Blue Jays keep playoff hopes alive after 6-2 Game 6 win over Seattle Mariners

raging offence and warm pitching by the blueness Jays and sloppy defence by the Seattle Mariners propelled Toronto to a 6-2 win in biz 6 of American conference Championship Series on Sunday, forcing a winner-take-all Game 7.

Fielding errors in the second inning by the visiting Mariners saw Toronto put runners on base for Addison Barger, who capitalized with a one-run single to open the scoring.

The Jays would push that lead to 5-0 thanks in part to homers by Barger and Vladimir Guerrero Jr.

Blue Jays 1 win away from World Series after beating Mariners

Barger connected again in the bottom of the third for a two-run homer to make it 4-0. He scored Ernie Clement who'd just hit a triple that was very nearly out of the park as well.

Then, Guerrero's solo shot — a no-doubter to left field — came in the bottom of the fifth, making it 5-0.

Toronto was able to keep the Mariners scoreless through five innings thanks in part to rookie starting pitcher Trey Yesavage.

The 22-year-old recorded seven strikeouts in just over six innings.

He also had some help from the Jays' stellar defence — they managed to pull off three consecutive inning-ending double plays, twice getting him out of bases-loaded jams.

Yesavage was replaced by reliever Louis Varland, who struck out two Mariners' hitters of his own.

But not before Seattle was able to cut into the lead with a two-run sixth — courtesy of a Josh Naylor solo homer given up by Yesavage, and an RBI single from Eugenio Suárez that scored Randy Arozarena.

Toronto responded in the very next inning thanks to more Mariners miscues.

Guerrero took an unorthodox trip around the bases in the seventh inning after he was hit by a pitch.

He advanced to second on a single, slid into third head first after a wild pitch by Seattle's Matt Brash, then scrambled home to score on a throwing error by Mariners' catcher Cal Raleigh, making it 6-2.

The Blue Jays were able to shut the door on the Mariners the rest of the way.

Closer Jeff Hoffman came in from the bullpen to strike out four Seattle hitters swinging on the way to tying up the back-and-forth ALCS at 3-3.

After the game, the Jays were clearly already focused on the task ahead: Game 7 will take place Monday at 8:08 p.m. ET at Toronto’s Rogers Centre.

The Jays found themselves in a 2-0 series deficit after losing the first two games of the ALCS at home, before winning the next two in Seattle, then losing Game 5 off a dramatic Mariners grand slam.

In a postgame news conference on Sunday, Barger noted that the team was able to quickly put that Game 5 loss behind them to look ahead to Game 6, and that they’ll do the same for Game 7.

“We came off a big win, but that doesn’t matter tomorrow,” Barger said.

“Tomorrow’s about winning.”

After the game, Jays manager John Schneider described his emotional state as “a freaking mess” during his team’s playoff run, but said he can’t wait for Monday's game.

“This is fun … I wish we were playing right now,” Schneider said.

“You never know who’s going to come out on the right side or wrong side of it,” he added. “Today we did, we gotta do it again tomorrow.”

But the Mariners will also be looking to put away the Jays, and manager Dan Wilson seemed confident in his team's ability to do it in Game 7.

"This is a team that has done the little things all season," Wilson said of his squad during a postgame news conference.

"It's also a team that has bounced back a lot, and this is a chance for us to do that again, and we'll do it tomorrow night in Game 7."

Toronto is expected to start veteran Shane Bieber on Monday.

Bieber allowed two runs and four hits over six innings in Game 3, a 13-4 win for the Blue Jays in Seattle. He struck out eight and walked one, bouncing back from a poor outing against the Yankees in the Division Series.

Seattle pitcher George Kirby, who started Game 3, where he allowed eight runs and eight hits, including three homers over four innings, will start for the Mariners.

Whoever wins Game 7 will go on to the World Series to face the Los Angeles Dodgers, who swept the Milwaukee Brewers on Friday to capture the National League pennant.

Toronto has not made it 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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