Jays name Yesavage starter for Game 2 of ALCS

TORONTO — Blue Jays rookie Trey Yesavage will start Game 2 of the American League Championship Series on Monday, the team announced Sunday.

With the announcement, Yesagave addressed the media before Game 1 at Rogers Centre and began his news conference with an unprompted statement decrying the vitriol his loved ones have recently received on social media.

“I want to start off by saying something,” Yesavage said. “Living in this world where there’s so many different opinions and feelings, which results in a lot of hate, it’s sad to see that people close to me are being attacked for my performances on the field. These people have done nothing to warrant negativity for my actions, whether that’s my parents, my brothers, my girlfriend, family. It’s just really sad.”

Yesavage declined to elaborate on the situation. It’s the second time that a rookie starting pitcher has denounced social media attacks this postseason; Yankees right-hander Cam Schlittler said Red Sox fans “crossed the line” by attacking his family before his start against Boston in Game 3 of the wild-card series.

“I know I have the platform to address it, so I am,” Yesavage said. “I hope that people can realize that those individuals have nothing to do with what happens on the field or whatnot. If you have a problem, I’m a man; I can take whatever opinions anybody has about me or my life. So, I just wanted to get that out there.”

Game 2 will be Yesavage’s fifth career major league outing. His fourth was a historic performance against the Yankees in Game 2 of the AL Division Series, when he tossed 5⅓ no-hit innings with 11 strikeouts.

Mariners manager Dan Wilson said his team has not decided on a Game 2 starter, though Logan Gilbert is the likely choice. Seattle used Gilbert and fellow starter Luis Castillo in their 15-inning Game 5 win over the Tigers on Friday night. Gilbert threw 34 pitches over two innings after allowing a run in six innings in Game 3 on Tuesday.