Mariners erase seven-run deficit to sweep Blue Jays with 10-9 win originally appeared on NBC Sports Chicago
Embrace the chaos.
That's the rallying cry of the Seattle Mariners this postseason, and they did just that Saturday while erasing a seven-run deficit to defeat the Toronto Blue Jays 10-9 in Game 2 of the American League Wild Card series. The Mariners, playing in the postseason for the first time since 2001, advance to the Division Series to play the top-seeded Houston Astros.
The victory is tied for the second largest comeback win in MLB postseason history, and stands as the largest in both a road comeback victory and in a series-clinching game.
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Through five innings, the Mariners trailed 8-1, giving the Blue Jays a 99% win probability. The Mariners began chipping away, with Carlos Santana hitting a three-run homer in the sixth that made it 8-5. The Blue Jays then tacked on a run in the seventh to push the lead back to four.
The Mariners then staged a four-run eighth, capped by a two-out, bases-loaded double by J.P. Crawford that brought home three runs to tie the score at 9-9.
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Cal Raleigh then doubled in the ninth to put the go-ahead run in scoring position and Adam Frazier drove him in with a two-out double to give the Mariners a 10-9 lead.
George Kirby closed it out in the ninth, sending the Mariners to the ALDS.
Seattle became the third team to come back from a seven-run deficit in the postseason, per ESPN. The 2008 Boston Red Sox came back from a 7-0 deficit to defeat the Tampa Bay Rays 8-7 in Game 5 of the ALCS, and the 1929 Philadelphia Athletics erased an 8-0 deficit to beat the Chicago Cubs 10-8 in Game 4 of the World Series.
The Mariners overcame a short start by Robbie Ray, who lasted just three innings and allowed four runs, including a pair of solo homers to Teoscar Hernandez.
Raleigh went 3-for-4 with a walk and an RBI, Frazier went 3-for-5 with two runs scored and Santana went 2-for-4 with three RBIs.
The Blue Jays' Danny Jansen went 3-for-5, including a two-run double that gave Toronto the 8-1 lead in the fifth, and Hernandez finished 2-for-4 with two home runs and four RBIs.
But it wasn't enough against a Mariners team that orchestrated a chaotic comeback to sweep the best-of-three series.
They now travel to Houston to face the Astros on Tuesday in Game 1 of the ALDS.
