SEATTLE (AP) — The Seattle Mariners can’t seem to get their struggling bats back in a groove and end their freefall in the AL playoff picture.Toronto’s Marco Estrada became the latest to leave Seattle’s batters baffled http://www.astrosfanproshop.com/authentic-gerrit-cole-jersey , using his mix of offspeed pitches to take a no-hitter into the seventh inning of the Blue Jays‘ 5-1 win over the Mariners on Saturday night.Estrada (5-8) was masterful with his changeup, keeping the Mariners guessing all night. He didn’t give up a hit until Mitch Haniger’s one-out double just inside third base in the seventh inning. It was just Seattle’s second baserunner after Nelson Cruz walked leading off the second inning.Estrada was pulled after walking Ryon Healy to open the eighth inning, leaving to a standing ovation from the thousands of Toronto fans in attendance. Estrada struck out four and allowed one earned run when Healy scored on Chris Herrmann’s sacrifice fly.“The fans made it seem like a playoff game,” Estrada said. “It gave me a lot of energy and a lot of excitement and got the adrenaline going. When I walked off and got a great ovation, it was awesome.”Seattle has lost five straight and fallen 2 ½ games back of Oakland for the second AL wild card. The Mariners’ slumping offense looked even more meager against Estrada, who entered the day with a 4.90 ERA and had allowed four earned runs in four innings in his last start. Estrada also induced plenty of weak contact as Seattle struggled to make the adjustment between speeds.Ryan Tepera finished off the eighth and Ken Giles pitched the ninth in his second appearance since being acquired by the Blue Jays.“You’ve got to try to simplify things a little bit. That’s what we’ve got to get to. Instead of making it harder, make it a little simpler because what we’re doing right now is not working,” Seattle manager Scott Servais said.Seattle starter James Paxton (9-5) lost for the third time in his past four starts against the team he no-hit earlier this season in Toronto. The damage against Paxton came via two blows: Devon Travis’ two-run single in the third and Aledmys Diaz’s solo home run leading off the fifth.Travis has seven RBIs in the first three games of the series; he had seven RBIs the entire month of July.“If you’re not aggressive against (Paxton) it’s even tougher. We stayed aggressive tonight,” Travis said.Paxton was able to get through the seventh thanks to inning-ending double plays in the first, third and fifth innings, and another key double play in the seventh. He struck out seven and has allowed three earned runs or fewer in 14 of his last 17 starts.Paxton was unhappy with his curveball and it allowed the Blue Jays to look for mostly fastballs.“They knew I didn’t have my good breaking stuff tonight,” Paxton said. “Nothing was very sharp. The ball was kind of rolling into the zone. I think that allows them not to have to respect that pitch as much and they can cheat on the fastball.”BULLPEN BANTERToronto added two more runs off Seattle’s bullpen on Justin Smoak’s RBI single off Sam Tuivailala in the eighth and Brandon Drury’s double off James Pazos in the ninth. Toronto has scored 10 runs — seven earned — off Seattle’s bullpen in the first three games of the series.TRAINER’S ROOMMariners: 2B Dee Gordon was a late scratch from the lineup Saturday because of a sore ankle. Manager Scott Servais expects Gordon to play Sunday. … RHP Erasmo Ramirez will make one more rehab start Sunday for Triple-A Tacoma. Servais expects Ramirez to return to the active roster if all goes well. … Servais doesn’t know how long RHP Juan Nicasio, who was placed on the 10-day DL Friday, could be on the DL because of his knee situation. “Juan’s frustrated that it hasn’t felt good. He wants to make it right. I certainly think he can come back and impact this year down the stretch, but I don’t know.”UP NEXTBlue Jays: RHP Sam Gaviglio (2-4, 5.10) is expected to make his 15th start of the season Sunday afternoon. Gaviglio has lost four of his last five starts while allowing 19 earned runs over 20.1 innings for an 8.51 ERA over that span.Mariners: RHP Mike Leake (8-7, 4.16) is scheduled to make his 23rd start of the season Sunday afternoon. Leake is on pace to make at least 30 starts for the seventh consecutive season. He is one of only four pitchers who made at least 30 starts every season from 2012-17. The quartet of franchises remaining in the MLB postseason cruised into the league championship round.The Houston Astros, Boston Red Sox, Los Angeles Dodgers and Milwaukee Brewers lost a combined two games in the ALDS and NLDS to move one step closer to the World Series.Thanks to their dominant performances, each of the four teams enter the ALCS and NLCS with plenty of rest.The Dodgers and Brewers kick off the second round of the postseason Friday Hector Rondon Jersey , while Houston and Boston begin their series at Fenway Park Saturday