One more “never been done before in team history” tonight; this is the first and last time we will say this: The Mariners are playing in their first-ever Game 7 of the ALCS tonight for the opportunity
to go to the World Series. Regardless of what happens tonight, what a ride it’s been.
Lineups:
The Mariners are again tinkering with their lineup, moving Josh Naylor up to third and putting Polanco in the clean-up spot. The biggest change is Victor Robles takes the place of Dominic Canzone, batting ninth. This is probably the best defensive lineup the Mariners have run out in a few days, a welcome sight after last night’s defensive miscues.
Pitching matchup:
George Kirby takes the ball for the Mariners. He wasn’t able to solve the Blue Jays in his last outing, giving up eight runs on eight hits, including three home runs. Kirby said postgame he thought he was trying to get “too cute” with his pitches, attempting to paint the corners instead of fearlessly attacking in the zone. He’ll need to come with much better command tonight to avoid a repeat of the last outing, although the Mariners—like the Blue Jays—will adopt an all-hands-on-deck approach. There’s no way Kirby will be given even as long a leash as he had in his last four-inning outing if things start going sideways for him early.
Meanwhile, the Blue Jays will hope for a repeat from Shane Bieber, who utterly stymied the Mariners’ bats in the last iteration of this matchup. While Kirby scraped and struggled, Bieber had as many strikeouts as Kirby gave up hits; he surrendered two runs on a first-inning home run by Julio and then dialed in his command after that. The Mariners bats have to do more than rely on the solo homer to win against the relentless onslaught of the Blue Jays’ offense. If they could get Bieber out early, the Blue Jays don’t have as many options in their bullpen, which has proven vulnerable to the Mariners offense, nor their starting staff, somewhat victims of their own success, as Gausman and Scherzer both threw a lot of pitches in their outings.
Captain’s Log:
“We’ve developed a really good habit of not wanting to leave the ballpark until we win” – Dan Wilson
Game Information:
Game time: 5:10 PT
TV: FOX and FS1
Radio: Seattle Sports 770 AM and ESPN Radio
Yes, a Monday night regular-season Seahawks game is kicking the history-making Mariners game to the alternate station.
Today in Mariners history:
- 2001: The Mariners win the only game of the only ALCS they ever played in before this one, dismantling the Yankees 14-3 at Yankee Stadium. Every member of the starting lineup had at least one hit: Bret Boone has three hits including a two-run home run; John Olerud and Jay Buhner also homered. Jamie Moyer earned the win with seven innings pitched, allowing just two runs on four hits.
