The Toronto Blue Jays triumphed over the Seattle Mariners, clinching a 4-3 victory in Game 7 of the ALCS, marking their first World Series entry since 1993. They will now compete against the Los Angeles Dodgers for the prestigious Commissioner’s Trophy.
During the decisive match, the Mariners held a 3-1 advantage until the seventh inning when George Springer delivered a crucial 3-run homer, propelling the Blue Jays into the lead. Seattle failed to get a single baserunner in the last two innings.
Springer’s home run was historic, as it became the first go-ahead homer in a Game 7 scenario where a team was trailing by multiple runs in the seventh inning or later.
The Blue Jays are now eyeing their third championship in franchise history. Meanwhile, the Dodgers, fresh off a sweep of the Milwaukee Brewers to clinch the National League title, aim to defend their title and secure their ninth championship.
Toronto will host the series opener against Shohei Ohtani and the Dodgers on Friday night, as Los Angeles seeks to become the first team in 25 years to win consecutive World Series titles.
The Blue Jays earned the right to host the first game by finishing the regular season with 94 wins, narrowly edging out the Dodgers by one victory.
David J. Phillip / AP
The Blue Jays will host Shohei Ohtani and the Dodgers in Friday night’s opener as Los Angeles tries to become the first repeat winner in a quarter century.
Toronto hosts the opener because it finished the regular season with 94 wins, one more than the Dodgers.
The Blue Jays were playing in a Game 7 for the first time since losing at home to Kansas City in the 1985 ALCS.
Toronto slugger Vladimir Guerrero Jr. arrived at the stadium wearing a Maple Leafs hockey jersey with Auston Matthews’ name and number. Fortunately for Guerrero, his team did not follow in Matthews’ footsteps, as the star forward is 0-6 in Game 7s with Toronto during his 10 seasons in the NHL.
Cal Raleigh and Julio Rodríguez each hit a solo home run for the Mariners in the team’s first Game 7 but Seattle failed to reach its first World Series, leaving the heartbroken Mariners as the only major league team without a pennant.
Addison Barger walked to begin the seventh and Isiah Kiner-Falefa followed with a single. Seattle right-hander Bryan Woo was removed after Andrés Giménez advanced the runners with a sacrifice bunt, and Springer greeted Eduard Bazardo with his fourth homer of this postseason, a 381-foot drive to left field that got the sellout crowd of 44,770 roaring.
The Dodgers, meanwhile, have overrun opponents during the postseason. Ohtani is starring at the plate and on the mound, a performance that would be deemed CGI if not witnessed by thousands in person.
“Sometimes you’ve got to check yourself and touch him to make sure he’s not just made of steel,” teammate Freddie Freeman said.
But before his three-homer at the plate and 10-strikeouts, six-scoreless innings mound show Friday night, Ohtani’s bat had been slumping.
He’s hitting .220 with five homers and nine RBIs in the postseason and is 2-0 with a 2.25 ERA in a pair of pitching starts, striking out 19 and walking four in 12 innings.
Los Angeles is the first defending champion to reach the World Series since the 2009 Philadelphia Phillies, who lost to the New York Yankees in six games. No team has won consecutive titles since the Yankees took three in a row from 1998-2000. The gap is the longest in baseball history, topping the previous high between the 1977-78 Yankees and the 1992-93 Blue Jays.
