TORONTO (AP) \u2014 The Mariners decided to go sleepless in Seattle instead of being tired in Toronto.<\/p>\n
After celebrating their 3-2 win over Detroit<\/a> in Game 5 of the AL Division Series, the team stayed in Seattle before heading to Toronto for a late Saturday arrival ahead of a AL Championship Series matchup against the Blue Jays.<\/p>\n \u201cOur guys will be ready,\u201d Mariners manager Dan Wilson said. \u201cWe\u2019ll get there tonight, get some rest, and we\u2019ll be ready to go.\u201d<\/p>\n In the ALCS for the fourth time and first since 2001, Seattle opens the best-of-seven series on Sunday night.<\/p>\n After eliminating the New York Yankees with a Game 4 win<\/a> in their Division Series on Wednesday night, the Blue Jays were free to relax on Friday. Outfielder Myles Straw and teammate Davis Schneider went out together to a Toronto bar to see who\u2019d they face in the team\u2019s eighth trip to the ALCS, its first since 2016.<\/p>\n \u201cWould have liked to have got out a little bit sooner, but we had a good night,\u201d Straw said of the late finish.<\/p>\n Seattle used three starting pitchers in Friday\u2019s win over Detroit, with Luis Castillo and Logan Gilbert both entering in relief.<\/p>\n That leaves Bryce Miller, who started Wednesday, to take the mound Sunday on three days\u2019 rest.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s super cool,\u201d Miller said. \u201cI\u2019m fired up.<\/p>\n Miller threw 55 pitches in Game 4, allowing two runs and four hits in 4 1\/3 innings.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019ll take him as far as he can go,\u201d Wilson said.<\/p>\n Miller will be opposed by Kevin Gausman, who hasn\u2019t pitched since giving up one run and four hits over 5 2\/3 innings in Toronto\u2019s ALDS opener on Oct. 4. Blue Jays manager John Schneider said Gausman\u2019s consistency and calm made him the right choice.<\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s something about his demeanor, just kind of his presence every day, where the day he\u2019s pitching everybody feels a little bit more confident going into it,\u201d Schneider said.<\/p>\n Seattle, the only current big league team to never host the World Series, has won two games or fewer in three previous ALCS trips, losing once to Cleveland and twice to the Yankees.<\/p>\n Toronto, which lost the ALCS to Kansas City in 2015 and to Cleveland in 2016, won four of six meetings with the Mariners during the regular season, losing two of three at home in April and sweeping a three-game series at Seattle from May 9-11. The teams haven\u2019t faced each other since.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s definitely a fun city,\u201d Seattle star Cal Raleigh said of Toronto. \u201cIt\u2019s a nice stadium, and they\u2019re a good team. Always look forward to the challenge of playing them. Just always fun.\u201d<\/p>\n Running start<\/p>\n Schneider said shortstop Bo Bichette ran the bases Saturday, the first time he\u2019s done that since spraining his left knee last month. The two-time AL hits leader and two-time All-Star was injured in a Sept. 6 collision with Yankees catcher Austin Wells<\/a> and hasn\u2019t played since.<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t want to say he\u2019s our last decision, but he\u2019s one of them,\u201d Schneider said. \u201cObviously you want his bat in the lineup.\u201d<\/p>\n Bichette has been taking swings against teammates Max Scherzer and Chris Bassitt in recent days.<\/p>\n \u201cA lot of swings, looked pretty good,\u201d Schneider said.<\/p>\n Controlling Cal<\/p>\n After doing a good job of keeping New York\u2019s Aaron Judge in check during the Division Series, Toronto\u2019s pitchers now face the job of containing Raleigh. The switch-hitting catcher had 60 home runs during the regular season and hit one more in the ALDS.<\/p>\n Raleigh has seven home runs in 11 regular season games north of the border and went 4 for 8 with a homer in Seattle\u2019s sweep of Toronto in the 2022 Wild Card Series.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat a season he\u2019s had and what a great switch-hitter at such a hard position to hit,\u201d Gausman said of Raleigh. \u201cTo catch as many games as he has, what a season he\u2019s put together. I also feel confident with myself that I can go out and get him out. I\u2019ve gotten him out before, so now it\u2019s just about mixing up pitches and trying to keep him off balance.\u201d<\/p>\n Trey\u2019d Day<\/p>\n