Dodgers make history with starting rotation and maintain 2-0 lead over Brewers
Bob Nightengale of USA TODAY Sports breaks down the Dodgers’ dominant rotation that helped the team grab a 2-0 lead over the Brewers in the NLCS.
sports pulse
From total futility to astonishing volleys. That’s the story of the Toronto Blue Jays in this American League Championship Series.
And after two games of a punchless offense, the batting lineup revolted in Game 3, and they’re still in it.
On October 15, at T-Mobile Park in Seattle, the Blue Jays struck out starting pitcher George Kirby and three relief pitchers from the Seattle Mariners, allowing 18 hits and five home runs in a 13-4 victory.
The biggest wake-up call? Vladimir Guerrero Jr., who was held hitless in seven at-bats at Rogers Center, went 4-for-4 with two doubles and a home run, showing that the most dangerous hitter in the series is not quiet.
Seattle still leads this series 2-1, and in Game 4, the Blue Jays will use 41-year-old Max Scherzer to make his first postseason start. Perhaps Game 3 was just a speed bump for the Mariners on their way to their first World Series appearance in franchise history.
Or maybe this series has really changed direction.
Road teams have won every game in this No. 7 contest, and the Blue Jays’ hopes are to continue that trend in Games 4 and 5. After Julio Rodriguez hit a two-run homer in the first inning and Mariners starter Kirby continued his solid postseason run with two scoreless innings, it looked like early winter in Ontario.
And they jumped over him. No. 9 hitter Andres Jimenez tied the game with a two-run home run, and Dalton Varsho hit a two-run double to give Toronto a 5-2 lead in the top of the third.
George Springer and Guerrero added home runs in the fourth and fifth innings, and Kirby was chased with no outs in that inning, giving up eight runs.
After extending the lead to 12-2, Randy Arozarena and Cal Lowry hit solo home runs in the eighth inning that graced the scoreboard.
But what a turnaround! Toronto had zero extra-base hits and was just 8-for-61 (.131 batting average) in the two losses at Rogers Center. In Game 3, he had 7 extra-base hits, 18 total.
Everything will go back to zero in Game 4. However, the Blue Jays finally made it to the ALCS.
Here’s how Game 3 played out.
This is a real blowout in the Pacific Northwest, and it puts the Toronto Blue Jays in an even better position to bounce back in this ALCS.
In Game 3, Alejandro Kirk’s three-run homer in the sixth inning gave Toronto a 12-2 lead over the Seattle Mariners.
This means the Blue Jays can keep all of their high-leverage and even mid-leverage relievers out of the game and save them for Game 4. They’ll probably need a backup in Game 4, with 41-year-old Max Scherzer making his first start this postseason.
Vladimir Guerrero forces George Kirby out of the game, and the Toronto Blue Jays continue their hot pursuit in Seattle.
Guerrero hit his first ALCS home run, and a triple for the cycle was all that was needed — and the Blue Jays led the Mariners 8-2 by midway through the fifth inning.
Guerrero’s shot to center field narrowly escaped the grasp of a leaping Julio Rodriguez. This was Toronto’s third home run of the night, following Andres Jimenez’s two-run homer and George Springer’s solo homer. Ernie Clement added an RBI late in the inning.
The Toronto Blue Jays are fully revitalized.
George Springer hit a pitch from George Kirby into center field in the fourth inning, giving Toronto a 6-2 lead over the Seattle Mariners in Game 3 of the ALCS, moving him into fourth place on the all-time playoff home run list.
Springer’s home run was his 22nd in the postseason, tying him with Bernie Williams.
It was also the fifth extra-base hit in the past two innings for the Blue Jays, who are looking for their first win in the ALCS.
The Toronto Blue Jays have woken up. After all, this ALCS may not be complete yet.
After going hitless through the first two games and two innings of the series, he had four hits in the third inning, including a game-tying two-run homer by Andres Jimenez and a two-run double by Dalton Bacho, giving them a 5-2 lead entering the bottom of the third inning.
What an attack! Vladimir Guerrero Jr., who was hitless in seven at-bats entering the game, reignited the rally with a 165 mph fastball into the left-field wall after Ernie Clement’s leadoff double and Jimenez’s game-tying hit.
After scoring the first run on a wild pitch with the bases loaded that Cal Lowry couldn’t stop, Varsho, who was also 0-for-8 in the ALCS at this point, hit a line drive through the right-field wall for a 5-2 lead.
All of the damage was done by starting pitcher George Kirby. Kirby looked untouchable until the second inning, but he wasn’t.
Ready to set T-Mobile Park on fire, Julio Rodriguez wasted no time in bringing excitement to Game 3 of the ALCS.
Rodriguez hit a two-run home run in the bottom of the first inning, giving the Seattle Mariners a 2-0 lead over Toronto. It was a night when they were one game away from advancing to the World Series for the first time in franchise history.
It may be a short night for Blue Jays starting pitcher Shane Bieber, who was unable to escape in the third inning in his start against New York in the American League Division Series. On this night, he gave up a walk to Randy Arozarena and hit Rodriguez with a 93 mph fastball over the middle of the plate and into the left field seats.
Mariners starting pitcher George Kirby successfully avoided Vladimir Guerrero Jr.’s infield hit with two outs and got through the first inning unscathed.
This was Kirby’s fifth career postseason appearance, and he pitched 18 innings with 20 strikeouts and a 1.50 ERA.
“I thought he did a really good job of mixing it up really well,” Mariners catcher Cal Lowry said of Kirby before Game 3. “Obviously, I think he’s kind of reaching his limit with all the injuries he’s had this year, but he’s finally found his groove.”
- Randy Arozarena (R) LF
- Cal Lowry (S) C
- Julio Rodriguez (R) CF
- Jorge Polanco (S) 2B
- Josh Naylor (left) 1B
- Eugenio Suarez (R) 3B
- Dominic Song (L) DH
- Victor Robles(R) RF
- JP Crawford (L) SS
- George Springer (R) DH
- Nathan Rooks (left) LF
- Vladimir Guerrero Jr. (R) 1B
- Anthony Santander (S) RF
- Alejandro Kirk (R) C
- Dalton Varsho (left) CF
- Addison Berger (L) 3B
- Ernie Clement(R) 2B
- Andres Jimenez (left) SS
Mariners vs. Blue Jays predictions, odds for Game 3
Game 3 of the ALCS will be 8:08pm ET Wednesday, October 15th.
