Kirby and Mariners Poised on the Edge of Baseball’s Ultimate Showdown—But What’s Standing in Their Way?

Ever get that feeling when you’re watching a playoff series and you just know someone’s about to blink first? That’s where we stand with the Blue Jays heading into Game 3 against the Mariners—a must-win for Toronto if they want to avoid an early exit. Now, I’ve been rooting for the Blue Jays for ages—seen them stumble, fumble, and sometimes just flat out underwhelm despite having all the pieces you’d expect in a contender. Yet here we are, finally on the cusp of a World Series berth, and everything that could go sideways seems to be doing just that. They started strong with a quick homer from Springer, then… crickets. Seattle’s been rolling, heavy hitters and solid pitching, like George Kirby—who’s pitching with the confidence of a guy who knows how to silence a raucous crowd. But here’s the kicker: the Mariners might be a bit too reliant on dingers, and the Jays? They need more than just a spark early on; they need a fire. Can Shane Bieber pull off the magic as the Jays send him out to tame Seattle’s offense? Or will the Mariners turn up the volume and inch closer to their first World Series? Buckle up. LEARN MORE

Blue Jays vs. Mariners, Game 3, 8:08 ET

The National League has been decent to me, specifically with the National League Championship Series. I’ve taken two wins thanks to great pitching performances by the Dodgers, and terrible hitting by the Brewers. Milwaukee is now 0-2 since trying to troll the Cubs and posting a picture with an L flag, by the way. Another team that is 0-2 and facing a similar battle to the Brewers is the Blue Jays as they visit Seattle to face the Mariners in a game Toronto has to win if they want to keep their hopes alive.

I’ve been a supporter of Toronto for quite some time now. The Blue Jays have been a team that I’ve thought has underperformed for a few years, and now they are finally playing up to their capabilities. They’ve had virtually everything you would need to be successful, they’ve been involved in almost every big name player on the market, but they just couldn’t find the right combination to make lasting success. Now they have the chance to get to the World Series, and everything is going wrong for them. In Game 1, they got the scoring started with a leadoff homer from George Springer. Unfortunately, that was all of their offense. In Game 2, they gave up a big lead to the Mariners right away. While the Blue Jays tied it, up after two innings, they didn’t score the rest of the game. So in two games, Toronto has scored three runs in the first, and four total runs in the first and second inning. After that, nothing. Tonight, they send out Shane Bieber to try and lock down a rolling Mariners offense. Bieber was a bit of a flyer deadline acquisition from Toronto, now being thrust into the biggest game of the season. He gave Toronto a solid 40.1 innings in the regular season, but was knocked around a bit by the Yankees in his postseason start, going just 2.2 innings and allowing two earned runs. Mariners hitters are batting just .229 against him, with J.P. Crawford having the most success, going 6-for-12 against him.

The Mariners are another team that I keep in my back pocket of fandom. Hard not to root for Seattle when you’ve watched them with Randy Johnson, Alex Rodriguez, Edgar Martinez, Ichiro, and, of course, Ken Griffey Jr. Those names are synonymous with baseball, and even though the teams never really worked out together, Seattle has always been a good sports city. This year the team went all in on the club and has been rewarded with being two wins away from their first World Series. The roster is loaded with hitters, and they showed just how dangerous they can be with a 10-3 win. The pitching staff is very strong, and will look to George Kirby to get them a game away from a sweep. Kirby went 10-8 during the regular season with a 4.21 ERA, but was about two runs better at home than on the road. He went 10 innings against Detroit, outdueling Tarik Skubal (kind of) in the 15-inning match that put them in this series. He allowed jus three runs in the two starts against the Tigers. He did not face Toronto this year, but there is a bit of reason for concern as the Blue Jays have hit .281 against him in 64 at-bats.

My biggest concern about the Mariners is that they seem a bit home run dependent so far. They have nine guys who can put the ball out of the park, but you can’t always count on that, and need to find other ways to manufacture runs. The concern for the Blue Jays is this team hasn’t hit in the first two games outside of the first couple of innings. Perhaps a change of scenery will make a difference, but expect Seattle to be rocking. I like Bieber, but I’m not sure this is a great spot to rely on him to get you a win. I’ll take my chances with Seattle tonight behind Kirby and what should be a raucous crowd.

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