The Blue Jays’ offense, which had been impressive enough against the New York Yankees, never got going against the Seattle Mariners on Sunday night. Technically, the Mariners should’ve been vulnerable given how this game fell only 40 hours after their 15-inning marathon win over the Detroit Tigers in Seattle. Yet, Toronto’s offense faltered, and by the end, Vladimir Guerrero Jr. served a hard dose of reality on behalf of the Jays’ batters.

He spoke with the media after losing Game 1 of the ALCS about what went wrong for the Blue Jays, and he didn’t hesitate while accepting, “We didn’t hit.”

Except for George Springer’s homer off Bryce Miller, the only hit the Blue Jays could record was a harmless single from Anthony Santander in the second inning. It marked the team’s fewest hits ever in a playoff game.

The Blue Jays, who hoped to capitalize on a tired Mariners squad, couldn’t find any rhythm at the plate. It’s the same offense that had belted out 34 runs across four games against the Yankees.

The Blue Jays struggled to make any noise against Mariners starter Bryce Miller. Right after George Springer’s leadoff homer, Miller, who is now arguably one of the most intimidating arms in Seattle’s rotation, completely silenced the Jays.

He gave up only one hit and no runs over the next six innings. He delivered a clutch performance for a bullpen that was gassed out. Even Vladdy himself fell short.

While it is said that Guerrero Jr. has an “AL East comfort loop,” Sunday night might have been that case on point. He went 0-for-4, which only reminded us of Vladdy’s general .822 OPS over .914 against AL East opponents.

Even the Blue Jays starter, Kevin Gausman, put his hands on his head and punched his glove in frustration after allowing the homer off of Cal Raleigh. And understandably so. Because the Blue Jays had lost their only lead of the game after retiring 15 straight batters.

While Guerrero Jr. accepted the offensive logjam, Gausman also admitted, “I thought I was pitching pretty well, and the last two guys I faced were a home run and a walk. So not too happy about that.” Apparently, for most of the night, Kevin Gausman had Rogers Centre wrapped around his finger. But then, with only one pull, it came undone.

Kevin Gausman did all he could to protect the Blue Jays from Game 1 defeat

The 34-year-old’s shutout ended after 5 2/3 dominant innings when the Big Dumper Cal Raleigh crushed a home run. And then, he walked Julio Rodríguez.

After that, Gausman was taken out of the game after throwing just 76 pitches. It reminded us of Game 1 of the ALDS when the Blue Jays pulled him after 75 pitches and 5 2/3 innings. This move seemed premeditated that time. However, it didn’t work on Sunday night.

When Brendon Little threw a wild pitch that let Rodríguez move to second base, he made another mistake—throwing a high fastball right over the plate. Ultimately, Jorge Polanco was able to smash it into left field and gave the Mariners another lead.

“I know Kevin had retired him twice and I get it. I totally get it and I think it’s a good thing to turn switch-hitters around at times, and I think it depends on who you’re bringing in and what they’ll be featuring, too. That’s what made sense in the moment.” Manager John Schiender explained after the game.

This marks the first time in October baseball that the Blue Jays are down. They hit their way through the ALDS. And only if they had carried even an ounce of that offensive firepower into Sunday night, we’d all rather be talking about a rock-solid outing from Gausman instead of talking about the Blue Jays’ offensive struggles.