The Toronto Blue Jays burst into life in Game 3 of the American League Championship Series (ALCS) with a 13-4 rout of the Seattle Mariners.
The Blue Jays had 18 hits and five home runs as they cut the deficit in the series to 2-1, comfortably outperforming the four runs and eight hits they managed across the first two games in Toronto.
It was the Mariners who scored first on center fielder Julio Rodríguez’s two-run homer in the first inning, but the Jays responded in style with a five-run third inning, kickstarted by second baseman Andrés Giménez’s two-run shot.
George Springer, Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Alejandro Kirk and Addison Barger all added home runs for Toronto, as Seattle starting pitcher George Kirby lasted four innings, allowing eight runs on eight hits, including three homers.
According to MLB.com, teams that have won Game 3 of a best-of-seven postseason series after trailing 2-0 have only advanced 26.4% of the time, though the Blue Jays will feel confident given the emphatic nature of Wednesday’s victory.
“It’s kind of been what we did all year – no one expected us to win the division, no one expected us to be here, and I think the guys take that to heart,” team manager John Schneider told reporters of how his team has defied expectations throughout the season.
“I couldn’t have been prouder of the way they went about today. We talked before the game about normalcy, and it’s one thing to say it and force it, but it’s another thing to do it and live it. I’m proud of the way they did it.”
As for the Mariners, they have a chance to prove that the heavy defeat was just a blip in their quest to reach a first-ever World Series when they return to T-Mobile Park for Game 4 on Thursday.
“This is a team that has done this a lot this year in terms of bouncing back and being resilient,” manager Dan Wilson told reporters. “We’ve used a lot of words for it but tomorrow’s going to be that opportunity again for us and these guys know how to prepare and be ready for that.
“I don’t expect it’s going to be an issue for them at all. This is a team that has proven over and over again that fighting back, bouncing back, having resiliency is a part of their DNA.”
