TORONTO – Talk about a momentum shift.
The whole world seemed to be counting out the Seattle Mariners in Sunday’s Game 1 of the American League Championship Series against the Blue Jays. Two nights earlier, they won a five-hour, 15-inning marathon at T-Mobile Park over the Tigers. It was emotional celebrating Seattle’s first trip to the ALCS in 24 years.
It was a quick turnaround for the Mariners after Friday’s epic win in the ALDS over the Tigers. (Photo by Steph Chambers/Getty Images)
It exhausted them to their bones.
The following day, there was a 3–4 hour flight delay. The Mariners’ charter plane should’ve been up in the air on Saturday morning, making the long cross-country flight to the land of the Jays. But the delay pushed back the team’s arrival until late Saturday night, the team getting into its hotel just before midnight on Sunday. Mariners players spent that delay in their home clubhouse, hanging out, eating, and playing PlayStation games.
“Enjoyed it Friday night, and Saturday we had the travel day, so everybody was loose,” catcher Cal Raleigh said. “We were just hanging out and enjoying it. We knew we had our hands full today. Just come out and try to keep executing.”
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The Mariners were back in action after less than a full 48 hours . (Getty Images)
They tried to downplay the effects of the delay, but it was another tough break.
So it was understandable if their batteries weren’t yet fully recharged by the time they took the field on Sunday night. It was reasonable for the Mariners to feel sluggish for the opener of the ALCS. It was forgivable if the quick turnaround, tough travel day, and 44,474 fans rooting against them at the Rogers Centre was too much to overcome.
And yet, despite all that took place over the past 48 hours, the Mariners triumphed with an improbable 3-1 win over the Blue Jays in Game 1 of the ALCS. In a game they had no business winning, Mariners right-hander Bryce Miller showed them how to get it done. By shoving.
“This is a game of emotion. This is a game of momentum,” Mariners manager Dan Wilson said. “Tonight we were able to get that back, due in large part to what Bryce was able to do on the mound.”
Miller tossed six dominant innings Sunday against the Blue Jays on just three days’ rest, one less day than his usual routine. After giving up a leadoff home run to George Springer on his first pitch, Miller did the unimaginable. He settled down. The righty retired 18 of his final 21 batters.
“That’s huge on short rest, for sure,” right-hander Logan Gilbert said of Miller’s outing. “I think he’s peaking at the right time. His stuff looks great. And the team kind of needed it, especially playing that extra game.”
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Starting pitchers are creatures of habit. There was no telling how Miller would respond on the mound when his pattern was disrupted. But his sharp performance meant so much more than what his final line portrayed. Seattle hoped he would make it through four innings. He gave two more. The length from Miller allowed Wilson to rest most of his sapped relievers. It allowed the Mariners offense to stay in the game.
“Coming off of a 15-inning game in Seattle two nights ago, I wanted to get deep and give our bullpen a chance,” Miller said. “I was able to do that. Then yeah, first-pitch home run. Definitely not ideal, especially on the road. We also joke pretty often that a first-pitch home run doesn’t count. So we’re going with that. It didn’t count.”
Miller kept Toronto’s well-rested bats off the board after Springer’s first-inning blitz, and Raleigh tied the game in the sixth inning with his second home run of the postseason and 62nd of the calendar year. Jorge Polanco, Friday night’s 15th-inning hero, returned for more clutch hitting on Sunday. A pair of RBI singles off Polanco’s bat gave the Mariners the lead and added an insurance run.
Seattle relievers Gabe Speier, Matt Brash, and Andrés Muñoz combined to pitch three hitless innings against a Blue Jays lineup that looked as disoriented as the Mariners were supposed to feel. The stadium, typically a loud, threatening environment, was quiet. The Mariners flipped the script.
“We’ve talked about just how resilient these guys are,” Wilson said. “And tonight was one of those instances again.”
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For everyone watching, it looked like the Mariners stole a game. For the Mariners clubhouse, Game 1 wasn’t stolen. It was earned. This was what they flew to Toronto to do.
“We came here to try to win both games on the road,” third baseman Eugenio Suarez said. “We got the first one today. Bryce did an absolutely outstanding job to keep the game close. We gotta come tomorrow with the same energy, the same mentality and try to take the next one and go to Seattle with a two-game advantage.”
Deesha Thosar covers Major League Baseball as a reporter and columnist for FOX Sports. She previously covered the Mets as a beat reporter for the New York Daily News. The daughter of Indian immigrants, Deesha grew up on Long Island and now lives in Queens. Follow her on Twitter at @DeeshaThosar.
