![\"\"\/](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/indicator-big.gif\")
<\/p>\n\u201cI\u2019m torn.\u201d<\/p>\n
\t<\/p>\n
The Mariners scored five runs in the eighth inning Friday to top the Jays 6-2 and take a 3-2 lead in the ALCS. Game 6 goes Sunday at Rogers Centre \u2014 just down the street from Scotiabank Arena where the Kraken faced the Toronto Maple Leafs on Saturday night. Game 7, if necessary, would be Monday.<\/p>\n
Kraken defenceman and Toronto native Jamie Oleksiak said he remains a Jays fan despite getting caught up in Seattle\u2019s run on the diamond. The hulking blueliner was in attendance when the Mariners beat the Detroit Tigers in 15 innings last week to advance to the franchise\u2019s first ALCS since 2001.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m always cheering for the Jays,\u201d said Oleksiak, who watched Friday\u2019s game with his family. \u201cI\u2019m happy either way, I guess \u2026 it\u2019s been competitive and entertaining.\u201d<\/p>\n
Like many Jays fans, he tried to put on a brave face after an ugly bullpen implosion in Seattle roughly 12 hours earlier pushed Toronto to the brink of elimination.<\/p>\n
\u201cStill some series left,\u201d Oleksiak said.<\/p>\n
Fellow defenceman Vince Dunn, who grew up in Mississauga, Ont., said he\u2019s been conflicted watching the Mariners, who have never played in a World Series, and the Jays go toe-to-toe in a compelling matchup.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Mariners not ever having won a championship, it\u2019s maybe something that you\u2019re hoping for and can rally around,\u201d he said. \u201cThe teams in Seattle are pretty supportive of each other. I can only do my part and support them as well. <\/p>\n
\u201cWhoever wins, it\u2019s a happy home for me.\u201d <\/p>\n
First-year Kraken head coach Lane Lambert \u2014 an associate with the Leafs last season \u2014 said his support is firmly planted in the Mariners\u2019 corner.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s crazy,\u201d said the Melfort, Sask., product. \u201cBoth cities, I was just in one and (now) in Seattle. I\u2019m a homer. It was a heck of a game (Friday) night.\u201d<\/p>\n
A member of the Kraken since the club\u2019s inaugural 2021-22 season and named the second captain in franchise history last October, Eberle has grown to appreciate his adopted city\u2019s passion for its teams, including the NFL\u2019s Seahawks and the Sounders of Major League Soccer.<\/p>\n
\u201cI love Seattle sports fans,\u201d he said. \u201cBut I know how the Jays fans are, too.\u201d<\/p>\n
Eberle is also keenly aware the team that advances from the ALCS will face a potential buzz saw with the Shohei Ohtani-led Los Angeles Dodgers already waiting after completing their sweep of the Milwaukee Brewers in the National League Championship Series.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s gonna be awesome,\u201d Eberle said. \u201cBut either way, they\u2019re gonna have their hands full.\u201d <\/p>\n
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 18, 2025.<\/p>\n
Joshua Clipperton, The Canadian Press<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\u201cI\u2019m torn.\u201d The Mariners scored five runs in the eighth inning Friday to top the Jays 6-2 and…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":223394,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[558],"tags":[64,63,591,85],"class_list":["post-223393","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-mlb","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-mlb","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/223393","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=223393"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/223393\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/223394"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=223393"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=223393"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=223393"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}