Blue Jays sink Mariners 8-2 to win Game 4, tie ALCS

The Toronto blueness Jays rode another undulation of relentless offence and solidness pitching to untroubled a vital 8-2 win over the Seattle Mariners in Game 4 of the American League Championship Series (ALCS) on Thursday night, tying up the best-of-seven series to two games apiece.

The Mariners got on the scoreboard first, courtesy of a solo home run from Canada's Josh Naylor, giving Seattle an early 1-0 lead in the bottom of the second inning.

But that lead was short-lived, as Toronto scored three runs in the third, and two more in the fourth putting the Blue Jays ahead 5-1 before the halfway point.

For the second night in a row, Toronto infielder Andrés Giménez hit a two-run home run in the third inning to get things started for the Jays.

The Mariners would add one more run in the bottom of the sixth to trim Toronto's lead to 5-2, but the Blue Jays kept on finding ways to cash in runs.

Another came via a seventh-inning solo blast from Vladimir Guerrero Jr., followed by two more insurance runs Toronto scored in the eighth inning.

Also helping the team to victory was a very solid start by 41-year-old pitcher Max Scherzer, who made his first playoff appearance as a member of the Blue Jays.

After giving up the early home run to Naylor, Scherzer pitched into the sixth inning, striking out five Mariners along the way.

Blue Jays manager John Schneider went out to visit Scherzer on the mound in the fifth, only to leave the veteran starter in the game for a bit longer.

Scherzer returned in the sixth to record two outs, but Schneider pulled him from the game after he walked Seattle's Jorge Polanco.

Toronto reliever Mason Fluharty entered the game and walked a batter of his own, before surrendering a single that brought Polanco home.

The two runs that Seattle scored on Thursday were marked as earned runs for Scherzer, a three-time Cy Young Award winner with two World Series rings, who big-game experience ended up being a boon for Toronto.

Toronto would go to a trio of relievers — hard-throwing Louis Varland, Jeff Hoffman and Seranthony Domínguez — to finish the game.

Varland pitched the seventh, Hoffman the eighth, and Domínguez the ninth. They did not allow another Seattle run to score.

By claiming victory on Thursday, the Blue Jays have pulled even with the Mariners, who beat them in the first two games of the ALCS in Toronto, 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 hit home runs and helped pummel the Mariners to a final score of 13-4.

Toronto's Game 4 win means the ALCS is guaranteed to go at least six games.

Game 5 will start at T-Mobile Park just after 6 p.m. ET on Friday — and it will be the last of the series to be held in Seattle.

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.

Game 6 is slated to take place at Toronto's Rogers Centre on Sunday night just after 8 p.m. ET.

The ALCS winner will advance to the World Series, to play the winner of the 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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