Jordan Romano of the Toronto Blue Jays walks back to the dugout after being relieved against the Seattle Mariners during the ninth inning in game two of the American League Wild Card Series at Rogers Centre on Oct. 8, 2022.MARK BLINCH/Getty Images
It was an epic collapse that Blue Jays fans may bemoan and scrutinize for years.
Early in Saturday’s contest, the Toronto Blue Jays had a commanding 8-1 lead in Game 2, looking confident to force a decisive third game in their wild-card series.
Yet a few hours later, the underdog Seattle Mariners were dancing on Toronto’s field after handing the highly favoured Jays one of the most gut-wrenching losses in franchise history.
The Mariners notched the biggest road comeback in MLB post-season history, winning 10-9 in an intense game that lasted over four hours and included a game-changing collision between Bo Bichette and George Springer in the outfield.
Seattle – a team making its first playoff appearance in 21 years – will advance to the American League Division Series against the Houston Astros.
The Jays clubhouse was quiet, with many players and coaches embracing in end-of-season hugs after sky-high hopes for a deep playoff run with a talent-rich team have evaporated.
Toronto’s playoff run is over after just two days. A best-of-three wild card series can be so unforgiving.
“It just really sucks that we have to go home,” said Jays starter Kevin Gausman. “Because there’s a lot of really talented baseball players in there.”
In Game 1, the Mariners feasted on a few bad pitches by Toronto ace Alek Manoah in his first inning of playoff baseball, and jumped out to a fast lead the Jays would not overcome. Canada’s team ran into a red-hot pitcher in Luis Castillo and they got beat 4-0, forced to fight for their playoff lives on Saturday.
The Jays faced their old teammate Robbie Ray, who won the AL Cy Young Award while pitching for Toronto last year. In his first appearance at the Rogers Centre since his departure, the 30-year-old left-hander pitched just over three innings on Saturday, giving up six hits and four runs against four strikeouts.
He was pitching against the guy the Jays signed to replace Ray – Gausman, who got off to a hot start, not allowing a hit until the fifth inning, helped along by a leaping catch by Bichette, then alone at the wall by Springer.
The Jays got hot bats early. Alejandro Kirk provided the first Jays hit of the game in the second, a double into the left field corner. Next at the plate, Teoscar Hernandez cracked a homer to give the Jays a fast 2-0 lead and became the first to put on the new special postseason edition homerun jacket. The crowd of 47,156 made Rogers Centre thunderous.
In the third, Santiago Espinal doubled in his first game back from an oblique injury, and then Vladimir Guerrero Jr. singled to bring him home. Hernandez crushed his second homer – a solo shot – in the fourth.
But the Mariners began to heat up at the plate in the fifth. Gausman allowed two hits that inning, including a double by Carlos Santana that rocked off the wall. A sacrifice fly by Jarred Kelenic scored Frazier. Gausman limited the damage to just one run.
The Mariners crumbled in a dramatic fifth inning that saw the Jays score four runs. They let the Jays load the bases by intentionally walking Guerrero Jr. and bringing up Kirk. Then Seattle reliever Paul Sewald threw an errant pitch that sailed off the top of his catcher’s glove, and Espinal stole home. Sewald lost control of his fastball and hit Hernandez in the shoulder, putting him on base. Matt Chapman crushed a sac fly to score Guerrero Jr. Then Danny Jansen scored Kirk on his line drive double to right.
When Seattle swapped out Sewald with Diego Castillo, his first pitch was a slider that hit Toronto’s Whit Merrifield flush in the helmet. The Jays cautiously removed Merrifield from the game, and he was steaming. It was just the start of the drama.
The Seattle Mariners celebrate after defeating the Toronto Blue Jays on Oct. 8, 2022.MARK BLINCH/Getty Images
Gausman pitched into the sixth inning, and the Jays pulled him after he loaded the bases (having allowed five hits against seven strikeouts and charged with four runs). They brought in Tim Mayza, and within four pitches, the vibe of Rogers Centre went from rowdy and jubilant to sombre and concerned. Mayza threw a wild pitch that scored one Mariner, then a slider that Santana blistered for a three-run homer. Suddenly, Toronto’s comfy 8-1 lead narrowed into an uncomfortable 8-5 one.
The Jays soothed their fans’ worries a little in the seventh when Danny Jansen clubbed an RBI single to score Hernandez. But the Mariners were not rolling over.
Toronto reliever Anthony Bass gave up another run. With two runners on, and zero out, in the eight inning Toronto had a 9-6 lead and called for their star closer Jordan Romano to get them the six outs needed to save the season.
Romano put another runner on before Seattle’s hottest batter of the day came to the plate – Santana. Every Jays fan in the stadium was on their feet, blue rally towels waving. Romano worked him and struck him out. Then he struck out Dylan Moore as well.
But then came the most dramatic play in this wild contest.
Seattle’s J.P. Crawford looped a flyball into shallow middle field and Bichette and Springer both sprinted after the same ball, the shortstop and the centre fielder colliding violently as the ball dropped between them. Three Seattle runs scored to tie the game 9-9. Medical staff dashed out to tend to the injured Blue Jays, and every Blue Jay on the field scrambled out in concern to look on the injured players as they lay on the turf.
Bichette clutched his arm but stayed in the game. Springer was helped onto a cart, looking pained and watery-eyed as he left the field. The stadium was silent, fans clutching their heads and staring on in disbelief.
“He’s doing okay. He’s going to be evaluated for a couple of different things,” said Schneider of Springer after the game. “He said some nice things to his teammates just now, so we’ll know more in the next couple of days.”
Romano collected himself and earned the third strikeout.
Bichette got in base with a walk in the eighth and stole second, then got stranded at third.
