Blue Jays take an early 2-0 lead against Mariners in Game 6

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The Toronto blueness Jays ar looking to stay alive in the American League Championship Series (ALCS) as they host the Seattle Mariners for Game 6 on Sunday.

The game was scoreless after one inning, with rookie right-hander Trey Yesavage on the mound for the Jays. He also started Game 2 last week in Toronto, allowing five runs over four innings as the Jays fell to Seattle 10-3.

Toronto trails the best-of-seven ALCS series 3-2.

Prior to first pitch, the Blue Jays announced slugger George Springer was returning to Toronto’s lineup.

Springer was forced out of the team’s Game 5 loss in Seattle Friday after being hit in the knee by a pitch in the seventh inning, but was back to hit in the leadoff position Sunday at Toronto’s Rogers Centre. He struck out in his first at bat.

"It was going to take a whole lot more … to keep him out of the lineup," Schneider told reporters at news conference before Sunday's game.

"He's a little bit sore, he's got some good seam marks on his knee from the sinker there, but I trust when George says he's good.”

Despite facing elimination on Sunday, Schneider says his team isn’t preparing for Game 6 any differently because they’ve been locked in all year.

"We all know what’s at stake, but I think you have to go play your game," Schneider said in a pre-game news conference Sunday in Toronto.

"I think that’s what we’ve done all year, and you gotta lean into it … these guys are really good at getting prepared every day, so there’s no other way to go about it."

Toronto outfielder Daulton Varsho says that despite the Jays losing in dramatic fashion on a grand slam by the Mariners in Game 5, he’s not worried that momentum has shifted in Seattle’s favour for Game 6, noting the back-and-forth nature of the series has primed the Jays for this moment.

“Honestly, I think [momentum lasts] a couple innings,” Varsho said. “A big momentum swing can happen, but a team can come back really fast."

Seattle manager Dan Wilson echoed those sentiments.

“Emotion, momentum — you call it what you want — does play a big role in the post-season, for sure, but each game presents its own challenges,” Wilson said.

“You treat each game differently … I think it’s kind of played out that way in this series.”

Right-hander Logan Gilbert, Seattle's first-round pick in the 2018 MLB draft, will start Game 6 for the Mariners.

'No one feels worse than Little,' Jays manager says after Game 5 loss

The winner of the ALCS will go on to face the defending champion Los Angeles Dodgers in the World Series.

Toronto has not advanced to the World Series since 1993 — when the Jays last won it all. Seattle has never advanced to the Fall Classic.

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