The Seattle Mariners continued to roll in Game 2 of their American League Championship Series against the Toronto Blue Jays,
The Seattle Mariners continued to roll in Game 2 of their American League Championship Series against the Toronto Blue Jays, smacking three home runs on the way to a 10-3 road win. Julio Rodríguez put them in front with a three-run blast in the first inning and, although the Blue Jays managed to tie the game, Jorge Polanco buried Toronto in the fifth with another three-run blast.
Seattle’s bullpen allowed just one hit in six innings, killing any chance at a Blue Jays comeback.
Here are the winners and losers of the ALCS.
Winner: Jorge Polanco
Sometimes the critical component to a championship team is an established veteran, even one who doesn’t possess the biggest bat or best glove: Jorge Soler with the Braves in 2021 or Steve Pearce with the Red Sox in 2018, for example.
Second baseman Jorge Polanco has filled that role with the Mariners this postseason, notching the game-winning RBI in each of the past three games while slashing .258/.303/.548 with three home runs in seven games. He isn’t lighting up the stat sheet, but comes up with big hits whenever the Mariners need him to.
Monday night was no different, as Polanco hit a three-run home run to center field to break a 3-3 tie, a blast that served as the game-winner. He’s now the first player in MLB history to have a go-ahead hit in the fifth inning or later in three consecutive postseason games.
Winner: Julio Rodríguez
Mariners’ center fielder Julio Rodríguez went 1-for-4 with a home run and a walk on Monday night, putting Seattle ahead 3-0 in the first inning with a no-doubter to left field. That put the Mariners in the driver’s seat early and helped set the stage for a short outing for Blue Jays’ starting pitcher Trey Yesavage, who threw 33 pitches in the first inning alone.
Toronto managed to tie the game with a quick rally, but Rodríguez’s home run gave the Mariners the jolt they needed in a difficult road environment.
Loser: Trey Yesavage
Much like the rest of his team, Blue Jays’ starter Trey Yesavage looked outstanding against the Yankees but has tailed off dramatically through the first two games of the ALCS. Yesavage completed just four innings on Monday night, allowing four hits, three walks and five earned runs.
Two of those runs don’t belong entirely to him, as reliever Louis Varland allowed both inherited runners to score on Polanco’s home run in the fifth inning, but the 22-year-old Yesavage, making just the fifth start of his big league career, looked like the rookie he is on one of the game’s biggest stages.
Loser: Blue Jays’ Bullpen
Toronto’s offense did their young starting pitcher a solid when they fought back to tie the game after trailing 3-0 in the first inning.
The Blue Jays’ bullpen couldn’t pick up Yesavage with the game tied, however. Varland allowed the aforementioned home run to Polanco, allowing the two runners he inherited from Yesavage to cross; Mason Fluharty (0.1 IP, 1 ER), Braydon Fisher (1.0 IP, 2 ER) and Yariel Rodriguez (0.0 IP, 1 ER) all allowed the Mariners to continue piling on, giving their offense little hope of recovering. Of the 16 pitches Rodriguez threw, only four went for strikes.
By the time the Blue Jays finally managed to put together a clean inning they trailed 10-3, an 0-2 series deficit after two home games all but assured.
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