In the end, the Toronto Blue Jays were better than the Seattle Mariners.

The Mariners had their chances, and they very well could have won the American League Championship Series and moved on to their first World Series if a few things went differently.

Drayer: Where the M’s are left after coming within 8 outs of World Series

If they had won two of their three games at home in the best-of-seven series instead of just one, for starters.

Or if they had received one more good start out of their starting rotation than they did.

And, most obviously, perhaps if they had pressed some different buttons in the events leading up to George Springer’s series-winning three-run home run for Toronto in the seventh inning of Game 7 on Monday night.

Any one of those things could have swung the series in Seattle’s favor, but it’s clear one decision is going to be dissected over and over in the aftermath of the Mariners coming just eight agonizing outs short of reaching the Fall Classic. That would be taking the ball from Bryan Woo and giving it to Eduard Bazardo with two on and no outs to face Springer, leading to a 1-0 sinker that Springer sent deep into the Toronto night to send the Blue Jays to their first World Series since 1993.

It’s fair to question what went down in that specific instance, but it’s not fair to say that was the biggest reason the Mariners lost to the Blue Jays. For that, you need to look at the bigger picture rather than one admittedly critical at-bat.

When it comes down to it, the Blue Jays out-hit the Mariners. And it wasn’t even close.

In the ALCS, Toronto as a team went 65 for 240 for a .271 batting average with a .345 on-base percentage and .820 OPS. They scored 37 runs. They struck out only 40 times.

The Mariners were 50 for 225 for a .222 average with a .315 on-base mark and .755 OPS. They crossed home plate 30 times and struck out a whopping 71 times.

Seattle may have out-homered the Blue Jays 14-11, but Toronto had 14 doubles and a triple, while the M’s had just five doubles and a triple (by backup catcher/DH Mitch Garver of all players, because baseball).

If the Mariners had somehow found a way to win on Monday night, it honestly would have been surprising just based on the statistics on paper, because Seattle was also out-pitched by the Blue Jays.

For all the good from Bryce Miller, some members of the bullpen, and the Game 7 start by George Kirby, the M’s still finished the ALCS with a 5.16 team ERA, a 1.48 WHIP and .271 opponent batting average. The Jays had a 4.35 ERA, 1.27 WHIP and .222 opponent average.

In the end, Mariners manager Dan Wilson was left trying to protect a two-run lead in Game 7 with a bullpen that had been seen way too much by an absolutely ravenous Blue Jays lineup. And that’s because the Mariners’ offense was on its way to scoring three runs or less for a fourth time in the seven games, and the M’s had just one outing of more than four innings from a starting pitcher in the entire series.

Calling upon Bazardo to pitch for the ninth time in Seattle’s 12 playoff games in the biggest moment of the series might not have been the right choice. Ideally, the Mariners probably should have seen if they could have gotten one more inning out of Kirby before turning to Woo in his second career relief appearance. And they could have skipped Bazardo altogether and gone straight to closer Andrés Muñoz in the seventh when Woo put the first two hitters of the inning on.

There were a few buttons for Wilson to push, but who knows if any of them were the right one. If the offense had put more runs on the board in the series as a whole, or if the starting pitching had held up better and kept Seattle from having to rely on the same four relievers over and over, the Mariners probably wouldn’t have been in that tough of a situation in hostile territory. They might have even won the series in Game 5 or Game 6.

So yes, the decision in the seventh inning is what’s going to be remembered about the Mariners’ first trip to the ALCS in 24 years. But the biggest reasons they didn’t win – and the most fixable going forward – are the things that put Seattle in that spot.

Seattle can take a page out of Toronto’s book this offseason, looking to add more contact and on-base ability to the lineup in order to set up the power threats like Cal Raleigh and Julio Rodríguez, who both homered in Game 7 – but only drove in a run apiece.

Similar to the slug-heavy makeup of the Mariners’ offense, a strength of their starting rotation has been racking up strikeouts. But the Blue Jays feasted on Seattle’s pitchers who are most reliant on getting batters to swing and miss. So it’s probably time to look for ways to pitch more to contact when the situation calls for it – which is what worked for Miller in his two ALCS starts (10 innings, seven strikeouts, two earned runs), by the way.

If the Mariners want to make it farther than the ALCS next season, it’s improving upon those things that will make the biggest difference.

More Seattle Mariners coverage

• MLB Network’s Jon Morosi: Two decisions stand out from Game 7 loss
• What They Said: Seattle Mariners after losing ALCS Game 7
• Mariners’ Dan Wilson backs Game 7 bullpen decision
• Stacy Rost: What to point to from Mariners’ Game 7 loss
• Heartbreak: Seattle Mariners sunk by Blue Jays in ALCS Game 7