Blue Jays beat Mariners and force Game 7 for World Series berth
In another big night for Trey Yesavege, the Blue Jays took advantage of the Mariners’ mistakes to tie the American League Championship Series at 3-3.
The city of Toronto once again rallied around its Blue Jays. On the field, the team responded in front of 44,764 fans, defeating the Mariners 6–2 to tie the American League Championship Series at 3–3. With the win, the series now heads to a decisive Game 7 on Monday, where the winner will advance to the World Series to face the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Game 6 was another chance for Trey Yesavage to show why he’s become one of Toronto’s most reliable arms despite his youth and limited experience. The 22-year-old right-hander retired the first six batters he faced, striking out Cal Raleigh, Josh Naylor, Randy Arozarena, and Eugenio Suárez in dominant fashion.
Mistakes are costly—especially at this stage of the postseason. To open the second inning, Daulton Varsho singled to right, but Julio Rodríguez mishandled the ball, allowing Varsho to reach second. Ernie Clement then hit what should’ve been a routine grounder to third, but Suárez threw the ball away, putting runners on first and second.
Addison Barger made Seattle pay. With the score still 0–0, he punished Logan Gilbert with a deep single to right field, driving in Varsho and sending Rogers Centre into a frenzy. The rally continued when Isiah Kiner-Falefa grounded out to short, bringing home Clement to make it 2–0 Toronto.
Gilbert was struggling and had recorded just one out. The order turned over, and George Springer drew a walk to load the bases. After striking out Nathan Lukes, Gilbert faced Vladimir Guerrero Jr., who grounded to third—this time handled cleanly by Suárez—for the inning-ending force out.
Seattle responded in the third. Yesavage loaded the bases on walks to J.P. Crawford and Rodríguez, and a double by Leo Rivas. In one of the night’s tensest moments, Cal Raleigh grounded sharply to shortstop to start a booming double play—one of the loudest Rogers Centre has heard in a long time. Yesavage covered first to complete it, letting out the tension that had built throughout the inning.
That double play proved to be a momentum-changer. In the bottom half, with two outs, Clement tripled to left and came close to clearing the wall. Addison Barger didn’t miss his chance—after seeing two straight sliders from Gilbert, he crushed the second one into the center-field seats. The Jays led 4–0, and the ballpark was electric.
The Mariners had another golden opportunity in the fourth when Yesavage again loaded the bases with one out, but just like the previous inning, he escaped with another double play.
In the fifth, with one out, Rodríguez hit a grounder to short that turned into Yesavage’s third double play in as many innings. The rookie had escaped jams in three straight frames using the same weapon.
Building on that momentum, Vladimir Guerrero Jr. opened the bottom of the fifth with a solo shot to left off a hanging curveball from Gilbert. The blast was Guerrero’s sixth of the postseason, tying the franchise record held by José Bautista and Joe Carter.
Seattle finally got on the board in the sixth when Josh Naylor launched a homer into the second deck, their first run of the game. Naylor, a Toronto native, pointed proudly to family and friends in the stands near the visitors’ dugout as he rounded the bases.
After Randy Arozarena singled, John Schneider made the move to the bullpen. Yesavage left to a standing ovation, having allowed six hits, two runs, and three walks while striking out seven. His 22 strikeouts this postseason set a new franchise record, surpassing Dave Stieb’s 14 from 1981.
In the seventh, Matt Brash hit Guerrero Jr. with a pitch, and Alejandro Kirk followed with a single. A wild pitch allowed Guerrero to advance, and when Cal Raleigh’s throw to third got past Suárez, ‘Vladdy’ raced home to make it 6–2—returning the pain of that hit-by-pitch right where it hurt most: the scoreboard.
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With a four-run cushion, Jeff Hoffman came on to record the final six outs, securing the win and forcing a Game 7 on Monday night at Rogers Centre. The winner will move on to face the Los Angeles Dodgers in the World Series.
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