Seattle Mariners vs Toronto Blue Jays | Full Game | MLB playoffs 2025 Semi-finals | Game 1
Picture is worth a thousand words. The Mariners are going to play for the American League Championship. A moment frozen in time. Touch them all, Joe. You’ll never hit a bigger home run in your life. Etched in baseball folklore. Goodbye Jun strikes again. The time is now to leave a mark that’ll never fade. Seattle to the American League Championship Series for the first time in 24 years. It’s game one of the American League Championship Series on Fox. Channing Tatum getting us ready for first pitch. You can check out his new movie, Roofman, only in theaters as we bring you back inside the Rogers Center. Just about set for first pitch down to the field. Here’s Ken Rosenthal. Thanks, Joe. Few knew it at the time, but a launching pad for the Blue Jays season occurred in early April when Vladimir Guerrero Jr. agreed to a 14-year, $500 million extension. At that point, any talk of Guerrero possibly leaving as a free agent at the end of the season stopped. Manager John Schneider said it freed up the team, knowing management’s clear intention was to win. And win is exactly what the Jays have done with Guerrero dominating the division series, going 9 for 17 with three homers and nine RBI’s. His longtime teammate Bob Bashette is out and remains out with a left knee strain. But Vlad Jr. is here and here to stay. Now over to Tom Verduchi. Well, thanks Ken. Only Babe Ruth and Roger Maris have hit 60 home runs and played in the World Series in the same season. If Cal Raleigh is going to be the third, he’s going to have to win at least one game here at Rogers Center, which happens to be one of his favorite places in North America. In 13 games, he has eight home runs here and the highest slugging percentage in the ballpark’s history. He also has three home runs against Kevin Gosman. No wonder that the scouting report on how to pitch to Raleigh from manager John Schneider to the Blue Jays sounds like pitching to Babe Ruth. Just try to keep him in the ballpark. Joe. All right, Kenny and Tom and just about ready for first pitch. Couldn’t find him there for a second. They turned the lights on. That’s good. He got the roof closed. Dark inside. Take a look at today’s same game. Partly available now on FanDuel. Need Randy Rose Arena to get a hit. Kerali led the American League with 125 knocked in during the regular season and Vlad Jr. had nine during the division series. Blue Jays have taken the field and this place is roaring as Kevin Gosman gets ready to start this game in his 13th season in the big leagues. The 34y old set the tone in that division series. He cruised through the first five innings against the Yankees and finished off just a run over five and two/3 getting the win. Yeah, one of the best games he’s probably ever pitched when you think about executing and facing a team five times. He’s a striketh thrower, throws a lot of strikes, and of course, signature pitch is going to be that split finger to a team that is outstanding against the first pitch in Seattle. Gosman only gives up a 250 batting average on the first pitch, so he’s going to be attacking the zone, and I would imagine Seattle’s going to be aggressive. Well, speaking of Seattle, let’s take a look at the lineup that he’ll face off with in game one. And there’s Randy Rosena set to lead things off. Kalei bats second. And then Julio Rodriguez in center field hitting third. Jorge Palanco the hero in game five on Friday night as the cleanup man in second baseman. Josh Aaylor and Aino Suarez both came over at the deadline from Arizona with Dominic Kenzone bhaging. Victor Olay in right field and JP Crawford scored the winning run in the 15th inning. And yeah, 15 innings, five hard-fought games. As you take a look at the umpire in crew with Ryan Additin behind the plate, you got the Mariners running on adrenaline here trying to come here and survive at least one of these two games. Yeah, it is definitely adrenaline cuz you know they’re drained and they’re excited about being and playing still baseball. But the first five innings are going to be huge. If the lead and the score for the Seattle Mariners is well in play, that adrenaline will carry them through nine innings. If it doesn’t, it wears off quick. So look for a fast start for Seattle. And you know, Gossman’s trying to prevent that. Trying to get the Blue Jays to the World Series for the first time in 32 years. The Mariners are in the championship series for the first time in 24 years. They are four wins away from their first trip ever to the Fall Classic. High energy guy at the plate. I would think he is swinging first pitch and it’ll be interesting to see if Gossman gives him a first pitch fast. Here it is. to Randy Rosena. Off we go in the American League Championship Series with a fast ball away onto Rosena who went just 4 for 23 in the division series. They got to get him going and if they do it wouldn’t be one bit surprising. Not at all. He lives lives for these moments in the postseason and he is one of their emotional players in their lineup. Two balls and no strikes. this lineup job deep and powerful, but with that often his streakiness. They hit a lot of home runs, but for the most part quiet in that division series. Yeah, they need to control the strike zone, which Toronto does extremely well. And a good start here for Seattle when Gauzeman basically probably took about two innings to throw three balls against the Yankees. It seemed like he was so pinpoint. Little extra rest. He’s going to be a little strong. That fastball command sets up his split finger fastball which seems to me everybody swings that. Finds the zone. It’s three and one. Four years with the Blue Jays. Only Framber Valdez has won more games and pitched more innings than Kevin Gosman over his four years since coming here. 13th year total in the big leagues. to the ace of the Jays whose 3-1 pitch to a Rosenas is fouled off and it’s full. See, that’s what makes him so tough. Even behind the count, his fast ball is going to play at 9596. The height of it is going to be huge because when he starts throwing that split finger fast, hitters have to guess right away if that’s a fast ball they can hold and swing or if it’s a split out of his own. fouled off. Rose Arena is in the championship series for the first time since one of the greatest postseason runs ever in 2020 when he hit 10 home runs in 20 games for Tampa Bay. leading things off for Seattle. And bouncing the ball towards the middle, Ernie Clement behind second for the first part of this Blue Jays defense, it’s been one of the best in baseball this year. They’ve got a gold glover up the middle and Dalton Vo flanked by Santandere and Lucas. And while Blue Jays lose the bat of Bobette at short, they get the glove of Andre Simenez, who’s a three-time goal glover. So an upgrade defensively at short with Kmet making that first play at second and Alejandro Kirk one of the top defensive catchers in the game. So here is Cal Raleigh 60 home runs during the regular season. There’s been a lot more of that in the postseason. He showed that he’s not all home runs. He hit 380 in the division series and that John is his seventh single of these playoffs. Yeah. And again, I expect a lot of this out of the Seattle Mariners against Gauzeman if they can command the first pitch and get some traffic on. Force Gossman changed his approach and throw more splits. Be interesting to see how many fast balls they’re able to hit tonight against Gauzeman. So, as Thomas telling us, Raleigh has owned Kevin Gau. Kevin just happy to keep him in the ballpark right there as he spins the slider into Julio Rodriguez. And again, when you’re facing a as aggressive team as Seattle is, if you make quality pitches, you’re going to get quick outs. But if you don’t, you’re going to have traffic on and trying to pitch your way out of jams. On an 01, Rodriguez climbs a ladder and follows it back. As aggressive as they come and as dynamic and talented as they come, when he’s right, he had the game-winning double in game two against the Tigers, but he’s over his last 14 with seven Ks. Haven’t seen the splitter yet. And I actually like that when you can go through the lineup early and not show them a ton of splits and get through it, that’d be a great bonus for the pitcher. Here’s the O2. There was a splitter. And our player profile sponsored by Liberty Mutual. Julio Rodriguez in his fourth season in the major leagues. And he’s had a trend going here. This is not just this year, but really every season. Slow starts in the second half though as good as anybody in baseball and they needed it in the second half. They took off winning 17 of 18 in September at one point. That’s a line drive. Bit to right center field. Marshall’s over to cut it off. Ronnie heads for third. Seattle’s got him cornered in the first inning. That is when he is at his best using the whole field. Rodriguez snaps the 0 for14 with a base hit here in the first. tried to go fast ball up and they threw it center cut middle of the belt and that’s just going to be too good of a pitch with two strikes and Seattle needs a fast start. When you talk about a 15 inning game, a long trip delays getting in trying to get your bearings, you really can play off the emotion of adrenaline as long as you have the lead and are swinging the bat. Good chance for the Mariners in this first inning. First and third for Jorge Palano. bounces one left side. Raleigh set it home. Burgger throw is there. The tag from Kirk and he’s out. Addison Barger throws home and they cut down Cal Raleigh. Well, the only player you couldn’t hit it to that softy and not get a play at the plate. When you’re at third base, you’re reading the ball to see if that’s a ball that they can turn for two or you force the action at home. And he was forcing the action at home. Really close though. I’m surprised they didn’t you take a look at this. Paul of course beat him, but Kirk playing by the rules and making sure he’s not blocking the play. There was a bit of a lane there. I don’t know, John. Yeah, that heel. Whether or not the heel got down before the tag seems like worth it. You get two challenges in the postseason. Seems like it’d be one worth taking a look at. Instead, two gone. They don’t challenge. And Josh Naylor comes up. I think he’s safe. It’s close. It really is. You’re right. Dan Wilson in his first season as the manager, first full season, decides to play out two and 0 on Josh Naylor. Seems like every time something good happens for the Mariners lately, this guy’s in the middle of it. Yeah, he sure is. I mean, he has uh putting the ball in play and key moments in the postseason and just coming up with big plays, whether it’s with his legs stealing bases or hits or defensive plays. Two on, two out. Naylor lifts on off the end of the bat to center field. Paro coming on. Puts it away. A missed opportunity for the Mariners. Kevin Gman gets out of it with some help from his defense. Jay’s come to bat when you come back. Is sponsored by Google Cloud, the official AI partner of MLB. Catch the game like never before with Google Cloud AI. just to get in here. 500 bucks for the nosebleleeds to watch these Blue Jays and this offensive machine as George Springer gets ready to lead things off. Rest of the lineup looks like this. Lucas and Vlad Jr. Addison Bargers the cleanup man followed by Alejandro Kirk and Daltton Vo. Ernie Clement nine out of his last 11 with Anthony Santon there in left field and Andre Simenez shooting nine. Bryce Miller for the Mariners started game four of the division series on Wednesday. So, this is short rest, but he’s the only guy as far as the starters go that didn’t pitch on Friday. So, by default, he gets the ball in game one. Yeah. And the biggest thing is he’s trying to control the tempo, and he’s going to turn it over to the bullpen for a lot of guys. And there’s the breakdown. He has a lot of ways to get you out, but be careful with the fast ball up. And when he gets two strikes, he’s got to turn him into better outs than he has on the year. Facing the top hitting team in baseball, which showed every bit of that in the division series. On the first pitch, George Springer lights the fire. New series, same story for this Blue Jays offense. One pitch in, it’s one to nothing. Yeah, that jacket, if it