Dodgers News: Jays force Game 7 in ALCS — and Dodger fans have to wait one more day
TORONTO — The American League pennant will come down to a Game 7. Toronto beat Seattle 6–2 at Rogers Centre on Saturday night to even the ALCS at three games apiece, which means Dodgers fans won’t know their World Series opponent until Sunday. The stakes are double: if the Blue Jays win again, the Fall Classic opens in Canada. If the Mariners take Game 7, Games 1 and 2 will be at Dodger Stadium.
Toronto did the early damage and never let go. Rookie right-hander Trey Yesavage gave the Jays 5.2 steady innings (2 ER, 7 K) and handed the ball to a locked-in bullpen that covered the last 3.1 frames scoreless. The Blue Jays’ defense turned three double plays behind him, a quiet dagger in a game where Seattle had traffic but couldn’t cash in.
The Jays’ offense was relentless in the middle innings. In the second, Ernie Clement smoked a leadoff single and later scored when Addison Barger lined an RBI single to right. Isiah Kiner-Falefa followed with an infield RBI hit to make it 2–0. An inning later, Clement tripled with two outs and Barger launched a two-run homer to right-center for a 4–0 cushion. Vladimir Guerrero Jr. added a solo shot in the fifth, a laser to left that pushed it to 5–0 and had Rogers Centre roaring.
Seattle’s response was brief and late. Josh Naylor got them on the board with a two-out solo homer in the sixth, and Eugenio Suárez added a two-out RBI in the same inning to cut it to 5–2. But that was the Mariners’ last swing with leverage. Toronto tacked on a seventh-inning run to restore a four-run lead, and relievers Louis Varland and Jeff Hoffman combined for 3.1 shutout innings with six strikeouts to slam the door.
It was a rough night for Mariners starter Logan Gilbert, who allowed five runs (four earned) on seven hits in four innings. Just as costly were the miscues: Seattle was charged with three errors (Julio Rodríguez, Suárez, and Cal Raleigh), and the Blue Jays immediately turned extra outs into runs. The M’s went 0-for-3 with runners in scoring position and hit into three backbreakers: double plays in the third and fourth and another rally-snuffer in the seventh.
Toronto’s lineup had length. Barger delivered three RBI (an opposite-field single and the two-run blast), Guerrero Jr. reached three times and homered, and Clement filled the gaps with a double and a triple from the nine spot. Daulton Varsho and Nathan Lukes each chipped in base hits to fuel those early pushes. For Seattle, Naylor and Randy Arozarena collected two hits apiece, but the middle of the order struck out eight times and never found the knockout swing.
So here we are: one game to decide who flies west and who keeps the party going north of the border. From a Los Angeles angle, the logistics are simple enough:
- If Toronto wins Game 7: the World Series starts at Rogers Centre.
- If Seattle wins Game 7: Dodger Stadium hosts Games 1 and 2.
Either way, the Dodgers will get an extra few hours to line up pitching and plan travel while they wait for the AL to settle things. And given how Toronto’s power and defense showed up tonight — and how Seattle has lived on pitching and timely bombs all month — Sunday’s finale has the feel of a coin flip with home field on the line for L.A.
Clear your evening. One more ALCS tilt will decide where the Fall Classic begins — on the shores of Lake Ontario or under the Chavez Ravine lights.
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