TORONTO — Whit Merrifield has waited the better part of a decade to make his first appearance in a Major League Baseball playoff game.
Even before the opening pitch of the Toronto Blue Jays' 4-0 loss to the Seattle Mariners on Friday night, Merrifield felt he belonged. The second baseman went 1 for 3 in Game 1 of the best-of-three American League wild-card series.
"I felt comfortable. I felt really comfortable," said the 33-year-old Merrifield after the game. "Juices were going big-time. Especially early during the anthem, during the intros."
Merrifield played the first six seasons of his career with the Kansas City Royals, being named to the AL all-star team in 2019 and 2021. A career .285 hitter with 79 career home runs and 175 stolen bases, Merrifield can play multiple positions.
But despite his personal success, Kansas City never made the post-season while he was with the Royals.
The Blue Jays acquired Merrifield in a trade on Aug. 2, sending pitcher Max Castillo and second baseman Samad Taylor to Kansas City. Merrifield struggled at the plate when he arrived in Toronto, but stepped up when starting second baseman Santiago Espinal went down with a left oblique strain on Sept. 21.
Merrifield responded well to the promotion, batting .417 (20-for-48) with eight extra-base hits and 11 RBIs over the last 14 games of the regular season.
His bat stayed hot in Friday's playoff loss, flying out in the third inning, hitting a single to left field in the fifth, and popping out again in the eighth.
"After that first pitch, I kind of got in the rhythm of the game after my first at-bat," said Merrifield. "I really felt comfortable, and it was nice because I didn't know what to expect, but it was definitely nice."
Espinal came off the injured list on Friday morning when he was officially named to the Blue Jays 23-man roster for the wild-card series. Interim Blue Jays manager John Schneider hinted before the game that Espinal could start in Saturday's Game 2 with the left-handed Robbie Ray taking the mound for the Mariners.
Merrifield didn't comment on who would start at second for Toronto on Saturday, but he was focused on the Blue Jays drawing even in the best-of-three series.
"We have to put together some good at-bats," said Merrifield. "(Ray) is a good pitcher. It doesn't really matter what we've done in the past. It's about what we do tomorrow.
"We have to come out, have a good game plan, and put together some good at-bats, hit some balls hard, string some things together."
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 7, 2022.
John Chidley-Hill, The Canadian Press
