TORONTO — Their winning magic was replaced by costly mistakes. Their opportunities with runners in scoring position were squandered, not only by random outs but with three inning-killing, momentum-sapping double plays. The earned optimism from fans following their dramatic success just two days earlier, quickly devolved into a familiar fatalistic rage.
With a chance to advance to the World Series to meet the Los Angeles Dodgers, the Mariners slogged their way through a performance that was nowhere near championship-caliber in a listless, sloppy 6-2 loss to the Blue Jays on Sunday night.
It was the sort of showing you might expect to see on the final getaway day of a nine-game East Coast road trip in August with a half-full stadium, not in a sold-out Game 6 of the American League Championship Series at Rogers Centre.
In what was the most important game in franchise history to date, the Mariners received a suboptimal start from Logan Gilbert, committed three errors in the field — something they hadn’t done all season — leading to one unearned run, got carved up by a rookie pitcher making his sixth MLB start, twice hit into inning-ending double plays with the bases loaded, while also making missteps on the basepaths.
Or as Cal Raleigh deftly surmised, “It’s not what you want.”
AL championship series
Mariners 3, Blue Jays 3
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For the second time in this historic postseason run, the Mariners had a chance to clinch a series a game early and lost, decisively.
They now face a simple scenario:
Win, and you advance to baseball’s biggest stage while becoming legends in the city of Seattle.
Lose, and this wonderful ride ends in heartbreak while you have the infamy of being one of a handful of teams to take a 2-0 lead on the road and manage to lose a seven-game series.
“This is the stuff you do in your backyard as a kid with whether it’s a parent, a friend, cousin, whoever it is,” Josh Naylor said. “But you imagine those games in the moment, and you just try to have fun with it. Sometimes you’re gonna fail, sometimes you’re gonna succeed. It’s all about just preparing the best you can.”
Seattle will start George Kirby in Game 7 while Toronto will go with veteran right-hander Shane Bieber.
Since the ALCS increased to a seven-game series in 1985, only three teams have won a Game 7 on the road — the 1985 Royals, the 2004 Red Sox and the 2023 Rangers.
Mitch Garver was on that Rangers squad that drubbed the Astros in Game 7 at then-Minute Maid Park.
“As if every pitch could somehow matter more,” he said. “The playoffs are crazy, but Game 7s are wild. You have to set the tone early.”
Garver mentioned Corey Seager hitting a 440-foot homer off Cristian Javier in the second at-bat of the game.
“That set the tone for our team,” Garver said. “I always thought this series was going to come down to seven games because both teams are just too good.”
You want to set the tone without trying to do too much to make it happen. Trying to force a result will only lead to failure.
“I just feel like it’s gonna be another game,” Julio Rodríguez said. “We all know what it means, but same time, like we’re gonna be playing the same nine innings, and it’s gonna be 27 outs.”
Well, the last time the Mariners played in an elimination game was Game 5 of the American League Division Series. And it went 15 innings and required 45 outs.
The Mariners have talked often about their inner resiliency this season. They flush the failures and struggles immediately and bounce back mentally without hesitation. They will need to showcase it Monday.
“We’ve done it enough this year that I think the guys will be ready to go and up for the challenge,” Raleigh said.
Gilbert pitched four innings, giving up five runs (four earned) on seven hits with a walk and three strikeouts to take the loss.
“I let the team down for sure,” Gilbert said. “I wanted to win it tonight and had a great opportunity. It’s on me. But this team has a ton of fight. I believe we are going to bounce back like we’ve done all year.”
His teammates didn’t provide much help defensively in the second inning. Daulton Varsho led off the inning with a single to left center and advanced to second when Rodríguez misplayed the ball. Gilbert looked like he would get an out without the runner advancing when Ernie Clement hit a crisp ground ball to third base. But Eugenio Suárez mishandled the ball for the second error in the inning. Addison Barger followed with a single that scored Varsho from second and allowed Clement to advance from first to third.
That loomed large when the Mariners couldn’t make a play on Isiah Kiner-Falefa’s swinging bunt, allowing another run to score to make it 2-0.
“I take it on myself because I didn’t set the tone at all,” Gilbert said. “Really from the get go, there was a lot of traffic, no quick innings, stuff like that. Their guy was on and I didn’t match it. So I feel like that’s on me.”
The Blue Jays tacked on two more runs after Gilbert recorded two quick outs to start the third inning. Clement tripled off the wall in left field, and Addison Barger turned a splitter that hung up in the zone into a laser into the seats in right-center for a two-run homer.
Gilbert actually started the fifth inning and served up a solo homer to Vladimir Guerrero Jr. that ended his outing.
“I left the ball up; and when I made a mistake, they didn’t miss them,” Gilbert said.
Rookie right-hander Trey Yesavage, who was selected in the 2024 draft, held Seattle scoreless for the first five innings, using a funky delivery, a nasty splitter while being aided by three huge double plays.
The Mariners loaded the bases with one out in the third inning, bringing Raleigh to the plate. He swung at a first-pitch splitter, producing a hard ground ball to the right side, Guerrero fielded it, fired to second for the force out and shortstop Andrés Giménez threw to Yesavage covering first base.
“I thought I hit the ball hard, but obviously, I have to get it in the air,” Raleigh said. “No excuses there.”
An inning later, the Mariners loaded the bases and J.P. Crawford’s hard one hopper up the middle was turned into a double play.
Naylor picked up the Mariners’ first run off Yesavage, smacking a solo homer to right field with two outs in the sixth. Seattle added another run in the inning as Randy Arozarena singled off Yesavage and later scored from first on Suarez’s bloop single to right field off reliever Louis Varland.
Toronto tacked on two more runs on the Mariners bullpen later in the game.