Mariners-Blue Jays Series Preview: Playoff atmosphere in Toronto

The Seattle Mariners and Toronto Blue Jays go way back.

Both teams are celebrating their 50th season in the big leagues this year, as they were expansion mates in the American League in 1977.

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But even if we just focus on recent years, there’s a lot to unpack about the rivalry between the M’s and Canada’s team.

There’s the 2022 AL Wild Card Series where the Mariners shocked the Blue Jays with a two-game sweep at Rogers Centre. Or Cal Raleigh’s incredible knack for torturing Toronto’s pitchers (and its manager). And then there’s the influx of fans from the western side of Canada who infiltrate Seattle’s T-Mobile Park every time the Blue Jays come to visit.

Of course, the Blue Jays had the most recent laugh against the Mariners with their win in last year’s ALCS, where George Springer’s homer in the seventh inning of Game 7 off of Eduard Bazardo sunk Seattle’s hopes of making its first World Series appearance ever.

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Don’t be surprised if the atmosphere feels like the postseason again as the two rivals from opposite sides of the border meet for a big three-game series starting Friday night. Even though both teams have disappointed with losing records to this point in the season, hampered by injuries and surprisingly rough seasons from their superstars (Raleigh for Seattle, Vladimir Guerrero Jr. for Toronto), they remain in the thick of the playoff race.

The Mariners and Blue Jays may not be playing as well as they were last October, but they still have a chance to get back in the dance in the fall. What happens over the next three days could play a big hand in determining if they get that opportunity.

Here’s a closer look at the big M’s-Jays series.

Key Blue Jays players

Rookie third baseman Kazuma Okamoto has been a standout in the power department in his first year since making the jump from Japan, hitting 26 home runs and 21 doubles with a .736 OPS, though he’s hitting just .228 in 130 games. The Blue Jays have otherwise had a big power outage this year, with Springer the only other player on the roster with double-digit homers at 13.

It’s been a disappointing campaign for Guerrero, perennial All-Star first baseman, who is hitting .260 with just seven homers for a shockingly low .351 slugging mark and .684 OPS in 120 games.

The Mariners will have some tough pitching to contend with in this series. AL Cy Young Award candidate Dylan Cease, who will start Friday night, has a 2.37 ERA, 1.06 WHIP and AL-leading 209 strikeouts. Saturday’s starter, midseason trade acquisition José Soriano (3.43 ERA, 1.29 WHIP), is tied for 12th in the AL with 143 strikeouts. And while Max Scherzer, Sunday’s starter, has struggled to stay healthy and struggled in general this year, you can’t forget his Game 4 performance against the Mariners in last year’s ALCS.

Injury status

Toronto’s pitching staff has been hit hard by injuries this year. Right-handed starters Shane Bieber (teres major inflammation), Jameson Taillon (forearm tendinitis) and Trey Yesavage (meniscus surgery) are all trying to return by the end of the season but will miss the series vs. Seattle. Veteran lefty reliever Joe Mantiply (knee inflammation) could be back after making his third appearance on a rehab assignment Tuesday, while former Mariners reliever Yimi García (thoracic outlet syndrome) is out for the rest of the season.

As for hitters, infielder Josh Smith (hamstring inflammation) will continue a rehab assignment with Triple-A Buffalo on Friday. Outfielder Addison Barger (elbow surgery), a Bellevue native, is done for the year, while former M’s outfielder Jonatan Clase (foot discomfort) has not played since July 19.

The biggest question mark at the moment for the Mariners is third baseman Brendan Donovan, who is on the seven-day concussion injured list after being hit in the head by a ball prior to an Aug. 22 game. If he is cleared in time, he would be eligible to return Saturday.

Right-handed reliever Cooper Criswell (shoulder strain) made his second rehab appearance with Triple-A Tacoma on Tuesday after missing over two months of action. He’s unlikely to return for the series in Toronto, however, as is Ontario native Matt Brash (lat strain), who has yet to start a rehab assignment but did throw a fourth off-the-mound bullpen session on Monday.

Standings

With a 64-70 record, the Mariners enter Friday three games back in the AL West of the first-place Houston Astros (67-67), and two games behind the second-place Texas Rangers (66-68). In the wild card standings, the M’s are tied for the fourth team back of the final playoff spot at four games behind the Cleveland Guardians (68-66).

While the 65-70 Blue Jays are in last place in the AL East, 15 games back of Tampa Bay (79-54), they are actually a half-game ahead of Seattle as the third team behind Cleveland in the wild card race.

Head-to-head

The Mariners took two out of three when they played the Blue Jays in Seattle in early July. All three of those games were shutouts – Toronto took the opener 2-0, the the M’s bounced back with wins of 11-0 and 4-0. That means the Mariners are in a good spot to lock up a potential tiebreaker over Toronto that could come in handy should they happen to finish tied for a wild card spot.

The M’s can lock up the head-to-head tiebreaker by winning this series. If the Blue Jays win two of three and the season series is tied at 3-3, the next tiebreaker would be the record of each team in their own division. The Mariners have the advantage there, as the M’s are 20-13 vs. AL West opponents and Toronto is currently 23-23 against the AL East.

Traded places

Each team’s bullpen has a member that used to play a key role on the other side.

Toronto recently picked up former fan favorite Mariners closer Paul Sewald, who has thrown 4 2/3 scoreless innings over five appearances since joining the Blue Jays in mid-August.

Meanwhile, Seattle acquired Seranthony Domínguez from the White Sox ahead of the trade deadline. Domínguez was a 2025 trade deadline add by Toronto, and he had a 3.00 ERA in 24 regular season outings and 3.18 ERA in 12 postseason appearances for the Jays.

Game times, probable pitchers and broadcast info

• Friday, 4:15 p.m. – Mariners (Emerson Hancock, 7-7, 3.37 ERA) at Blue Jays (Dylan Cease, 8-5, 2.37 ERA)

• Saturday, 12:07 p.m. – Mariners (Kade Anderson, 0-0, 4.76 ERA) at Blue Jays (José Soriano, 10-7, 3.43 ERA)

• Saturday, 10:37 a.m. – Mariners (Bryce Miller, 4-8, 4.12 ERA) at Blue Jays (Max Scherzer, 1-1, 7.02 ERA)

The Mariners Radio Network broadcast of all three games will stream free on the Seattle Sports app beginning with the pregame show (3 p.m. Friday, 11:30 a.m. Saturday, 9:30 a.m. Sunday). On terrestrial radio in the Puget Sound area, Friday’s game will be on Seattle Red 770 AM due to a conflict with the Seahawks game, while Saturday and Sunday’s games will be on Seattle Sports 710 AM. On TV, Friday’s game is an Apple TV+ national broadcast, while Saturday and Sunday’s games will be on Mariners TV.

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