A late three-run home run by the Toronto Blue Jays ended the Seattle Mariner’s longest postseason run and their World Series hopes. The Blue Jays will now face the L.A. Dodgers in the World Series.

LEILA FADEL, HOST:

The Seattle Mariners are the only team in Major League Baseball to have never played in the World Series. After 49 seasons, the streak continues. The Mariners lost to the Toronto Blue Jays Monday night in a winner-take-all playoff game. From Seattle member station KUOW, Vaughan Jones has more.

VAUGHAN JONES, BYLINE: The Seattle Mariners’ fan base is long-tortured. After winning a record-tying 116 games in 2001, the Mariners were unable to make the World Series, then proceeded to miss the playoffs for 21 straight years. This year, things had been different. Monday’s Game 7 of the American League Championship Series is the furthest the Mariners had ever been in the MLB postseason. And that remains the case after a late-game home run propelled the Toronto Blue Jays to a victory and the World Series.

ARI ZANSBERG: There’s a certain peace that comes with it being over, and I guess the knowledge that you’re a fan of a team that’s cursed.

JONES: That’s Ari Zansberg (ph). He flew out from France to watch the Mariners play in person and stayed for the Mariners’ official watch parties at T-Mobile Park. Zansberg wasn’t the only disappointed fan leaving the ballpark, but fan Suraj Hassan (ph) says there’s no curses at play.

SURAJ HASSAN: There’s no such thing. It’s baseball. There’s a fastball. There’s a splitter. There’s a curveball. Hit the ball. Be patient. Find your pitch. Keep your eye in the zone. That’s it.

JONES: Both Zansberg and Hassan agreed, though, the Mariners gave the city something to be excited for, and they could get back to the postseason with the team they have. The Mariners will have to watch the World Series from the outside for the 49th straight year. The fall classic starts on Friday night at Rogers Centre in Toronto.

For NPR News, I’m Vaughan Jones in Seattle.

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