After Seattle took a 3-1 lead into the bottom of the seventh inning,\u00a0Toronto Blue Jays slugger George Springer blasted a go-ahead, three-run homer<\/a> off reliever Eduard Bazardo that proved to be the deciding blow in the Mariners\u2019 gut-wrenching 4-3 loss<\/a> in Game 7 of the American League Championship Series on Monday night.<\/p>\n That fateful seventh inning is destined to haunt the M\u2019s and their long-suffering fanbase for a long time. And as is the case with most nail-biting October losses, the pitching decisions will be heavily analyzed and debated.<\/p>\n That was what\u00a0MLB Network\u2019s Jon Morosi<\/a> focused on during his postgame reaction video for Seattle Sports, which can be viewed above in its entirety.<\/p>\n \u201cThis Game 7 was in the Mariners\u2019 grasp (with) nine outs to go,\u201d Morosi said. \u201cAnd when we look back on this one, we\u2019ll probably think about two decisions: Removing George Kirby after four innings, and then extending Bryan Woo beyond two innings.\u201d<\/p>\n Kirby got the start for Seattle and tossed four innings of one-run ball, allowing four hits and one walk on 65 pitches.<\/p>\n With it being an all-hands-on-deck situation, Mariners manager Dan Wilson then went to the bullpen, where he had a unique weapon in All-Star Bryan Woo. Woo was the team\u2019s best starting pitcher this season, but he took on a bullpen role for the ALCS after dealing with pectoral inflammation that sidelined him for the final week of the regular season and the AL Division Series.<\/p>\n Woo began by throwing a pair of scoreless frames, working around a leadoff walk in the fifth and a one-out single in the sixth. By that point, he\u2019d thrown 28 pitches. That was exactly how many he\u2019d thrown in his two-inning relief stint back in Game 5, which was his first time pitching in four weeks.<\/p>\n Wilson\u2019s decision to send Woo back out for the seventh backfired, as the 25-year-old issued a leadoff walk to Addison Barger on five pitches and then gave up a single to Isiah Kiner-Falefa. No. 9 hitter Andr\u00e9s Gim\u00e9nez then followed with a sacrifice bunt to put runners on second and third.<\/p>\n Wilson then went to\u00a0Bazardo, who was a breakthrough success story and a trusted reliever for the M\u2019s this season. But on his second pitch of the night, Bazardo left a 1-0 sinker over the inside part of the plate and Springer turned on it for the pennant-deciding blast.<\/p>\n \u201cThe thought I had was that after Woo completed the sixth, we might see the bullpen get involved to begin the seventh, (with) perhaps two innings being the limit of Woo,\u201d Morosi said. \u201cBut you understand why Dan Wilson stuck with Woo. He had been their best pitcher for most of the season.<\/p>\n \u201cBut it seemed as though with his current range right now, perhaps Woo was a bit overextended. The command wasn\u2019t quite there.\u201d<\/p>\n Morosi then explained the argument for letting Kirby pitch the fifth inning and how that could have changed the calculus for Woo and the rest of the bullpen.<\/p>\n \u201cKirby\u2019s fastball command, I thought, was much improved from where it had been earlier on in this series,\u201d Morosi said. \u201cPerhaps if they had gone with one extra inning from Kirby, then you could have gotten the two innings from Woo. That would have brought you through the seventh, and then you would have been able to potentially go right to (closer Andr\u00e9s) Mu\u00f1oz and skip over Bazardo.\u201d<\/p>\n More from Seattle Mariners\u2019 ALCS loss<\/p>\n \u2022 What They Said: Seattle Mariners after losing ALCS Game 7<\/a>
\u2022 Stacy Rost: What to point to from Seattle Mariners\u2019 Game 7 defeat<\/a>
\u2022 Mariners\u2019 Dan Wilson backs Game 7 bullpen decision<\/a>
\u2022\u00a0Called It: Polanco predicts Julio\u2019s homer in ALCS Game 7<\/a>
\u2022\u00a0Seattle Mariners\u2019 Josh Naylor at center of unusual play in Game 7<\/a><\/p>\n
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