Game On! Blue Jays rally to force do-or-die Game 7 vs Mariners in MLB playoff series

The Toronto Blue Jays used power hitting and opportunistic defense to beat the Seattle Mariners 6-2 on Sunday, forcing a decisive Game 7 in their American League Championship Series. Addison Barger and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. each homered, while rookie pitcher Trey Yesavage, making just his sixth major league start, allowed only one run over five and two-thirds innings, striking out seven and inducing three consecutive inning-ending double plays - two of them with the bases loaded.


Toronto, despite losing the first two games of the series at Rogers Centre, boasts the best regular-season home record in the American League and now has an opportunity to clinch the series on its home turf. The victory tied the series at 3-3, setting up a Game 7 in Toronto on Monday. The winner will face defending World Series champion Los Angeles Dodgers starting Friday.


"Yesavage comes every day and gives it all he has," Guerrero said. "It’s amazing playing defense behind him. He brings energy, he’s young, and he wants to win so badly."


Toronto, seeking its first World Series appearance since back-to-back titles in 1992 and 1993, capitalized on three Seattle errors, two in the second inning, to take an early 2-0 lead. The Blue Jays added to their advantage in the third: Ernie Clement tripled off the left-field wall, and Barger followed with a 403-foot home run to right-center off Mariners starter Logan Gilbert, making it 4-0.


Yesavage’s dominant performance continued through the fifth inning, keeping Seattle scoreless. Guerrero then led off the bottom of the frame with his sixth playoff home run, pushing the Jays ahead 5-0. Seattle broke through in the sixth when Josh Naylor hit a two-out homer off Yesavage. Randy Arozarena followed with a single, and Eugenio Suarez’s right-line hit scored Arozarena, cutting the deficit to 5-2.


Toronto added an insurance run in the seventh. Guerrero, hit by a pitch, advanced on Alejandro Kirk’s single and scored on Cal Raleigh’s throwing error after a wild pitch.