TORONTO – The Mariners stole a game.
Improbably, Seattle was on the winning end of the opener of the American League Championship Series after a wild 48 hours that included playing in the longest winner-take-all game in MLB postseason history. After all that, the Mariners won Game 1 on the road against the Blue Jays.
Here are my takeaways:
1. The ‘Dumper’ delivers
The only way Cal Raleigh can top a historic regular season is by having an equally impressive postseason — and he’s in the middle of achieving that.
Blue Jays right-hander Kevin Gausman was carving up the Mariners lineup, having retired 15 consecutive batters, and the situation was starting to look bleak for Seattle. The offense was coming off an emotional 15-inning elimination game against the Tigers. Nobody had reached base against Gausman since the first inning. The Mariners were playing from behind, trailing Toronto 1-0, for 5 ⅔ innings on Sunday.
Gausman was one strike away from completing six shutout innings when he threw a hanging slider that Raleigh didn’t miss. The “Big Dumper” pummeled the ball 420 feet to right field and tied the game at 1-1 in the sixth inning. It was his second home run of the postseason, and it was electric.
The Mariners catcher, coming off a 60-homer season, is hitting .400 with a 1.163 in six playoff games this October.
2. Bryce Miller’s moment
One of the only pitchers who didn’t take the mound in Game 5 of the ALDS, Bryce Miller started Game 1 of the ALCS for the Mariners on only three days of rest. Right-hander Bryan Woo, at least, was added to the ALCS roster, but he wasn’t ready to start Game 1 (he’s been dealing with pectoral tightness since Sept. 19). So, the team’s next best option was Miller pitching on short rest.
How did he respond? Miller limited the Blue Jays to one run on just two hits across six innings on Sunday.
Besides a trio of walks, the only blemish on Miller’s final line was the first pitch that came out of his hand on Sunday — a 97-mph fastball that Blue Jays leadoff hitter George Springer bashed for a home run. After that, Miller settled down.
The 27-year-old retired 17 of the final 19 batters he faced, keeping the Mariners in the game long enough for the lineup to claw back the lead. Miller might be the fifth-best starter in the Mariners rotation, but he sure pitched like an ace in the opener of this best-of-seven series. It was the best start of his career.
3. Polanco is the hero again
When the pressure is boiling hot, Jorge Polanco has ice in his veins. Less than 48 hours after delivering the walk-off hit that ended the 15-inning marathon against the Detroit Tigers and sent the Mariners to the ALCS, Polanco added more clutch hits to his postseason resume.
The veteran second baseman broke the tied game in the top of the sixth inning with a critical go-ahead RBI single to left off Brendon Little. The Mariners took a 2-1 lead, but the game was still too close for anyone in the Seattle dugout to feel comfortable.
Then, in the eighth, Polanco added an insurance run with yet another RBI single, this time to right field off Seranthony Dominguez, to extend Seattle’s lead to 3-1. It wound up being enough to give the M’s their first ALCS win in 24 years.
Jorge Polanco drives in a run, extending Mariners’ lead over Blue Jays
4. Springer gets Jays going
The Rogers Centre was already rocking after a gigantic Canadian flag took over the field and the stadium lights dimmed during pregame introductions. Then Toronto’s leadoff man raised the energy another notch.
Springer smacked the first pitch of the first inning to the opposite field in right. Unbelievably, it was the Blue Jays’ first leadoff home run in postseason franchise history.
Deesha Thosar covers Major League Baseball as a reporter and columnist 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.
