SEATTLE – For a sprint like that, Alejandro Kirk needed a cooling-off period. Good thing Vladimir Guerrero Jr. grabbed a towel in the dugout to fan the man who had just scored the go-ahead run in Game 5 of the American League Championship Series on Friday at T-Mobile Park.
Facing Seattle’s Bryan Woo out of the bullpen for the first time this series as the All-Star starter returns from a pectoral injury, Kirk led off the sixth inning with a sharp double to the right-center-field wall, pushing hard for second base as right fielder Dominic Canzone fielded the ball off the wall.
Canzone in right field, rather than elite-fielding outfielder Victor Robles, is important. Because two batters later, postseason revelation Ernie Clement lined a single in front of Canzone in right.
Kirk was off and running.
The husky All-Star catcher who steals strikes behind the plate and scorches the ball at the plate is, well, not known for his speed. His 24.3 feet/second sprint speed this year was in the second percentile of MLB baserunners. Kirk had been the runner on second when a single was hit 11 times this season, and he hadn’t scored once. The last time he had was back on Aug. 22, 2024, against the Angels.
Kirk was rounding third when Canzone fielded the ball in right field a Statcast-projected 205 feet from the plate. But third-base coach Carlos Febles waved Kirk home, likely knowing Canzone’s poor fielding metrics. The throw was not close, bringing Mariners catcher Cal Raleigh way up the third-base line as Kirk crossed home plate.
For Kirk, it was a long run but an important one as the Blue Jays took the lead. For Clement, who advanced to second on the throw, it was redemption for his previous at-bat in the fourth inning, when he hit into a double play on a tapper in front of the plate, ending a bases-loaded Blue Jays threat.
