The latest:
- Reliever Louis Varland gets the Mariners 1-2-3 as Game 6 goes to the seventh inning stretch with the Jays leading 5-2.
- Toronto Rookie Trey Yesavage started the game for the Jays in Game 6, but came out of the game after recording seven strikeouts and giving up a home run.
- Former Jays star Jose Bautista threw out the first pitch.
- Game 6 is a must-win for the Jays as the Mariners currently lead the best-of-seven series 3-2. If Game 7 is necessary, it will be played Monday, Oct. 20 in Toronto at 8:08 p.m. ET.
- The winner of the ALCS will go to the World Series to face the Los Angeles Dodgers, who swept the Milwaukee Brewers in the National League Championship Series Friday.
Toronto’s bats have come alive in Game 6 of the ALCS on Sunday, propelling the Blue Jays to a 5-0 lead over the Seattle Mariners.
The Jays were able to put runners on base in the bottom of the second inning thanks to some hits and sloppy fielding by the Mariners, with Addison Barger and Isiah Kiner-Falefa driving in runs on back-to-back singles.
In the following inning, the Jays doubled their lead thanks to a two-run homer by Barger, and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. tacked on a solo home run in the fifth.
On the mound, Jays rookie right-hander Trey Yesavage was on fire with six strike outs, but found himself in hot water after Seattle loaded the bases in the third and fourth innings.
He was able to escape the jam both times as the Jays’ defence turned two double plays.
Toronto was also able to pull off a third consecutive double play to end the fifth inning.
Toronto trails the best-of-seven ALCS series 3-2.
Prior to first pitch, the Blue Jays announced slugger George Springer was returning to Toronto’s lineup.
Springer was forced out of the team’s Game 5 loss in Seattle Friday after being hit in the knee by a pitch in the seventh inning, but was back to hit in the leadoff position Sunday at Toronto’s Rogers Centre. He struck out, walked and popped out in his first three trips to the plate.
“He’s a little bit sore, he’s got some good seam marks on his knee from the sinker there, but I trust when George says he’s good,” Schneider told reporters at news conference before Sunday’s game.
Despite facing elimination on Sunday, Schneider says his team isn’t preparing for Game 6 any differently because they’ve been locked in all year.
“We all know what’s at stake, but I think you have to go play your game,” Schneider said in a pre-game news conference Sunday in Toronto.
“I think that’s what we’ve done all year, and you gotta lean into it … these guys are really good at getting prepared every day, so there’s no other way to go about it.”
Toronto outfielder Daulton Varsho says that despite the Jays losing in dramatic fashion on a grand slam by the Mariners in Game 5, he’s not worried that momentum has shifted in Seattle’s favour for Game 6, noting the back-and-forth nature of the series has primed the Jays for this moment.
“Honestly, I think [momentum lasts] a couple innings,” Varsho said. “A big momentum swing can happen, but a team can come back really fast.”
Seattle manager Dan Wilson echoed those sentiments.
“Emotion, momentum — you call it what you want — does play a big role in the post-season, for sure, but each game presents its own challenges,” Wilson said.
“You treat each game differently … I think it’s kind of played out that way in this series.”
Right-hander Logan Gilbert, Seattle’s first-round pick in the 2018 MLB draft, will start Game 6 for the Mariners.
The Toronto Blue Jays manager John Schneider discussed his call to start reliever Brendon Little in the 8th inning. The Jays lost 6-2 to the Seattle Mariners in Game 5 of the ALCS Friday and trail 3-2 in the series.
The winner of the ALCS will go on to face the defending champion Los Angeles Dodgers in the World Series.
Toronto has not advanced to the World Series since 1993 — when the Jays last won it all. Seattle has never advanced to the Fall Classic.
