Series tied 3–3 as Toronto outplays Seattle to stay alive, setting up first Game 7 in 40 years Trey Yesavage stood on the bullpen mound before Game 6 of the American League Championship Series with a question that revealed both his youth and his mindset.
The 22-year-old right-hander, making just his sixth career start, asked veteran Blue Jays pitchers Chris Bassitt and Kevin Gausman how far they had advanced in the postseason. When both admitted they’d never gone this deep, Yesavage took that as a challenge — and then pitched like a man determined to take them further.
In front of a deafening Rogers Centre crowd, Yesavage delivered a poised, clutch performance, limiting the Seattle Mariners to two runs over 5⅔ innings as the Toronto Blue Jays staved off elimination with a 6–2 victory on Sunday night, forcing a decisive Game 7.
Toronto outplayed Seattle in every way — pitching, defense, and fundamentals — to extend the series. The Blue Jays, seeking their first pennant since 1993, now head into Monday night’s winner-take-all showdown tied 3–3 with the Mariners, who are still chasing the first AL pennant in franchise history. The winner will face the Los Angeles Dodgers in the World Series.
Yesavage’s sixth-ever MLB start came under the brightest lights imaginable — an elimination game against a surging Mariners team that had pummeled him for five runs in Game 2. This time, he flipped the script.
Relying on a devastating splitter, Yesavage escaped three straight innings of danger with inning-ending double plays — all coming with multiple runners aboard.
In the third inning, with the bases loaded, Cal Raleigh grounded into a 3–6–1 double play. In the fourth, J.P. Crawford did the same, bouncing into a 4–6–3 double play with the bases loaded again. In the fifth, Julio Rodríguez completed the rare trifecta by grounding into a 6–4–3 double play.
According to Elias Sports Bureau, Seattle became the first team ever to ground into bases-loaded double plays in consecutive innings in a postseason game since the statistic was first tracked in 1940.
Yesavage, who had not induced a single double play in his young career before Sunday, left to a thunderous ovation after 87 pitches, scattering seven hits and striking out six.
“He gave us everything we needed and then some,” said manager John Schneider. “That’s composure you can’t teach.”
If Yesavage was composed, the Mariners were anything but. Their usually airtight defense fell apart early, committing three errors that directly led to Toronto runs.
In the second inning, Julio Rodríguez misplayed Daulton Varsho’s liner to the left-center gap, allowing Varsho to take second. One batter later, Eugenio Suárez bobbled a grounder at third, opening the door for Addison Barger and Isiah Kiner-Falefa, who followed with consecutive RBI singles to give Toronto a 2–0 lead.
An inning later, Ernie Clement tripled off the wall in right, and Barger smashed a two-run home run — his first of the series — to double the lead to 4–0.
Barger, who began the year as Triple-A Buffalo’s shortstop, has become one of Toronto’s biggest October surprises, reaching base in seven of his eight postseason starts.
Vladimir Guerrero Jr. extended the Blue Jays’ momentum in the fifth with a solo home run off Logan Gilbert, his sixth of the postseason, tying José Bautista and Joe Carter for the franchise record for career postseason homers.
Guerrero wasn’t done. In the seventh, after being hit by a pitch, he advanced from first to third on a single and a wild pitch, then scored when Cal Raleigh’s throw to third skipped past Suárez into left field — a fitting symbol of Seattle’s unraveling night.
The Mariners offense generated baserunners but couldn’t cash in. Their only breakthrough came in the sixth, when Josh Naylor, the Ontario-born slugger, crushed his third homer of the series. Randy Arozarena added a single, and Suárez followed with an RBI double to cut the deficit to 5–2.
But that was all Seattle could muster. Louis Varland and Jeff Hoffman combined to retire 10 of the final 11 batters, sealing the win and setting up an epic Game 7.
Just six months ago, Yesavage was walking six batters in a Single-A start. On Sunday, he was outdueling one of the AL’s best offenses, throwing 31 splitters and getting 10 whiffs — including three to end innings with men on base.
His first postseason outing, a 5⅔-inning no-hit gem against the Yankees in the ALDS, hinted at his potential. His Game 6 masterpiece solidified it.
“He’s got nerves of steel,” said Gausman. “To come from where he started this year and do that — that’s something special.”
For the first time in 40 years, Toronto will play a Game 7 in the ALCS. For the first time ever, Seattle will.
Two teams, one game, one trip to the World Series. First pitch is Monday night at 8 p.m. at the Rogers Centre — and after Trey Yesavage’s breakout, the Blue Jays believe their improbable October run might just be getting started.
