Source: Yahoo Sports
Game 7! Mariners and Blue Jays in do-or-die ALCS battle for World Series spotGabe LacquesUSA TODAYShow CaptionHide CaptionHow Los Angeles Dodgers made it to third World Series in six yearsUSA TODAY Sports’ Gabe Lacques breaks down how the Dodgers dominated the Brewers en route to another World Series appearance.Sports PulseTORONTO — Game 7 never gets old. Nor does it ever fail to humble even the greatest players to grace the October stage.Max Scherzer is about to embark on his 11thwinner-take-all game in his storied major league career, and in the moments after hisToronto Blue Jayskept their season alive with a 6-2 victory over theSeattle Marinersin Game 6 of the American League Championship Series, his mental record book was whirring, taking him back to his playoff debut as a 26-year-old all the way through the two World Series championships he’s netted in the past six years.“God, another one,” says Scherzer, stomping a bit and shaking his head, as is his wont. “I’m just walking around, going through all my Game 7s, my Game 5s, elimination games, last day, all these moments and you remember all of them.“To get another one? My gosh. These are just so special, so hard to get to, that to get another crack at it – this is what you live for.”Scherzer kept private what he plans to impart to his mates, but it will be experience borne of seven Division Series Game 5s, one wild card game, an ALCS Game 7 and of course, Game 7 of the2019 World Series, when Scherzer started the clincher for theWashington Nationalstwo days after getting scratched from a start due to a debilitating neck malady.And that’s exactly the sort of sacrifice the Mariners and Blue Jays expect up and down the roster in what should be a titillating evening of baseball at Rogers Centre.Let’s take a peek inside the latest installment of baseball’s ultimate win-or-go-home drama:Who’s available? EverybodyIn the hours between the Blue Jays’ crushing Game 5 loss to Seattle and their Game 6 revival, closer Jeff Hoffman was chatting with his wife about what might be expected of him the next two nights.“We were talking about the potential of me throwing multiple innings today, or maybe tomorrow, or maybe both. Who knows what it will call for?” says Hoffman, who in fact threw two near-perfect innings in Game 6, striking out four of the seven batters he faced.“She asked me, ‘Are you good to do that?’ And it’s like, there’s no choice. You’re good to do it. If that’s what the team needs you to do, you go out and do it and worry about tomorrow the next day.”With that in mind, both clubs are in decent shape. The Blue Jays did burn Hoffman for two innings and set-up man Louis Varland for four outs, but stayed away from fireballing Seranthony Dominguez, who should be available for an extended stint in Game 7.The Mariners used top set-up man Matt Brash for an inning and Eduard Bazardo for two. But lefty Gabe Speier got a needed night off and closer Andres Muñoz did not pitch. He will almost certainly be …
Published: 2025-10-20T06:33:28
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