The American League Championship Series is heading north once again, with the Seattle Mariners carrying the weight of history — needing just one more win to reach their first World Series.
They’ve already shown they can conquer Rogers Centre, where they took the first two games of the ALCS from the Blue Jays. Now, they return with a chance to finish the job.
This series could have easily swung the other way, but everything changed in the eighth inning of Game 5, when Cal Raleigh’s clutch homer and Eugenio Suárez’s grand slam flipped the script back in Seattle’s favor.
The challenge now is carrying that momentum into an environment where few visitors thrive.
“We have a tough road ahead of us,” Raleigh said. “We know they’re a good ballclub. We just have to go in there, play our kind of game, be aggressive and do what we do.”
The Blue Jays, meanwhile, aren’t fazed by having their backs against the wall. Toronto posted the best home record in the American League during the regular season (54-27, .667) and has responded well whenever its season has teetered.
Winning twice in their own building — something they’ve done often in 2025 — is the only path forward, and they’re embracing it.
“I’d say we’re in a great spot,” said the Jays’ Ernie Clement. “We’ve got a chance. That’s all we need.”
When is the game and how can I watch it?
First pitch is scheduled for 8:03 p.m. ET (5:03 p.m. PT) on Sunday at Rogers Centre and can be seen in the United States on FS1.
Blue Jays fans in Canada can tune in via Sportsnet and Sportsnet+ for the broadcast with Buck Martinez, Dan Shulman and Hazel Mae, or listen to the radio call with Ben Shulman and Chris Leroux on Sportsnet 590 The FAN.
All series are available in the US on MLB.TV with authentication to a participating Pay TV provider. Games also are available live internationally, although not in Canada. Sportsnet is MLB’s exclusive English language broadcaster in Canada for every Postseason game, while TVA Sports will be covering the entire AL Postseason and the World Series in French and Broadcaster RDS will cover the entire NL Postseason in French.
Who are the starting pitchers?
Blue Jays: Trey Yesavage (1-1, 4.82 ERA) just keeps starting the biggest games of the season for the Blue Jays. The rookie sensation blew through every level of the Minor Leagues this season and immediately proved he belongs in the big leagues, but this will be a major test for the 22-year-old after the Mariners handled him well in Game 2. Yesavage was charged with five runs over four innings in that game and the Mariners did well to lay off his excellent splitter, which had given the Yankees fits in the ALDS. Can Yesavage adjust on the fly to stay one step ahead of the Mariners and save the Blue Jays’ season?
Mariners: This is still TBD but will most likely be Logan Gilbert (1-0, 2.45 ERA), who was tagged for some hard contact in ALCS Game 2 but was also on just two days’ rest after pitching in relief in the Mariners’ 15-inning marathon in ALDS Game 5 vs. Detroit. Seattle’s Opening Day starter, however, will be on an extra day’s rest this turn through. Last Monday in Toronto, Gilbert surrendered three runs that tied the game before being lifted after 58 pitches and three innings. He was either right over the plate or far from it, but again, the necessary adjustments might be made now that he’s back on his normal routine.
What might the starting lineups look like?
Blue Jays: This all depends on George Springer, who left Game 5 after taking a 96-mph fastball off his right knee. He’ll do everything possible to play, though, and if Springer can bat leadoff, the Blue Jays could roll out a similar lineup to Game 5:
Mariners: Manager Dan Wilson made his second notable shakeup in as many days on Friday, moving Randy Arozarena out of the leadoff spot for the first time since July 30, pairing him back to back with Suárez and shifting Julio Rodríguez to the top. Rodríguez has three homers this postseason, including two in the first inning. After Friday’s win, that’s likely to remain his go-to look.
How will the bullpens line up after the starter?
Blue Jays: Brendon Little and Seranthony Domínguez allowed the big blows in the crushing Game 5 loss, but the Blue Jays will surely need them again. Jeff Hoffman will be fresh, too, along with Louis Varland, but perhaps John Schneider asks for more from someone like Braydon Fisher, the rookie who’s come out of nowhere to become a core piece of this bullpen in 2025. If Yesavage has a shorter outing, both Chris Bassitt and Eric Lauer will be available for multiple innings out of the bullpen.
Mariners: Andrés Muñoz, Matt Brash and Gabe Speier — Seattle’s three highest-leverage relievers — combined to allow just one hit over three scoreless innings in Game 5, and they’ll almost certainly all be used with the chance to go for the knockout punch in Game 6. Bryan Woo is probably unavailable after pitching two innings on Friday in his first outing since suffering pectoral inflammation Sept. 19. Eduard Bazardo, however, has only pitched twice in this series and was this group’s unsung hero. He’s climbed the leverage ladder this October, and he’ll also be utilized.
Any injuries of note?
Blue Jays: Bo Bichette was left off the Blue Jays’ ALCS roster as he continues to rehab from his left knee sprain, and his status will remain a daily story in Toronto as he pushes to return in time for a potential World Series. Given that this is also the final year of Bichette’s deal in Toronto, the only organization he has known, the stakes are sky high.
Springer went for tests after leaving Game 5 with a “right knee contusion” and X-rays came back negative, but the Blue Jays will still need to monitor his swelling and mobility going into Game 6.
Mariners: Woo, at long last, made his first appearance of these playoffs when pitching the sixth and seventh innings in Game 5, when he surrendered a double from Alejandro Kirk on his very first pitch then a game-tying RBI single to Ernie Clement two batters later. Hitting Springer with a 95.6 mph fastball also highlighted some of the struggles he’s had with glove-side command. While the Mariners were excited to get their best starter in the regular season back out there, because he’s been built up as a starter and had such a long layoff, it remains unclear what his availability would be for the rest of this ALCS.
Who is hot and who is not?
Blue Jays: Vladimir Guerrero Jr. is still on fire. The Mariners chose to intentionally walk him twice in Game 5 after he scorched a double into the left-center gap and we could see more of that in Game 6. Clement is still one of the hottest players in the postseason, too, batting .429 while Lukes (.333) continues to serve as a great No. 2 hitter between Springer and Guerrero. It feels like Kirk’s bat is waking up, too, with a home run in Seattle and a hard double in Game 5. Outside of Guerrero, the Blue Jays need someone to step up and help lift this offense.
Mariners: Raleigh is having an epic October, now with four homers to tie Jay Buhner (1995) for the second-most in a single postseason in franchise history (behind Ken Griffey Jr.’s six in ’95). He also has two doubles, six singles and seven walks, good for a 1.127 OPS in 39 at-bats. He now returns to the venue where he’s hit better than anywhere. Arozarena, meanwhile, has struggled to the point that Wilson dropped him out of the leadoff spot; he’s now hitting .150 in 40 playoff at-bats.
Anything else fans might want to know?
Blue Jays:
