The Mariners offense had its best showing of the playoffs and will return to Seattle up two games on Toronto
The Seattle Mariners will return home to T-Mobile Park in Seattle up 2-0 against the Toronto Blue Jays in the American League Championship Series.
The Mariners took a 2-0 lead after beating the Blue Jays 10-3 on Monday at Rogers Centre in Toronto.
Seattle and the Blue Jays were knotted up 3-3 through four innings before second baseman Jorge Polanco, who's been responsible for several heroics for the Mariners this postseason, broke the tie.
Polanco hit a three-run home run in the top of the fifth to pull Seattle in front 6-3, and the Mariners only continued to pile on from there.
Shortstop J.P. Crawford hit an RBI single in the top of the sixth to bolster the lead to 7-3. Mitch Garver, who pinch-hit for Dominic Canzone, hit a lead-off triple. He was pinch-ran for by Leo Rivas, who scored on Crawford's hit.
In the top of the seventh, first baseman Josh Naylor (a native Canadian) hit a two-run home run and Crawford brought home third baseman Eugenio Suarez on an RBI sacrifice fly for the eventual final of 10-3.
"It was great," Naylor said in a postgame news conference Monday. "We just want to win at the end of the day. I went 0-for-4 yesterday and we won. ... But I was very thankful to get some hits, help the team out. Super cool to do it in front of my family, too. Super blessed to have them all here, and my friends. It was a really cool moment for them."
For the second game in a row, the Mariners bullpen slammed the door on Toronto's potent offense.
Starting pitcher Logan Gilbert went three innings, struck out two, walked one and allowed three runs (two earned) on five hits.
Right-handed relievers Eduard Bazardo, Carlos Vargas and Emerson Hancock pitched the final six innings (two innings apiece). The trio combined to fan three batters, walked four and allowed one hit.
Before Bazardo entered the game in the fourth, both offenses were able to get to each other's starting pitchers. M's center fielder Julio Rodriguez hit a three-run home run in the top of the first.
In the bottom of the first, right fielder Nathan Lukes and catcher Alejandro Kirk hit respective RBI singles to cut the deficit down to 3-2.
Lukes hit an RBI single in the bottom of the second to pull the Blue Jays even with the M's.
It's the second game in a row where the bullpen has combined to not allow run. There was concern about fatigue for the bullpen going into the ALCS, but the relievers have shut down those concerns. Games 1 and 2 of the ALCS were two and three days removed, respectively, from Seattle's 15-inning win against the Detroit Tigers in Game 5 of an American League Divisional Series.
"They're just resilient. They bounce back," M's manager Dan Wilson said in a news conference after the game Monday. "To get an emotional win at home (in Game 5 of the ALDS) like that and come back here on the road, these guys were ready to go. And they knew we had more business to take care of."
The Mariners and Blue Jays will have an off day Monday. The two sides will play in Game 3 of the ALCS at 5:08 p.m. PT on Wednesday at T-Mobile Park in Seattle.
"We need to keep working," Bazardo said in a postgame news conference Monday. " ... Try to keep attacking the hitters. It feels good because we're back home, we're 2-0 but we still need to work to get two more games."
George Kirby will start for Seattle and Shane Bieber will start for Toronto.
RELATED MARINERS STORIES
MARINERS TOP 100 PROSPECT NAMED STANDOUT PERFORMER FROM WEEK 1 OF AFL: Jonny Farmelo was one of the best players in the first week of the Arizona Fall League. CLICK HERE
MARINERS PLANS FOR STARTING ROTATION IN ALCS: The Mariners have their starting pitchers scheduled through the first four games of the American League Championship Series. CLICK HERE
HERE'S DAN WILSON'S, LOGAN GILBERT'S COMMENTS FOLLOWED LATER BEING NAMED GAME 2 ALCS STARTER: The Mariners 2024 All-Star will have a chance to help lead his team to a 2-0 lead in the American League Championship Series. CLICK HERE
JOIN THE CONVERSATION
Remember to join our MARINERS on ROUNDTABLE community, which is FREE! You can post your own thoughts, in text or video form, and you can engage with our Roundtable staff, as well as other Mariners fans. If prompted to download the Roundtable APP, that's free too!