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Guerrero Jr., Yesavage carry Blue Jays to franchise’s second-ever Game 7

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It’s the best two words in sports: Game 7

Rogers Centre has never hosted a winner-take-all Game 7 before. Ever. But all that’ll change on Monday night after the Toronto Blue Jays kept their season alive with Sunday’s 6-2 Game 6 victory over the Seattle Mariners, meaning this year’s ALCS will come down to one final game.

And, quite frankly, that’s what this series deserves.

It’s been a back-and-forth, heavyweight title match — one that’s now entering the 12th and final round. The winner of Game 7, of course, will claim the American League pennant and punch their ticket to the World Series — where a bout with the reigning champion Los Angeles Dodgers awaits.

“This is what we sign up for. Whenever you can play for Game 7 to go to the World Series, it sounds kind of cool to say it, you know. But this is why we sacrifice everything. It’s why players sacrifice everything,” manager John Schneider said post-game.

“It’s special and unique, but you have to look at it as a game. Easier said than done, but really happy with the way we played today. Got to come out and do it again tomorrow.”

The Blue Jays are soaking up this moment. They scratched and clawed to get here, being just one win away from advancing to their first World Series since the glory days of the back-to-back championship titles in 1992-93. It’s important to remember these types of things don’t come around often.

But this team will quickly turn their focus to Game 7, and rightly so. They have another win-or-go-home game to play in less than 24 hours, one that’ll feature Shane Bieber versus George Kirby on the mound.

“Everybody’s excited,” Trey Yesavage said, after tossing 5.2 innings with seven strikeouts in Sunday’s elimination game, the sixth of his exciting young career. “Everybody knows that we can be ourselves. Shane Bieber’s going to go out there and give us everything he has, and then we’re going to let our defence work, offence do its job, and then got a fresh bullpen for tomorrow, which is huge.”

The only other time the Blue Jays played a winner-take-all Game 7 took place just over 40 years ago at Exhibition Stadium — the franchise’s former home — versus the Kansas City Royals on Oct. 16, 1985. They lost 6-2 on that cold night, as the club’s offence couldn’t muster more support behind franchise icon, Dave Stieb, who surrendered all six runs over 5.2 innings.

But they now have a shot at redemption, and they have an unstoppable force in Vladimir Guerrero Jr. — who took over, again, but not just at the plate this time — on their side, giving them an ace in the hole.

“He’s one of the many reasons we’re heading to Game 7 right now,” Yesavage said of Guerrero’s post-season heroics. “He’s a game-changer in our lineup. He’s an is spark plug to the rest of the eight guys in the lineup, and then on defence, he’s spectacular. So having a guy like this in this clubhouse is one of the many reasons we are here right now.”

Guerrero put his fingerprint on Game 6 in multiple ways. The 26-year-old franchise superstar did it with his defence, turning a spectacular — and timely — bases-loaded, inning-ending double-play to silence Seattle’s second-inning rally.

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Guerrero also made an impact on the bases, swiping third on a passed ball before scoring on Cal Raleigh’s throwing error to add an extra insurance run in front of closer Jeff Hoffman’s six-out save — which Schneider said was by design with Toronto carrying a vital late-game lead.

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And, of course, Guerrero did it with his bat, too. His sixth home run of the post-season ties him with Blue Jays legends Joe Carter and José Bautista for first all-time in the franchise’s post-season history.

It took Carter three trips through the post-season to hit that many; Bautista did it in two. Guerrero, meanwhile, has done all his damage in 10 games this October, and he still has at least one left to play — and hopefully countless more to come over the next 14 years.

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Bautista, a playoff hero himself a decade ago, had a front-row seat to Guerrero’s sensational performance from one of the luxury suites after hyping up a sold-out crowd at Rogers Centre by throwing out the first pitch — one that had some serious heat behind it.

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Following the heartbreak that the Blue Jays felt during their Game 5 collapse in Seattle, to have this series be decided by one game, they wouldn’t have it any other way. If you had told them back in spring training that it’d play out this way, they’d take it in a heartbeat.

Opportunities like this are why players and coaches alike sacrifice so much — both on and off the field — from early February and now into late October. It’s all about working towards having a chance to play for the World Series. For someone like Bieber, who watched from the Cleveland Guardians’ dugout as they were eliminated by the New York Yankees in last year’s ALCS, he no longer has to sit on the sidelines.

With one start, Bieber can put that pain behind him now that he’s fully recovered from Tommy John and back to pitching like a front-line starter.

“It means everything. Very excited for the opportunity,” he said.

If the Blue Jays are to keep their season alive (again), though, it’ll undoubtedly be a group effort. That’s been their story all season. It’s all 26 players guiding the ship in the same direction.

Who knows how this next chapter will be written? That’s the beauty of sports. They’re unpredictable, even if it’d be easier on everyone’s hearts if they weren’t. Nevertheless, this team isn’t ready for their 2025 story to be finished. To keep the party going, all it’ll take is one more win.

“This team, this group of men, are special,” Schneider said. “You never know where the journey’s going to lead. It leads to a Game 7 in the ALCS and that’s frickin’ awesome.”