In their magical season of comebacks, the Toronto Blue Jays had one more up their sleeve on Monday night.
After finishing at the bottom of the AL East last season, the Blue Jays improved their record by 20 games and finished first this year, leading MLB in comeback wins (49). It was their first division title since 2015 and most wins (94) since 1993 — the last time they won it all.
Toronto steamrolled the New York Yankees in the ALDS, but ran into a much tougher Seattle Mariners team in the ALCS. The Blue Jays surprisingly lost the first two games at Roger Centre, where they had the best home record in the AL this year.
They rallied to win two of three in Seattle, bringing the series back to Toronto. Then they won Game 6, setting up a winner-take-all Game 7 with their first pennant in 32 years on the line.
The Blue Jays trailed for much of the game, entering the bottom of the seventh down 3-1. Then, the improbable happened.
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With two on and one out, Mariners manager Dan Wilson brought in Eduard Bazardo to face a hobbled George Springer, who was still in pain after getting hit in the knee by a pitch in Game 5. Toronto’s win probability was just 36.4 percent.
The Blue Jays have defied the odds all season, however, and they did so again. Channeling his inner Kirk Gibson, Springer launched the second pitch he saw from Bazardo over the left-field wall, giving Toronto its first lead of the game at 4-3.
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Springer’s 23rd career postseason homer and third of the series proved to be the difference. The Blue Jays held on for the 4-3 win, punching their ticket to their first World Series since 1993.
Now, Toronto must face a fully rested Los Angeles Dodgers team in the Fall Classic. The defending World Series champs are 9-1 in these playoffs, so the Blue Jays will need to pull off another upset if they want to end their Cinderella season on a high note.