gets a lot of use, it’s going to travel and it’s going to travel beyond this series. Springer hit a three-run homer earlier in the year on a fast ball to left field. This time, he hits a fast ball to right field. And now Nathan takes a strike. They scored 34 runs in the four games against the Yankees. And yes, they collected the hits. Yes, they hit with runners in scoring position. But their power went to another level from what we had seen in the regular season. That’s 10 home runs in four plus games. This one’s a little bit of a shock to your system. When you’re a starting pitcher on the first pitch, you give up a homer. It’s like a quick wakeup call. It’s not one you anticipate. Miller to Lucas with a one-1. A swing and a miss on that high fast. Now Miller does have that split finger that he will use. Maybe not to the same degree that Gosman relies on it. Gosman basically a three- pitch pitcher. And you saw how many pitches that Bryce Miller can throw at you. splitter that he added last year, part of a breakout season for him. Season ago, he was top 10 in the majors with a 298 erra, but he’s dealt with an elbow issue all season. Even when he’s been on the mound, it’s not quite felt right. And has had the biggest increase in erra of anybody in the majors from 298 last year to 568 this year. A lot more like the old version of Bryce Miller against the Tigers last week, though. There is that splitter. Mentioned that he added it last year. Came up with a grip by watching video of his opposing starter tonight, Kevin Gauman, and how he grips his 27year-old from Texas to Lucas with a 2-2. the fast balls up to 97 mph but too much in the middle of the plate. This guy loves fast balls 95 or greater. I mean he almost at 600 on those pitches in this month. So this month he’s seeing the fast ball pretty well. I was expecting off speed here and it was it’s pop back and out of play. this lineup, the best contact lineup in baseball, and nobody makes more of it than Nathan Lucas, who in a lot of ways embodies this Blue Jays team. Yeah, they’ve got the stars, but it’s these guys at the fringes of the roster from pretty much off of the radar to have career years this year. Lucas is right at the top of that list on another 2-2. Fouls it again. And there’s no easy outs and that’s what they do. I mean, and when he has more than five pitches in an at bat, again, in this month where he’s done damage, his on base plus slugging’s through the roof. I mean, the more pitches he sees, the better he’s gotten in the last 16 or so games. Here’s the ninth pitch and it’s taken in the dirt for ball three. Well, if you’re just tuning in and watching the Blue Jays for the first time this year, this is them. Yep. the thunder to begin and then the guys will grind you after the leadoff home run. This is a 10 pitch at bat to Nathan Lucas. Nightmare facing this order. Miller is 3-2. Lucas wants another but off himself this time. Hope he’s okay. Oh man, that hurts. Golly. And there’s the home run. little bit outer third and that’s why he hit it to right field with such power. I’m telling you right now though, Lucas, if he can stay in this game, it would be amazing. He hit that ball so hard. I think it’s off of his back knee. The pitch on this one again is is outer third. So that’s a little bit of a shock to your pitching mind when you go, it wasn’t that bad of a pitch. I’m just trying to figure out which knee it was. Maybe it was the front knee, but this thing is smoked. Yeah, the front knee and the top of the knee. For a minute, I thought it was his back knee, but it’s at full extension. Well, given how hard Nathan Lucas had to work just to get here to the major leagues, you figure you’re going to have to drag him off for him to come out of the game. This is a guy who spent 10 years in the minor leagues, cut loose by Cleveland, cut loose by Tampa Bay, considered quitting. 31 years old, and he’s getting his first real chance in the major leagues this year. Now, Vlad Jr. looms on deck and we take a look at Fox Foresight powered by Google Cloud. But he’s leading the major leagues this postseason with nine knocked in. Doug’s giving him 38% chance to make it 10 tonight. Doug foul powers these real time insights. The crowd’s giving Lucas a hand cuz he’s saying, “I ain’t coming out, man.” Man, you know that hurts. Golly. It goes back in there for what would be the 11th pitch as Bryce Miller looks for the putaway pitch. Now Miller cruised against the Tigers. Four scoreless innings to begin. Faces one more than the minimum before ran into some trouble in the fifth and got pulled and the bullpen blew it from there. But already more adversity than he faced in that whole start. Lucas on one good leg, fouls it again. And the marathon continues. And it would be so tempting to just drop this curveball back foot, meaning he’s already shy on pitches inside that he fouled off his knee. If he had a breaking ball that goes to the back foot, he’d be a little tentative in swinging on that pitch. Ball takes ball four. Wow. And so he can take his time on that bad leg getting down there to first. And here comes Vlad Jr. was as if Guerrero in that division series put it on himself and said it’s going to be different this time. His first at bat homer and he carried a lot. I mean, he’s carried a lot since he got here and the hope and the expectations, but specifically into this postseason. The Jays were 0 and6 in his career in the playoffs, and he hadn’t hit very well in those games. He took all that stuff into game one and said, “It’s going to be okay. Ball went. How you pitching this guy?” Well, right now, I mean, don’t watch the film of the last series, that’s for sure. Watch the film of the last two weeks and maybe you’d feel good about pitching to him, but you got to m mix and match in zones. He does not have one way of hitting. He’s not just a pull hitter on the line to center field right at Rodriguez. And that is how Bryce Smiller gets the first out of the ball game. And that’s what’s going to happen. You know what? In this game when you’re pitching, you got to get some loud outs. You got to get some hard hit balls at people. That’s the only way against this team to create a little bit of confidence because if you have a long at bat like we just saw or you’re not controlling the zone and you’re behind in the count, the Toronto Blue Jays are going to have their way with you. Edison Barger who started this season in the minors now finds himself in the championship series hitting cleanup coming off a three hit game in the clincher against New York. Seattle native. He was born in Seattle. Spent his early years in Belleview, Washington. Is naturally right-handed. He only hits left-handed because he wanted to be more like his favorite player, Ichiro. That’s where the leg kick comes in too. Two and0. Lucas at first, one away. Two pitch ball and away ball three. And again, you don’t have a full tank from Bryce Miller who’s on short rest. Figure a couple times through the order and a pitching staff that dug deep in game five. Seattle trying to find a way pitching the strength, but how much do they have in the tank after what they went through in the division series? They’re just so good with runners on and runners in scoring position, they get even better. And that’s what they’re trying to do. Their pressure and what they’re trying to create against the other team is their ability to put the ball in play. You can’t defend them one way. You can’t get a lot of swings and misses. On his 3-1, Barger takes ball four. Second walk of this first inning issued by Miller. They’re the best team in the American League at home this season. 54 and 27. Yeah, they showed it during the division series against the Yankees. Scored 23 runs in those two games. Hit eight home runs. And you can feel it in here. I They feed off of this crowd. Even when they fall behind, they feel like they have a shot. They’re among the leaders in comeback wins. Among the many ways that uh this series is intriguing, John, it may be two of the best environments in baseball headto-head between here and back in Seattle. For sure, especially with this roof being closed here. This crowd here is man, they are something. So, two on and one out. Alejandro Kirk, lovable catcher of these Blue Jays, the unofficial captain of the team. Came to life the final couple days of the regular season. Kept it going with two home runs in the division series. Bryce Miller kind of bullied him a couple times with fast balls and then the second time tried to do the same thing and he goes top of the zone double off of him earlier this year. You’ve got to try to get him to ground the ball right to the infield. Try to get a double play and the best way to do that is off speed. Something he has to reach for. It is the best high fast hitter in the majors. Running the bank on the Springer home run. This curve taken in the dirt for ball one. Lucas is second. Barger at first. Kirk fouls it off and it’s one and one. 26-year-old in his fourth full season in the major leagues, 5’8, 245 lbs. He said, “My whole life other players have looked better than me, but then I let my bat do the talking.” And he certainly does. He uh electrifying player when he swings the bat. manager John Schneider, who was a catcher in the Miners, got to see Alejandro Kirk right after they had signed him and he said, “Well, okay, first of all, this guy’s not very impressive looking.” But then everything you watch him do baseball-wise, more and more impressed. Yeah, the bat’s awesome, but he said to him what stood out most was the defense. The hands as impressive as he had ever seen on a young catcher. Yeah. His ability to catch, defend, and hit. Don’t be fooled. Right on this two-1 pitch it foul. Two and two. One of the best two strike hitters in baseball. Up and down this lineup. You find guys like that. It’s just got to be so exhausting to face this guy. Well, it is. And and and not to mention, you’re a little exhausted cuz you’re coming back on short rest and you’re trying to find a way to impose your will on the mount and it’s very difficult unless you are pinpointing your fast ball and you’re getting them reaching cuz they don’t expand the zone. And I don’t think people understand in the game of baseball, this is not the norm. Swing and miss is the norm. Homer’s the norm. Fly to center field. Palano is out. Rodriguez is on. It’s Palanco for number two. Just so happens two of the four teams that are doing it better than anybody, Milwaukee and Toronto, are here for a reason cuz collectively they put the ball in play more than the other team. You know that it was a big series from the whole team when you can hit 438 and have five extra base hits and nobody’s even talking about it. Very a monster series and it gets lost in the shuffle. He’s got him at first and second. One away and shots one to center field. Rodriguez will drift back and make the catch to end the inning. They started the division series with a first unit home run from Vlad Jr. They start the championship series with a first pitch home run from George Springer. Those powder blues. We welcome it back to game one of the championship series. Auhaneo Suarez leads off for the Mariners. Kevin Gauzeman pitched around traffic in that first inning. Put up a zero and get strike one on Suarez who hit 49 home runs this season. One of those came against Gauman back before the trade back when he was with Arizona. Well, the Mariners really did survive that first inning. When you think about a leadoff home run and then traffic on the bases, but they do have the ability to keep this game close. They’re going to need it because of the multiple pitchers that they’re going to be using. And you would think more conventional for the Blue Jays with their starting pitcher rested looking to go deep. This is the one game where it’s going to be a clear advantage for the Blue Jays as far as the starting pitching. Here’s a fly ball to left center field that Santandere will put away for the first out of the second inning. These Mariners division champs for the first time in almost a quarter century. They doubled down in the improved offense getting Naylor and Suarez at the deadline. Both from Arizona. They were four games back having lost the first four games in September, but then they win 17 of 18, capping it with a sweep of the Astros and they’re