Jeff Hoffman was unhittable. The Blue Jays closer struck out the side in the top of the ninth and then lifted his arms in the air. His teammates mobbed him on the mound as the Rogers Centre crowd erupted into a blue sea of celebration.
After a dramatic back-and-forth series that went the distance to a Game 7, the Blue Jays defeated the Seattle Mariners and won the American League pennant.
They are going back to the World Series for the first time since 1993. It’s Toronto’s first American League Championship since they won back-to-back titles in 1992 and ‘93.
Here are my takeaways:
1. Take a bow, George
George Springer is one of one. It takes a special talent to flourish in clutch situations the way Springer does in October baseball. Out of all the home runs he’s hit in the postseason (23, to be exact), his go-ahead three-run blast that pulled the Blue Jays back from the dead will be the one Canada remembers forever.
Springer annihilated the second pitch from Eduard Bazardo, a 96 mph sinker that just kept sinking, to the left-center field seats in the bottom of the seventh inning, erasing Toronto 3-1 deficit and giving the Jays a 4-3 lead. While there was bedlam in Rogers Centre, Blue Jays players became hysterical, leaping into the air and throwing their arms up in a state of euphoric incredulity.
Take a bow, Springer, for sending the Blue Jays to the World Series. And move over, Jose Bautista. There’s a new iconic at-bat that will be played over and over and over again whenever we think of Blue Jays postseason baseball.
George Springer crushes three-run home run, giving Blue Jays lead over Mariners
2. Where was Munoz?
As clutch as Springer’s at-bat was, Mariners manager Dan Wilson will have to sit with his decision to bring in Bazardo over his top reliever, Andres Munoz, for a long time. Bazardo has gotten some tough outs this postseason, including 1.80 ERA in the ALCS before his Game 7 relief appearance. But there was no reason not to bring in Munoz when the bottom of the Blue Jays order turned over and brought Springer to the plate. With two runners on base and the franchise’s first ever trip to the World Series at stake, Munoz was the pitcher who should’ve been on the mound in that situation.
It didn’t help when Munoz started the bottom of the eighth inning and, even though he gave up a couple of singles, he still worked a scoreless frame. Wilson’s late reaction cost Seattle a date against the Dodgers in the Fall Classic.
(Photo by Alika Jenner/Getty Images)
3. Big dumper’s big year
Cal Raleigh went 0-for-4 with three strikeouts in Seattle’s Game 6 loss to the Blue Jays on Sunday. It snapped an 11-game postseason on-base streak that dated back to the 2022 Division Series vs. Houston. But he didn’t stay down for long. Aided by a mislocated Louis Varland changeup that dropped over the heart of the plate, Raleigh launched a solo shot to right and extended Seattle’s lead to 3-1 to lead off the top of the fifth inning. The catcher’s exceptional performance this year cannot be overstated.
It was his fourth home run of the ALCS and fifth of the postseason. Raleigh is the only player in MLB history to hit 60+ home runs in the regular season and collect three or more postseason homers in one year. His 65 combined regular season and postseason home runs moved past Aaron Judge (64) for the most in a season in American League history. Only Barry Bonds (73 homers in 2001), Mark McGwire (70 in 1998) and Sammy Sosa (66 in 1998) have hit more in one season.
(Photo by Mark Blinch/Getty Images)
4. Julio’s fourth dinger
In the top of the third inning, Julio Rodriguez battled through a tough at-bat against Shane Bieber that included a delay of game. He got a visit from the team medic after he fouled a ball off his shin. When Rodriguez dug back into the box and swung and missed at a changeup inside, he looked off balance. But then he saw Bieber’s slider for the third time in the at-bat. It drifted toward the outer edge of the strike zone and hung over the middle of the plate.
J-Rod crushed it. He broke the 1-1 tied game with a solo shot to left and heard boos raining down from the Rogers Centre crowd as he rounded the bases. Despite the injury delay, Rodriguez was locked in. The Mariners needed their stars to come through to have a chance at winning Game 7. And even though those stars delivered, it wasn’t enough to stop the burgeoning Blue Jays.
4 ½. What’s Next?
After a three-day break, the Blue Jays will host the Los Angeles Dodgers in Game 1 of the World Series on Friday at Rogers Centre. The Dodgers have been off since they swept the Brewers in the NLCS, so their starting pitchers have had plenty of time to rest and get ready for the Fall Classic. The Dodgers will try to win their second consecutive championship, while the Blue Jays will try to put the bow on what has been a magical season for the AL Pennant winners.
It will be fascinating to see how the Dodgers pitchers game plan against Toronto’s contact-oriented approach. While Los Angeles’ starters are excellent at whiffing opposing batters, Blue Jays hitters sported the lowest strikeout rate among all 30 MLB teams this year. Led by ALCS Vladimir Guerrero Jr.’s six home runs this postseason, the Blue Jays wont make it easy for the super team Dodgers to win another ring.
Deesha Thosar is an MLB writer for FOX Sports. She previously covered the Mets as a beat reporter for the New York Daily News. The daughter of Indian immigrants, Deesha grew up on Long Island and now lives in Queens. Follow her on Twitter at @DeeshaThosar.
