{"id":217306,"date":"2025-10-16T08:27:08","date_gmt":"2025-10-16T08:27:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/217306\/"},"modified":"2025-10-16T08:27:08","modified_gmt":"2025-10-16T08:27:08","slug":"mlb-playoffs-2025-vlad-guerrero-jr-s-near-cycle-leads-the-way-as-blue-jays-storm-back-for-alcs-game-3-victory-vs-mariners","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/217306\/","title":{"rendered":"MLB playoffs 2025: Vlad Guerrero Jr.’s near-cycle leads the way as Blue Jays storm back for ALCS Game 3 victory vs. Mariners"},"content":{"rendered":"

SEATTLE \u2014 As the ball rolled rapidly toward the right-center-field wall, Vladimir Guerrero Jr.\u2019s eyes grew wide. For the fourth time in four at-bats Wednesday in ALCS Game 3,<\/a> Guerrero had blistered an offering from a Mariners pitcher and was about to reap the rewards.<\/p>\n

But this was more than just another well-struck ball. Guerrero\u2019s first three hits of the night were a high-bouncing chopper that he legged out for an infield single, a screaming line-drive double that nearly dented the left-field fence and a booming home run to straightaway center field. If Guerrero kicked it into high gear as his fourth batted ball scurried toward the fence and raced for a triple, a cycle \u2014 just the second in MLB postseason history \u2014 was within reach.<\/p>\n

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Alas, it was not to be. As Seattle center fielder Julio Rodriguez hustled over and hurried the ball in, Guerrero sensibly slowed at second and settled for his second double of the game, recognizing that pushing for a historic individual achievement amid a 12-2 playoff game posed more risk than reward. Still, he turned to his teammates and grinned, knowing what could have been.<\/p>\n

“We were all yelling,\u201d infielder Ernie Clement said afterward. \u201cWe couldn’t believe it. We wore him out.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI didn’t even realize he was a triple shy,\u201d third baseman Addison Barger said. \u201cAnd then everybody’s like, \u2018Go, go, go! Go to third!\u2019 And I said, \u2018Why would he go to third? It’s, like, 12 to 2.’ And then I was like, \u2018Oh, s***, he would’ve hit for the cycle.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

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“He’s being smart. It could have been a play where he just slides and hurts himself,\u201d conceded backup catcher Tyler Heineman, one of several teammates who was visibly disappointed as Guerrero coasted into second. \u201c\u2026 I would have loved to see him do it just because I’ve never seen a cycle. But I’m just happy he had a good night.”<\/p>\n

Cycle or not, one thing was clear: The Toronto Blue Jays were having a blast.<\/p>\n

[Get more Toronto news: Blue Jays team feed<\/a>]<\/p>\n

Guerrero\u2019s four-hit game was the headlining performance of a collective offensive outburst for the Blue Jays\u2019 lineup in Game 3, as Toronto emphatically distanced itself from an uncharacteristic no-show in the first two games of the series en route to a decisive 13-4 victory<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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Undaunted by the challenges of traveling cross-continent with a 2-0 series deficit and awakening an offense in the least hitter-friendly ballpark in the majors, the Blue Jays exploded for 18 hits, including five home runs. Every Toronto starter reached base at least once, eight scored at least one run, and six recorded multi-hit games. The 13 runs were the most the Mariners had allowed in a home game since June 30, 2023<\/a>.<\/p>\n

As usual, Guerrero was at the center of it all.<\/p>\n

The face of the franchise completely torched the New York Yankees in the ALDS, demolishing any perception of October struggles after six poor games across three previous postseason appearances. But with the stakes higher in the championship series, even Guerrero\u2019s spectacular showing against New York was quickly forgotten when he went hitless in both games in Toronto as the Blue Jays fell into a stunning hole to open the series against Seattle. As a whole, the Blue Jays mustered one hit after George Springer\u2019s leadoff homer in a 3-1 loss in Game 1<\/a>, and the offense evaporated again the next night, notching one hit over the final seven innings while the Mariners cruised to a 10-3 victory in Game 2<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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Combined with how formidable the Mariners looked on both sides of the ball in Toronto, the Blue Jays seemed to be in an especially precarious position as they headed west. But the consecutive lackluster showings at the plate were an extreme outlier for this unit, and that offered reason for optimism as the series shifted to Seattle.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt’s not like we went out there and played our game and lost,\u201d veteran pitcher Chris Bassitt said ahead of Game 3. \u201cWe still have a lot of confidence in our game and how we play and what we do.\u201d<\/p>\n

