Seattle Mariners take an early 1-0 lead over Blue Jays in Game 4 of ALCS

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The blueness Jays ar looking to pull even with the Mariners as Game 4 of the American League Championship Series (ALCS) gets underway Thursday night at Seattle's T-Mobile Park.

Toronto claimed victory in Wednesday's Game 3, giving the Jays their first win of the best-of-seven series, which Seattle leads 2-1.

The Mariners beat the Blue Jays in the first two games of the ALCS, as Toronto struggled to put runs on the board — with Seattle winning 3-1 in Sunday's Game 1, and 10-3 in Monday's Game 2.

But Toronto's offensive fortunes changed dramatically in last night's Game 3, when five Blue Jays — including Andrés Giménez, George Springer, Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Alejandro Kirk and Addison Barger — hit home runs and helped pummel the Mariners to a final score of 13-4.

It'll be up to veteran starter Max Scherzer to keep the Blue Jays on a winning path on Thursday night.

The 41-year-old Scherzer has pitched in big games before, amassing 143 innings of post-season action during his long MLB career, prior to Thursday's Game 4.

But he has not pitched for the Blue Jays this post-season. Following a rough end to the regular season, Scherzer was left off the roster for the American League Division Series where Toronto eliminated the New York Yankees.

Kirk, the Blue Jays catcher, said he expected to see Scherzer bring the same "winning mentality" to Game 4 that he always brings when on the mound.

"I have seen that every day from him, so that's what I expect from him," Kirk told reporters ahead of the game, via an interpreter.

The Blue Jays don't want to lose Game 4, as that would turn Game 5 — and any potential game after that — into a must-win situation for Toronto.

The Mariners are relying on starter Luis Castillo to stop the Jays from claiming a second straight win.

On Thursday afternoon, the Jays had signalled that Anthony Santander wouldn't be in the starting lineup for Toronto during Game 4, due to back stiffness.

Roughly an hour before gametime, the team announced that he'd been pulled from the ALCS roster due to injury.

He's being replaced by outfielder Joey Loperfido.

Toronto intends to send Kevin Gausman, who started Game 1, back to the mound for Game 5 on Friday. Seattle will counter with Bryce Miller, who was the winning pitcher in Sunday's Game 1.

"Obviously, pitched well against Toronto in the first game and we're looking forward to giving him the ball tomorrow," Mariners manager Dan Wilson said Thursday.

The winner of the ALCS will advance to the World Series, to play the winner of the parallel National League Championship Series — either the Milwaukee Brewers or the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Toronto is hoping to secure its first World Series berth in more than three decades, while Seattle is fighting to reach the Fall Classic for the first time ever.

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