TORONTO — Look, Dad: Game 7!
Vladimir Guerrero Jr. hit his sixth home run this postseason, rookie starting pitcher Trey Yesavage struck out seven batters in 5 2/3 innings, and the top-seeded Toronto Blue Jays pushed the American League Championship Series to the limit by beating the sloppy Seattle Mariners 6-2 on Sunday night at the Rogers Centre.
The AL pennant will be decided Monday night in Toronto, the second Game 7 in Blue Jays history. Toronto lost to the Kansas City Royals in that situation to close out the 1985 ALCS.
“Got to enjoy it, man. This is what we sign up for,” Blue Jays manager John Schneider said. “It’s special and unique, but you have to look at it as a game.”
For one famous baseball family, it will also be a first. Guerrero’s father, National Baseball Hall of Fame outfielder Vladimir Guerrero, never played in a postseason Game 7 during his 16-year MLB career from 1996 to 2011 that was spent with the Montreal Expos, Anaheim Angels, Texas Rangers and Baltimore Orioles.
“My dad was telling me, ‘Game 7 is give it all you have,'” the Toronto first baseman said.
The Blue Jays — who began playing in 1977, the same year as the Mariners — are seeking their World Series appearance, having won back-to-back trips in 1992-93. Second-seeded Seattle, the only current MLB team without a pennant, will play a Game 7 for the first time.
The winner faces the Los Angeles Dodgers — the reigning MLB champions — in the World Series. The Dodgers, who were seeded third in the National League playoffs, wrapped up their franchise’s 26th pennant by completing a sweep of the top-seeded Milwaukee Brewers this past Friday.
AL East champion Toronto went 94-68 in the regular season and so would have home-field advantage over NL West champion Los Angeles (93-69), meaning Rogers Centre would be the site of Game 1 of the World Series this Friday. However, the Dodgers would have home-field advantage over AL West champion Seattle (90-72), meaning Game 1 would be in Los Angeles, and the Mariners’ T-Mobile Park wouldn’t come into play until Game 3.
What’s certain is that there will be a Game 7 in the ALCS, and it’s Monday night in Toronto.
“Win or go home,” Mariners center fielder Julio Rodríguez said. “We’re going to lay everything out there.”
Addison Barger homered and drove in three early runs for the Blue Jays, who turned three double plays behind Yesavage — two of them to escape bases-loaded jams. That made Toronto the first team to induce consecutive bases-loaded, inning-ending double plays in an MLB postseason game, and only the fourth team to turn two in a single postseason game.
“I knew my defense had my back,” Yesavage said.
Toronto also took advantage of Seattle’s season-high three errors. By comparison, the Blue Jays have made four errors in 10 playoff games.
“Balls just kind of in and out of the glove there that put a couple extra guys on base,” Mariners manager Dan Wilson said. “Unfortunately, it led to a couple runs.”
Guerrero’s sixth career postseason homer — all this year — tied him with José Bautista and Joe Carter for the most in Blue Jays history.
“This is what you look for from one of the elite players in the game,” Schneider said.
Bautista threw out the ceremonial first pitch before the game.
Toronto had lost its previous four games when facing postseason elimination. That streak stretched to Game 5 of the 2016 ALCS against the Cleveland Indians and included wild-card round losses to the Tampa Bay Rays in 2020, the Mariners in 2022 and the Minnesota Twins in 2023.
Guerrero’s leadoff homer in the fifth made it 5-0 and chased Mariners starter Logan Gilbert. The 28-year-old right-hander allowed four earned runs and seven hits in four-plus innings.
“I thought he had a good fastball, especially early,” Wilson said. “His split was good at times. This is a tough lineup, and they did what they had to do to get the ball in play.”
Yesavage took a shutout into the sixth. He was charged with two runs and six hits, five of them singles. Five of his strikeouts came on his split-finger fastball, as did both double-play grounders with the bases loaded.
“I just believed in myself. I know my stuff plays at this level,” Yesavage said. “I know the defense behind me is going to play at the best of their abilities, and getting three double plays in back-to-back-to-back innings was huge.”
The 22-year-old right-hander threw a season-high 31 splitters. He got 10 swinging strikes on splitters and five more on sliders.
“He brings the energy,” Guerrero said. “He’s young. He wants to win so bad.”
Three of Yesavage’s six MLB starts have come in the playoffs. He has won twice this postseason after winning one of three outings during the regular season.
Toronto reliver Louis Varland got four outs, and Jeff Hoffman struck out four batters in two hitless innings to end it.
The Mariners used two walks and a single to load the bases against Yesavage in the third, but they were denied when slugging catcher Cal Raleigh grounded into a 3-6-1 double play started by Guerrero and completed by the pitcher covering first base. Raleigh’s first-pitch grounder came off his bat at 101 mph.
“Underappreciated, I think, is how Vlad can play really deep because of his arm,” Schneider said. “In that situation, too, you need some wiggle room for a guy that hits the ball really hard.”
Raleigh finished 0-for-4 with three strikeouts.
Seattle came up empty again after another bases-loaded opportunity in the fourth when J.P. Crawford grounded into a 4-6-3 double play. Designated hitter Jorge Polanco, who also went 0-for-4 in what was his third straight hitless game, tried to be positive.
“We never give up,” Polanco said. “We have another opportunity tomorrow.”
The Mariners broke through and chased Yesavage in the sixth. Josh Naylor’s solo shot was his third home run of the playoffs. Yesavage exited after Randy Arozarena’s base hit, and Eugenio Suárez greeted Varland with a bloop RBI single.
Toronto took advantage of fielding errors by Rodríguez in center field and Suárez at third base to score twice in the second inning, when Barger and Isiah Kiner-Falefa had RBI singles.
Ernie Clement hit a two-out triple off the left-field wall in the third and scored when Barger deliver his second homer of the postseason.
George Springer started at designated hitter for the Blue Jays and went 0-for-4 with a walk. He had exited in the seventh inning of Friday’s Game 5 loss in Seattle after he was hit on the right kneecap by a 95.6 mph pitch from Bryan Woo.
Guerrero was hit by a pitch from Seattle reliever Matt Brash in the seventh. Guerrero moved to second on Alejandro Kirk’s single and was advancing on a wild pitch when he scored on Raleigh’s throwing error.
Seattle was unable to capitalize on a chance to eliminate the Blue Jays after a thrilling 6-2 comeback win at home two nights earlier, when the Mariners trailed 2-1 before a five-run eighth inning that included a leadoff homer by Raleigh and a grand slam by Suárez.
“We had opportunities,” said Raleigh, who hit an MLB-best 60 homers in the regular season and has gone deep four times in the postseason, including three shots in the ALCS. “We thought we did a great job with our at-bats. We were able to get people on. It’s just one of those days where we couldn’t get the big run home. Give them credit. They kept us off the board.”
Toronto is expected to start right-hander Shane Bieber on Monday. He allowed two runs and four hits in six innings in Game 3 in Seattle, a 13-4 win for the Blue Jays that kept them from falling into a 3-0 series hole. He struck out eight batters and walked one as he bounced back from a poor outing against the New York Yankees in their AL Division Series.
Right-hander George Kirby will start for Seattle. He allowed eight runs and eight hits, including three homers, while lasting four innings in Game 3.