First came the sound of the smack, then came the symphony of cheers. Eugenio Suárez did what the Seattle Mariners brought him back to do: tee off, with power.
Suárez, a 34-year-old trade-deadline acquisition in his second stint with the Mariners, launched a go-ahead grand slam in Game 5 of the ALCS on Friday, lifting the Seattle Mariners to a 6-2 win over the Toronto Blue Jays and a 3-2 advantage in the series.
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Seattle entered the eighth inning down 2-1 and then erupted for five runs, thanks to the power-surged bats of Cal Raleigh and Suárez, who also hit a solo shot in the second inning.
Defense, though, is what kept the Mariners in the game while their offense went soul searching.
Josh Naylor turned two after catching a lineout to first in the top of the third. In the top of the fourth, Seattle escaped a bases-loaded, no-out jam. A timely strikeout from right-handed starter Bryce Miller was followed by a heads-up double play orchestrated by Raleigh, who retrieved a tapper before it rolled back foul, stepped on home plate and threw to first for the third out. In the top of the eighth, Mariners left fielder Randy Arozarena robbed Ernie Clement of a home run that would’ve given the Blue Jays an insurance run at the time.
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After Suárez’s solo home run gave the Mariners an early one-run lead, the Jays knotted the game at 1-1 with a George Springer double in the fifth after Mariners manager Dan Wilson pivoted from Miller to the bullpen. In the top of the seventh, Springer left the game after he took a Bryan Woo pitch to the knee.
Woo had entered the game in the sixth. It was the right-handed All-Star’s first outing since he left a Sept. 19 start against the Houston Astros due to pectoral tightness. The Blue Jays spoiled his return to the mound. Alejandro Kirk doubled and then scored on a single, putting Toronto up 2-1. On the scoring play, Clement swatted one to right, and all 245 pounds of the 5-foot-8 catcher rumbled home. The throw from Seattle right fielder Dominic Canzone was off the mark.
Meanwhile, Toronto continued to keep Seattle’s offense at bay. Kevin Gausman delivered a solid start, allowing only three hits and one run in 5 2/3 innings of work. Fellow righty Louis Varland recorded a pair of strikeouts over the next 1 1/3 innings. It wasn’t until the eighth that Seattle woke up at the plate.
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Before the game, Wilson made serious changes to the heart of Seattle’s lineup. He moved Julio Rodríguez — typically the Mariners’ three- or four-hole hitter — to the leadoff spot. Naylor climbed up to cleanup, and Arozarena, who batted first in the first four games of the series, dropped to fifth in the order.
But Raleigh was still batting second. And that’s where he swung the momentum. Leading off the eighth, the Big Dumper took a Brendon Little pitch over the left-field wall to make it a 2-2 game. The high-arcing homer was the switching-hitting catcher’s 64th big fly of the year.
The left-handed Little walked the next two batters. Then righty Seranthony Domínguez came in and pelted Arozarena to load the bases. That was Suárez’s cue. The former Arizona Diamondback tallied his fourth grand slam of the season, causing pandemonium at T-Mobile Park.
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The Mariners were outscored 21-6 in ALCS Games 3 and 4. Their bats were similarly quiet in Game 5 — until the eighth inning. Then Raleigh and Suárez rocked the Blue Jays, sending them back to Toronto with their backs against the wall in what is proving to be a thrilling ALCS.
ALCS Game 5 live blogLive coverage is over36 updates
Fri, October 17, 2025 at 8:12 PM CDT
Thanks to Eugenio Suárez’s eighth-inning heroics, the Mariners are headed back to Toronto up 3-2 in this American League Championship Series. Game 6 is at 8:03 p.m. ET Sunday, and if Seattle wins, it’ll clinch the first World Series appearance in franchise history.
Fri, October 17, 2025 at 8:27 PM CDT
Fri, October 17, 2025 at 8:06 PM CDT
Seattle heads to the top of the ninth with a four-run lead, and they’ll look to finally take a game at home in this ALCS before the series shifts back to Toronto.
