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For the first time since 1993, the Toronto Blue Jays are headed to the World Series.
And they can thank the man who won one for the chance.
In the bottom of the seventh inning, with runners on second and third with no outs, George Springer entered the game with the chance to tie a ball game 3-1 in favor of the Seattle Mariners, a team desperate for its first-ever World Series appearance in franchise history.
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Toronto Blue Jays right fielder George Springer (4) hits a three-run home run against the Seattle Mariners in the seventh inning of game seven of the ALCS round for the 2025 MLB playoffs at Rogers Center on October 20, 2025. (John E. Sokolowski/Imagn Images)
Springer decided to do better, sitting on a fastball from Eduard Bazardo and throwing it over the left field fence to take a 4-3 lead. It was the momentum the Blue Jays needed to consolidate their victory at the American League pennant.
The Blue Jays will now face the defending champion Los Angeles Dodgers in Game 1 of the World Series on Friday night.
BLUE JAYS FORCE GAME 7 WITH CRUCIAL VICTORY OVER THE MARINERS
It was a drama-filled series from the start, but the Blue Jays found themselves at home 3-2 in the series and needing two straight wins to be crowned the pennant winners. They achieved that on Sunday night, as Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Addison Barger hit home runs to force a win-or-go-home Game 7.
But Monday night didn’t start the way Toronto would have liked, as Josh Naylor put Seattle ahead early with an RBI single to score Julio Rodriguez. However, Daulton Varsho, who was another key hitter for the Blue Jays throughout the postseason, hit a single to center to score Springer and knot the game at one apiece.
Seattle Mariners center fielder Julio Rodriguez (44) hits a home run against the Toronto Blue Jays in the third inning of game seven of the ALCS round for the 2025 MLB playoffs at Rogers Center on October 20, 2025. (Dan Hamilton/Imagn Images)
Then, in the top of the third inning, Rodriguez put the Mariners back in front, hitting a solo home run to left center field. And who else but Cal Raleigh, the AL MVP prospect, stepped up when his team needed him with a solo home run to make it a 3-1 ball game in the top of the fifth inning.
With the Mariners pitching staff being one of the best in baseball all year, there were options for who to deploy late in the game given that it was an all-hands-on-deck situation. Mariners manager Dan Wilson went with Bryan Woo after George Kirby gave him four innings, and Woo gave him clean fifth and sixth innings.
But Woo opened the door with a walk to Barger to start the seventh inning, and Isiah Kiner-Falefa woke up the Rogers Center with a single that left runners on first and second with no one out. After Andres Gimenez moved them with a sacrifice bunt, Bazardo came out to face Springer.
Springer came first.
Jeff Hoffman finished off the Mariners in the ninth inning, retiring all three batters, including Rodriguez, to start the celebration.
Toronto Blue Jays right fielder George Springer (4) celebrates as he runs the bases after hitting a three-run home run against the Seattle Mariners during the seventh inning of game seven of the ALCS round for the 2025 MLB playoffs at Rogers Center on October 20, 2025. (Dan Hamilton/Imagn Images)
The Blue Jays hope they can do what that team did in 1993, as the Toronto team won back-to-back World Series titles that season.
