George Springer was already a postseason baseball hero before Monday night. But he added to his legacy in a big way in Game 7 of the American League Championship Series — and he carried an entire country on his back in the process.

Springer hit a dramatic three-run home run in the bottom of the seventh inning, and the massive sellout crowd of 44,770 at Rogers Centre in Toronto went nut. It gave the Toronto Blue Jays a 4-3 victory in the winner-take-all showdown, earning them a spot in the World Series for the first time since 1993. That's 32 long, long years of waiting.

The wait will be even longer for the Seattle Mariners. They came up one game — and just a few innings — short of winning their first American League pennant. They are the only one of 30 MLB franchises to never play in a World Series.

For Springer, who won a World Series in 2017 with the Houston Astros and was a postseason fixture with them for seven years, this was a dream come true. He was injured in Game 5 when he was hit by a pitch in the knee, but that didn't stop him one bit. He played in Game 6, and was the hero for all of Canada to celebrate in Game 7.

It was his 23rd career postseason homer, tied for third-most in baseball history.

“I love this team. I’ll do anything for these guys,” Springer said, the stadium celebrating around him. “I’ll do anything to try to play. I love this place.”

Seattle looked primed to make history themselves.  Both teams scored a run in the first, the Mariners on a Josh Naylor single and the Jays on a Daulton Varsho hit. Then the Seattle sluggers took over, with stars Julio Rodriguez hitting a lead-off homer in the third innings, and Cal Raleigh hitting a solo shot in the fifth.

It was Raleigh's fifth postseason home run, tied for the most by a catcher in baseball history. It was also his 65th home run of the year, the most ever by an American League player. 

George Kirby pitched four innings for the Mariners and allowed just the one run. Bryan Woo followed and had a perfect fifth inning and allowed just a single in the sixth.

He came back out for the seventh inning, but allowed a lead-off walk to Addison Barger, the No. 7 hitter in the order, and then Isaiah Kiner-Falefa singled to center. Andres Gimenez bunted them over. 

Seattle manager Dan Wilson then decided to make a pitching change with the top of the order rolling around again. He went with reliever Eduard Bazardo, who's been very good lately, allowing just one run in his past 7 2/3 innings of work.

But Springer, who signed a six-year, $150 million contract with the Blue Jays in 2021, won the battle. He got a 1-0 sinker down the middle of the plate and drove it 386 feet into the seats in left-center field. It went from 3-1 Mariner to 4-3 Jays in an instant.

“You feel so many emotions, mainly for him and the season he’s had, but what it meant for this country with one swing of the bat,” said manager John Schneider. “He’s the heart and soul of our team. Him and (Vladimir Guerrero Jr.) are just the heavy lifters. There's always someone who's going to have a moment, and that was a historic win for the organization.''

Those opposite emotions were apparent in the Mariners' locker room after the game. Their 48-year wait to make it to the World Series will have to wait another year.

Mariners Roundtable publisher Brady Farkas covered the game at Rogers Centre. He said that it's easy to try to blame one person for the loss, but that's just wrong. This was a team effort that came up short, both on Monday night, and throughout the seven-game series.

"I've seen it on social media already: Fans blaming manager Dan Wilson for the loss, but the reality is this: While you can question Wilson's decisions, especially in the seventh, this was a full-throated Mariners loss, and everybody really had a hand in it. Both in this game, and in this series.''

Here's the link to Farkas' complete column.

There's No Point in Blaming One Person For Seattle Mariners ALCS Loss, It was a Team Effort The desire is to blame Dan Wilson, or Eduard Bazardo, or somebody, but in reality, it was a team loss that ended the Mariners season in game 7 of the American League Championship Series. As unfortunate as it is, that's baseball. We've chosen to love it, and this is how it sometimes treat you.

The Blue Jays will host Game 1 of the World Series on Friday, welcoming in the defending champion Los Angeles Dodgers, who are 11-1 so far in this postseason. The two teams met Aug. 8-10 in Los Angeles, with the Dodgers taking two of three games.

American League Championship Series results

GAME 1 (Sunday, Oct. 12): Seattle Mariners 3, Toronto Blue Jays 1 at Rogers Centre in Toronto. WP — Bryce Miller (1-0). LP — Kevin Gausman (1-1). Mariners lead series 1-0.

GAME 2 (Monday, Oct. 13): Seattle Mariners 10, Toronto Blue Jays 3 at Rogers Centre in Toronto. WP — Eduard Bazardo (1-0). LP — Trey Yesavage (1-1). Mariners lead series 2-0.

GAME 3 (Wednesday, Oct. 15): Toronto Blue Jays 13, Seattle Mariners 4 at T-Mobile Park in Seattle, Wash. WP — Shane Bieber (1-0). LP — George Kirby (1-1). Mariners lead series 2-1.

GAME 4 (Thursday, Oct. 16): Toronto Blue Jays 8, Seattle Mariners 2 at T-Mobile Park in Seattle, Wash. WP — Max Scherzer (1-0). LP — Luis Castillo (1-1). Series tied 2-2.

GAME 5 (Friday, Oct. 17): Seattle Mariners 6, Toronto Blue Jays 2 at T-Mobile Park in Seattle, Wash. WP — Gabe Speier (1-1). LP — Brendon Little (0-1). Mariners lead series 3-2.

GAME 6 (Sunday, Oct. 19): Toronto Blue Jays 6, Seattle Mariners 2 at Rogers Centre in Toronto. WP — Trey Yesavage (2-1). LP — Logan Gilbert (1-1). Series tied 3-3.

GAME 7 (Monday, Oct. 20): Toronto Blue Jays 4, Seattle Mariners 3 at Rogers Centre in Toronto. WP — Kevin Gausman (2-1). LP — Eduard Bazardo (1-1). Save — Jeff Hoffman (2). Blue Jauys win series 4-3.

Tom Brew is the National Editor-in-Chief at Roundtable Sports. You can follow him in Twitter (X) @tombrewsports

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