in the championship series for the first time since 2001 and looking to go to the World Series for the first time. Two hungry fan bases with all the waiting. Dominic Kenzone swings and misses at a splitter. You had that hanging over the tension, the pitchto pitch tension on Friday night in that ballpark. That wasn’t just a game five. It was all the history. Starving fan base feeling every pitch from their feet. There’s that man right there, Jorge Palano, who ended it in the background. And it was the man in the foreground that scored it. The winning run in the 15th inning. I wasn’t sure if anybody was going to score the winning run in that game. It was on and on. 22 on can zone checked his swing. And that’s what they’re going to have to do if they can control the split finger fast at the bottom of the zone. You hear people always say, “Make him get it up. Make him get it up.” Well, what that means is you’re looking up for a pitch and if it’s a fast ball, you attack it. If the pitch starts down, you think it’s going to be a split. You lay off of it. He’ll get a lot of fast balls down called strike threes. Oh, good take right there. But see, you’re trying to recognize spin. The hard part about recognizing spin, this is a tumbler. This is a ball that goes away from a left-handed hitter. And you see the split finger grip. You got to recognize that immediately. And the Yankees had a hard time recognizing. That’s how good Gossman was against the New York Yankees. Yeah, Yankees run over against and he turns it up with a fast ball to the knees. That’s where he’s going to get the call strikeouts because the ball’s down and you train yourself to think, all right, make him get it up. Well, that ball carries because it’s a fast ball and he might think, okay, split down, that’s a ball. And that’s where the Mariners are going to be caught tonight. If he lands that pitch, it’s hard to beat Kevin Gosler. He’s got his first strike out of the game after he got his first career postseason win in that game we’re talking about against the Yankees. Here he comes to Victor Rob outside for ball one. Was the ninth game that he pitched in in the postseason. You know, recent memory heartbreaking. He faced these Mariners in the wildard round in 2022 and in game two took a no hitter into the fifth inning. Had a 9 to1 lead going into the sixth. But one of the all-time meltdowns, one of the all-time great postseason comebacks as the Mariners came back and stole that game from Gossman and the Blue Jays 10 to9 a strike on Ro was in the postseason for the first time since he was a rookie stud on that Nationals World Championship team in 2019. After a stressful first inning, Kevin Gosman looking for one, two, three, second. He’s got it with some help from Ryan Additton giving him the call on the outside corner. I am T-Mobile. The best network in the game is now the best network in America. It’s one to nothing Toronto here in game one. A leadoff home run from George Springer. Bottom of the order comes up against Bryce Miller. Ernie Clement, one of the guys that best embodies this worst to first Blue Jays team. He was let go by multiple teams, signed a minor league contract. He refuses to strike out, plays great defense all over, and nine for his last 11. Yeah, he he caught fire as did most of the team. Pops this one up. Kalei is under it for the first hour. Raleigh caught all 15 innings of that game five guy to the pitching staff through 472 total pitches on one side or the other. And Ken Wilson went in saying all hands on deck and it certainly was that. They had three starting pitchers used in the game. Brought Logan Gilbert out of the bullpen. He threw 34 pitches. Luis Castile finished it off. Couple of those guys went into Dan Wilson’s office. In fact, all of them, all the starters went into his office the day before. And I’m picturing like a Rudy moment. Go in there and tell him, “I’m available. I’ll pitch tomorrow.” Santandere bangs a base hit to right and it gets by Victor Ro Sant. The Mariners not a good defensive team. Although Roé, one of the guys that they normally count on, just plays this one casually and it scoots by him. Well, it was hit so hard. top spin. He tries to block it, but it clanks off his glove. He’s got the card in his mouth and looking at the card probably way too close to the pitch being delivered. So, he had no options. And there’s that ball that bounces higher off the heel. That’s a single with an air. And up comes Andre Jimenez. So, as the guys are telling us, no boette in this championship series. The hope was that he would be ready to go. But Josh Schneider saying it came right down to it yesterday and that if there was any hesitation, they didn’t want to risk it. Didn’t want to risk a long-term worse injury for him, that he really feels for him not being able to play in this game. Well, they look ahead to trying to get to the World Series to get Bette involved. For now, it’s Jimenez who pops out to second. So to bring up George Springer again who’ll come up with a good hand after his leadoff shot. It was George’s 21st career postseason home run. Moves him past Derek Jeter on the alltime list after a home run on a fast ball. Starts him with a slider. Springer was the one guy down the stretch that they could count on because the offense collectively struggled through September and then in the division series they did it without much from him. Ground ball left side. Crawford’s got it. That’s the inning. Two in the books in Toronto. Blue Jays with a one- nothing lead. Wilson, Mariners manager, kind enough to join us. Bryce Miller down one- nothing after one pitch, but left a couple of runners out there in scoring position. What do you see from his stuff on short rest? Yeah, I thought he did a really nice job there in the first inning getting behind there one- nothing, but then able to really kind of slam the door there in that first inning. They could have gotten more, but slam the door and and uh got us going again and uh you know, a a good job by him there. You pressured Kevin Gosman in the first inning, then he went to a split. What do you see first time through on the approach? Yeah, uh no doubt he’s going to use his secondaries, he’s going to use that split, no question. and and uh you know we just got to find the ones that he makes a mistake with and and be able to get take advantage of those. Thanks Dan. Thanks JP Crawford grounds to second for the first shot of the third. Well Dan Wilson had took over last August for Scott Service. He’d spent the previous decade splitting time as a roving catching coordinator and a broadcaster for the team. a player. He’s a legend back in the glory days of the Mariners with four playoff trips in seven seasons. Under Lup Panella, glory days of Mariners baseball, the white knuckler of a game on Friday night. He said he thought back to a conversation he had as a young player with Sparky Henderson where Sparky said, “Hey, the biggest key in baseball is you can’t get too high and you can’t get too low.” That game on Friday attests that he’s thinking about Sparky as he managed it and managed it beautifully. Second look at Gossman for his Mariners here. Rosena takes a strike. That pitch right there is underrated. It’s a breaking ball that he will get a lot of free strikes over because they’re trying to stay off of the split finger and it’s not the biggest breaking pitch and it’s not probably the most dynamic, but it works for him because it goes away from a righthander. Everything else goes in. He only threw four of them in the division series against the Yankees. He’s already thrown eight in this one. The one-two pitch popped him up right side. Vlad Jr. two up. And so they face Raleigh with the bases empty. And our home run profile is sponsored by Budweiser. I swear every time I check for an update on K Raleigh this year, he was breaking somebody else’s record. 60 of them this year, just two shy the American League record. It was the most ever by a Mariner. He broke Griffy’s record, most ever by a catcher, breaking Salvador Perez’s record. The most by a switch hitter, breaking Mickey Mantel’s record. There have been four guys who have hit 60 home runs in the American League. Babe Ruth, Roger Maris, Aaron Judge, and the dumper. The dumper who’s singled his first time. The 01 from God takes ball two back to back ball one back to back splitters there. He does an incredible job on fast balls and really when he’s his timing throughout the year has been he’s so quick to fast balls up and obviously the power the 1-1 Raleigh smashes it down the line foul one and two here’s the full list of guys that have been hit 60 in a season who’s Cal Raleigh joins that list. He goes from one of the top catchers in baseball the last few years, but flying under the radar a little bit to you cannot deny him with his 60 home runs, hitting that milestone, forcing the baseball world to pay full attention and forcing his way into the MVP conversation right there with Judge two. Well, this is what he’s done in the past. I know he’s got some home runs and they were earlier in his career. Um, but he throws the fast ball away to set up that splitter, right? He’s got to get their eyes looking out there. See how far away that pitch is, but you’ve got to be so aware of that pitch that now he can sneak a fast ball every once in a while by a hitter after a few of those. Kate on two two chases a spinner for strike three. Two of the first three got hits against Gossman, but he’s sat down eight in a row. Two, three, and four coming up for the Jays. That means Vlad Jr. on the other side of this break. Welcome back to the 2025 American League Championship Series on Fox presented by Lone Depot on a holiday weekend here in Toronto. Tomorrow is Canadian Thanksgiving. One- nothing Blue Jays in front as Nathan Lucas fouls off the first pitch from Bryce Miller. This a baseball town right now. I know it’s a hockey town, but they’re moving hockey games around to coordinate around the baseball game. Blue Jays are all the rage. Well, if that truly was a foul ball, it still stands. 17 swings, only one swing and miss so far out of the Blue Jays. Those are the things you got to look for. Obviously, when you’re opposing them on the mound, you’re just trying to get outs. And if you get a swing and miss, it’s a bonus. Lucas, a guy that racked up a lot of those foul balls his first time, earned a walk on 12 pitches after fouling one of them off his knee. And it looked like most people would have left the game at that point. He was in so much pain. Tough like a hockey player. They appreciate that here. Flighted into shadow left feet out of Rosarena. Chugs on and makes the catch for the first out of the third. Play the Fox Super 6 MLB Playoff Challenge. Download the Fox Sports app right now and enter for free for a shot to win your share of $10,000 in cash prizes. See the Fox Sports app for details. Here’s Vlad Jr. Scalded one 107 miles per hour his first time, but it was right at the center fielder Rodriguez. Another first pitch. He loves the first pitch. Good pitch there down. And if you make those kind of pitches and a guy is committed to swing at the pitch, that’s a ground ball. And that’s the kind of pitches that Gosman has been making to why there’s really no hard contact for the most part off of him. sinker to the splitter and it’s 0 and two on Vlad Jr. who has only struck out once in this postseason showing the baseball world that he’s much more than just a power hitter. This is a well-rounded hitter first 02. He lays off. He got to face his dad. I say got to face his dad. had to face his dad, the Hall of Famer Vladimir Guerrero, many times. Yeah, he definitely uh boy, he loved to hit and he could hit every pitch in every quadrant. Didn’t matter where it was. Watching his boy and their team go crazy in this ballpark in this postseason. On the ground to short for JP Crawford. Two gone in this third. So Bryce Miller settling in here after three of the first four reached. Gave up the leadoff home run. shock to the system, but on a day where they’re going to squeeze everything they can out of him, pitching on short rest for the first time, he’s done well. Yeah, he has. And again, from series to series, because there’s a couple days off, you never know what those hot hitters are going to do. You hope they cool off a little bit. If you’re Bryce