Eugenio Suarez’s second home run of the game, the eighth grand slam, broke a tie as the Seattle Mariners beat the Toronto Blue Jays 6-2 on Friday to regain control of the American League Championship Series.
Cal ignited the rally with a walk-off homer in the eighth as the Mariners took a 3-2 lead in the best-of-seven series.
A win in Game 6 in Toronto on Sunday would send Seattle to the World Series for the first time.
Raleigh just cleared the left field fence on a groundout from left-hander Brendon Little (0-1) to tie the score at 2-2. It was Raleigh’s fourth homer in the playoffs after hitting a major league-leading 60 during the regular season.
He then walked only Jorge Polanco and Josh Naylor before being pulled in favor of Ceranthony Dominguez, who hit Randy Arozarena with a pitch to load the bases with no outs.
Suarez, who opened the scoring with a solo shot in the second, drove deep with a shot from the opposite end to the right, rattling the foundation at T-Mobile Park.
Gabe Speier (1-0) pitched a scoreless inning for the win, and Seattle closer Andres Munoz worked a 1-2-3 ninth on an unsaved run.
Blue Jays leading man and designated hitter George Springer, who drove home a double in the fifth inning, had to leave the game after suffering a right knee pitch in the seventh inning. There was no immediate information about his condition for the rest of the series.
Toronto took the lead in the sixth round from Brian Waugh, who had the first relief appearance of his career other than this summer’s All-Star Game in Atlanta.
Waugh, who has not played since Sept. 19 due to a pulled pectoral muscle that kept him out of the AL Division Series roster, was greeted by an Alejandro Kirk double to right-center. Later, Ernie Clement, who had started an inning-ending double play with the bases loaded in the fourth, lined a single to right, giving Toronto a 2–1 lead.
Blue Jays starter Kevin Gausman went five and two-thirds innings and gave up one run on three hits. The right-hander walked three and struck out four.
Seattle’s starter, Bryce Miller, pitched over four innings and was credited with one run on four hits, with two walks and four strikeouts.