FOR the first time in 32 years, the World Series is heading north of the border — thanks to George Springer’s biggest swing as a Toronto Blue Jay.
Springer belted a go-ahead three-run homer in the seventh inning, lifting the Toronto Blue Jays to a 4–3 victory over the Seattle Mariners in Game 7 of the American League Championship Series on Monday night (Tuesday, Oct. 21, 2025, PH time). The win secured Toronto’s first pennant since 1993.
The Blue Jays will host Shohei Ohtani and the Los Angeles Dodgers in Game 1 of the Fall Classic on Friday (Saturday in PH) at Rogers Centre. It will be just the third time Canada hosts a World Series.
“The job’s not finished. We got four more to go,” said ALCS MVP Vladimir Guerrero Jr., who was born in Montreal.
The defending champion Dodgers advanced last week after sweeping Milwaukee in the NLCS. “I truly think the best two teams are left standing,” said Toronto manager John Schneider.
Seattle, making its first-ever appearance in a Game 7, led 3–1 in the seventh before Toronto rallied. Cal Raleigh and Julio Rodríguez each homered, but the Mariners fell eight outs short of their first World Series berth.
“I hate to use the word failure, but it’s a failure,” Raleigh said. “That’s the standard we hold ourselves to.” Seattle remains the only major league club without a pennant.
The comeback began when Addison Barger drew a leadoff walk and Isiah Kiner-Falefa singled off starter Bryan Woo.
After a sacrifice bunt by Andrés Giménez, Springer greeted reliever Eduard Bazardo with a 381-foot drive to left — his fourth home run this postseason and 23rd of his playoff career, tying Kyle Schwarber for third all-time.
“It’s so fitting,” Schneider said. “Bottom of our order gets it done again. There’s probably not another person I want up there than George Springer and his October magic.”
The homer marked the first time in Game 7 history that a team erased a multi-run deficit with a go-ahead shot in the seventh inning or later. “Unbelievable moment,” Springer said. “So happy for our team, our fans, our city, our country.”
Toronto became only the fourth team to lose the first two games of a best-of-seven series at home and still advance — joining the 1985 Royals, 1986 Mets, and 1996 Yankees. “It’s an inspiration for 41 million people in Canada,” said Blue Jays chairman Edward Rogers. “This is Canada’s team.”
Making his first relief appearance since 2021, Kevin Gausman earned the win after escaping a bases-loaded jam in the seventh. Chris Bassitt worked a perfect eighth, and Jeff Hoffman struck out the side in the ninth for his second postseason save.
Rodríguez opened the game with a double and scored on Josh Naylor’s RBI single. Daulton Varsho tied it with an RBI hit off George Kirby before Rodríguez restored Seattle’s lead with a solo homer in the third. Raleigh extended the margin to 3–1 in the fifth with his 10th career homer at Rogers Centre.
Kirby allowed one run on four hits in four innings, while Toronto starter Shane Bieber gave up two runs in 3 2/3 innings.
The victory also delivered a milestone for 64-year-old Blue Jays bench coach Don Mattingly, who reached the World Series for the first time in his long baseball career. The former Yankees captain managed the Dodgers from 2011 to 2015.
Toronto’s win sends the club back to the World Series for the first time since winning back-to-back titles in 1992 and 1993. The Dodgers, appearing in their fifth Fall Classic since 2017, seek their third championship in six years.
Because Toronto finished the regular season with 94 wins — one more than the NL West champions — the Blue Jays will hold home-field advantage when the World Series opens Friday at Rogers Centre. / From the wires