Mariners need to be sharper in Game 7 than they were in Game 6

The Seattle Mariners blew plenty of opportunities Sunday.

It wasn’t just the chance to win the game and send Seattle to its first World Series in franchise history. It was the countless missed chances throughout the night that made a brutal Game 6 loss feel more like a symphony of self-inflicted wounds.

Wrong first: Seattle Mariners to play in Game 7 for first time

The thumps began in the bottom of the second when a Julio Rodríguez error allowed Daulton Varsho to advance to second base on a single. Ernie Clement got on first after Geno Suárez misplayed a routine out for the second error of the inning. Both runners were driven in by consecutive singles from Addison Barger and Isaiah Kiner-Falefa. Credit Suárez for at least ending the inning with a stellar play on a 116 mph bullet from Vlad Guerrero Jr. that surely would’ve driven in two more.

If only that was where it ended. The Mariners, at this point in a manageable two-run deficit, immediately responded by loading the bases with one out. It was the perfect moment. But Cal Raleigh — who, along with Suárez, was a hero just 48 hours earlier — grounded into a inning-ending double play. Then the same thing happened in the fourth with J.P. Crawford at bat… and in the fifth, with two on for Rodríguez. Which led to this unfortunate stat from MLB.com’s Bryan Hoch:

The Mariners are the first team with 3+ errors and 3+ GIDP in a playoff game since the Yankees in Game 2 of the 2009 ALCS (NYY beat the Angels in 13 innings).

— Bryan Hoch ⚾️ (@BryanHoch) October 20, 2025

Any momentum gained when Seattle added two runs in a sixth-inning rally attempt felt suffocated moments later. A wild pitch from Matt Brash in the seventh advanced Guerrero to third and a throwing error on Raleigh brought him home for another Toronto run, and at that point this game felt fully out of hand.

And so the Mariners lost Game 6 because, well, a lot of things happened. Logan Gilbert struggled to make it through four innings, Guerrero continued to rake (he’s hitting .462 in the postseason), and the bottom of the Blue Jays order continued to be infinitely more productive than Seattle’s.

But the M’s also lost because they beat themselves with defensive struggles and miscues and sloppy play. And if you’re not going to hit quite as well as the other team (and Seattle does, and is not quite as good there), then you’d better out-defend and out-pitch them. For now, the M’s are at least out-homering the Blue Jays, but Toronto is quickly closing that gap, which now sits at eight to 11 in the ALCS.

And yet for all the opportunities Seattle squandered Sunday, there lies ahead the most important one yet: Game 7.

It’s the first Game 7 in Mariners history, and now the single biggest game in franchise history. Fans saw what a much sharper Seattle team looked like, particularly defensively, in a thrilling Friday Game 5 victory. That’s the version of this team that must show up Monday night.

That said, if you thought being at home meant the Blue Jays have this one in the bag, history would tell you to hit pause.

Turns out it’s been mostly a toss up… with a tiny silver lining of hope for Seattle.

The wildest Game 7 stat in MLB is the home team basically has a .500 record (30-29) and they have lost 7 of the last 8.

— Arash Markazi (@ArashMarkazi) October 20, 2025

Game 7 of the ALCS between the Mariners and Blue Jays is set for a 5:10 p.m. first pitch on Monday night. The radio broadcast will be on the Seattle Sports app beginning at 4 p.m. with the Mariners Radio Network pregame show, as well as 770 AM and 98.9 FM.

Seattle Mariners ALCS coverage

• Radio: Both M’s ALCS Game 7, Seahawks-Texans on Seattle Sports app
• If the Mariners are going to make World Series, this is the way it should be
• Mariners-Blue Jays Game 7 pitching matchup not just about starters
• Morosi: What stands out as M’s, Blue Jays head to Game 7
• Recap: Blue Jays beat Seattle Mariners 6-2 in ALCS Game 6

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