Mariners-Blue Jays has been the bizarro ALCS through 3 games

Oct 15, 2025, 8:14 PM | Updated: 9:35 pm

Editor, Seattle Sports

Not many expected the Seattle Mariners to win Game 1 of the ALCS just two days after their emotional 15-inning victory to make it out of the ALDS. Even less expected them to return home with a 2-0 lead, just two wins away from their first trip to the World Series.

Then going into Game 3, serious questions surrounded a usually potent Toronto Blue Jays offense, which had been limited to four runs and eight hits in the first two games and was entering a T-Mobile Park where no single team had scored more than three runs in a postseason game since 2001.

Welcome to the bizarro ALCS, because you know what the Blue Jays did in Game 3 on Wednesday night. It’s becoming pretty clear we may as well expect the unexpected in this series, because all bets are certainly off after the first three games.

Game 3: Blue Jays ride big third inning to 13-4 rout of Mariners

The script that you would have written going into the series was flipped in Toronto.

The Blue Jays, who were an offensive juggernaut in the ALDS against the New York Yankees, had little to no answer in the first two games for a Mariners’ pitching staff that should have been running on fumes after having to throw everything at the wall just to get past the Detroit Tigers in their ALDS.

And especially in Seattle’s 10-3 win in Game 2, it was the Mariners’ offense led by Jorge Polanco that looked unstoppable.

After a day off and a change of venue, the Blue Jays dusted off that original script – at a place where it’s pretty hard to do so. Before Wednesday, teams that had played postseason games at T-Mobile Park since 2022 had combined for just 16 runs in 53 innings, an average of just 2.7 runs per a nine-inning game.

That clearly didn’t apply to the Blue Jays in Game 3. While Julio Rodríguez put the Mariners up 2-0 in the first inning with his third homer of the playoffs, Toronto answered by jumping all over M’s starter George Kirby for eight runs on eight hits and two walks over four innings, including three home runs.

And wouldn’t you know, it all started with a player doing something you wouldn’t have expected: shortstop Andrés Giménez, who had all of seven homers in 101 games in the regular season, found the seats in right field to tie the game at 2-2 and get momentum back on the Blue Jays’ side.

Andrés Giménez ties the game! #ALCS pic.twitter.com/drtdQh8gQ1

— MLB (@MLB) October 16, 2025

The vibe among Mariners fans after Wednesday’s events is certainly more anxious than at any point in this series. It’s understandable.

But the Mariners themselves can’t look at Game 3 the same way. Because they still lead the series 2-1. Sure, there’s more pressure on them now than there was before the 5:08 p.m. first pitch. But it’s the postseason. You can’t expect it to be easy.

In fact, as this series has already shown us, you can’t really expect anything.

What you can do is look at the facts.

The Mariners had a good couple of days in Toronto. And now the Blue Jays have had one good one in Seattle.

The advantage still belongs to the Mariners. A win on Thursday, and they’re a win away from the one round they’ve never been to. And even if they lose that one, they could still win Friday to take a 3-2 lead back to Toronto.

It’s just that now we know the Mariners aren’t just going to waltz to it. The Blue Jays came to Seattle to play, and delivered a particularly blunt reminder of why they’re playing in October. Luckily for the Mariners, they don’t have to wait long for the chance to respond.