SEATTLE — The Seattle Mariners are in a position they've never been before, and are looking to make the most of it.

The Mariners are set to play Game 3 of the American League Championship Series against the Toronto Blue Jays at 5:08 p.m. PT on Wednesday at T-Mobile Park in Seattle. The M's won Games 1 and 2 of the ALCS at Rogers Centre in Toronto. It's the first time in the franchise's four ALCS berths that Seattle has had a 2-0 lead in the best-of-seven series.

The Mariners have found themselves up 2-0 after going through a tooth-and-nails, five-game American League Divisional Series against the Detroit Tigers.

Seattle had a look at several Detroit starting pitchers during the regular season, which helped educate the team's game plan going into the best-of-five series.

In the ALCS, the Mariners faced Blue Jays rookie hurler Trey Yesavage for the first time in Game 2. Seattle won the game 10-3.

The Mariners will face Shane Bieber in Game 3 on Wednesday. It will be the first time Seattle has seen Bieber this season and the first time he's pitched to the Mariners since April 2, 2024, when he was still with the Cleveland Guardians.

There's been differences in how Seattle has planned against Detroit's starters compared to Toronto's due to the familiarity. But, entering Wednesday, the Mariners have been prepared for the unfamiliar hurlers.

"It is a little bit different (how you prepare)," Seattle manager Dan Wilson said in a pregame news conference Wednesday. "I think you don't really have as much of an idea until you get into the (batter's box) and you physically see it yourself. We go back to (Edgar Martinez) and (Kevin Seitzer) and (Bobby Magallanes) and the work that they do to prepare our hitters, which is tremendous.

"Video is a big part of it. You get a chance to at least conceptualize it a little bit inside your head before you get a chance to see it. All the information, all the analytics that we have — our analytics team does such a great job, too, of putting together the pregame stuff. It does a great job to prepare our guys. They're ready to go when they take the field."

Through two games of the ALCS, the Mariners have hit .243 (17-for-70) with a double, a triple and a home run with 13 RBIs. They've drawn nine walks (one intentional) and stolen three bases. 

George Kirby will be the starting pitcher for Seattle in Game 3 of the ALCS. The game will be broadcast on FOX Sports 1 (FS1).

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