The Toronto Blue Jays are heading to the World Series for the first time in 32 years after a dramatic 4-3 victory over the Seattle Mariners in Game 7 of the American League Championship Series on Monday night.
George Springer hit a go-ahead three-run homer in the seventh inning, sending the sellout crowd of 44,770 into a frenzy. The Blue Jays will host the Los Angeles Dodgers in Game 1 on Friday, marking the first time the Fall Classic has been played in Canada since 1993.
“The job’s not finished. We got four more to go,” said Vladimir Guerrero Jr, who was named ALCS MVP. Toronto manager John Schneider praised Springer, saying, “There’s probably not another person on planet Earth that I want up other than George Springer and his October magic.”
The Mariners took a 3-1 lead on solo home runs from Cal Raleigh and Julio Rodríguez, but Seattle could not hold on. “I hate to use the word failure, but it’s a failure,” Raleigh said. Seattle remain the only major league club without a pennant.
Kevin Gausman earned the win in relief, Chris Bassitt pitched a perfect eighth, and Jeff Hoffman struck out the side in the ninth for the save. The Blue Jays became the fourth team to lose the first two games at home in a best-of-seven postseason series and come back to win.