night. MLB Playoff ScheduleFriday, October 12NLCS Game 1:Los Angeles at Milwaukee (8:09 p.m., FS1) Saturday, October 13NLCS Game 2:Los Angeles at Milwaukee (4:09 p.m., Fox)ALCS Game 1:Houston at Boston (8:09 p.m., TBS) Sunday, October 14ALCS Game 2:Houston at Boston (7:09 p.m., TBS) Monday, October 15NLCS Game 3:Milwaukee at Los Angeles (Time TBD. Fox or FS1) Tuesday, October 16NLCS Game 4:Milwaukee at Los Angeles (Time TBD, Fox or FS1)ALCS Game 3:Boston at Houston (Time TBD, TBS) Wednesday, October 17NLCS Game 5:Milwaukee at Los Angeles (Time TBD, Fox or FS1)ALCS Game 4:Boston at Houston (Time TBD, TBS) Thursday, October 18ALCS Game 5:Boston at Houston (Time TBD, TBS) Friday, October 19NLCS Game 6:Los Angeles at Milwaukee (Time TBD, Fox or FS1) Saturday, October 20NLCS Game 7:Los Angeles at Milwaukee (Time TBD Anthony Gose Jersey , Fox or FS1)ALCS Game 6:Houston at Boston (Time TBD, TBS) Sunday, October 21ALCS Game 7:Houston at Boston (Time TBD, TBS)Games can be live-streamed on Watch TBS and Fox Sports Go. Bracket PredictionsMilwaukee over Los Angeles in 6It's hard to pick against the Milwaukee Brewers with the way they've been hitting the baseball.The Brewers hit four home runs and scored 13 runs in their dominant NLDS victory over the Colorado Rockies.Christian Yelich continued to make an impact at the plate, as he hit one home run and drove in two runs, and he also scored four runs over three games.Ryan Braun, Mike Moustakas and unexpected offensive threat Erik Kratz recorded the most hits on the Milwaukee roster in the NLDS, and the well-rounded lineup is expected to thrive in the NLCS.Joe Mahoney/Associated PressWhile the lineup received plenty of praise yet again, it was the Milwaukee pitching staff that made the biggest difference in the NLDS, as it struck out 30 batters and gave up two earned runs, both of which were conceded by Jeremy Jeffress.The Dodgers, who are back in the NLCS for the third consecutive season, faced more of a challenge from the Atlanta Braves in the NLDS, but they overpowered the NL East champion with their bats in Game 4.The key for the Dodgers will be to keep the Brewers' lineup off balance in the first two games in order to steal a game on the road.Hyun-Jin Ryu and Clayton Kershaw combined for 15 scoreless innings in the first two games of the NLDS, but both of those contests were at Dodger Stadium.While the Dodgers appear to have the advantage in the rotation, the Brewers hold the edge in the bullpen thanks to the crew led by Josh Hader.No matter who is on the mound for either team, they're going to have to silence a collection of in-form hitters.Even though the Dodgers possess home-run hitters like Manny Machado and Max Muncy up and down their lineup, they're going to have to do damage against Milwaukee's starters to thrive in the series.Hader and Co. will be too tough to deal with out of the Milwaukee bullpen, and with the Brewers holding a close lead in Games 1 and 2, they'll be to shut the door on the Dodgers and create momentum in a tight series.Boston over Houston in 7The last defending World Series champion to make it back to the championship series a year later was the Philadelphia Phillies in 2008 and 2009.Houston is attempting to break the decade-long curse http://www.astrosfanproshop.com/authentic-jimmy-wynn-jersey , but it'll struggle to put away the Red Sox over the course of seven games.The pitching matchups alone are worth the price of admission, as Justin Verlander, Gerrit Cole, Dallas Keuchel, Chris Sale, David Price and Rick Porcello will be on display.Tim Warner/Getty ImagesWhile the majority of those pitchers mentioned above are expected to thrive in some capacity, Price is the biggest question mark on both rosters.Price once again struggled in a starting role in Game 2 of the ALDS against the New York Yankees, and he might be better suited in a relief role if he fails to produce a quality start in the front end of the ALCS.How each lineup adjusts to the quality of starters could be the ultimate difference maker, as the series should be decided by small margins.Houston had the better statistics in the ALDS, as it hit .327 as a team with eight home runs, while Boston posted a .279 average with four home runs.Despite the difference from the ALDS, the Red Sox will wake their bats up, with Mookie Betts and Andrew Benintendi both improving from the seven combined hits they recorded against the Yankees.Benefiting from the home-field advantage at Fenway Park in the first two games will provide a boost to Boston's power hitters, who won't slow down when they get to Minute Maid Park.Of course, you could make the same argument about Houston's home-run hitters throughout the series.Since the margins will be so tight, the Red Sox and Astros will go the distance with Sale outlasting Verlander in a Game 7 that will go down as a classic.Follow Joe on Twitter, JTansey90.Statistics obtained from Baseball Reference.
