American League Championship Series Game Seven Recap

Seattle Mariners @ Toronto Blue Jays

It all comes down to this. Game Seven. One team looking for their first AL Pennant in 32 years. The other looking for their first pennant ever. The Blue Jays survived game six thanks to a gutsy outing from youngster Trey Yesavage, as well as homers from Addison Barger and Vladimir Guerrero, Jr. Manager John Schneider will hand the ball  to former Cy Young winner Shane Bieber, who delivered a strong start in game three. Expect the leash to be short, and for everyone outside of Yesavage to be available. On the offensive side, do not be shocked if postseason legend George Springer makes a mark, as he often has in previous game sevens.

The Mariners have never been closer to a World Series, but they missed their first opportunity to advance. And since they didn’t take care of business in Seattle, this is their last shot. Rodríguez, Raleigh, Naylor, and Suárez have done their part at the plate, but the rest of the lineup has practically been nonexistent in this series. If they want to close this series out, the big bats will need some help. Despite getting shelled in game three, George Kirby will take the mound in a winner-take-all game, as he did against Detroit in the ALDS. It will be his first ever playoff start on the road, which may cause some jitters for the righty. Manager Dan Wilson has a lot of options out of the bullpen; however, they’ve been heavily taxed in the postseason so far. Gabe Speier and Eduard Bazardo have been used in nearly every game, and their effectiveness has waned. The big question is how many outs can Andrés Muñoz get, and will the Mariners have a lead when he enters?

Game Seven, here we go!

Seattle Radio KIRO - Rick Rizzs and Aaron Goldsmith

Toronto Radio SN590 - Ben Shulman and Chris Leroux

Audio clips from MLB.tv

As always, thank you to Baseball Reference and SABR for statistics, box scores, background information, and much, much more.

Catch you next time,

P.C.O.