Romano, back on the mound for the ninth, gave up Seattle’s go-ahead run. Adam Cimber got Jays out of it, and the Jays headed to the plate in the ninth needing one run to keep their season alive.
Four Toronto batters came up in that do-or-die inning, and only Matt Chapman got on by, via a walk. Hernandez grounded out, Jansen struck out, and Raimel Tapia lined out to the field. All that scoring they did earlier in the day just dried up.
“Baseball sucks sometimes, and this group will be back in the exact same spot very, very soon,” said Jays interim manager John Schneider. “As much as it sucks right now, it will make that group better.”
The French league’s legal commission has ordered Paris Saint-Germain to pay Kylian Mbappé the 55 million euros ($61 million) in unpaid wages that he claims he’s entitled to, the league said Thursday.
The league confirmed the decision to The Associated Press without more details, a day after the France superstar rejected a mediation offer by the commission in his dispute with his former club.
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Former football star Reggie Bush was at his Encino home Tuesday night when three male suspects attempted to break in, the Los Angeles Times reported Wednesday.
“Everyone is safe,” Bush said in a text message to the newspaper.
The Los Angeles Police Dept. told the Times that a resident of the house reported hearing a window break and broken glass was found outside. Police said nothing was stolen and that three male suspects dressed in black were seen leaving the scene.
Bush starred at Southern California and in the NFL. The former running back was reinstated as the 2005 Heisman Trophy winner this year. He forfeited it in 2010 after USC was hit with sanctions partly related to Bush’s dealings with two aspiring sports marketers.
VANCOUVER – A fresh face has been gracing the B.C. Lions‘ highlight reels in recent weeks.
Midway through his second CFL campaign, wide receiver Ayden Eberhardt has contributed touchdowns in two consecutive games.
The 26-year-old wide receiver from Loveland, Colo., was the lone B.C. player to reel in a passing major in his team’s 37-23 victory over the league-leading Montreal Alouettes last Friday. The week before, he notched his first CFL touchdown in the Lions’ win over the Ottawa Redblacks.
“It’s been awesome. It’s been really good,” Eberhardt said of his recent play. “At the end of the day, the biggest stat to me is if we win. But who doesn’t love scoring?”
He’ll look to add to the tally Friday when the Leos (7-6) host the Toronto Argonauts.
Eberhardt signed with B.C. as a free agent in January 2023 and spent much of last season on the practice squad before cementing a role on the roster this year.
The six-foot-two, 195-pound University of Wyoming product has earned more opportunities in his second season, said Lions’ head coach and co-general manager Rick Campbell.
“He’s a super hard worker and very smart. He understands, has high football IQ, as we call it,” Campbell said.
The fact that Eberhardt can play virtually every receiving position helps.
“He could literally go into a game and we could throw him into a spot and he’d know exactly what he’s doing,” the coach said. “That allows him to play fast and earn the quarterback’s trust. And you see him making plays.”
Eberhardt credited his teammates, coaches and the rest of the Lions’ staff with helping him prepare for any situation he might face. They’ve all spent time teaching him the ins and outs of the Canadian game, or go over the playbook and run routes after practice, he said.
“I’ve played every single position on our offence in a game in the last two years, which is kind of crazy. But I love playing football,” he said. “I want to play any position that the team needs me to play.”
While B.C.’s lineup is studded with stars like running back William Stanback — who has a CFL-high 938 rushing yards — and wide receiver Justin McInnis — who leads the league in both receiving yards (1,074) and receiving TDs (seven) — versatility has been a critical part of the team’s back-to-back wins.
“I think we’ve got a lot of talented guys who deserve to get the ball and make big plays when they have the ball in their hands. So it’s really my job to get them the ball as much as possible,” said quarterback Nathan Rourke.
“I think that makes it easy when you can lean on those guys and, really, we’re in a situation where anyone can have a big game. And I think that’s a good place to be.”
Even with a talented lineup, the Lions face a tough test against an eager Argos side.
Toronto lost its second straight game Saturday when it dropped a 41-27 decision to Ottawa.
“We’ll have our hands full,” Rourke said. “We’ll have to adjust on the fly to whatever their game plan is. And no doubt, they’ll be ready to go so we’ll have to be as well.”
The two sides have already met once this season when the Argos handed the Lions a 35-27 loss in Toronto back on June 9.
A win on Friday would vault B.C. to the top of the West Division standings, over the 7-6 Winnipeg Blue Bombers who are on a bye week.
Collecting that victory isn’t assured, though, even with Toronto coming in on a two-game skid, Campbell said.
“They’ve hit a little bit of a rut, but they’re a really good team,” he said. “They’re very athletic. And you can really see (quarterback Chad Kelly’s) got zip on the ball. When you see him in there, he can make all the throws. So we’re expecting their best shot.”
TORONTO ARGONAUTS (6-6) AT B.C. LIONS (7-6)
Friday, B.C. Place
HOME FIELD ADVANTAGE: The Lions boast a 4-1 home record this season, including a 38-12 victory over the Redblacks at Royal Athletic Park in Victoria, B.C., on Aug. 31. The Argos have struggled outside of BMO Field and hold a 1-5 away record. Trips to the West Coast haven’t been easy for Toronto in recent years — since 2003, the club is 4-14 in road games against B.C.
CENTURION: B.C. defensive back Garry Peters is set to appear in his 100th consecutive game. The 32-year-old from Conyers, Ga., is a two-time CFL all-star who has amassed 381 defensive tackles, 19 special teams tackles and 16 interceptions over seven seasons. “Just being on the field with the guys every day, running around, talking trash back and forth, it keeps me young,” Peters said. “It makes me feel good, and my body doesn’t really feel it. I’ve been blessed to be able to play 100 straight.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 12, 2024.
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