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Instant Reaction: Blue Jays tie ALCS with emphatic 8-2 victory over Mariners in Game 4

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The Toronto Blue Jays will return to Toronto again this season.

On Thursday, the Blue Jays defeated the Seattle Mariners 8-2 in Seattle (Toronto West) to knot the series at two, making it a best-of-three with home-field advantage. Let’s take a look at what went on in this game!

 

For the third consecutive game, the Mariners took the lead. In the bottom of the second, Josh Naylor hit his second home run of the series, a wall scraper that just evaded the glove of Daulton Varsho.

On Wednesday, Ernie Clement hit a lead-off double in the top of the third, bringing Andrés Giménez up to the plate. Giménez went on to hit a two-run home run. The same thing nearly happened on Thursday, the only difference being that it was Isiah Kiner-Falefa who hit the double. Giménez battled hard and hit a 3-2 pitch over the fence for the lead.

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After the bases were cleared, the Jays scored another run as Daulton Varsho walked with the bases loaded to make it 3-1. In the top of the fourth, George Springer hit a double to drive in Kiner-Falefa, and was scored on a wild pitch, 5-1 for the Jays.

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Max Scherzer was pulled after getting two outs in the bottom of the sixth. After a walk, Eugenio Suárez hit a single to drive in that run, with Barger throwing out Naylor to end the inning and any other threat the Mariners would pose.

The Jays got that run back almost immediately, as Vladimir Guerrero Jr. hit a solo home run in the top of the seventh, his fifth of the postseason. Later that inning, with runners on second and third, Giménez drove in two more runs with a single off Emerson Hancock’s glove to make it 8-2.

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Takeaways…

Max Scherzer started this game and pitched like a two-time World Series-winning Hall of Famer. He walked two batters in the first, got out of it. Then he allowed a wall scraper home run that’d only be a home run in 19 ballparks. After that, he allowed two more soft-hit singles and two walks. Overall, he went five and two-thirds innings, giving up two earned runs, four walks, and five strikeouts.

It looked as if he was going to be out of the inning in the fifth inning, but he told Blue Jays’ manager John Schneider no, then proceeded to strike out Randy Arozarena. That’s a Hall of Famer if I’ve ever seen one.

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The Jays’ bullpen took it from there. Mason Fluharty “walked” a batter (it was in the zone), and then allowed a hit, which gave Scherzer a second earned run. Louis Varland pitched a clean inning, and so did Jeff Hoffman, who struck out two. Seranthony Domínguez pitched a scoreless outing to close out the game.

Once again, the Blue Jays’ offence stepped up. In total, they had 11 hits, with Andrés Giménez hitting his second home run in as many games. Who saw that coming from the Blue Jays’ #9 hitter? He had a two-hit day, as did Isiah Kiner-Falefa and a few others.

Another player who had a two-hit night was Vladimir Guerrero Jr., who also hit his second home run in as many games. It was his fifth of the postseason, and he’s taken sole possession of the franchise-best home run total in a single postseason performance. 

Ernie Clement had a two-hit game, and he’s now batting .452 with a 1.068 OPS. George Springer, Nathan Lukes, and Addison Barger had one hit. It’s also worth noting that Barger made two huge defensive plays, a fantastic catch in the seventh and a huge throw to end the Mariners’ best chance to tie it.

The Blue Jays will return to Toronto. However, the question is will they’ll be up or down 3-2 in the series. Game 5 is another pivotal game for the Jays as the series is now a best-of-three. It starts at 6:08 PM ET on Friday, with Kevin Gausman on the mound against Bryce Miller.

Ryley Delaney is a Nation Network writer for Blue Jays Nation, Oilersnation, and FlamesNation. She can be followed on Twitter @Ryley__Delaney.