1996 Yankees footage fuels Blue Jays’ huge 13-4 ALCS win over Mariners

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SEATTLE — The Toronto Blue Jays found motivation in baseball history on Wednesday night — and it came from an unlikely source. Their hitting coach shared video clips of the 1996 Yankees and their World Series comeback on the team’s flight to Seattle. The message was clear: stay calm, keep fighting, and believe.

It worked.

Fueled by that inspiration, Toronto erupted for five home runs and 18 hits in a commanding 13-4 win over the Seattle Mariners at T-Mobile Park. The victory trimmed Seattle’s American League Championship Series lead to 2-1 and kept the Blue Jays alive after losing the first two games at home.

Guerrero Jr. powers Blue Jays offensive explosion

Vladimir Guerrero Jr. picked the perfect time for his biggest game of the postseason. The Blue Jays’ $500 million slugger went 4-for-4 with a home run, two doubles, and four balls hit between 103 and 108 mph off the bat.

“He’s one of the best hitters on Earth,” teammate Addison Barger said. “When he’s on, it’s scary. I feel bad for the pitchers.”

Guerrero had gone hitless in the first two games against Seattle, but his breakout ignited a lineup that refused to relent. Toronto’s offense pounded out 18 hits, with six players recording multiple knocks and at least one RBI. It marked the first time since the 2011 ALCS that six players on one team achieved that feat in a postseason game.

Five home runs tie franchise playoff record

Toronto’s power barrage began early and never slowed. Andres Gimenez opened the scoring with a two-run homer in the third inning, sparking a five-run frame. In the fourth, George Springer launched a 431-foot blast, his 22nd career postseason homer, making him just the sixth player in MLB history with 40 extra-base hits in playoff competition.

Guerrero added his homer in the fifth inning, a deep shot to center field that silenced the home crowd. Catcher Alejandro Kirk followed with a three-run opposite-field blast in the sixth, and Addison Barger capped the onslaught with a fifth home run later in the game.

The five long balls tied the Blue Jays’ postseason record for most in a single game — a mark they first set in Game 2 of the Division Series earlier this month against the Yankees.

Hitting coach’s message resonates

Blue Jays hitting coach David Popkins sent manager John Schneider a motivational clip before the team left Toronto. It featured highlights from the 1996 Yankees, who dropped the first two World Series games at home but came back to win four straight and clinch the championship.

That calm, confident approach struck a chord with the players.

“I remember watching, I think it was ‘100 Years of the Yankees’ or whatever, some documentary, and I remember seeing Joe Torre, no panic whatsoever,” infielder Ernie Clement said. “They lost the first two and he’s like, ‘We’ll go back to Atlanta and get it done there.’ It’s that no panic that’s so huge.”

The Yankees reference turned into real motivation. The Blue Jays came out swinging early, attacking Seattle starter George Kirby before he could settle in. Eight of their hits came on counts of 1-1 or earlier, a sign of their aggressive game plan.

Kirby struggles against aggressive approach

Kirby had dominated through the postseason up to this point, including two brilliant Division Series starts against Detroit. But Toronto’s relentless approach neutralized him.

The Blue Jays tagged him for eight runs and eight hits over four innings, jumping on fastballs and punishing mistakes. Knowing Kirby rarely walks hitters — he issued just 29 free passes in 23 regular-season starts — Toronto hunted strikes early.

Gimenez hammered a 0-1 fastball for his homer. Daulton Varsho doubled on a 1-1 pitch. Springer smoked a first-pitch sinker. In total, the Blue Jays recorded 13 balls in play with exit velocities above 100 mph — and 11 of them landed for hits.

Bieber bounces back after rocky start

Shane Bieber began his night in trouble. In the first inning, Julio Rodríguez crushed a two-run homer, sending the home crowd into a frenzy. Rodríguez celebrated with Seattle’s trademark golden trident near the dugout.

But that was Seattle’s final highlight of the night. Bieber adjusted immediately, changing his entire pitch mix after the first frame. Out of 84 pitches, he threw only 20 fastballs, relying instead on a blend of sliders, curveballs, cutters, and changeups.

The shift worked beautifully. Bieber generated 17 swinging strikes, more than he had combined in his last two starts. He finished with eight strikeouts over six innings, allowing just four hits and one walk after the early mistake.

Road teams dominate early series

Toronto’s win continued an unexpected postseason pattern — the road team has won every game of this ALCS so far. The Yankees’ divisional rival posted the best home record in the American League this season at 52-29, yet has lost both games at Rogers Centre.

To bring the series back to Canada, Toronto must keep its momentum going in Seattle, where they have thrived before. The Blue Jays swept a three-game series at T-Mobile Park in May, scoring 21 runs on 35 hits. Wednesday night’s explosion proved that comfort in Seattle’s ballpark remains.

The Mariners, chasing their first-ever World Series appearance, now face a must-win situation on Thursday. Under the current playoff format, teams that win Game 3 on the road after trailing 2-0 have gone on to win the series three out of eleven times.

Late solo homers from Randy Arozarena and Cal Raleigh in the eighth inning gave the home fans a brief reason to cheer, but the game had long been decided. The Blue Jays had already built a double-digit lead through sheer offensive firepower and strategic adjustments on the mound.

The video from the 1996 Yankees may have been intended as a motivational tool, but it became something far more powerful. It reminded a struggling Toronto lineup that a slow start doesn’t define a series — resilience does. And for one night in Seattle, that lesson turned history into inspiration.

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