Toronto Blue Jays bury Seattle Mariners: 5 takeaways from Game 3 of ALCS
That one was ugly. Seattle jumped out to a quick lead against Toronto in Game 3 of the American League Championship Series but once Toronto’s bats heated up, it was all Blue Jays at T-Mobile Park on Wednesday night. Here are five takeaways from Seattle’s 13-4 loss.
IT WAS NEVER GOING TO BE THAT EASY
Seattle stunned the baseball world by taking a 2-0 series lead in the ALCS, winning a pair of road games in Toronto. After Toronto pummelled the New York Yankees in the ALDS, Seattle’s early success in the ALCS sent spirits soaring and confidence skyrocketing, even prompting whispers of a four-game sweep, with the M’s returning to the friendly confines of T-Mobile Park. But Toronto’s vaunted lineup was bound to wake from its slumber sooner than later, and the Jays got the bats going on Wednesday night. Besides, don’t we all remember the dramatic 15-inning Game 5 of the ALDS against Detroit? The Mariners don’t do easy.
GEORGE KIRBY STRUGGLES
It started off positively enough for George Kirby, Seattle’s starting pitcher in Game 3. Kirby was on attack mode with a jumping T-Mobile crowd behind him, but ran into trouble in the third inning, giving up a game-tying two-run homer to Andres Gimenez.
“First couple innings, I thought he was dynamite,” Mariners manager Dan Wilson said. “Good location, good heaters coming out of his hand. This is a team that’s gonna hurt you if you make mistakes on the plate.”
Kirby was unable to stop the bleeding, conceding the go-ahead run on a wild pitch before giving up a two-run double off the right field wall to center fielder Daulton Varsho. He said his struggles came down to not executing his pitches.
“I was just trying to be really cute with it. Some sliders just leaked over the middle. Missed a heater to Gimenez there. Tried to go up, threw it down. It’s alright. Next time I’m out there, I’ll fix that.
“I’m never going to stray away from what I do well — get ahead and be in the zone.”
Kirby’s final line: 4 innings pitched, 8 earned runs, 4 strikeouts, three home runs allowed.
BOMBS AWAY
Toronto’s bats didn’t scrape by with just enough hits to win the game — the Blue Jays demolished baseballs all night long. Toronto racked up five home runs over the course of its 13-4 win on Wednesday. The longest was George Springer’s 431-foot shot to center field in the fourth inning, which moved him into a tie for fourth-place all-time on MLB’s postseason home run leaderboard with 22.
“This is a team that has swung the bat well all year,” Dan Wilson said. “They didn’t miss much tonight.”
Toronto manager John Schneider said he was happy to see the team fight back after being in a 2-0 hole in the series.
“It’s kind of been what we’ve done all year,” he said. “No one expected us to win the division, no one expected us to be here. The guys kind of take that to heart. I’m proud of the way they did it.”
JULIO RODRIGUEZ A BRIGHT SPOT
Seattle second baseman Jorge Polanco has been the October hero for the Mariners to this point of the playoffs. But if the Mariners are going to advance to — and win — a World Series, Dan Wilson’s squad will likely need the contributions of Julio Rodriguez. Seattle’s center fielder put the Mariners on the board first in the first inning with a two-run home run to left field. It’s an encouraging sign for Seattle heading into Game 4. Randy Arozarena and Cal Raleigh added solo home runs in garbage time with the game out of reach.
NO CANADIAN TAKEOVER, EH
Another bright spot for the M’s: there was no Canadian takeover by our friends up north at T-Mobile Park. Surveying the crowd at T-Mobile, it looked like mostly Mariners fans on Wednesday and even when the Jays were bashing home runs left and right, it never sounded like a Toronto home game, as it often does when Toronto comes to town. Sure, it didn’t matter or help on Wednesday, but with the Mariners just two wins away from the franchise’s first World Series appearance, it’s encouraging seeing Seattle fans scooping up and holding onto their tickets.
Seattle manager Dan Wilson is confident the team will bounce back at home in Game 4 on Thursday.
“This is a team that has done a lot of that this year, in terms of bouncing back, being resilient,” he said. “Tomorrow’s gonna be a good opportunity for us. This is a team that has proven over and over again that fighting back, bouncing back, having resiliency is a part of their DNA.”
This story was originally published October 15, 2025 at 8:11 PM with the headline "Toronto Blue Jays bury Seattle Mariners: 5 takeaways from Game 3 of ALCS."