Fri, October 17, 2025 at 8:03 PM CDT
Seranthony Domínguez hit Randy Arozarena to load the bases, and Eugenio Suárez made him pay with a long ball to right that electrified T-Mobile Park. The Mariners now lead 6-2
Fri, October 17, 2025 at 7:55 PM CDT
Josh Naylor walks, and the Mariners have two on with nobody out.
Fri, October 17, 2025 at 7:54 PM CDT
This could be the Mariners’ chance to take the lead.
One on, nobody out. Naylor is up to bat.
Fri, October 17, 2025 at 7:49 PM CDT
Cal Raleigh led off the bottom of the eighth with a solo home run, and we are tied in Game 5.
Fri, October 17, 2025 at 7:47 PM CDT
Speier makes quick work of the Blue Jays to send it to the bottom of the eighth.
The Mariners have six more outs to mount a comeback
Fri, October 17, 2025 at 7:42 PM CDT
Gabe Speier is taking over after Bryan Woo’s two innings. He’ll face Daulton Varsho to start.
Andy Backstrom
Louis Varland ended up recording a 1-2-3 inning after Dominic Canzone’s near homer.
Toronto still leads 2-1, heading into the eighth.
Andy Backstrom
Dominic Canzone went the opposite way and nearly tied the game in the process.
But his fly ball to left field was barely foul in the bottom of the seventh inning.
He then struck out.
Andy Backstrom
Blue Jays DH George Springer was down in pain after taking a 95 mph pitch right in the kneecap.
After trying to walk it off, Springer was replaced by Joey Loperfido, who is pinch running.
Andy Backstrom
After Kevin Gausman walked Randy Arozarena, Blue Jays manager John Schneider went to the pen.
Gausman’s day was done. He finished with only three hits and one run allowed in 5 2/3 innings of work.
Fellow righty Louis Varland entered and, after walking Eugenio Suárez, forced J.P. Crawford into an inning-ending groundout.
The Blue Jays are still ahead 2-1.
Andy Backstrom
Bryan Woo immediately allowed a double to Alejandro Kirk, who then scored on an Ernie Clement single to right.
Kirk was aggressive in his base running, but all 245 pounds of him rumbled home in time. The throw from Seattle right fielder Dominic Canzone was off the mark.
Not only did Kirk cross home plate, but Clement advanced to second.
The Blue Jays are heading into the bottom of the sixth with a 2-1 lead.
Andy Backstrom
All-Star starting pitcher Bryan Woo is making his first appearance since he left a Sept. 19 start against the Houston Astros due to pectoral tightness.
Mariners manager Dan Wilson is calling Woo’s number in the top of the sixth inning with the game tied 1-1.
Andy Backstrom
Kevin Gausman walked Leo Rivas on four pitches with only out in the bottom of the fifth inning.
But then he got Julio Rodríguez to line out and Cal Raleigh to fly out.
Andy Backstrom
After allowing an RBI double to George Springer, Mariners right-handed reliever Matt Brash walked Nathan Lukes.
That put two men on with Vladimir Guerrero Jr. up with two outs. Brash struck him out swinging with a 96 mph sinker.
Andy Backstrom
Mariners manager Dan Wilson turned to right-handed reliever Matt Brash.
Brash induced a flyout and then impressively fielded a swinging bunt from Andrés Giménez that advanced Addison Barger to second.
George Springer drove him home with a double that bounced off the left-center wall.
Andy Backstrom
The Mariners dodged early-game scoring threats from the Blue Jays, and now, after starter Bryce Miller allowed a leadoff single in the top of the fifth inning, manager Dan Wilson is making a call to the bullpen.
Andy Backstrom
Josh Naylor dropped a single into left, but he was thrown out at second on a subsequent Randy Arozarena grounder.
Arozarena swiped second for his fourth stolen base of the series, but Blue Jays’ starter Kevin Gausman ended the inning by inducing a J.P. Crawford flyout.