Mariners: World Series dreams vanish after loss to Blue Jays

Mariners fall short of the World Series

The Seattle Mariners saw their dream of reaching the World Series vanish, being only eight outs away from the feat. The team’s 49th season could be remembered as the most painful. In the seventh game of the American League Championship Series, Eduard Bazardo allowed a three-run home run to George Springer, which sealed the Mariners’ defeat to the Toronto Blue Jays with a score of 4-3.

I hate to use the word failure, but it is a failure. What we expected was to reach the World Series and win it. That is the goal and the standard we want to stick to.

Cal Raleigh, Seattle star

After conquering the title of the American League West Division for the first time since 2001, the Mariners harbored high hopes for the postseason. However, their aspirations of reaching the World Series were cut short.

Obviously, it hurts. But it’s also part of the game.

Julio Rodríguez, center fielder

Seattle arrived in Toronto with a 3-2 lead in the series, one win away from bringing the World Series to the Pacific Northwest for the first time in its history. The only Major League team that has never played in the Series failed to achieve that victory. Despite not having led in the 6-2 loss in Game 6, the Mariners took the lead in the first inning of Game 7, thanks to a double by Rodríguez and a single by Josh Naylor. Rodríguez’s fourth postseason home run put Seattle ahead 2-1 in the third inning, and Raleigh added his 65th home run of the year in the fifth, increasing the lead to 3-1. Bryan Woo, who returned on Friday after a pectoral injury that kept him out for almost a month, replaced George Kirby at the start of the fifth inning. Woo walked Addison Barger on five pitches to lead off the seventh inning, Isiah Kiner-Falefa singled and Andrés Giménez executed a sacrifice bunt. The Mariners manager, Dan Wilson, sent Bazardo to the mound, who started Springer with a cutter, but then left another fastball over the plate, at knee height. Springer hit his 23rd postseason home run. Wilson stated he did not regret his decision to choose Bazardo over closer Andres Muñoz.

You make your decisions and sometimes you have to live and die with them. With the way Bazardo has pitched all season, we were comfortable. It just didn’t go the way we wanted.

Dan Wilson, Mariners manager

Seattle didn’t connect any hits in the last four innings, and the season ended when Leo Rivas, Dominic Canzone, and Rodriguez were struck out by Jeff Hoffman in the ninth inning.

I know this hurts and there’s no doubt it’s going to hurt. It’s a special team. It’s a shame we had to go out on the wrong side.

Dan Wilson, Mariners manager

Wilson, who played for Seattle from 1994 to 2005 and reached the American League Championship Series three times, pointed out that the Mariners had never gotten past Game 6 until this season.

All of us have now tasted how close we can get and how good this team can be. Once you have that, that’s what you fight for again the following year, and I know that will continue to be the goal.

Dan Wilson, Mariners manager