Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and George Springer powered a long-awaited offensive eruption, leading the Toronto Blue Jays to a 13-4 rout of the Seattle Mariners on Wednesday night in Game 3 of the American League Championship Series. With the victory, Toronto trimmed Seattle’s series lead to 2-1 and ensured the matchup will return to Canada for at least a Game 5.
Julio Rodríguez briefly fueled Seattle’s hopes for a sweep with a two-run homer in the first inning off Shane Bieber, giving the Mariners a 2-0 lead and sending the sold-out crowd of 46,471 at T-Mobile Park into a frenzy. But that excitement faded quickly as Toronto’s bats ignited with a vengeance.
Andrés Giménez tied the game with a two-run homer off George Kirby in the third inning, sparking a five-run rally that turned the night decisively in Toronto’s favor. Kirby unraveled after the blast, allowing eight runs, eight hits, and two walks in just 2 2/3 innings while also firing a wild pitch that brought home the go-ahead run. Daulton Varsho followed with a two-run double to cap the inning and put the Blue Jays ahead 5-2.
From there, the power surge was on. Springer belted a solo homer in the fourth, Guerrero launched his fourth of the postseason on the first pitch of the fifth for a 7-2 lead, and catcher Alejandro Kirk blew the game open with a three-run shot in the sixth. Rookie infielder Addison Barger joined the home run barrage with a late solo blast, giving Toronto five homers and 2,004 feet worth of long balls among their 18 hits.
Guerrero finished 4-for-5, falling a triple shy of the cycle, after going hitless in the first two games of the series. Kirk continued his dominance at T-Mobile Park, improving to 19-for-46 (.413) with eight RBIs in 14 career games at the venue.
Bieber settled down after Rodríguez’s first-inning homer, delivering six strong innings and allowing just four hits — the longest outing by a Toronto starter in seven postseason games. The right-hander improved to 2-0 this postseason, providing the steadiness the Blue Jays sorely needed after back-to-back home losses to open the series.
Despite the lopsided score, the game still produced some fireworks for Seattle. Randy Arozarena homered in the eighth inning off Yariel Rodríguez for his first long ball since Sept. 9, and Cal Raleigh — who led the majors with 60 home runs during the regular season — followed three pitches later with his third of the postseason. The two blasts matched a postseason record with eight combined home runs, a mark first set by the Cubs and Cardinals in the 2015 NLDS and later tied by the Dodgers and Astros in the 2017 World Series.
The Mariners, chasing their first World Series appearance in franchise history, will look to regroup Thursday night in Game 4. Seattle will send right-hander Luis Castillo to the mound, while Toronto counters with veteran Max Scherzer, who at 41 will make his first start since Sept. 24. Scherzer, a three-time Cy Young Award winner, is 0-3 over eight postseason starts since the 2019 World Series opener.
With the Blue Jays’ bats now fully awake and the Mariners still holding a narrow series edge, the ALCS shifts into a pivotal stretch — one that could determine whether Seattle’s dream season keeps marching toward history or Toronto’s resurgent offense forces a full-length fight for the pennant.
