TORONTO – The Mariners handled the Astros to win the division. They bounced the Tigers from the playoffs after a historic 15-inning elimination game. Their next act?
Making the Blue Jays look feeble in their own house — on a national holiday, no less. Monday was the Canadian Thanksgiving. But there wasn’t much to be thankful for in the Rogers Centre unless you were in the visitor’s dugout.
Here are my takeaways:
1. Polanco can’t be stopped
Who else but Jorge Polanco, the walk-off champion in the 15th inning of ALDS Game 5, would come through for the Mariners? He hit the go-ahead base hit in Game 1 of the ALCS on Sunday, too.
Don’t look now but Polanco is the hottest hitter on the planet. The Mariners second baseman broke the tied game in the fifth inning with a three-run shot to center field that gave his team a 6-3 lead. Polanco trotted around the bases, business as usual, even though his home run sucked all the energy and noise out of the stadium.
Even from the press box, positioned next to the left-field foul pole, the shouts of excitement coming from Seattle’s dugout all the way across the field were easy to hear. Again and again and again, the veteran switch-hitter has shown that he can be counted on when the lights are brightest this October.
2. J-Rod finds his October groove
There aren’t too many soft spots in the Mariners lineup, making it excruciating to navigate for Blue Jays pitchers. If it isn’t Cal Raleigh hitting laser shots, like he did in Game 1 on Sunday, it’s someone else. In the first inning, it was Julio Rodriguez who came through with a statement shot — a three-run home run that gave the Mariners an immediate jolt with a 3-0 lead.
Julio Rodríguez CRUSHES three-run home run to give Mariners lead over Blue Jays
The Mariners center fielder has two home runs this October. That’s two more than he had in the team’s playoff run in 2022, when Seattle defeated the Blue Jays in the Wild Card series but were swept by the Astros in the ALDS. Rodriguez being comfortable in the playoffs and cashing in with runners on base is a terrific sign for the Mariners the rest of this postseason. They needed him to find this groove.
3. Whatever it takes
John Schneider was honest. If this was a regular season game, Nathan Lukes probably wouldn’t have been in the Blue Jays lineup. In the first inning of Game 1 on Sunday, he fouled a ball off his knee cap and later left the game with a contusion. But after going through various tests and reporting no issues, Lukes couldn’t be convinced to stay off the field on Monday.
“He’s been waiting for this situation, this moment in his career, for a while,” Schneider said ahead of Game 2. “It’s going to be tough to get him out of the lineup if he’s able to play. This is the playoffs, so I think you do whatever it takes to be out there.”
Nathan Lukes shook off a knee contusion to get three hits for the Blue Jays. (Photo by Cole Burston/Getty Images)
The decision to be aggressive with Lukes paid off. The Blue Jays right fielder went 3-for-4 in Game 2, with his biggest at-bat of the night coming in the second inning when he tied the game at 3-3 with an RBI single. At the time, that was a big momentum shift for Toronto. It got the Rogers Centre crowd right back in the game. That is, until Polanco’s theatrics.
4. Bullpen battle goes Seattle’s way
Mariners starting pitcher Logan Gilbert was pulled from his outing after just three innings, and Toronto’s starter didn’t last too much longer. Rookie right-hander Trey Yesavage, after pitching 5 ⅓ hitless innings against the Yankees in his first career postseason start last week, showed cracks in his armor on Monday. Yesavage was done after four innings, having coughed up five earned runs in 70 pitches.
Unlike Toronto’s successful bullpen game in the Bronx in Game 4 of the ALDS, which eliminated the Yankees from the playoffs, Blue Jays relievers struggled at home in Game 2. The first four relievers out of the ‘pen after Yesavage’s early exit combined to give up five earned runs in just 2 ⅓ innings pitched. Meanwhile, Mariners relievers put up nothing but goose eggs.
It’s back to Seattle with a two-game advantage. (Photo by Michael Chisholm/MLB Photos via Getty Images)
After Gilbert accounted for just nine outs, three arms from Seattle’s bullpen pitched six shutout innings and only permitted one hit in that stretch. Plus, they were able to stay away from their high-leverage relievers. Win-win.
Deesha Thosar covers Major League Baseball as a reporter and columnist for FOX Sports. She previously covered the Mets as a beat reporter for the New York Daily News. The daughter of Indian immigrants, Deesha grew up on Long Island and now lives in Queens. Follow her on Twitter at @DeeshaThosar.
