Blue Jay vs Mariners ALCS Toronto: Blue Jays reach World Series for the first time since 1993

Toronto Blue Jays are going to the world series again after 1993. Blue Jays made an unbelievable comeback on Monday night, and defeated the Seattle Mariners by a 4-3 final in Game 7 of the American league championship series. The advantage during game 7 was not held by the Blue Jays, but by the Mariners most of the time. Julio Rodriguez started the game by doubling and then scoring on a single by Josh Naylor.

The Blue Jays would tie the game in the bottom of the first, but Rodriguez and MVP hopeful Cal Raleigh both hit solo homers to leave the Mariners 2-1 and then 3-1 ahead going into the late stages.

George Springer, who was to be a doubtful participant in Games 6 and 7 because he was forced to leave Game 5 with a knee contusion caused by an errant pitch by Bryan Woo delivered the critical hit.

Woo was accidentally eliminated in the contest when Springer appeared at the plate in the seventh, in favour of Eduard Bazardo. They did not matter because Springer seized the opportunity to use two runners on the field and shot a three-run ball that transformed a 3-1 loss to a 4-3 win.

The blast was an addition to the legacy of Springer who enjoyed a successful postseason career with Houston Astros before joining the Blue Jays as a free agent.

He is currently in the third place with Kyle Schwarber in the number of career playoff home runs with 23. Manny Ramire (29) is the only other player with more than Springer and old teammate Jose Altuve, who is now with the new Houston team (27).

Another meaning of come-from-behind win was also achieved by the Blue Jays. It is to be borne in mind that Toronto lost the first two matches of this best-of-seven series. In the past, teams who did so in the MLB playoffs have since lost said series on over 80 percent occasions. This is the third time in the last 2 decades that the Blue Jays became the first team to do so with the others being 2023 Arizona Diamondbacks (over the Philadelphia Phillies in the NLCS) and the 2020 Los Angeles Dodgers (also in the NLCS).

The Blue Jays ended their long odds, defeating the series of games in Seattle to even the series with 2-2 before going to take the Game 6 and Game 7 back home to avoid elimination and get a date at the World Series with the Dodgers. Such teams will be allowed some days to rest and get back on track. The first game will be on Friday in Toronto.