The Seattle Mariners aren’t slowing down.
Three days after their marathon 15-inning win in Game 5 of the ALDS to join the Toronto Blue Jays in the ALCS, they’re up 2-0 in the best-of-seven series. And both wins, including Monday’s 10-3 victory, came at Toronto’s Rogers Centre.
Another clutch Polanco HR helps M’s go up 2-0 on Blue Jays in ALCS
The Mariners have now played four games all-time in the postseason at Toronto, and they haven’t lost any of them.
Fresh off of Monday’s win, here’s what a pair of Seattle Sports voices have to say about what the Mariners have done over the past two days.
Stacy Rost – Bump and Stacy (10 a.m. to 2 p.m. weekdays)
After heaping praise on the pitching staff, particularly Bryce Miller’s splendid Game 1 ALCS performance, I wondered whether the Seattle Mariners’ bats could heat up.
A win was certainly good enough on its own, but could the Mariners push through yet another series — especially against a team that outhomered the Yankees in the ALDS — with quite the same formula?
The formula in question: just one of their ALDS games against the Detroit Tigers saw them net more than three runs (eight in Game 3), which ended up being just fine because Seattle’s pitching was lights out.
In a conversation with M’s broadcaster Aaron Goldsmith on Monday’s Bump and Stacy, Goldy joked that he doubted three runs a game would be enough to get it done against the Blue Jays. He was right, and when Logan Gilbert struggled to locate his slider early in this one, it was clear the Mariners would have to keep adding. I certainly didn’t expect them to add on another seven runs, though.
Let’s talk about how they did it! The Mariners scored eight of those runs on the long ball: three-run home runs from Jorge Polanco and Julio Rodriguez, and a two-run shot from Josh Naylor. The other two runs were both batted in by J.P. Crawford in two separate plate appearances. Fitting for a team that was third in home runs in the regular season.
Watch: Mariners grab early ALCS Game 2 lead on Julio’s 3-run HR
Per OptaSTATS, Polanco’s go-ahead three-run homer made him the first player in MLB history to have a go-ahead run in the fifth inning or later of three consecutive postseason games. And from MLB’s Sarah Langs, Polanco’s game now ties him with Ken Griffey Jr. for the most go-ahead plate appearances (four) in a single Mariners postseason. Cal Raleigh entered the game with an OPS over 1.000 and Miller was the hero of Game 1, but Polanco has to be the MVP of the postseason so far.
A look ahead: The M’s come back to Seattle for Game 3 with George Kirby on the hill. Two more wins to get to a World Series, and the M’s have odds in their favor.
In all best-of-7 postseason series, teams taking a 2-0 lead have gone on to win the series 76 of 91 times (84%)
Under the current 2-3-2 format, teams winning the first two games at home have gone on to take the series 44 of 55 times (80%)
— Sarah Langs (@SlangsOnSports) October 16, 2024
Bob Stelton – Wyman and Bob (2-7 p.m.)
The Seattle Mariners are two games away from appearing in their first World Series ever. Let that sink in!
The amount of grit, guts and determination this team has shown in this postseason run has been remarkable. They have been able to cobble together pitching from tired bullpen arms and starters on short rest, while shutting down a Toronto offense that put up 34 runs combined in their series with the Yankees. Through two games in Toronto, the Blue Jays have been held to four total runs.
Great to see Julio getting things started with a three-run home run. The Mariners will need him to be feeling good at the plate to accomplish the ultimate goal. But Jorge Polanco continues to be a postseason hero. After the Mariners surrendered their 3-0 lead, Polanco came up in the top of the fifth and delivered the go-ahead three-run home run. The Mariners only extended their lead after that and never looked back.
To say taking the first two games in Toronto is unexpected would be a wild understatement. After a 15-inning marathon last Friday followed by flight delays and arriving in the middle of the night in Toronto, they have somehow rallied to jump out to a 2-0 lead.
I hope everybody is enjoying this because it’s just not something we ever get to experience out here, at least to this point.
Game 3 of the Mariners’ ALCS against the Blue Jays is set for a 5:08 p.m. first pitch Wednesday at T-Mobile Park. Radio coverage on Seattle Sports will begin at 2 p.m. with extended pregame, while the TV broadcast will be on FS1.
More Seattle Mariners ALCS coverage
• Blue Jays find pitching around Mariners’ Cal Raleigh isn’t so simple
• Why Jays challenged out-of-play call vs Mariners in ALCS
• Seahawks coach Mike Macdonald calls M’s playoff run ‘inspiring’
• Seattle Mariners Updates: Latest on Bryan Woo; next two starters set
• Salk: The secret to Bryce Miller’s dominant Game 1 ALCS start
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