The latest:
- Game 4 of the American League Championship Series (ALCS) starts at 8:33 p.m. ET at Seattle’s T-Mobile Park.
- Max Scherzer gets his 1st start of the post-season for the Jays, while Luis Castillo takes the mound for the Mariners.
- The Jays walloped the Mariners 13-4 in Game 3, but Seattle still leads the ALCS 2-1.
The Blue Jays are looking to pull even with the Mariners in Game 4 of the American League Championship Series (ALCS) at Seattle’s T-Mobile Park on Thursday night.
Toronto claimed victory in Wednesday’s Game 3, giving the Jays their first win of the best-of-seven series, which Seattle leads 2-1.
The Mariners beat the Blue Jays in the first two games of the ALCS, as Toronto struggled to put runs on the board — with Seattle winning 3-1 in Sunday’s Game 1, and 10-3 in Monday’s Game 2.
But Toronto’s offensive fortunes changed dramatically in last night’s Game 3, when five Blue Jays — including Andrés Giménez, George Springer, Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Alejandro Kirk and Addison Barger — hit home runs and helped pummel the Mariners to a final score of 13-4.
Toronto starter Shane Bieber, meanwhile, pitched six full innings, striking out eight Mariners, and allowing just two runs to score while he was on the mound, including one homer.
The remaining two Seattle runs came in the eighth, when Toronto reliever Yariel Rodríguez gave up back-to-back solo home runs.
Scherzer’s big game experience
It’ll be up to veteran starter Max Scherzer to keep the Blue Jays on a winning path on Thursday night.
The 41-year-old Scherzer has pitched in big games before, amassing 143 innings of post-season action during his long MLB career, prior to Thursday’s Game 4.
But he has not pitched for the Blue Jays this post-season. Following a rough end to the regular season, Scherzer was left off the roster for the American League Division Series where Toronto eliminated the New York Yankees.
Kirk, the Blue Jays catcher, said he expected to see Scherzer bring the same “winning mentality” to Game 4 that he always brings when on the mound.
“I have seen that every day from him, so that’s what I expect from him,” Kirk told reporters ahead of the game, via an interpreter.
Santander out of starting lineup
Anthony Santander won’t be in the starting lineup for Toronto during Game 4, due to back stiffness.
Blue Jays manager John Schneider wasn’t sure whether Santander could be called upon to pinch hit if needed on Thursday night.
“We’ll see,” he told reporters ahead of the ballgame. “We’ll kind of see what he can or can’t do, in the next couple of hours, and go from there.”
The Blue Jays don’t want to lose Game 4, as that would turn Game 5 — and any potential game after that — into a must-win situation for Toronto.
Toronto intends to send Kevin Gausman, who started Game 1, back to the mound for Game 5 on Friday. Seattle will counter with Bryce Miller.
The winner of the ALCS will advance to the World Series, to play the winner of the parallel National League Championship Series — either the Milwaukee Brewers or the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Toronto is hoping to secure its first World Series berth in more than three decades, while Seattle is fighting to reach the Fall Classic for the first time ever.
As the Blue Jays and the Mariners play in the 2025 ALCS, we look at their chances with a Canadian Baseball Hall-of-Famer who needs BOTH hands for all his rings. Get the latest on CBCNews.ca, the CBC News App, and CBC News Network for breaking news and analysis.
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