Miller and you’re looking at film or maybe not looking at film and I think for the same can be true for the Seattle Mariners, they had to come in here by the seat of their pants. Barger on the ground to first. Naylor to the bag and beats him. That’s a 1, two, three, third inning. First clean inning of the day for Miller. Three, four, and five coming up for the Mariners. Julio Rodriguez leads off. Your team, your players, your postseason. Follow all the postseason action. Download the MLB app, the number one app for live baseball. One to nothing on a George Springer home run. There is a new right fielder for the Blue Jays. Mile Straw replaces Nathan Lucas who again followed his ball followed that ball off his knee and stays in for a couple innings but ultimately leaves here. So Straw replaces him. Yeah, there’s strike one on Julio Rodriguez. It’s amazing that he stayed in as long as he did after this. Yeah, I just had a bad feeling that that was going to be hard to stay in the game and he put a pad and tried his best he could to kind of stay in this game. But man, oh man, you hit something that hard off your knee. Two pitches, two swings, and it’s 0 and two on Rodriguez, who singled his first time. The Mariners had a chance in that first inning. Had first and third and one out, but Raleigh was cut down at home and they didn’t score. Yeah, that was a big first inning in a lot of ways. They didn’t score and then the first pitch the Blue Jays scored, but give Bryce Miller to go lay off short three. Give him a lot of credit. He’s in there uh maybe for another inning or two. So, he got away with a couple breaking balls and that’s the breaking ball. That is a good one. But then here’s the one he got away with up. And then this is just a really good splitter. Merid is now 0 for four against that pitch. And for Gossman has not given up a hit on the splitter in his two starts in this postseason. That’s outside and a ball on Palano. I mean that is just so hard to to fathom that you could have that many splitters. Now granted they’re not swinging at every one of them but to not hang one and somebody get a hit on it is really impressive. 2 and 0 career making pitch form and a copycat league. More and more guys have been throwing that pitch. We’re talking about it during the division series, but it is the individual pitch type that gives up the least amount of damage and this time year it’s all about that especially facing the lineup like this. Limit the damage. Throws another split and it’s followed off. For more on that pitch down to Kenny. Well, Joe, this could be a problem for the Mariners because they are not a team that hits the splitfingered fastball particularly well. Regular season, they ranked 21st with a 200 batting average against the split, 19 with a 315 slugging percentage. And tomorrow, they face another split doctor, Trey Savage. Down the line into the glove of Guerrero off of bounds who takes it himself. Well, this this guy has impressed. You know, he’s a third baseman. If you haven’t followed his career, he was a third baseman. They’ve moved to first and looks like he was always meant to be a first baseman after the work he’s put in. Of course, they love his bat. He’s won a gold glove at first base. has made a diving play in the division series. Seen him sprinting around the bases. Two up, two down in the fourth. Josh Naylor takes outside ball one. Flight out his first time. Naylor from not too far from here in Missaga outside of Toronto. First round draft pick out of Canada. That’s amazing. But then you consider that he’s one of three brothers in his family first round draft picks out of Missaga. It’s incredible. It is incredible. Brother Bo, catcher for the Guardians. Their younger brother Miles is a first round pick of the A’s and is in their minor league system. Credit to mom Janice, dad Chris. Go out. So Josh played in several tournaments at this ballpark before he ever even became a pro. St. Joonavar Catholic. Depending on traffic, which can mean a lot of different things here, it’s anywhere from 45 minutes to an hour and a half. Not a 200 from Garsman. Naylor brings it fouled down the line. Got away with one there. You cannot leave a ball up in the middle of the zone. This guy just crushes it. Top of the zone against right-handed pitching. There’s a sweet spot. High fly ball to deep center field. Voil’s going back onto the track. He’s got just enough room. Naylor just misses tying this game. for scoreless for Kevin Gosman in game one of the championship series. Welcome back to Roger Center here with Blue Jays manager John Schneider. John, Nathan Lucas fouls a pitch off his knee in the first inning out of the game. How concerned are you about his condition? Uh we’ll see. You know, he’s he’s about as tough as they come, you know, and um obviously wanted to stay in. Um we wanted him to stay in. Um we’re going to get it checked out, probably get an X-ray. Right now it’s looks more like a bruise. Hopefully that’s the case. Um but I think if anyone’s going to be ready to go tomorrow. Um if he’s physically allowed to, it’ll be Nate. Kevin Gosman escapes a first and third one out jam in the first. Has now retired 11 in a row. John, how does this performance compare to what you saw in game one of the division series? It’s kind of similar. You know, I think wiggling out of traffic there. Nice play from Mattie at third. Um and not giving in to Naylor, you know, 20. Um, I like the way he’s throwing the ball. You know, swing and miss is there, too. Um, again, another team that’s coming out really aggressive against him, but um, in terms of stuff, it looks pretty similar. Finally, George Springer, how do you explain his revival, man? Um, I think it’s just a really good player. Um, kind of looking himself in the mirror in the offseason a little bit and saying, “I can still do this.” And keeping his approach really simple, being the same guy every single day. Um, again, we had all the faith in the world that Georgie could rebound. What he’s been doing is phenomenal. So, as a has a uh has a tendency to kind of rise to the occasion in the postseason as well. Um, but he’s been awesome this entire year. John, thanks a lot, Joe. Back to you. All right, Kenny, as Alejandro Kirk flies out to left field for the first out of the fourth. John Schneider in his third season as the full-time manager. More than two decades though in the Blue Jays organization. he was a player, reached as high as Triple A as a catcher. And then when he became clear he wasn’t going to have a chance to play in the big leagues, they said, “What do you think about getting into coaching?” He said, “Give me a few days to think about it.” And then he says one day says to his manager, “Okay, if I hit a home run today, I’m done. I’ll start coaching.” Sure enough, his first time up, he hits a home run and he literally takes his cleats off in the dugout and hangs them up the next day. He was a coach and spent a decade doing that in the minors. He managed Vlad Jr., managed Bobette as they came up through the minor leagues. There’s various sitting high in the air back went out of play and then came up as the catching instructor under Charlie Mononttoyo and the Keys in 2022. And there are some times in recent years as the Jays fell short, had the early postseason exits where it looked like he was on a quick hot seat. last year last place. There was talk of the Blue Jays being sellers and it would have made sense with these guys getting close to the ends of their contract and Guerrero and Bashette, Kevin Gau, guys like that that a lot of teams would have liked. Marshall’s down on strikes, two gone, but the Blue Jays stuck with it. They stuck with him. They stuck with their core as Kenny touched on. They signed Vlad Jr. this spring and that was like a reigniting of hope and a revalidating of hey these guys we have right here we know we can win with they’ve done a nice job and everybody making the adjustments they needed to make and believing in the system offensively that they have done it’s impressive with two-way lines the ball to center field it’s right at Rodriguez and how about Bryce Miller yeah sailed it into this thing and gave up the leadoff home run he’s given up just one hit presents. We’re back after word from your local Fox station. Three of the first four reached against Bryce Miller, including the leadoff home run from George Springer, but he’s retired 11 of the last 12. That’s huge. I can’t even tell you what it meant for that performance so far for Seattle, who’s come in here exhausted. Leadoff home run, first and second, one out, and it could have unraveled really quickly. What a great job by Bryce Miller so far. Suarez takes a fast ball for a strike. You need 27 pitches in the first inning. 23 pitches the three innings since. Yeah. I mean, again, when you’re pitching against a team like this, it it can get a crooked number and and traffic on base is not fun. And he did a nice job after that first inning. Question is how far does he go as Suarez pops this one off of the hands to Vlad Jr. He’s there ground for the first out. But you’re seeing the polar opposite of of quick and soft outs. That’s how good Gauin, he silences an offensive home run hitting team by making pitches. And look, he struck out four. And with the exception of of those base hits, everything else has been kind of soft. One- nothing game on Springer’s leadoff home run. One run in this game scored on the very first pitch. Bottom of the first inning, zone with one away off the end of the bat to center field. And Mariners fans, as thrilling as this ride has been, this has got to be getting a little bit frustrating here. This is feeling like old Mariners teams that pitched but couldn’t score. Uh, you know, it’s almost like soccer games when they score, you go, but that’s what they’ve been used to. And they broke through and got that win. And you just wonder after this game, how do they settle in from the long trip, the 15 grueling innings? And I think just again we talked about if the game stays close that adrenaline and attention to detail will be there for him. The dreaded kind of like five six run burst by Toronto would uh empty that. Roé steep to the right field corner. Shawn the run gets there and ends the inning in the blink of an eye. That is 14 in a row retired by Gosman. He needs only four pitches to retire the side in the top of the fifth. We’re halfway home in game one. It’s one to nothing Jay’s pass is sponsored by Progressive Insurance. Step up to the plate for savings. Kay’s in front. One- nothing in game one. The bottom of the fifth we go where Anthony Santandere leads things off for Toronto. And Bryce Miller stays in with nobody warming in that Seattle bullpen. We weren’t sure what they were going to have him do. And few batters into the game, it was looking like it could be a problem tonight, but he’s cruising along at 51 pitches. I’ll tell you what, he’s getting a lot of outs with his fast ball, which is huge against the Toronto Blue Jays. I talked about his off speed, who’s going to have to be really, really good tonight. Well, it’s been his fast ball that’s been outstanding. And as each inning goes, it’s getting a little bit better and better. So that is such a great sign to kind of reset this rotation because you figured coming in they were in such disarray because of the game they had to win to get there. Strikes out Santang Deair sets it up with the fast balls and then gets him with a splitter. Well, here’s what I was talking about against a really good fastball hitting team up at the zone in the zone. He’s gotten a lot of outs. This is outstanding work. for a pitcher who does not have his regular rest and he’s getting outs when it counts the most. Playing the role of Bob Walcott from 1995 when the Mariners had that epic fivegame comeback to beat the New York Yankees in the division series, game one of the championship series. Walcott, who had made seven starts in his career, took the ball and outduelled Dennis Martinez for a game one win over Cleveland. So he’s playing Walcott now. They need their Mike Blowers who took Martinez deep in that game to win it. Who’s it going to be offensively to support Miller? The nine hitter Jimenez chops it to second. Routine Palano. Two up and two down in the fifth. Well, no matter who wins, it’s going to be historic for one reason or another as the ALCS continues tomorrow with game two. And then in prime time, the NLCS gets underway. The Dodgers and the Brewers. The Dodgers trying to become the first team to repeat since the Yankees at the turn of the century. Mariners and Brewers both looking for their first titles. And the Blue Jays looking for their first one in 32 years. She got some droughts looking to end as Springer follows off a fast ball. Lone guy to get on the scoreboard in this game. And the very first pitch, the most improved hitter in baseball from last year to this year, George Springer. There’s only really one city that’s thinking about a drought, and that’s Seattle. I said off at the top, you know, we’re talking about the drought for the Jays and they’re saying, “Hold my beer, man.” Yeah, exactly. Seattle’s like, “We’ve paid our dues. It’s our time.” As far as droughts go, franchise is founded in 1977. Took them 15 years just to get their first winning season. the 49th year of the franchise. They’re hoping this is the team to do it. This is the team to get him to the World Series for the first time. Same pitching they’ve had the re in recent years. Reason for optimism, but a lineup to match it. Two-2 to George Springer. Fights it off. Foul. I tell you, the other thing Bryce Miller’s done is keep the crowd out of the game. I mean, they’re they’re definitely going to be loud anytime there’s a runner on and their offense gets to the plate, but they were extremely loud and rightfully so because they had scored so many runs against the New York Yankees, but one to nothing keeping him down. Swing and a miss. He strikes out Springer. 