\u201cIt\u2019s so Geno Su\u00e1rez,\u201d Drayer said. \u201cHe proceeded to walk the entire length of the plane and hugged every person on it.\u201d<\/p>\n
From July: Su\u00e1rez surprised M\u2019s by catching team flight to Seattle<\/a><\/p>\n Seattle\u2019s lineup had more power than it had in years, but\u00a0Su\u00e1rez cooled toward the end of the season. He hit just .190 in September, though with 13 home runs from August to the end of the regular season, he still finished with 49 homers on the year. Plus, the Mariners clinched a playoff spot and boasted the second-highest team OPS that month, so few were panicking about his bat.<\/p>\n But that slump lingered in October in a noticeable way. He was 2 for 22 in four postseason games at T-Mobile Park entering Friday\u2019s ALCS Game 5. Suddenly the Su\u00e1rez acquisition was an excrcise in semantics. Well, maybe he didn\u2019t make you better in the postseason, but the Mariners acquiring the single-biggest player at the deadline sent a message to the rest of the league and, more importantly, the players in their own clubhouse.<\/p>\n It\u2019s about culture change. And that\u2019s worth something\u2026 right?<\/p>\n Truthfully, it is. But tangible production matters more, especially when your team needs it most.<\/p>\n Through most of Friday\u2019s Game 5, the Mariners failed to muster enough offense to overcome a 2-1 Blue Jays lead. In a welcome sight for Seattle, starting pitcher Bryce Miller did was he was supposed to do. Then Bryan Woo, in his first appearance of the postseason, surrendered the go-ahead run when a sprinting Alejandro Kirk beat Dom Canzone\u2019s throw from right field. It was a deficit, but by far the most manageable one offered by Toronto through three games in Seattle.<\/p>\n A home run from Cal Raleigh off Brendon Little that looked like it could scrape the roof tied the game in the eighth inning. And after Little walked Jorge Polanco and Josh Naylor, Blue Jays manager John Schneider called on Seranthony Dom\u00ednguez to stop the bleeding. Instead, a hit by pitch on Randy Arozarena loaded the bases for Seattle \u2013 and Su\u00e1rez.<\/p>\n Su\u00e1rez had already knocked in a run for Seattle with a solo shot in the second. And on the sixth pitch from Dom\u00ednguez, he launched another into right field, giving the Mariners a 3-2 series lead and life they desperately needed before a deciding road trip coming up in Toronto.<\/p>\n Su\u00e1rez salami gives Mariners 3-2 lead in ALCS over Blue Jays<\/a><\/p>\n The Mariners still have to take a win on the road. But that\u2019s tomorrow\u2019s worry. For one more night in Seattle, thanks to Su\u00e1rez, the vibes are pretty good.<\/p>\n A trade should make you better. But the Mariners didn\u2019t just get better tonight.<\/p>\n They got further.<\/p>\n Seattle Mariners ALCS coverage<\/p>\n \u2022 Recap: M\u2019s come back to beat Blue Jays 6-2, take 3-2 ALCS lead<\/a>
\u2022 Mariners\u2019 defense shines with web gems in pivotal ALCS Game 5 win<\/a>
\u2022 Blue Jays drop slugger from roster for rest of series<\/a>
\u2022 What They Said: Mariners not backing down against Blue Jays<\/a>
\u2022 Drayer: Why Seattle Mariners are using Bryan Woo out of the bullpen <\/a><\/p>\n
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