*Photo from the Los Angeles Times*
Seattle wins series 2-0
They say that anything in baseball is possible. This game is a perfect example of why. JP Crawford tied the game, Adam Frazier brought in the go ahead run, and the Seattle Mariners rallied to defeat the Toronto Blue Jays with a 10-9 victory on Saturday afternoon in Toronto.
Time and again, the Mariners have showed their resilience this season, but nothing has been larger than this moment. Seattle found themselves trailing 8-1 after 5 innings. Instead of folding and looking to a game 3, the Mariners rallied all the way back to pick up the 10-9 win and secure their spot in the ALDS.
With the incredible comeback, the Mariners secured some playoff history as well. The comeback goes down as the biggest road comeback win in playoff history, and the largest comeback in playoff history in a series clinching game. This is the same team that had gone 21 years between playoff appearances.
Crawford said of the team's mentality "Just keep chipping away. We had a bunch of time left. Just get one here, one there, keep having good at bats, keep the line moving, keep getting runners on like we've been doing the whole game, and eventually, we'll find some holes. And we finally found some holes."
In the second inning, Teoscar Hernandez got the Blue Jays a 2-0 lead with a two run home run to left field. Vladimir Guerrero Jr hit a 3rd inning RBI single, and Hernandez homered again to make it 4-0, this one a solo shot to left field. In the top of the 5th, Jarred Kelenic scored Frazier on a sac fly to make it a 4-1 game.
When the bottom of the 5th came around, the Blue Jays took an 8-1 lead. Santiago Espinal scored on a passed ball, Bo Bichette scored on a bases loaded hit by pitch, Guerrero Jr scored on a sac fly, and Danny Jansen hit an RBI double. In the 6th, the Mariners started the comeback when Ty France scored on a passed ball, and Carlos Santana belted a 3 run home run, making it an 8-5 game.
In the 7th inning, Jansen drove in Hernandez with an RBI single to make it 9-5. In the 8th, an RBI single from Raleigh, followed by a 3 run double from Crawford, tied the game 9-9. Frazier doubled to right field in the 9th to score the go ahead run and make it 10-9 Mariners.
Mariners manager Scott Servais said that "I think when you get in trouble is when you try to flip the momentum and you say, ‘OK, I'm going to be the guy that hits a home run here,' or, 'I'm going to be the guy that strikes out the side here.' Do the little things. Have a good at-bat. Figure out how to get on base. Create a rally and pass the baton to the next guy. If you focus on the little things, sometimes big things happen."
Robbie Ray was the starter for the Mariners, giving up 4 runs in 3 innings pitched. Matt Brash pitched a scoreless inning before Paul Sewald allowed 4 runs in 2/3 of an inning. Matt Festa allowed one run, with Diego Castillo, Penn Murfee, Andres Munoz, and George Kirby throwing shutout innings.
Kevin Gausman started for Toronto, allowing 4 runs in 5 2/3 innings. Tim Mayza pitched 2/3 of an inning, yielding one run. Yimi Garcia pitched 2/3 of an inning before Anthony Bass allowed 3 runs without getting an out. Jordan Romano allowed two runs in 1 2/3 innings, and Adam Cimber got the final out of the 9th.
Gausman said of the season ending that "It's just a heartbreaking loss. Tough to watch. It sucks when you're out of the game and you don't have any more say in it, right? You're essentially just watching and hoping. Yeah, that was tough."
Up next, the Mariners will take on the AL West division rival Houston Astros in the ALDS on Tuesday in Houston, with Logan Gilbert getting the start. The Blue Jays get an earlier start to the offseason then they had hoped, looking to make a deeper run next season.
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