SEATTLE — The Seattle Mariners took the first two games of the American League Championship at the Toronto Blue Jays' home field of Rogers Centre in Toronto. It was only fair the Blue Jays returned the favor.

Toronto beat Seattle 13-4 on Wednesday at T-Mobile Park in Seattle to cut the M's' lead in the best-of-seven ALCS down to 2-1. It was the first ALCS game in the Pacific Northwest since 2001.

"It's just one game," M's center fielder Julio Rodriguez said after the game Wednesday. "They're here for a reason, too. I think they're a really good team. They came out swinging today and they were able to get the 'dub.' But it's just one game and we know, they know that we have to line up tomorrow and play a baseball game again."

The Blue Jays have been plagued the first two games of the series by the Mariners bullpen, which hadn't allowed a run in three-straight postseason games entering Wednesday.

Seattle wasn't able to find replicate the same success a fourth time.

Mariners starting pitcher George Kirby was the first hurler Toronto's lineup got to. With Seattle up 2-0 in the top of the third, Blue Jays shortstop Andres Gimenez hit a two-run home run to tie the game 2-2.

The M's created their 2-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning after Rodriguez hit a two-run home run to left field. It was Rodriguez's second consecutive game with a first-inning home run.

"I was just trying to stay to my approach and put a good swing to the baseball," Rodriguez said. "Obviously wanted to drive it out."

Shortly after Gimenez's home run — with the bases loaded and two outs — left fielder Nathan Lukes scored on a wild pitch thrown by Kirby. Center fielder Daulton Varsho hit a two-RBI double the same at-bat as the wild pitch to give Toronto a 5-2 lead through the top of the third.

The Blue Jays only continued to tack on from there. Designated hitter George Springer hit a solo home run in the top of the fourth. In the top of the fifth, first baseman Vladimir Guerrero Jr. hit a solo home run and second baseman Ernie Clement hit an RBI single. The combination of knocks bolstered Toronto's lead to 8-2 after the away half of the fifth.

After Guerrero's home run, Kirby walked right fielder Anthony Santander. He was pulled after the walk. The 2023 All-Star finished with four strikeouts, two walks, a wild pitch and eight earned runs allowed on as many hits (three home runs) in four innings pitched.

"I definitely came out the way I wanted to," Kirby said in a postgame interview Wednesday. "I wasn't really executing (later) when they got guys on base and they were really aggressive when that happened. They made some good swings. I wasn't really making a lot of good pitches there in the third and the fourth."

Up until Game 3 of the ALCS, the Mariners had been able to find openings against the Blue Jays' bullpen while Seattle's own crop of relievers kept the Canadian competitors at bay.

Toronto's offense soon made the disadvantage insurmountable for the M's.

In the top of the sixth, which featured Seattle right-handed reliever Carlos Vargas and left-handed reliever Caleb Ferguson, Lukes brought home Gimenez on a groundout and Blue Jays catcher Alejandro Kirk hit a three-run home run to right field, which resulted in a 12-2 Blue Jays lead.

The Mariners tacked on two runs in the bottom of the eighth inning via respective home runs from left fielder Randy Arozarena and catcher Cal Raleigh.

Blue Jays third baseman Addison Barger hit a solo home run to right field in the top of the ninth for the eventual final of 13-4.

In total, Toronto tallied 18 hits, including five homers. It finished 4-for-16 with runners in scoring position and stranded seven. Seattle scored its four runs on eight hits, including three homers, and went 1-for-5 with runners in scoring position. The M's left four on base.

"This is a team that has done this a lot this year in terms of bouncing back, being resilient," Seattle manager Dan Wilson said in a postgame news conference Wednesday. "We've used a lot of words for it. (Thursday's) gonna be that opportunity for us. These guys know how to prepare and be ready for that and I don't expect it's gonna be an issue for them at all."

Seattle will have an opportunity to go back up by two games in Game 4 of the ALCS at 5:33 p.m. PT on Thursday at T-Mobile Park. Luis Castillo will start for the Mariners and Max Scherzer will start for the Blue Jays.

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