10 in a row retired by Bryce Miller. And still it’s Springer with the only run in this game. We can’t do without you. We will never walk alone. 91 and two for the Mariners in the six. JP Crawford takes outside ball one. Sixth inning, two nothing against the Yankees and uh got in a little bit of trouble. Left that game leading two to one. This is a different different situation. One- nothing. And you know the crowd is d is quiet as it’s ever been. And and this is the chance for Seattle. They’ve got the top of their lineup coming and you could just see how the whole game and the whole ride here was like if we can get to this point and force the action. We’d like their chances offensively if they get on track. Gosman had just 57 pitches, but Louis Varlin starting to loosen. He was the guy to help Gossman get out of that sixth inning against the Yankees that you were talking about when Gosman gave up two hits. He walked two. Now he struck out Aaron Judge, but then they went to Varon who struck out Jean Carlos Stanton and held the line to just one run. Three and0 on Crawford. Rosarena and Raleigh to follow in this inning. This is the pitch. If you’re Crawford, you got to look middle and then let it go. Otherwise, meaning swing. Otherwise, don’t. He swings hard. It was middle middle and just got underneath trying to launch it. Crawford who started the 15th with a base hit on Friday and scored the winning run. Starts the sixth, grounds one to second. Ernie Clement knocks it down, sticks with it, and gets him. Similar stories for these starters tonight. He had Miller give up the home run and three of the first four reached against him, but he’s retired 14 of the last 15. Kevin Gosman had first and third with one out in the first inning. They made the out at home and that started to shrink now 15 in a row retired. Yeah, I’m telling you, this guy is making every pitch he has to make so far in the postseason. and executing. Rosarena’s getting their third look at him. He’s 0 for two today and four for 25 in this postseason. The big hitters got to start showing up for the Mariners to have a chance when you’re looking at Rosena and Rodriguez Suarez who have been silent throughout this postseason. Yeah. And you know the one thing that the Mariners do well of course is you talk about it hitting those home runs but they have missed a couple pitches early. Talk about how aggressive they were. Maybe a little bit of guessing going on at the plate inside corner with a fast. Heat. Heat. Dman’s 2-2. Splitter drops off the table for strike three. Masterpiece. Fast balls in and then splitter. Change of speeds after fast ball in. locking him up twice. That change of speed just is too much for hitters to cover both. And now in a one- nothing game, it is Cal Raleigh. One for two today. Singled in the first inning, struck out in the third. 60 home runs in the regular season. One more during the division series. 28-year-old in his fifth year in the majors on a one pitch. Takes ball two. Debuted back in 2021. Really made his name though. Sending the Mariners to the postseason for the first time in 21 years with a walk-off home run off of the bench in 2022. Better and better in the years since. and into another world this year. Three home runs against Kevin Gosman in his career. On a two-1 pitch, digs it out, but foul and it’s two and two. Heat. Heat. High drive right field. Kale Raleigh has connected and tied the game in the six. It’s the big dumper when the Mariners need it most. 62nd of the season and game one of the championship series is tied up. And his swing is so grooved on pitches in the zone. This is not the worst pitch in the world, at least seeing it live, but man, he is locked in. This pitch is down and in. And to a lefthander, if it’s not to the back foot, it is Sweet zone for a left-handed swinging slugger man. And you could just tell right there. One bad pitch and the game is tied. Talked about it only one- nothing coming into this inning. He felt like if the Mariners could kind of do something. Rodriguez trying to follow it up with a home run of his own right there. It came up empty. This is what you dream of from your stars in the postseason. He didn’t hit it. That’s all you got to do. Raleigh has tied it up. Rodriguez takes inside. Well, Tom talked about how much he loves hitting in this ballpark. I believe that’s nine now home runs here. And uh the background, the hitting, everything about it, he just looks comfortable and is showing what he’s done at the plate. Nine and 14 games here. First career postseason at bat was here in Atlanta. Now, this is what scares you when you face the Mariners. All that power, the ability to change it just like that. The guy caught 15 innings. 15 innings. Got on a plane, came here, going to catch every game probably in the postseason. And he’s just totally prepared according to his manager. He said he never seen a player want to win more than him. Yeah, those 15 innings in game five, more innings than anybody in the American League on the year. He’s been drilled in the elbow and the finger and the throat this year. Broke a tooth a year ago. He’s burst a blood vessel in his eye before and he just keeps on playing. That’s ball four on Rodriguez. And the go-ahead run reaches here in the six. The first walk of the day taken by Seattle. Now, another look at Raleigh’s home run. Well, this bat angle and the way he keeps the bat in the zone. Look how he gets the barrel of the bat. That torpedo bat, I should say. So quick. And you got to be quick to go down and get that pitch. You know, if it’s in, you pull it. If it’s away, you go the other way. and he just has the ability to do both. Car Ali is the best advertisement for the torpedo bat we’ve had in this year for the torpedo bat. It’s going to do it for Kevin Gosman. Just a run over five and 2/3, but Bryce Miller just as good. Cal Raleigh rescues the Mariners here in game one with a no doubt shot. Tied at one. You were the girl. Kevin Gosman showing the frustration of a guy who’s one pitch away from finishing off six scoreless. Yeah, it’s almost back to back outings. Really? Right. Five and two/3 or hands it off to the lefty Brendan Little Palano. Switch hitter takes a strike. is Jay’s bullpen which pitched him into this championship series. Combining in that bullpen game the clincher against the Yankees. Eight different pitchers put together an excellent outing. Gave up just two runs. And Little’s been a big part of this pen taken flight the last month. Last blew a lead September 1st. Little to Palanco with an 01 is inside and ball one. Well, the rest of the team for Seattle’s 1 for 17 and their MVP is two for three with a homer. They’ve got Rodriguez aboard with his speed. That’s the other dimension of the Seattle offense. Second in the majors in stolen bases. Rodriguez, one of three 30 stolen base guys. They have not nearly as aggressive in the division series and nobody’s been as aggressive in the postseason as they are in the regular season any of the teams. Mariners only stole two bases and four tries against the Tigers. The one two to Palano in the dirt and it gets away from Kirk and up into score position goes Rodriguez. So now Palano who is the hero on Friday night could give Seattle its first lead with a two out base hit. A gamewinner for Palano. That’s what he’s done all year for these Mariners. 337 with runners in scoring position on a 2-2. He takes in the dirt. I think bounced about halfway to the plate. Wow. Naylor waits on deck. Another one spiked trying to bury this breaking ball. He throws it about 51 ft. A catch by Kirk. Glove save and a beauty. Home from Raleigh ties it. Rodriguez the two out walk. Now it’s second on a payoff. Palano fouls it up. Whoever happen to be just tuning into this game, it’s tied at one. George Springer homers on the first pitch of the game for the Blue Jays. Mariners silent against Kevin Gauman until two outs and two strikes here in the sixth. But Cal Raleigh, of course, Cal Raleigh at a home run to tie it. Blanco against lefties been pretty good against curve balls. And that is a little features. Forehead run at second. Two gone in the six. The 3-2. Polano rips one to left field. Base hit. Rodriguez heads home. And the Mariners have taken the lead. Corley Palanco as he did on Friday night. Gives Seattle the lead. Two to one here in game one. Again, there’s the adrenaline in the sixth inning. They’re running on adrenaline. The game has been close. That’ll carry him through. They rested all day yesterday. Got here and they were hoping to be in this kind of game and with two outs, nobody on, they’ve now scored two runs. And Gossman knowing oh so close from another perfect outing. Two out, nobody on, and two Schwitz on Raleigh. The two to one Seattle coming back. Well, this relentless Mariners team, this resilient Mariners team has done it again. Naylor waves and misses. Remember, they lost game one of the division series and then they blew game four when it looked like they’re right there ready to clinch their first trip to the championship series in a quarter century. Had to fly back across the country to win game five. And so you think that another cross-continent flight for a team that travels more than any other in baseball, even during the regular season, is going to totally gas them. No, this is nothing new for this club. This is what they’re built to do. Still no action in the Mariners bullpen. Who would have thought that Bryce Miller would last longer in this game than Kevin Gosman? And the home plate umpire Ryan Additton saying you got to wait till Mailor has his eyes on you before you come set. He’s starting to take on more and more of the form of that game one in 95. The O2 pitch is such great break on that. He’s just starting it way too low. And that’s what happens when you try to spin it and break it as firm as you can. The release point has got to be a little bit. You got to wait just a little bit longer to throw that pitch. And this is how it is with Brennan Little. When he’s on, he’s untouchable. But when he’s not, he can be all over the place. Palanco at first. Two gone. Sixth inning. The one two from Little after. A much different challenge when you’re looking at how these Mariners hit left-handers. There’s the Yankees a left-handed heavy lineup. The Mariners crush lefties. Naylor waves and misses. That’s strike three. But the Mariners have turned this game around. It’s Cal Rowley tying it with a two out, two strike home run. And then Jorge Palano gives them the lead. Where have you heard that recently? 