"Thanks for the heartbreak" - Mariners fans worry World Series dream may end against Blue Jays in ALCS Game 7

The Mariners and Blue Jays are set to tussle in the winner-take-all Game 7 of the American League Championship Series to see who will win the pennant advance to this year's World Series and face the defending champion Dodgers. Seattle is on the cusp of history as they are just one game away from winning their first ever American League crown. On the other hand, the Blue Jays are trying to make a return to the Fall Classic since claiming back to back titles in 1992 and 1993.

With the biggest stakes on the line for the Mariners franchise, some fans aired out their concern and wariness regarding the team's chances against the Blue Jays. After all, in the three times that the ALCS needed a Game 7 in the last decade, the higher seeded team came took the series-clinching contest twice.

For context, this has been the furthest that the Seattle franchise has ever reached in the MLB postseason since its establishment in 1977. For the deciding game, skipper Dan Wilson has named George Kirby to start. Kirby has posted a 0-1 record across three games in the postseason with a 7.07 ERA. Meanwhile, the Blue Jays will have confirmed that veteran Kevin Gausman will take the bump, he has a 1-0 card in two starts with a 4.15 ERA.

With the battle lines drawn and the matchup set, it will certainly be an uphill battle for the Mariners to clutch out what could be the biggest win in franchise history on the road against the Blue Jays.

Blue Jays extend series against Mariners on the back of Yesavage's masterclass

The Blue Jays were successful in extending the ALCS after they won Game 6 at home courtesy of greenhorn Trey Yesavage's superb start. Toronto came away with the 6-2 win after being on the brink of elimination against the high-octane Mariners offense.

Rookie pitcher Trey Yesavage produced another masterclass for the Blue Jays with a solid two-run outing on six base hits with seven strikeouts and three walks in six innings. In addition, Yesavage got out of multiple jams in the game, once again proving that he's a clutch performer despite his short stint in the league.

The squad's run support shone as well and backed up their young hurler's performance as well as Addison Barger, Isiah Kiner-Falefa, and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. all drove in runs in the high-intensity affair.

On the other hand, the bats were sluggish at the top of the Mariners' order with Julio Rodriguez, Cal Raleigh, and Jorge Polanco going a combined 0-for-11 at the plate. The only offense that the team generated in the game was through Josh Naylor's solo blast and Eugenio Suarez's RBI single.

About the author

Daniel Santiago is a journalist who has been reporting on baseball at Sportskeeda since 2022. He was drawn towards the sport after the underlying statistics and the analysis surrounding it grabbed his attention.

Daniel particularly enjoys furnishing reports about historic events in baseball and analyzing the game through a statistic-based outlook, based on Fangraphs and Baseball-Reference. This is in line with how he enjoyed watching baseball as a pastime. As a writer, he is very particular about cross-checking from reputable sources and doing his due diligence.

He became a lifelong Hideki Matsui fan after his exploits in the 2009 World Series for the New York Yankees. Among the current generation, Daniel's favorites include Shohei Ohtani and Jung Hoo Lee. Daniel is a huge follower of Asian baseball and both Ohtani and Lee have been in the top echelon of their respective leagues during their time with the NPB and KBO.

His favorite moment as a baseball fan was the final at-bat of the 2023 World Baseball Classic between Shohei Ohtani and Mike Trout. He believes there aren't many words to fittingly describe the intensity of the moment.

As an avid sports fan, Daniel watches other sports and Esports when not writing about baseball.

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Edited by Daniel Santiago