TORONTO -- Facing another, basically, must-win series, the Seattle Mariners came up woefully short on Friday night in the series opener against the Toronto Blue Jays at Rogers Centre.

The Jays, who also beat the Mariners in the American League Championship Series, got a great start from Dylan Cease while simultaneously pummeling Seattle pitching en route to an win

The Mariners are now 64-71 while the Blue Jays are 66-70.

Here's what you need to know. These takeaways are in no particular order.

The Mariners took a 1-0 lead against Cease in the top of the first when Canzone rocked a fastball out to deep right field.

It was the 20th homer of the season for Canzone, who has become a staple in the top third of the team's lineup.

He's now the third member of the Mariners to have 20 home runs this season, joining Randy Arozarena and Julio Rodriguez.

The right-hander started the game, lasting five innings and giving up five earned runs on eight hits. He walked none and struck out one. His season-long ERA now stands at 3.57.

With nobody out and a runner at second base in the bottom of the first inning, Nathan Lukes hit a ground ball up the first base line. Hancock fielded it awkwardly and tagged Lukes out, but he came up grimacing with an apparent leg injury.

He continued to show discomfort throughout the game, but to his credit, he provided the Mariners with some length to help save the bullpen at the start of this six-game road trip.

After taking the loss, he's now 7-8 through 25 starts. 

Every offering for Cease was down velocity-wise, but the Mariners weren't able to make consistent contact regardless. Cease's fastball averages 96.8 mph for the season, and we saw several in the high 94s and low 95s throughout the night.

His changeup averages 82.2 mph, and we saw several in the 77-79 range.

It just didn't matter much. Cease earned the win, improving to 9-5 on the year. The Cy Young hopeful struck out eight batters over six innings while giving up just four hits. He walked one and lowered his ERA to 2.33.

Because of course he does. The longtime Mariners nemesis registered four hits in this one, including a solo home run in the fifth inning. It was his 27th career home run against the Mariners, his second-most against any team. He only has more against the Texas Rangers (29).

When you get scoring chances against a Cy Young hopeful, you have to take advantage, and the Mariners did not.

Trailing 3-1 in the top of the fifth inning, Cole Young hit a one-out double, but was stranded after a Taylor Ward flyout and a J.P. Crawford strikeout.

Trailing 5-1 in the top of the sixth, the Mariners got a one-out Arozarena single and a two-out Rodriguez single, putting runners at first and second with two out.

Josh Naylor got ahead in the count 2-0, but ended up striking out on three consecutive offspeed pitches.

In a less consequential situation, trailing 6-1 in the seventh with Cease out of the game, the Mariners got a leadoff walk from Cal Raleigh, but stranded him after a fielders choice, a lineout and a strikeout.

Miller, who was moved to the bullpen on Friday, did not appear in this game. The Mariners could be saving him for Saturday, since it appears starter Kade Anderson will be limited to around 80 pitches or so again.

Anderson threw 81 in his major league debut last Saturday, an eventual 5-4 Mariners win. 

The Guardians lost, which keeps the Mariners at 4.0 games back in the battle for the third and final wild card. Unfortunately, the Astros won, which pushes the Mariners to four back in the division. The Rangers also lost, so the Mariners stay two behind them.

The 'Refuse to Lose Territory' podcast has released four new episodes this week. All can be accessed here on the audio front, while all can also be watched on YouTube.