Mariners ready for decisive ALCS Game 7 vs. Blue Jays

They will now play in their first Game 7 in franchise history, right back here at Rogers Centre on Monday night.

“I think it’s a beautiful thing,†Julio Rodríguez said. “The baseball gods wanted us to be here, and I feel like everybody’s really excited for tomorrow.â€

This will be the Mariners†fourth winner-take-all game in franchise history, and despite that limited history, they have fared favorably when facing these stakes before — including earlier this October. The Mariners are 3-0 in winner-take-all games, with victories in Game 5 of the AL Division Series in 1995, 2001 and 2025, when they triumphed over the Tigers in a 15-inning marathon.

“It’s a great opportunity,†Cal Raleigh said. “And obviously, we’ll flush this one. We’ve been here before, in the round before. So weâ€ll try to take that to our advantage and come out ready to go.â€

It was never going to be easy to reach the pinnacle. And maybe the extra stress of an anything-can-happen game is fitting for the only franchise that has never played in the Fall Classic.

Seattle becomes just the eighth team to play both a five-game LDS and seven-game LCS in the same year — joining the 2020 Rays, 2017 Yankees, 2012 Giants, 2012 Cardinals, 2004 Astros, 2003 Red Sox and 2003 Cubs. Of those teams, only the 2020 Rays and 2012 Giants went on to advance to the World Series, and San Francisco was the only to win the whole thing.

“I think everyone does a great job of showing up the next day ready to go, and we’re very prepared,†first baseman Josh Naylor said. “Whatever happens the previous day, we wash it and get going the next day. And so it’s all about winning on that current day. So I’m really excited for tomorrow. I think we all are.â€

With their season on the line, the Mariners will turn to George Kirby against Torontoâ€s Shane Bieber in what is a Game 3 rematch. But just about everyone on Seattleâ€s pitching staff will be available, including starters Bryan Woo and Bryce Miller, both of whom said after Game 6 that they anticipate pitching in Game 7.

Woo made his playoff debut when pitching the sixth and seventh innings in Seattleâ€s Game 5 win and will likely be on an abbreviated workload, given that it was his first outing since exiting a Sept. 19 start with pectoral inflammation. Miller started that game on Friday but only threw 56 pitches over four-plus innings. He also started Seattleâ€s Game 1 win, and on short rest in what was maybe their best outing of these playoffs.

“It’s an all-hands-on-deck kind of situation,†Raleigh said. “So everybody will be excited and ready to go for that challenge. It’s just about going out there, controlling your emotions and trying to control those at-bats and those pitches, one by one.â€

As for Kirby, the Mariners have avoided using him on the road all October, as each of his three starts have come at T-Mobile Park — including an eight-run showing in a 13-4 loss in Game 3. He has a 5.16 ERA on the road this season compared to a 4.02 ERA at home. But heâ€s their only option at this stage.

“He’s the guy that we want in that situation and he’s thrown the ball well, and it’s his spot,†Mariners manager Dan Wilson said. “George will be the starter, and we expect to have an all-hands-on-deck down there in the bullpen and ready to go at any point.â€

Added Kirby: “I love pitching under pressure and am super glad I’m able to get Game 7.â€

Aside from Kirby, Miller and Woo, the Mariners avoided using Gabe Speier and Andrés Muñoz in Game 6, putting them on two days†rest entering this finale.

Beyond the need for stout pitching against a Blue Jays lineup thatâ€s been the primary catalyst as theyâ€ve won three of these past four games, the Mariners would greatly benefit from striking early at the plate themselves. In a raucous road environment, doing so could take the crowd out of it — because Torontoâ€s fans are just as eager, as they havenâ€t seen a World Series since 1993. And this is just their second Game 7 in franchise history — they lost their first, to the Kansas City Royals in the 1985 ALCS.

That said, the Mariners have scored first in nine of their 11 playoff games and are 6-5.

“We’re going to a Game 7 for the American League for a reason,†Rodríguez said. “They’re a really good ballclub, and they’re playing really good baseball, too.â€

Pressure was always going to elevate as Seattle advanced in these playoffs, compounded by expectations for a talented roster and a fanbase thatâ€s been starved for this stage.

“All of that is just fuel,†Rodríguez said. “It’s something that we’re walking through very rare territory, but that’s just exciting, I feel like. There is always pressure when you’re doing great things. I just feel like it is just things that come with it. Youâ€ve got to learn how to manage it and how to acknowledge it, too.

“Because you cannot say there is not pressure right now or that there is not the expectation in the big moments to be able to deliver a win. You cannot just say that, playing where we are and knowing the history of the team.â€

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