Just two more wins. That’s all the Seattle Mariners need to reach their first-ever World Series.
It’s a spot the M’s have been in twice before in their 49-year franchise history, but never quite like this.
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In their past two American League Championship Series in which they won two games (1995 and 2000), the M’s did so after dropping at least one contest. In 1995, they took Game 3 to go up 2-1 against Cleveland before losing three straight. In 2000, they pulled out a win-or-go-home Game 5 before being eliminated two days later by the Yankees in Game 6.
This time the Mariners are up 2-0 on the Toronto Blue Jays band need to win just two of five games to reach the Fall Classic.
During his weekly conversation with Seattle Sports’ Brock and Salk on Tuesday, ESPN MLB insider Jeff Passan shared the two keys for the Mariners to finish off the Blue Jays in the ALCS.
Passan’s two keys for Mariners
Bryce Miller turned in a masterful start off three days rest in Game 1 of the ALCS. After allowing a home run on the first pitch he threw, he surrendered only one more hit while repeatedly peppering the strike zone over six innings.
Passan wants to see more of the attack mindset moving forward.
“I think they need to keep throwing strikes. I think their inveterate strike-throwing has been the sort of thing that throws off a team like Toronto that has pretty good plate discipline and that has bat-to-ball (skills),” Passan said. “When you get ahead, you put them into a defensive position, and that’s what I think Mariners pitchers have done throughout this series, and it’s why it was so impressive what Bryce Miller did.
“Bryce Miller could have cowered after that first inning (after giving up) batted balls of 109 (mph), 105 and 103. I turned to (ESPN colleague) Jorge Castillo, who I was sitting next to in the press box, and said, ‘Hey, this is not good. He’s not gonna last.’ And then he goes and throws five of the best innings I’ve seen this postseason.”
The Mariners also benefitted greatly in their first two games of the series from hitting home runs. In Game 1, Cal Raleigh’s solo blast in the sixth inning tied the game at 1-1 and helped lead to the exit of Toronto starter Kevin Gausman, which opened the door for Seattle to add on in a 3-1 win. In Game 2, Seattle slugged three home runs, including a three-run shot in the first inning from Julio Rodríguez and a go-ahead, three-run blast from Jorge Polanco in the fifth, on its way to convincing 10-3 triumph.
“I think No. 2 (is) keep hitting home runs,” Passan said. “You go and look at the record of teams in the postseason, and the teams that hit more home runs than the other teams are playing like .850 ball. And I’m not saying that if you hit more home runs you’re going to win, but the two tend to be extremely strongly correlated, if not causative.
“I know those are simple things, but when you’re up two nothing, don’t overcomplicate things.”
Hear the full conversation at this link or in the audio player near the top of this story. Listen to Brock and Salk weekdays from 6-10 a.m. or find the podcast on the Seattle Sports app.
Seattle Mariners-Toronto Blue Jays ALCS coverage
• Seattle Mariners have big advantage in ALCS that stands out
• Passan: Polanco’s heroics are how ‘World Series runs are built’
• Morosi on Mariners: Why ALCS may be very different back in Seattle
• Seattle Mariners silence Blue Jays’ big bats in first two ALCS games
• Blue Jays find pitching around Mariners’ Cal Raleigh isn’t so simple