2-1 Seattle. Middle six. Heck of a ball game to start this championship series. Want more postseason stats? Just ask Siri who has the most career postseason home runs. Kerali has two of them this postseason. Most recent one tied the game now. Two to one. Mariners in front. Rice Miller pitching with the lead and comes home to Miles Straw with a fast ball away. Two of the first three reached against Miller. He’s proceeded to retire 14 of the last 15 and pitching on short rest for the first time in his career. He’s picking a really good time to have his best start this year. He sure has. He’ll go batter to batter this inning. Straw shallow center field. On comes Rodriguez. Calls off Ro. They’ll steal outs. They’ve got double barrel action working in the uh Mariners bullpen. But I I’m telling you, there’s no way to predict that you could have gotten this kind of performance out of Bryce Miller, not had the greatest year coming on that short rest. 27 pitches in the first inning, and all he’s done is settled down and kept the Mariners in it, and now is pitching with the lead. Yeah, man. He he deserves it. He’s earned it. 568 RA during the regular season and then doing this to this lineup that looked unstoppable against the Yankees. Vlad Jr. takes a strike. They hit 338 and averaged nine runs a game in the division series. One run on two hits tonight. Well, to me, the key has been getting fast balls in the zone for outs against this team’s hard to do. And he’s done that at the top of the zone. He’s got some hard outs, but they’ve been outs. And then now he’s done a nice job just mixing up his off speed to keep the angles of that Toronto bat that they keep in the zone better than anybody from doing damage. Guy right here could certainly change things in the blink of an eye. Lad Jr. had three home runs in four games against the Yankees. Swings and misses. There’s the splitter and it’s one and two. Yeah. all when you get a little tired, your split action will go the wrong way and you don’t want this split action to be down and in or middle in because that’s where that power swing for Guerrero is. On the other side, Gauzeman had one of those splits go to the power swing for the opposing catcher. Miller to Guerrero with a one-two bouncing ball to the middle. Palano on the other side of the guard. lobs it over there to get him. Two gone in the sixth and down to Tom Verduchi. Yeah, Bryce Miller looking strong. It helps when the hitters don’t know what’s coming and that was not the case earlier this season. Remember Toronto hung seven runs on him when they saw him in May, but when he went on the IIL midseason, they discovered that he had been tipping his pitches with the flare of his glove. He used to keep his hands right at his belt throughout his delivery. Watch him tonight. The hands will work in concert with the leg kick going up and down. He has solved the tipping issue and gained velocity. Edison Barger two ticks inside hit off Rley’s glove and got home put on by Ryan Additson there. He’s Mike Duby here. That hurt. And people at home might wonder why why with the glove. Well, the ball sits in the glove and depending on what pitch you have is the grip you’re going to have will determine a different movement of the glove. And if anything, hitters are looking for any variance of the glove to determine or eliminate one pitch from the other. And if they can do that, hitting is a lot more enjoyable than trying to guess and wait for a mistake. With his team running on fumes, Bryce Miller into the sixth inning, two and0 on Barger, outlasting Kevin Gosman in this game after through the 55 pitches in a start in game four in the division series on Wednesday. 70th pitch coming here. It’s a two- barger takes high. 27 in the first. Has not exceeded 11 since a four pitch walk to Barger. First base runner for the Jays since the second. And we talked about with the Toronto Blue Jays, if you make pitches, you can get a lot of quick outs. I think that’s going to be it for him. What a job that’s going to be. And a lift he’s given that rotation. I don’t know. It’s Pete Woodworth coming out instead. Wow. You could tell by Miller’s reaction. He thought that was it. He was like a little frustrated because of a four pitch walk with two outs. Let’s get a quick word from Capital 1. With the Capital 1 Venture X card, you earn unlimited double miles on everything you buy and turn all of your purchases into extraordinary trips. Capital One, what’s in your wallet. Not an easy matchup right here with Kirk. Just got to be careful with fast balls up in the zone. He’s a good high fast ball hitter and he’ll be looking to hit a first pitch fast I would imagine. Kirk who struggled mightily through September. Two home runs on the last day of the season. Now five home runs in his last six games. Flat swinger. Short arms on that high fast can be deadly. Tying run aboard. Kirk takes a shot. started him with a slider. Deal one. It’s amazing. Regular season two out walk even up by one is not that big a deal. It’s not a huge rally. It’s a rally now. postseason rally when the man gets on. Swing and a miss. Fast ball still with life. One and two. Come on. Alejandro Kirk who’s been a guy they’ve been able to count on as much as anybody through the years is hitless with runners aboard in this postseason and has left 15 on. Goal for two in this game. Miller trying to finish off six. Here he comes to the one, two. There goes Barger from first and a foul ball. Charge only had four stolen bases during the regular season. Jays don’t run a ton. Don Schneider putting him in motion here as the tying run in the sixth. The Mariners got a two out, two strike massive swing from their catcher. Can the Jay’s catcher provide the same? Not going this time. A fly ball popped into left. On comes a Rosena and Bryce Miller has dug deep and gone six innings in this game. A leadoff home run and nothing after that. Job well done. Mission accomplished and then some for Bryce Miller who was the default choice to start game one because everybody else had pitched on Friday. This is his best start all year. Yeah, all year. And she couldn’t come at a better time. And man, for a staff who is exhausted, I can’t even tell you what those congratulations mean to him. Louis Varand comes out, gets a fast ball by Aheno Suarez. Varin was a deadline pickup from the Minnesota Twins. Struggled his first few outings, but has turned into their top guy down there ahead of the closer Jeff Hoffman. 6, seven, and eight for the Mariners. Going two on Suarez. any breaking ball off the plate, he’s swinging at it and he’s trying to hit homer on a lot of pitches over the plate. Lays off a high fast ball. He’s 0 for two today. He’s two for his last 23. 49 home runs, but after the trade, struck out more than anybody in the American League. And that’s always been the give and take with Suarez. Home runs and strikeouts. Kenzone and Ro to follow. Two-1 game, seventh inning. Suarez takes in the dirt and the count goes full after he got to have him 0 and2. payoff foul off. You know, things get somewhat back in line tomorrow. You figure that it’s going to be Luis Castillo going for the Mariners. They have not said officially who the game two starter is, but Castillo only needed 14 pitches in his relief outing on Friday. But then Trey is Savage absolutely filthy, untouchable against the Yankees in his postseason debut last weekend. For the Mariners, you just got to get one of these two. You got to ride that adrenaline enough to get one. And the series swings big time in your favor. Brian Woo waiting in the wings. Going to start later in this series. Has not pitched since midepptember. Plus, you then take homefield advantage. Eighth pitch, high fly ball right center field. Back goes Varo onto the track at the wall. Off the very top of the wall. Suarez into second with a leadoff double. Misses leaving the yard by a few feet. Settles for the two bagger. Varin missed his opportunity with two strikes. Didn’t make a competitive slider or breaking ball anywhere close to entice that swing. And he worked the count full. saw enough pitches and with his power and swing angle and launch angle, this one, like you said, just hits the blue top, light blue part of the wall. And that’s all it’s got to clear. That railing back there is a home run, man. We’re talking 2 in. It’s a double. Can the Mariners take advantage of it? Kenzo’s the hitter and he takes ball one. Here’s one of those situations where, okay, that close to a home run. Can you score a run in a different way if you’re Seattle, 26th in the majors with runners in scoring position this year? Pitch in the dirt. Able to lay off ball two. And again, the crowd was never this quiet at any point. And obviously, the score was different and they were playing the Yankees and they were just having a field day at the plate. It’s a little different feeling so far here in the seventh. Can zone will move the runner up from to one away. Well, the Hank Aaron award honors the best offensive player in both the American and the National League. Your vote helps decide the winner. You can go to mlb.com/aron to cast your ballot. at third and one away. The infield will come in here for the Blue Jays. The hitters roll blaze. Now, there’s not too many times we get a chance to see situations like this for safety squeeze, but that doesn’t happen too often. Everybody’s looking to lift the ball in the outfield. But when you hear the word safety squeeze, what that is is the third base runner, the runner at third is reading what the hitter does. And then when he squares around, he reads the ball. Even though with the infields in, if it’s if it’s put perfectly down that right field between the pitcher and first base, you can’t defend it. And Ro is a good buner. Swings away here and launches a ball foul. One and one. Nor has gotten new life coming to Seattle. Her top prospect with the Nationals World Series as a rookie released last year picked up and has become a key piece. Swings and misses at a knuckle curve. Strike two. got a huge strike out. Two gone. Ro able to bring him in from third. As the series plays on and as the games are this close, this is going to be the determining factor for Seattle. If there’s too much of this, they’re going to have a hard time beating the Toronto Blue Jays. But if they can put the ball in play when it calls for it, not necessarily hit home runs, then they’re going to be tough to beat. It’s up to Crawford to play for the Mariners dead last in the majors at productive outs. dead last at getting the guy in from third with less than two outs as he lied on the home run. Alan Crawford top of the order in a Rosena next. They did get one big two out hit. Mhm. Um after the home run and that after a walk and a wild pitch that was from Palano ball three. This is where you see the depth of this lineup. JP Crawford, really good player down here hitting ninth. 