For possibly the final time in 2025, there are two MLB playoff games on tap. And the stakes are high for all four teams.
In Game 5 of the American League Championship Series on Friday, the Toronto Blue Jays and Seattle Mariners took a close game into the eighth inning before a grand slam gave Seattle its first home victory and put the M’s one win away from the first World Series in franchise history.
Later on, the defending champion Los Angeles Dodgers could complete a sweep of the top-seeded Milwaukee Brewers with a win in Game 4 of the National League Championship Series.
We’ve got it all covered for you with pregame storylines and lineups, plus top moments during the games and takeaways after the final pitches.
Key links: Bracket
Top moments
Brewers at Dodgers
Follow live for pitch-by-pitch coverage
Ohtani goes deep AGAIN
SHOHEI OHTANI, YOU ARE INCREDIBLE! pic.twitter.com/jythqTWUI4
— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) October 18, 2025
Ohtani hits 469-FOOT blast for his second homer of Game 4
SHOHEI OHTANI HAS TAKEN OVER
HE LEAVES THE YARD AGAIN 💥 pic.twitter.com/ul2EcfZtxk
— MLB (@MLB) October 18, 2025
After 3 K’s on the mound, Shohei Ohtani mashes first-inning leadoff homer
SHOHEI OHTANI!
WHAT A START! pic.twitter.com/fI8mNHanNn
— MLB (@MLB) October 18, 2025
Blue Jays at Mariners
Mariners celebrate being one win away from Fall Classic
ONE AWAY. #SeizeTheMoment pic.twitter.com/1vGjt2jHmH
— Seattle Mariners (@Mariners) October 18, 2025
Chaos in Seattle! Eugenio Suarez piles on with grand slam
EUGENIO SUÁREZ CONNECTS AGAIN IN GRAND FASHION 🤯
WHAT A GAME IN SEATTLE 🔥 pic.twitter.com/9BQVmonoum
— MLB (@MLB) October 18, 2025
Cal Raleigh hits game-tying blast in the 8th
CAL RALEIGH
TIE GAME
T-MOBILE PARK IS ROCKING 🔱 pic.twitter.com/6eOzi9jf2a
— MLB (@MLB) October 18, 2025
Ernie Clement drives in Alejandro Kirk to give Toronto lead
Ern Dog comes up CLUTCH! #WANTITALL pic.twitter.com/4xL7iOR67d
— Toronto Blue Jays (@BlueJays) October 18, 2025
Jays tie it up with RBI double from George Springer
George Springer belts one off the wall to tie this ballgame 😤 pic.twitter.com/aoxQYUMY0u
— MLB (@MLB) October 17, 2025
Mariners escape bases-loaded jam unscathed with double play
A WILD DOUBLE PLAY TO ESCAPE THE JAM 🤯 pic.twitter.com/wfP2M67Dlz
— MLB (@MLB) October 17, 2025
Suarez hammers solo shot to give M’s early lead
Eugenio Suárez … ABSOLUTELY HAMMERED 💥 pic.twitter.com/LqImJdVbyq
— MLB (@MLB) October 17, 2025 Takeaways
Seattle leads series 3-2
It was over when …: Eugenio Suarez delivered the new biggest hit in Mariners history — apologies to Edgar Martinez’s legendary double in the 1995 ALDS — with his bottom-of-the-eighth grand slam that gave the Mariners a 6-2 lead and sent T-Mobile Park into a simultaneous eruption of raucous cheers and joyful tears. Suarez fell behind 1-2 in the count from Seranthony Dominguez, took a sweeper in the dirt, fouled off a fastball and then lined a 98.5 mph fastball to the opposite field and just over the right-field fence.
In the famous words of Mariners Hall of Fame announcer Dave Niehaus, “Get out the rye bread and mustard, it’s grand salami time!”– David Schoenfield
Game 5 star: Certainly it was Suarez, who had also homered earlier in the game to give the Mariners their first run of the game. But a huge shoutout goes to Cal Raleigh, who led off the bottom of the eighth with a rainmaking, 43-degree-launch-angle home run off Brendon Little that tied the score and brought the fans back into the contest — right when it appeared the Mariners were going to lose a third straight home game. — Schoenfield
The stat that defined Game 5: Suarez is the first player to have a two-home run game that includes a grand slam in the postseason since Enrique Hernandez in Game 5 of the 2017 NLCS. Suarez is also the second player in Mariners history with a grand slam in the postseason (Edgar Martinez in 1995). — ESPN Research
What it means for the rest of the series: The Mariners head back to Toronto one win away from the first World Series appearance in franchise history. The Blue Jays head back to the park where they had the best record in the regular season in the American League. Game 5 was playoff baseball at its best, with action and second-guessing all over the place. Game 6 — where Rogers Centre will be rocking as the Blue Jays turn to rookie Trey Yesavage with their season now on the line — promises more of the same. — Schoenfield