That confidence was rightfully rooted in a full-season sample that indicated the Blue Jays\u2019 offense was not to be taken lightly, having led MLB in batting average and on-base percentage while ranking fourth in runs per game. And sure enough, in Game 3, led by Guerrero\u2019s humongous display at the plate \u2014 the kind that has so often gone hand-in-hand with his team\u2019s success \u2014 the Blue Jays got back to playing their game, making this ALCS all the more compelling.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe’s our heart and soul,\u201d Clement said of his superstar teammate. \u201cHe carries the load. The last few years, I’ve seen him struggle, I’ve seen him be the best hitter on the planet. I see the work that he puts in. And to see him have success on the biggest stage, when everybody knows we need him to do it, is special.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Said Barger: “Even if he’s off, he’s still gonna produce with the best of them. But when he’s on, it’s scary \u2014 there’s not much they can do. I feel bad for the pitchers.”<\/p>\n

Toronto\u2019s confidence that the bats would break out proved warranted, as the Blue Jays tagged Seattle starter George Kirby for eight runs Wednesday before adding five more against the underbelly of the Mariners\u2019 bullpen. But Toronto\u2019s outlook on the mound was less certain entering Game 3. Taking the ball was high-profile trade-deadline acquisition Shane Bieber after his first postseason showing as a Blue Jay went rather poorly, with Bieber recording just eight outs in Toronto\u2019s lone loss to the Yankees in the ALDS.<\/p>\n

Bieber\u2019s second outing didn\u2019t inspire much confidence in the early going, either, as Julio Rodriguez destroyed a poorly located fastball in the bottom of the first inning for a quick 2-0 Mariners lead that sent T-Mobile Park into an immediate frenzy. For a Blue Jays team desperate for any semblance of momentum, it was an ominous opening. But Bieber remained confident that he could turn his outing around.<\/p>\n

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\u201cIt was an unfortunate start, but I came into the dugout and told the guys, \u2018Pick me up.\u2019 Like, \u2018I got good stuff tonight,\u2019\u201d Bieber said afterward. \u201cAnd they definitely listened and picked me up in a huge way, and I was able to go back out there \u2026 and reestablish what I wanted to do.\u201d<\/p>\n

In an era defined by high-end velocity, Bieber, whose fastball maxed out at 93.7 mph in Game 3, thrives on precision and sequencing, rather than rearing back and unleashing hellacious heat. And after his one glaring mistake to Rodriguez \u2014 and after the Blue Jays supplied him with five runs of support in the top of third inning \u2014 Bieber hit his stride and started to carve through the Mariners\u2019 lineup with a balanced diet of his five-pitch mix. The slider was the star, coaxing seven whiffs on a dozen swings. But the changeup, knuckle-curve and cutter all served as valuable weapons, in turn making his fastball more effective as the game went along. The pitch\u2019s infrequent and unpredictable deployment actually made it more difficult to handle, despite its pedestrian velocity.<\/p>\n

After that first inning, just two more baserunners reached against Bieber, as he completed six frames on 88 pitches with eight strikeouts and just the two runs allowed on the Rodriguez blast. As it turned out, after ace Kevin Gausman had an untimely misstep late in Game 1 and multiple key arms surrendered runs in an ugly Game 2, Bieber served as a much-needed stabilizing force on the mound for Toronto.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt’s fun to watch guys like that work,\u201d manager John Schneider said afterward. \u201cIt was exactly what we needed tonight.\u201d<\/p>\n

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With the tone of the series firmly altered by Toronto\u2019s resounding triumph in Game 3, the focus now shifts back to the home team and its ability to bounce back from another postseason pitfall. The Mariners were able to do just that after ALDS Game 4 in Detroit, which followed a similar script to Wednesday\u2019s loss, with an enticing early lead crumbling into a noncompetitive blowout loss.<\/p>\n

Seattle\u2019s epic effort in the 15-inning Game 5 <\/a>to take down the Tigers was an encouraging display of the team\u2019s resilience, but it held significant advantages over Detroit from a talent standpoint. In Thursday\u2019s ALCS Game 4<\/a> and beyond, the Mariners face a much taller task against the top-seeded Blue Jays, regardless of how the first two games unfolded.<\/p>\n

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\u201cMomentum can be a real thing,\u201d Schneider said. \u201cBut we’re going to approach tomorrow like the series is 0-0 and continue to try to do everything we can do to win tomorrow.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"SEATTLE \u2014 As the ball rolled rapidly toward the right-center-field wall, Vladimir Guerrero Jr.\u2019s eyes grew wide. For…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":217307,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[558],"tags":[48296,64,63,132786,16069,12266,21602,121048,21596,15141,20885,16066,5143,591,2704,5142,33136,85,48293,76656,5161,132787,50485],"class_list":["post-217306","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-mlb","tag-addison-barger","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-blue-jay","tag-chris-bassitt","tag-detroit","tag-ernie-clement","tag-george-kirby","tag-george-springer","tag-guerrero","tag-julio-rodriguez","tag-kevin-gausman","tag-mariners","tag-mlb","tag-new-york-yankees","tag-seattle","tag-shane-bieber","tag-sports","tag-the-blue-jays","tag-the-mariners","tag-toronto-blue-jays","tag-tyler-heineman","tag-vladimir-guerrero"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/217306","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=217306"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/217306\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/217307"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=217306"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=217306"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=217306"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}