In the bottom of the second in Game 2 of the wild-card series, Toronto Blue Jays pitching coach Pete Walker took a trip to the mound he never imagined making.
Just five outs into Hyun-Jin Ryu’s outing, the left-hander had allowed seven hits and three runs. He’d just issued Yandy Diaz a four-pitch walk -- something he’d done just once in 67 regular-season innings. His velocity was also down. His fastball had topped 90 mph just once in the ballgame. Ryu hadn’t just misplaced his best stuff, it was well and truly missing, and there were already two Tampa Bay Rays on the bases.