TORONTO — The Seattle Mariners arrived at Rogers Centre on Monday night ready for a challenge. They had heard all the buzz about Trey Yesavage, the Toronto Blue Jays’ rookie who dazzled against the Yankees just a week earlier. But when it mattered most in Game 2 of the American League Championship Series, Seattle silenced the hype and overpowered the rookie with a commanding 10-3 victory.
The win gave the Mariners a 2-0 series lead as the matchup heads to T-Mobile Park. Seattle now stands just two wins away from its first World Series appearance in franchise history.
Yesavage, who had baffled the Yankees with 5 1/3 no-hit innings eight days prior, crumbled under pressure this time. The 22-year-old right-hander gave up five runs across four-plus innings, struggling to find his command. His splitter, the same pitch that had tormented the Yankees, lacked sharpness. Seattle capitalized on every mistake.
Rodriguez sets the tone early
The Mariners wasted no time jumping on Yesavage. Just three batters into the game, Julio Rodriguez blasted a three-run home run down the left-field line, silencing the Canadian Thanksgiving crowd and putting Seattle ahead 3-0.
The shot came off a 1-2 splitter left up in the zone — the very pitch Yesavage had used to dominate opponents. Rodriguez, however, had done his homework.
“At the end of the day, you’ve got to see the ball and get your pitch,” Rodriguez said. “And I just feel like, obviously, we have seen what he’s been doing, and obviously we respect that, but we went out there to compete.”
Randy Arozarena and Cal Raleigh reached base before Rodriguez’s homer, setting the stage for the early fireworks. It marked the first home run Yesavage has allowed in his young major league career.
Mariners crack the code
Seattle came in with a simple plan: ignore the low splitter, wait for pitches up in the zone, and attack mistakes. That approach worked perfectly.
The Mariners saw nearly half fastballs from Yesavage, and more sliders than splitters. When he did throw his trademark split-finger, they laid off. Seattle hitters swung just six times at the pitch, missing only twice — a huge contrast to the Yankees, who had been dominated by it.
“Just trying to get on the fastball,” Raleigh said. “A lot of us, we’ve never seen him before. So it was kind of seeing what he’s got and understanding it. He’s a really good pitcher.”
Yesavage managed four strikeouts but issued three walks and hit one batter. His velocity dipped as the game went on, suggesting fatigue after a long season spanning 121 1/3 innings between the minors, majors, and postseason.
Polanco continues October heroics
Jorge Polanco has been Seattle’s steady hand all postseason, and he struck again Monday. The veteran infielder, who walked off the Tigers in the ALDS and drove in key runs in Game 1 of the ALCS, added another highlight moment in Game 2.
With the score tied 3-3 in the fifth inning, Polanco unloaded a three-run homer to right-center field, giving Seattle a 6-3 lead it never relinquished.
The rally started when Andrés Giménez’s throwing error allowed Arozarena to reach second. With no outs, Toronto manager John Schneider issued an intentional walk to Raleigh. Two batters later, Polanco made them pay.
Through seven postseason games, Polanco now has eight RBIs, with six of his eight hits driving in runs. The switch-hitter is building a strong case for ALCS MVP consideration.
Naylor adds insult to injury
Josh Naylor delivered the knockout blow in the seventh. The Canadian-born first baseman crushed a two-run homer to right field off reliever Braydon Fisher, stretching Seattle’s lead to 9-3 and putting the game out of reach.
The blast made Naylor the first Canadian-born player to homer in a postseason game as a visiting player in Canada. He pointed to his family seated near the Mariners’ dugout as he rounded the bases.
“I went 0-for-4 yesterday, and we won,” Naylor said. “So, if I did it again today, maybe [it] was good luck to go 0-for-4, and we would win again. But I was very thankful to get some hits, help the team out. Super cool to do it in front of my family, too.”
Bullpen dominance continues
Seattle’s bullpen has been nearly untouchable this series. Through two games, Mariners relievers have faced 31 batters and allowed just one hit. On Monday, Eduard Bazardo, Carlos Vargas, and Emerson Hancock combined for six shutout innings, keeping Toronto completely off balance.
The Yankees, who had struggled to touch Yesavage earlier in the postseason, watched from afar as Seattle’s hitters and bullpen flipped the narrative.
Meanwhile, Toronto’s bullpen has faltered badly. Blue Jays relievers have allowed six runs in just over five innings during the ALCS. The contrast between the two pens has been striking and decisive.
History within reach
Seattle’s dream of reaching the World Series is now closer than ever. The Mariners, who joined Major League Baseball in 1977, have never advanced to the Fall Classic. Now, with a 2-0 lead, they’re two wins away from ending that drought.
Teams that take a 2-0 lead in best-of-seven postseason series go on to win 87 percent of the time. Only three clubs in history have lost a series after taking the first two games on the road.
J.P. Crawford, Seattle’s longest-tenured player, believes this team is built differently.
“We know we’re a good team,” Crawford said. “And now everyone knows that we can do this thing, and that’s what’s lighting the fire underneath everyone.”
Game 3 moves to Seattle’s T-Mobile Park on Wednesday, where the Mariners went 51-30 during the regular season. The Blue Jays, by contrast, were 40-41 on the road.
Seattle now holds every edge — momentum, confidence, and home-field advantage. Two more wins would give the city what it has long awaited: its first American League pennant and a trip to the World Series.
“We’re two wins away,” Crawford said. “If that doesn’t fire anyone up, I don’t know what can.”
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