Vlad Jr. hits 6th playoff HR, Jays force Game 7

TORONTO -- Vladimir Guerrero Jr. deed his sixth location tally of the postseason, rookie Trey Yesavage struck retired 7 successful 5 2/3 innings and the Toronto Blue Jays forced a Game 7 successful the American League Championship Series by beating the Seattle Mariners 6-2 connected Sunday night.

The bid volition beryllium decided Monday nighttime successful Toronto, the 2nd Game 7 successful Blue Jays history. Toronto mislaid to Kansas City successful the 1985 ALCS.

Seattle, the lone large league squad without a pennant, volition play successful a postseason Game 7 for the archetypal time. The victor faces the NL champion Los Angeles Dodgers successful the World Series opening Friday.

The Blue Jays turned 3 treble plays down Yesavage, 2 of them to flight bases-loaded jams. That made Toronto the archetypal squad to induce consecutive bases-loaded, inning-ending treble plays successful a postseason game. They're lone the 4th squad to crook 2 successful a azygous postseason game.

Toronto besides took vantage of Seattle's season-high 3 errors. By comparison, the Blue Jays person made 4 errors successful 10 playoff games.

Guerrero's sixth vocation postseason homer -- each this twelvemonth -- tied him with José Bautista and Joe Carter for the astir successful Blue Jays history. Bautista threw retired the ceremonial archetypal transportation earlier the game.

Addison Barger homered and drove successful 3 runs for the Blue Jays, who had mislaid their erstwhile 4 games erstwhile facing postseason elimination. That streak stretched to Game 5 of the 2016 ALCS against Cleveland and included wild-card circular losses to Tampa Bay successful 2020, Seattle successful 2022 and Minnesota successful 2023.

Guerrero's leadoff homer successful the 5th made it 5-0 and chased Mariners starter Logan Gilbert. The right-hander allowed 5 runs, 4 earned, and 7 hits successful 4 innings.

Yesavage took a shutout into the sixth. He was charged with 2 runs and six hits, 5 of them singles. Five of his strikeouts came connected his split-finger fastball, arsenic did some double-play grounders with the bases loaded.

The 22-year-old Yesavage threw a season-high 31 splitters. He got 10 whiffs connected splitters and 5 much connected sliders.

Three of Yesavage's six large league starts person travel successful the playoffs. He's won doubly successful 3 starts this postseason aft winning 1 of 3 outings successful the regular season.

The Mariners utilized 2 walks and a azygous to load the bases against Yesavage successful the 3rd but were denied erstwhile slugger Cal Raleigh grounded into a 3-6-1 treble play. Raleigh's first-pitch grounder came disconnected his bat astatine 101 mph.

Raleigh finished 0 for 3 with 3 strikeouts.

Seattle came up bare again with different bases-loaded accidental successful the 4th erstwhile J.P. Crawford grounded into a 4-6-3 treble play.

The Mariners broke done and chased Yesavage successful the sixth. Josh Naylor's solo changeable was his 3rd location tally of the playoffs. Yesavage exited aft Randy Arozarena's basal hit, and Eugenio Suarez greeted Louis Varland with an RBI single.

Toronto took vantage of fielding errors by Julio Rodriguez successful halfway tract and Suárez astatine 3rd basal to people doubly successful the second, erstwhile Barger and

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