30-year-old in his seventh year. He’s been with the Mariners longer than anybody. He could just find a way to not get so big with his swing. takes a big cut. J outside corner. Three and two. That one was That was a ball that he calls a strike and Crawford knew it. Good eye. Lou Farland trying to wiggle it off with the hook after the leadoff double from Suarez. He’s at third. Two out. 3-2. hit hard but waited 10 minutes. Soft hands did get him out of the jam and we stretch in a 2-1 game in Toronto. It was this close to having the home run happy. Seattle Mariners get another misses by inches. Mariners couldn’t come up with a big hit and it stays two to one. I see where my man me away because I’m not on a position to pay. Two-1 game. Bottom of the seventh. Pen takes over for the Mariners. Engage Spire’s first pitch is fouled off by Dalton Vo. Call to the bullpen is sponsored by AT&T. Spires been one of the top left-handed relievers in the league this year, but the last two games in the division series gave up home runs. Two left-handed hitters. facing a powerful lefty here as Maro fouls it again and it’s 0 and two. Yeah, he’s got a electric fast ball and good breaking ball against left-handed hitters. And to your point, he wants to atone for but his history will show he didn’t give up many of those against left-handed hitters. But Faro Clement Santandere bottom of the seventh inning. Not an 02 pitch. Faro takes outside. First pitch of the game, the Jays got a home run from George Springer and it was like here we go again. This offense picking up right where it left off in the division series, but they’re one for 19 since two and two. 10 runs in the first game of the division series, just the one today. on a 2-2 V show. It’s one of the air to center field. Routine for Rodriguez. And that is 16 in a row retired. Time for Fox 4 tonight powered by Google Cloud. And the Blue Jays fueled by this ballpark often, never out of it. Lead the majors in comeback wins this year. Google giving them 48% chance to score two or more over the rest of the way here. Thanks to Google Cloud for powering these real time insights. Ernie Clement with the bases empty and one out. Sends the first pitch in the air to right. Roades. Two out. Two down. It was a bullpen that melted down in game four in Detroit. Mariners fans who waited so long for the team to get back to the stage 24 years thinking, “Oh my goodness, we got to go back to Seattle to win a game five.” But it was the pen that went nine and a third to finish without giving up a run with some help in there from a couple starters. Santandere flips over bats right-handed. All six home runs he’s hit this year have come from the other side. Spires 01. Santand there to left field. On comes a Rosa ring to a pick it off. Well, he may not be playoff Randy at the plate yet, but making an impact with a glove right here to finish off a one, two, three, seventh inning. Bouncing back Gabe Spire. Always hope for your discontent. Those changes are country over club. Aaron Judge, Bobby Wit Jr., Cal Raleigh, Team USA in the World Baseball Classic. You can watch it all only on Fox. Two-1 game. Sir Anthony Dominguez takes over for the top of the order of the Mariners. and Dominguez who pitched in three of the four games in the division series put up zeros in all of them. Kept on doing what he did after coming over at the deadline from Baltimore. Rosena on 10 takes ball two. Rosena made an incredible play and how many times do you see it in baseball? You make a great play and you lead off the next inning. Now trying to make an impact at the plate. 0 for three today. four out of 26 in this postseason. It looks a little in between for me. He’s an aggressive hitter that he’s letting a lot of fast balls, not that one particularly, but a lot of fast balls earlier go by. He hunts those. Talking about the 10 home runs that he hit in 20 games in 2020 in the postseason. Has not homered in his last three plus trips, though. Well, you got to go back to game one of the division series in 2021 to find his last postseason homer. Takes a leadoff walk here. And that has been the issue for Dominguez. Now, he’s been able to pitch around him, but a lot of free passes. Brings up Cal Raleigh. And we take a look at Stackcast 3D powered by Google Cloud. His game tying home run. Yeah, look at that bat path. that will get it down. I’ve never seen a guy more in a groove in a swing. Takes a fast ball for a strike. You were touching on this earlier, but Dan Wilson told us today that the greatest part about this whole thing is that the whole motivation for him is that all he cares about is winning. So, what has led him to grow the way that he has in his five years in the big leagues to take it to another level this year? It all comes from a place of I just want to win a World Series and I wanted to be with the Mariners, he said officially when he signed that extension this spring. Would not sign that extension though until he got a big notebook full of questions answered by the front office. Where are we headed? What’s the plan to get me that ring? sat down for two and a half hours for the front office, got all those questions answered before he prepared the paper. What’s crazy is, you know, his batting average against the four seam fast is not great, but he’s got 60ome home runs. So, you you know, uh the fast ball down, he’ll he’ll get his slew of home runs, but his average is under 220. Stretch out right here. There’s the splitter. Had him in between on the fast ball he took and then the splitter. He couldn’t pull the trigger fully. The walk followed by the strike out. Julio Rodriguez who’s reached twice in game one comes up. Rodriguez walked after the home run from Raleigh. Took second in a wild pitch and scored. This ball gets to the back stop as a Rosena dives into second. He was going to have it stolen either way. Foul. Randy who had more than 30 during the regular season gets his first one of the postseason. See a little more of that from the Mariners if they get pace. They got to make their weapon when they get on base a uh a threat. Stole a lot of bases on the year. I think third most in baseball. Power and speed. And nobody more personifies that than the guy at the plate and Julio Rodriguez. More home runs and stolen bases over his first four seasons than anybody in baseball history. There goes Arena again. And he’s stolen third without the thought of a throw. And now insurance 90 ft away with one gone. Yeah, he got an aggressive lead and absolutely took off. Mo second time back toback innings that the Mariners have had a runner at third in less than two outs. Couldn’t cash in last inning. The infield in again for the Jays. That was with the bottom of the order up here. It’s with their top hitters in the heart of the lineup. It’s the 27th stolen base of third on a three 0. Swings away. Fouls it off. Mariners, we’ve touched on it. They steal bases. They hit home runs, but situationally they have not been good this year. That’s where the Blue Jays are the best in baseball. Mariners strike out too much. last in the majors in productive outs. 26 with runners in scoring position. Oh, Rodriguez on for the third time as he takes his second walk. So now he’s got to make him pay and steal second. This is where the Mariners have to be aggressive. The infield more than likely is going to be almost halfway unless he brings it all the way in. Mason Flu Hardy starts to warm the left-handed batting Naylor’s on deck. A longtime pitching coach of the Blue Jays, Pete Walker in his 14th season. We got a quick word from Lone Depot. Rates are dropping. Now may be the best time to buy a new home or refinance. Check out the site now to see how Home Depot can help. But seriously, this is only a 10-second ad, so you should get started now. Yeah. Roeno had 31 during the regular season, two on this trip around the bases. Rodriguez had 30 during the regular year and at first as Palano comes up. Starting to be that this is the guy that if you could handp pick to have up in a situation like this, you choose. Yeah. Yeah. You can’t. Even if he steals second, you can’t walk him cuz he got Naylor behind him. Takes a ball. That gamewinning hit on Friday night before that two home runs against TKO in the 3-2 win in game two. Just kind of hides there with the bigger names around him. These guys having star seasons. Alano lurking in the cleanup spot. the go ahead hit tonight back in the six. I mean, the only reason you don’t send him is you’re afraid of the line drive double play. And then the other reason is you keep the first baseman there to give a bigger hole with the infield in with Guerrero having to hold the runner on. Not going. chested down by Kirk. Talking to Ken Wilson, they don’t run recklessly. They run when the advantages to them. You know, when they’ve got the pitchers timed down and the certain guys are on the base pass, they’re definitely going to take the bases when it’s right. First and third, one in a one-run game. Palano chops it right side and through. And Jorge Palano has delivered again. Three to one Seattle. And Palano has driven in the last two with the infield in and the first baseman holding the bag. It more than likely was going to be a hit either way, but he pulls it in that hole and a much easier opportunity to get a hit when the defense is in as far as they were. Jorge Palano, who they traded for for Minnesota before last year, flopped. Had his worst season in the big leagues, comes back, little expectations, huge bounceback year, never bigger than he’s been lately. Please stay. I want you. I need you. Monroe, Washington native Benson Boone bringing us back from break in a 3-1 game after Jorge Palano drives in another. Mason Flu Hardy comes in and finds a strike zone that he’s got to like getting the call there and a pitch that looked to be inside Josh Naylor. Sir Anthony Dominguez is so reliable, almost untouchable in the postseason in his career, but three of the four that he faces reach. You go to the left-handed rookie Flu Hardy here. Pitched in three games in the division series, gave up runs in two of them. Elero for three, swings and misses. We haven’t seen swings that big lately from him. Pops himself out of his helmet. Couple tough lefty matchups the last two at bats. And he’ll have a swing or two like that, but it won’t be all three. He’ll cut it down. He’ll try to figure out a way to touch the ball, put it in play. How about that double that he had against Scuba the other night against 100? Looked like Chase Sutley up there just trying to touch. Well, if you wonder why they check if a guy swings or not, that’s a perfect example. That was like a check swing double. One, two to Baylor Chase. He looked like a different guy with a couple strikeouts tonight. So, two gone in this eighth inning. Jorge Palano ended game five in the 15th inning, clubbing a base hit to right field. And twice tonight, he’s delivered for the Mariners in the clutch. He did it in the six to give them their first lead. And he’s done it again here in the eighth. We talk about the stars delivering in the postseason, but with all the attention on those stars, names like this emerge. Jorge Palano becomes the guy that steals the headlines. Suarez, who just missed a home run his last time up. Ryan Edison giving him that side of the plate. You mentioned Blanco last year worst year of his career. He hit 213. Turns out he was dealing with a knee issue all season. And so right after the year ended, had surgery to fix it. The anniversary of that surgery, that low point was Friday night. His high point ball two on Suarez. Signed him on a one-year contract to come back. Wasn’t until late in the offseason and it was to be the third baseman, a play spot that he’s hardly played at all. Did that on opening day. Pretty soon he had moved to DH. Second base though down the stretch here into the postseason. Another toss a second. Ernie Klette goes back to the outfield to catch it. Not on the same page there. Two ways when you make the pick off. It’s either a sign from the catcher and it’s it’s coordinated or it’s a daylight. Meaning the infielder will kind of shade himself over and then dart to the bag. That was neither. At least the second baseman wasn’t in on that. Cardan’s two and two on Suarez. 