 and only the third time since 1993. They'll face either the Detroit Tigers in the first-ever 401 series or the Seattle Mariners in the first-ever ALCS battle between 1977 expansion cousins. On this latest playoff bonus episode of Deep Left Field, we go over the Game 4 win, what went right and what could have gone wrong, and we open up the mailbag at [email protected] for your comments and questions! Audio sources: Fox and Sportsnet
1 hr 4 min
October 08, 2025 No sleep til Brooklyn behind them for Blue Jays fans
The Blue Jays quite literally kicked away their chance to sweep the Yankees in the American League division series, uncharacteristic errors and shoddy fielding giving New York the opportunity to overcome a five-run deficit and roar back to win the game and keep their playoff hopes alive for at least one more day. We'll go through the gory details for you on this special playoff bonus episode of Deep Left Field: -Did Shane Bieber get taken out of the game too soon? -What happened on that pop-up that Addison Barger missed to open the floodgates? -Should Anthony Santander be in the lineup and, if so, should he be playing the outfield? As well, and as always during the post-season, we open the mailbag at [email protected] to go through your questions and comments, including whether it would be wise for the Jays to use Kevin Gausman in Game 4, how they'll work a bullpen game, when will Bo Bichette come back and what's up with Chris Bassitt and Max Scherzer?
44 min
October 06, 2025 'It's something I've never felt before.' Yesavage energized by 44,000 fans as he dominated the Yankees
Guests: Blue Jays pitcher Kevin Gausman, infielder Isiah Kiner-Falefa

Two games into their post-season, the Blue Jays are doing things that have never been done before – not just by them, but by anyone.

No team had ever scored 23 runs in the first two games of a post-season until the Jays did it in taking a two games to none stranglehold on their best-of-five American League Division Series with the New York Yankees.

No pitcher had ever struck out 11 batters while allowing no hits over the first five innings of a playoff game until Trey Yesavage did it on Sunday – less than three weeks after making his major-league debut!

We hear from Yesavage and Jays manager John Schneider from the post-game podium, then talk to Kevin Gausman and Isiah Kiner-Falefa about what they saw from the 22-year-old on Sunday. And we open up the [email protected] mailbag, as well!
48 min
October 05, 2025 Breaking down the Blue Jays' Game 1 blowout of the Yankees, plus a playoff mailbag
On this playoff bonus episode of Deep Left Field, we go over the Blue Jays' blowout of the New York Yankees in Game 1 of their ALDS on Saturday, the Jays' first post-season win in nine years and one that snapped a seven-game playoff losing streak. Many demons were slayed, especially by Vladimir Guerrero Jr., who doubled his career playoff hit total and tripled his career playoff RBI total in a game that also included his first-ever post-season home run. Also, we open up the mailbag to talk playoff roster, pitching rotation, the crowd, the vibes, the white-panel hats and more!
31 min
October 03, 2025 We look at the Jays ALDS matchup against the New York Yankees, plus we discuss the Blue Jays season with a special superfan and we open up the mailbag
Guest: RUSH frontman and Blue Jays fanatic Geddy Lee

The Blue Jays are on the eve of their American League division series against the New York Yankees, which begins Saturday afternoon. We talk to the Jays' most famous fan, the lead singer, bassist and keyboardist from the legendary Canadian rock band Rush, who also happens to be a massive baseball geek.

Geddy Lee shares his thoughts on the Blue Jays' worst-to-first season, how much fun he's had watching the team and how large a part of their success all the unsung heroes have been.

We also look at the ALDS match-up with the Yankees and open up the mailbag at [email protected]!
20 min
October 02, 2025 We reveal the Jays' 2025 MVP, Rookie of the Year and other end-of-season award winners
Guests: 2025 Blue Jays MVP, Rookie of the Year and Unsung Hero

We don't want to spoil the surprise for you, so as the Jays' American League division series draws ever closer, check out this episode of Deep Left Field to find out who the players, coaches and other uniformed personnel voted as their end-of-season award winners.

We're joined by the MVP, who got 45 of 53 votes cast, Rookie of the Year, who got 48, and Unsung Hero, who ran away with an award for which 14 different players received votes, truly symbolizing this year's Blue Jays, for which there seemed to be a different hero every night.

As we continue with our far-more-frequent-than-usual episodes through the post-season, remember that the Deep Left Field mailbag is always open. If you want to get your comment or question onto the show, send an email to [email protected]!
27 min

About Deep Left Field with Mike Wilner

From the publisher's feed

Longtime Toronto Blue Jays radio voice Mike Wilner hosts Deep Left Field, a baseball podcast from the Toronto Star. With great baseball coverage, opinion and analysis, Deep Left Field has everything…