Toronto Blue Jays media outraged by Brendon Little pitching decision

With the Blue Jays 2-1 and Cal Raleigh set to lead off the bottom of the 8th for the Seattle Mariners, the Blue Jay were six outs away from victory.

Their two best pitchers, Seranthony Dominguez and closer Jeff Hoffman were ready in the bullpen.

Out trots.... Brendon Little?

What happened next was infamous. Home run, walk, walk, hit-by-pitch, grand slam. Mariners win 6-2 and are one win away from their first ever trip to the World Series.

Almost immediately, criticism reigned down on Schneider.

Online, many fans re-ignited calls for his firing, while simultaneously saying Little should never pitch another game for the Blue Jays.

Over on the television side of things, analyst Joe Siddall went absolutely ballistic, incensed that Schneider thought too much about matchups and not about using his two pitchers in the moments.

These thoughts were echoed by on-field reporters Caleb Joseph and Kevin Pillar.

As Joseph stated, matchups are for earlier in the game, not in the eighth inning when you are up by a single run.

On X, Keegan Matheson was surprised, while former SportsNet personality Arash Madani remained dumbfounded.

Both were of the opinion that Dominguez was the better choice, while also making an argument to use Hoffman.

Little had been a trusted member of the bullpen virtually all year.

But his numbers post All-Star Break aren't great. 24 walks in 44 innings, and an ERA hovering near five, doesn't inspire much confidence.

That coupled with the fact that Raleigh has a 1000 OPS against lefties this season and its perplexing why Little was turned to in that situation at all.

Dominguez, as good as he has been isn't off the hook either. He entered the game, hit a batter then gave the grand slam to Eugenio Suarez.

While the Blue Jays' set-up man does better when he enters at the top of the frame, or clean inning, it is debatable what would have happened.

What won't be debatable however is this decision.

It's a curious one that could have wide-ranging ramifications. If the Blue Jays stave off elimination and manage to advance to the World Series, then all will be forgotten.

If however they fall short, many will point to the eighth inning in Friday's game as the turning point.