911 and two coming up for the Blue Jays in the bottom of the eighth. First championship series game for the Mariners in 24 years. Four wins from playing in the World Series for the first time. This is wild in the eighth. Two on, two out, and a two- two from Fu Hardy. Swing and a miss. He strikes out Suarez. The Mariners tap on from down one to nothing. They lead 3-1 to the last of the eight by Shrauss, the official Workware partner of Major League Baseball. Well, you can wear what the players are wearing on field during the postseason. Check out the largest selection of authentic jerseys, caps, hoodies, t-shirts, and more at nlbshop.com for your favorite postseason team gear. Raleigh tied it with a home run. Palano has knocked in the next two. Three to one Seattle in game one. Matt Rash throws a strike on the nine hitter Andre Simenez. Now, this bullpen has been really, really nasty for Seattle. And they showed themselves in that extra inning game. Bouncing ball to first. Easy play for Naylor. Brash, one of the guys that dug deep, gave him more than he had in a long time. Two scoreless innings. It was the first time in two years that he pitched two full innings. Continuation of what has been an awesome year for Brash. Top of the order and Springer. His home run on the first pitch of the game. Still it hit. That’s amazing. I was just going to say one pitch into this game, this crowd was looking for a lot of runs and now they’re looking for some runs and this breaking ball against right-handers is awfully tough to hit with brass. Oo man, he left one right there too. That was You could tell Springer was like, “If I get that one again, now 02 chases strike three.” A lot of times it’s not the last pitch that you regret. It’s one that got you there. And for Springer had one to hit. Winds up striking out on three pitches. David Schneider sent up as a pinch shooter for Miles Shraw. And we check in with Tom Braducci. Well, Joe, for a lot of people who have not seen the Mariners all year, you know about Cal Raleigh 60 home runs and why he’s an MVP candidate, but I also think he showed you that in the first inning. Go back to that first inning. Bryce Miller on the mound. Two runners on base, one out. The place is on fire. and Cal Raleigh stopped the game, walked slowly to the mound, and had a long mound visit with Bryce Miller. Six pitches later, they’re back in the dugout. The place is quiet. I’ve seen him control a game behind the plate. For me, the best I’ve seen since Yier Molina. From that moment forward, 17 straight or 17 out of 18 retired and a 3-1 lead for the Mariners over a Blue Jays team that scored nine runs per game in the previous round. Ball and a strike on Schneider. Pin shooting against Brash and sending a high fly ball to right field. It’s no big deal for Victor Roblace. Onto the ninth we go. The Mariners leading game one 3 to one game finishes. Stay tuned for the postgame show on Fox presented by Strauss. This place is rocking early on the leadoff home run from George Springer, but the Mariners tied it in the six. Took the lead right after that and 3-1 to the ninth inning. Bottom of the order here. Dominic Kenzo takes a ball from Jeff Hoffman who’s the closer for the Blue Jays and trailing here three to one on a pitch trying to keep it right here with Guerrero, Barger and Kirk do up. How about this Seattle pitching staff that has continued what they were doing in the extra innings win and given up just one run over their last 17 innings pitched. Hard to describe and hard to predict. If there was ever a game you could understand, it would be this one where they just didn’t have it. And Miller’s on short rest and hottest team in baseball seems seemingly in that first series. The Toronto Blue Jays only have one run. Retired 20 of the last 21. Just a walk sprinkled in there from Barger back in the six. Oh, the pinch hitter. Schneider stays in and plays left. Santandere flips over to right where Straw has departed. 2-2 to Kenzel. Bouncing ball on first. Guerrero one away. Game two of the series is tomorrow. It will be Trey Savage, the fantastic rookie for the Blue Jays. We figure Luis Castillo is going to start for the Mariners. That is not official yet. And then in prime time, Dodgers and Brewers in the National League Championship Series. The Brewers swept the Dodgers during the regular season, winning all six head-to-head. Andre Munoz ready for the last of the ninth bros. Two of the pitchers that they’ve used here in relief after the six eye opening innings from Bryce Miller were guys that pitched on Friday. Spire went one, two, three. Brash went one, two, three. And then it’ll be Munoz who is almost untouchable. In fact, did not give up a hit in his four appearances in the DS. Fought off right side and infield hood for Olay. It’s just kind of a teardrop over there in a no man’s land. But by the time Clement got there, Ro who runs well was already at first. Yeah. Shaded way too far to have any chance there. And you talk about his wheels. One of those rare bloops stays in the airfield. First hit of the game for the bottom of the order for the Mariners. And here’s Crawford over three. We talk about the pen and what they’ve done the last couple guys look ahead to Munoz, but it all started literally and figuratively with Bryce Miller in this game like the excitement and the hope began with the rotation for the Mariners. A homegrown rotation and they’ve been competitive in the West for years as that group got to the major leagues. He was a fourth round pick. same year they got Brian Woo in the sixth round. Logan Gilbert, George Kirby were first round picks more than five years ago. Laid the foundation with that staff and as wellrounded as they’ve been what they’ve added offensively this year. The story in this game, starter lays the foundation and enough offense at this point to get him over the hump. Two to Crawford. There goes Rolex. Stay out of the double play. Playball is baseball’s global youth initiative to highlight the fun and accessible ways to play our great game. To learn more, including how to find a league near you, go to playball.org and follow on X, Facebook, and Instagram. I think Crawford tomorrow should try a different position to hit the ball to Yeah. three times, huh? There’s four, isn’t it? One of us is scoring wrong. Oh, I might have I’m It’s Usually it’s me. It’s me. Strike out of Rose Arena. Got a strike out in there, but I don’t blame you for thinking that it’s just straight through 4-3. Yeah, there goes my streak of keeping great scorecard. There it goes. I hit Ben long series swinging a miss. So two big guys coming up. Guerrero, Barger, and Kirk. Comeback’s part of the DNA for this Blue Jays club. Won more games than anybody during the regular season right there with the Yankees who they dispatched in the division series. Probace off second. Hoffman’s 02. Fasten those seat belts to the bottom of the ninth we go in game one. Andre Munoz coming on and the big hitters coming up for the Jays in a 3-1 game. Andre Munoz trying to finish off a gem from this Mariners’s pitching staff. And Munoz the right man for the job. Four of the five games in the division series. He pitched five and a third. Did not give up a hit. No. And he throws a ton of sliders. Well, at least he did against way more than he would. 50% slider usage, but against the Tigers, almost every pitch was a slider. Well, the Blue Jays have the guys coming to the plate that they want. Vlad Guerrero leads off, then Barger, then Kirk. This has been masterful. It’s a Blue Jays team that averaged nine runs on 13 hits against the Yankees. A run on two hits and none since the second today as L Jr. with 529 in the Diaz. So for three. Here we go at the bottom of the ninth of game one. One ball, no strikes. Closing a playoff game. Every at bat obviously matters, but when you have a two-run lead, you do not want to give a free pass. You make their team hit their way on. And I know that sounds like crazy in this day and age of swing and miss and trying to strike everybody out, but Guerrero can’t beat you. Good pitch. One and two. He said he throws that slider a lot. Extra a lot in those two innings in game five, but for good reason. The leak hits just 109 against that pitch. One of the best in baseball. Home of the one-two broke his bat and a chop it a short for Crawford. One gone in the nine. Barger. And now it’s Barger who is the only guy to reach base for the Jays since the second. That was with a sixth inning walk. High fly ball center field, but routine for Rodriguez. And on five pitches, two gone in the ninth. You can tell this crowd is shocked. I am too. Yeah. I mean, what a We talked about just the whole route to get here and if they could piece together a game and stay in the game, which they have done remarkably and maybe steal a win, that’s what they’re on the verge of doing right now with two outs. Kirk trying to keep it alive with Varo on deck. High strike. It was a 27 pitch first inning for Bryce Miller and it looked like their worst nightmare was maybe going to happen coming off of that long game five having to dig into the pen quickly. They still haven’t thrown a 100 pitches total. Yeah, he went around and it’s strike two. The clear edge for the Mariners in this series was the pitching. The question was, was there anything in the tank for tonight? The answer has been an eyeopening yes. The O2 from Munoz popped up. The Seattle Mariners retired 23 of the last 24 and in 100 pitches shut down the Blue Jays in game one. 3 to one Seattle in their first championship series game in 24 years. Pitching the story. Well, you know, they’re tired, but they don’t care right now. And they just did a great job of holding a great offense at bay. And to limit them to one run, in your wildest dreams, you could think that would be the case after coming all that way. But give them credit. The Blue Jays are going to come out swinging tomorrow for sure. And you know, it’s going to be a uh it’s going to be a great great series between two really good uh really good hitters in the lineup with power for Seattle, contact for Toronto. A run on the first pitch of the day. Bryce Miller gives up the home run to George Springer. That was a good pitch, by the way. Right. Fast to the outside corner. Springer hits it out. Miller ends up going six innings in what has been a rotten season for him. A frustrating season dealing with that elbow issue. He goes six innings tonight when the thought was, “Ah, let’s see what they’re going to get out of him.” And then a bullpen running on fumes from Friday. Nine up, nine down. Munoz with a cake block of the nine. And oh yeah, Kell Rally did his thing as well. 60 during the regular season, his second of the postseason tied. Two outs, nobody on. And then they went on to score another run which ended up being the difference. Malco knocked in the next two in this 3-1 Seattle win. Tom Buchucci’s got that man right there. Oh, thanks Joe. Cal Raleigh, your team played for 5 hours on Friday night. You get on a plane, fly more than 2,000 mi. You fall behind one- nothing in the toughest place to win in the American League and you win this game. What does it say about this Seattle team? Yeah, you know, we’re a tough team. you know, one through nine. You know, pitchers came out today really, really impressed us. They did awesome, especially after, you know, short rest and and how many pitches they threw the other day. So, can’t say enough about Bryce Miller, obviously, on short rest and, uh, you know, giving us giving us six strong innings was huge. Let’s talk about Bryce. As you mentioned, he had never pitched on short rest before. It’s the longest start on short rest by anybody in the postseason in six years. Didn’t look that way in the first inning. Take me through that mound visit when you went out there. Two runners on base, already a run on the board. Yeah, you know, you know, give credit to Springier. He’s awesome player. Uh, you know, obviously got that one out first pitch and Luke’s gave him a really tough at bat there. After that, he kind of started being a little picky there and really just told him go out there and trust his stuff and, you know, let it play and, you know, force the contact. Uh, you know, they’re a good team, so you know, we know they’re going to hit the ball around. You just got to be able to locate and, uh, mix speeds. Just a 100 pitches to stop what had been a red-hot offense. Yeah, I mean, they’re they’re one of the best teams in the league, so they’re they’re really tough. you know, they got great pitchers, great hitters. Uh, like I said, it’s it’s going to be tough and, you know, uh, we just got to keep doing it. Thanks so much, Cal. Good luck. Yeah, thank you. Back to you, Joe. All right, Tom. And this is the story of the season for the Blue Jays. The pitching and the dumper. 3-1 the final score. They take game one of the championship series. Yes, Seattle, your baseball team is three wins away from playing in the World Series. On the other side of this break, the studio takes over and recaps a thrilling game one. Sets up game two. Stick with us. God bless you. Double pro. Love what you give to me. You go like she just the one she want. I s to God do give me love again. Give me love again. If you give me love again, I will never be comforting. Give me love again. Give me love again. If you don’t give me the make comfort I think I’m comfortable. Comfort looking. Yeah. Yeah. So she beautiful. Any time I see her face you I could just tell now because of you my call me big fool. Big fool man. See the way she be like I’m 40. Give me love again. Give me love again. If you give me love again, I will never be comforted. Give me love again. Give me love again. If you don’t give me love again, comfort my comfort. Yeah, for my baby double bless I see you. My mother milk you might sh Heat. Hey, Heat. for another CL I’m something cuz I you Heat. Heat. That was my guy. for your smooch. Don’t shas.
October 12, 2025
MLB playoffs 2025 Semi-finals
Seattle Mariners vs Toronto Blue Jays Full Game
MLB Full Game
