On Monday, Oct. 20, the Seattle Mariners and the Toronto Blue Jays faced off in the most coveted situation in all of sports: a Game seven. With elimination on the line, both teams were looking to break World Series absence streaks and make it to the Major League Baseball(MLB) World Series. The Mariners have never won a World Series pennant and had a chance to play for the trophy, while the Blue Jays haven’t been eligible to win a pennant in 32 years. With a lot on the line, here’s a look at what went into the game and series as a whole.
The Mariners, led by MVP Candidate Cal Raleigh (C), broke a 24-year streak of not making it to the American League Championship Series (ALCS). Raleigh is a very valuable batter for the Mariners. He led the MLB in home runs(HR) through the regular season with 60 HRs, was third in RBIs, and also won the HR Derby during MLB All-Star weekend. Loaded with talent, many believed this was the year to break the cold spell.
On the winning side, it was the Toronto Blue Jays time to shine. They were coming off a pivotal Game six win in the comfort of their own stadium, with a lot of momentum. However, until the seventh inning, the Blue Jays’ were trailing, and with a 3-1 lead, the Mariners were eight outs away from the Fall Classic.
One swing of the bat can change the course of the game for good, and no one knows that more than the Blue Jay, George Springer. Notorious for playoff heroics, Blue Jay fans sat eagerly hoping for some more magic from him. Down 3-1 in the bottom of the seventh inning, with two Mariners on base, Springer found the pitch he needed and belted a deep drive to left field, crossing the fence, and putting the Blue Jays up 4-3, and ultimately winning the game and the series for the Blue Jays. (In the playoffs, Springer has 23 HRs, nine of which were the go-ahead run, putting his name in the record books, tying Kyle Schwarber for 3rd most HRs.)
“I hate to use the word failure, but it’s a failure,” Mariners star Cal Raleigh said, “What we expected was to get to the World Series and win a World Series. That’s what the bar is and the standard is, and that’s what we want to hold ourselves accountable to.”
What ultimately went wrong for the Mariners? After two straight games of beautiful pitching, the bats were kept very quiet for the Blue Jays. But, as all elite teams do, they wake up and win a dominating 13-4 game three. “It definitely changed the momentum right there,” said Blue Jays first baseman Vladimir Guerrero Jr. “That’s what happens when you trust your teammates. You’ve got to trust everyone in that lineup. Everything changed in that dugout.”
The momentum shift was huge, but the Mariners still had confidence and had an early lead in the series. Game four was the same, an 8-2 win for the Blue Jays. Max Scherzer, a well-knownBlue Jays pitcher, gave fans a glimpse of what he was known for doing. A silencing 87 pitches that demoralized the Mariners’ offense, earning his first playoff win in six years. Eugenio Suarez led a huge game five comeback with a screaming grand slam in the eighth inning, after another HR by Cal Raleigh, overwhelming the Blue Jays, sending the Mariners fans home with an ALCS win, and ending the series to 3-2.
This was it. One win away, just 27 outs away from the first World Series appearance in Mariners history. Back to Toronto they went, and with two previous wins in the Rogers Centre, Mariners fans and players alike were confident as ever. Like a recurring pattern for the Blue Jays, they strike first and are up 2-0 after two innings. The Mariners stay scoreless, and Toronto tacks on two more runs, and the place is buzzing. These four runs prove to be all they need, never losing the lead in game six, and even adding two more.
This sends us to Game seven, where George Springer will ensure the history books remember his name forever, with a Blue Jays pennant in a comeback win. Before the game, Guerrero Jr was asked how ready he was before the critical win-or-go-home game. “I’m born ready. And I want it all for this city.” The first three words will echo throughout the streets of Toronto this week as the Blue Jays aim to bring a championship title to Toronto for the first time since 1993.
