CanadaThe Toronto Blue Jays staged a dramatic, late-game comeback to beat the Seattle Mariners 4-3 in Game 7 of the American League Championship Series on Monday night, allowing Canada’s only Major League Baseball team to return to the World Series for the first time in more than 30 years.Dramatic 3-run homer by George Springer saves Jays’ season late in the 7th inning Geoff Nixon · CBC News · Posted: Oct 20, 2025 5:37 PM EDT | Last Updated: 2 hours agoBlue Jays fans celebrate after Toronto managed a late-game comeback to defeat the Seattle Mariners in Game 7 of the American League Championship Series, on Monday at Rogers Centre. The win sends the Jays to the World Series for the first time in more than 30 years. (Evan Mitsui/CBC)The Toronto Blue Jays staged a dramatic, late-game comeback to beat the Seattle Mariners 4-3 in Game 7 of the American League Championship Series on Monday night, allowing Canada’s only Major League Baseball team to return to the World Series for the first time in more than 30 years.Toronto slugger George Springer hit a game-changing, three-run homer late in the seventh inning to put the Jays ahead. Seattle was not able to catch up with Toronto after the season-saving blast.”There’s probably not another person on planet Earth that I want up other than George Springer and his October magic,” said Blue Jays manager John Schneider, remarking on the home run that put the team over the top in Monday’s game.Seattle had taken an early 1-0 lead in the first inning, which Toronto then matched at the bottom of that same inning. But the Mariners later took a 2-1 lead, and then a 3-1 lead — with each bump coming from solo home runs from Seattle sluggers.But Springer’s seventh-inning blast put Seattle behind Toronto, and the Blue Jays were on their way to winning the ALCS.’The job’s not finished’Blue Jays superstar Vladimir Guerrero Jr. was named as the MVP of the ALCS, but was already looking ahead to what Toronto must do next.Blue Jays manager John Schneider and team superstar Vladimir Guerrero Jr. embrace after Monday night’s win over Seattle. ( Vaughn Ridley/Getty Images)”The job’s not finished. We got four more to go,” Guerrero said after the Game 7 win, referring to the seven-game World Series, where Toronto will face the Los Angeles Dodgers. Toronto’s victory in the best-of-seven ALCS was all the more remarkable because the Jays started out 0-2 in the series and had to claw their way to achieving four wins against the Mariners.Tough loss for SeattleThe Mariners’ season ends immediately, a bitter loss for the team and its fans. Seattle has never made it to the World Series and waited 24 years to reach the ALCS.Members of the Seattle Mariners watch the ninth inning of Game 7 from their dugout, on Monday night. (David J. Phillip/The Associated Press)Mariners manager Dan Wilson was asked about what message he had for his players in the aftermath of the loss.”Just to hold up their heads and to understand what kind of a season they’ve had,” said Wilson, who was part of the Mariners team that got to the ALCS in 2001.”It’s a shame that we had to come out on the wrong side of this one.”The Jays celebrate their Game 7 win. Many team members were not alive when the team last made it to the World Series. (David J. Phillip/The Associated Press)Toronto last played in the World Series during the 1990s, when the Jays won back-to-back championships — first in 1992 against the Atlanta Braves, and then again in 1993 against the Philadelphia Phillies. Many members of the current Blue Jays squad — such as 22-year-old rookie phenom Trey Yesavage — were not alive when Toronto last made it to the Fall Classic. The same goes for Game 7 starter Shane Bieber, who was born in 1995.6 Toronto pitchers The Blue Jays used an unusual mix of starters and relievers to get to the finish line in Game 7.Bieber got the start, but Schneider, the Toronto skipper, went to the bullpen early in the game, pulling his starter in the fourth inning. Bieber’s final stat line in Game 7 was three and two-thirds inning pitched, with two earned runs, seven hits, one walk and five strikeouts.The Blue Jays celebrate their dramatic win. Toronto will next face the defending World Series champs, the Los Angeles Dodgers. (David J. Phillip/The Associated Press)In came reliever Louis Varland, who finished the fourth and also the fifth. Then it was fellow reliever Seranthony Domínguez, who pitched the sixth. He was followed by Kevin Gausman, the Blue Jays starter in Games 1 and 5. Toronto pitcher Jeff Hoffman celebrates after the final out of the ninth inning, which slammed the door on the Mariners. (David J. Phillip/The Associated Press)After that came Chris Bassitt, who normally works as a starter, to take care of the eighth.Then it was up to Toronto closer Jeff Hoffman to slam the door on Seattle’s remaining playoff hopes in the ninth — which he did by striking out all three batters he faced. WATCH | Toronto’s long-awaited return to the World Series:Blue Jays head to World SeriesThe Toronto Blue Jays are returning to the World Series for the first time since 1993 after defeating the Seattle Mariners 4-3 in the American League Championship Series.Hoffman had also closed out Game 6, which forced the decisive Game 7 and ensuing victory that brought Toronto a World Series berth.’This is what you play for’Before the game, Springer had told reporters that he and his teammates were hungry for the challenge of taking on the Mariners in the definitive Game 7. “This is what you play for as a player. This is what you want,” he told reporters on Monday afternoon. “I think everyone’s excited, so I look forward to it.” Now Springer, a former World Series MVP, will get his chance to keep on playing October baseball.Toronto slugger George Springer’s three-run blast in the seventh inning gave the Blue Jays a lead that the Mariners never caught up to. (David J. Phillip/The Associated Press)ABOUT THE AUTHORGeoff Nixon is a writer on CBC’s national digital desk in Toronto. He has covered a wealth of topics, from real estate to technology to world events.
Jays down Mariners in Game 7 of ALCS to send Toronto to World Series
