# 2025 American League Championship Series
The 2025 [American League Championship Series](https://www.edgepedia.org/american-league-championship-series) was a best-of-seven playoff between the [Toronto Blue Jays](https://www.edgepedia.org/toronto-blue-jays) and the [Seattle Mariners](https://www.edgepedia.org/seattle-mariners) that decided the American League pennant; Toronto won the series 4-3, taking Game 7 by a 4-3 score on October 20, 2025, to reach its first World Series since 1993.[1](https://www.baseball-reference.com/postseason/2025_ALCS.shtml) • [2](https://apnews.com/article/b916d00e6458a825b36c608a77328769)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Matchup | Toronto Blue Jays (No. 1 seed, 94-68, AL East champions) vs. Seattle Mariners (No. 2 seed, 90-72, AL West champions)[3](https://theanalyst.com/articles/mlb-playoff-predictions-2025-world-series-picks) |
| Result | Blue Jays won 4-3, clinching with a 4-3 Game 7 victory at Rogers Centre on October 20, 2025[1](https://www.baseball-reference.com/postseason/2025_ALCS.shtml) • [2](https://apnews.com/article/b916d00e6458a825b36c608a77328769) |
| Deciding moment | George Springer's go-ahead three-run homer in the seventh inning of Game 7, off reliever Eduard Bazardo, turned a 3-1 Seattle lead into a 4-3 Toronto win[2](https://apnews.com/article/b916d00e6458a825b36c608a77328769) |
| Series MVP | Vladimir Guerrero Jr., who batted .385 with 3 doubles and 3 home runs over the seven games[1](https://www.baseball-reference.com/postseason/2025_ALCS.shtml) |
| Significance | Toronto's first pennant since 1993; Seattle remained the only MLB franchise never to reach the World Series[2](https://apnews.com/article/b916d00e6458a825b36c608a77328769) • [1](https://www.baseball-reference.com/postseason/2025_ALCS.shtml) |
| Freshness | First ALCS since 2016 without the Houston Astros or New York Yankees; Seattle's first ALCS in 24 years and Toronto's first since 2016[4](https://theanalyst.com/articles/american-league-alcs-mlb-playoffs-blue-jays-mariners) • [5](https://www.mlb.com/amp/news/mlb-2025-league-championship-series-matchups.html) |
## Road to the series
Toronto entered as the AL's top seed after winning its first AL East title in a decade at 94-68, then beat the [New York Yankees](https://www.edgepedia.org/new-york-yankees) in four games in the Division Series.[3](https://theanalyst.com/articles/mlb-playoff-predictions-2025-world-series-picks) • [4](https://theanalyst.com/articles/american-league-alcs-mlb-playoffs-blue-jays-mariners) • [5](https://www.mlb.com/amp/news/mlb-2025-league-championship-series-matchups.html) Seattle won the AL West for the first time since 2020, finishing 90-72, and advanced by defeating the [Detroit Tigers](https://www.edgepedia.org/detroit-tigers) 3-2 in 15 innings in a decisive Game 5 at [T-Mobile Park](https://www.edgepedia.org/t-mobile-park), reaching its first ALCS in 24 years.[4](https://theanalyst.com/articles/american-league-alcs-mlb-playoffs-blue-jays-mariners) • [5](https://www.mlb.com/amp/news/mlb-2025-league-championship-series-matchups.html)
The matchup was the first ALCS since 2016 that did not involve the [Houston Astros](https://www.edgepedia.org/houston-astros) or the New York Yankees.[4](https://theanalyst.com/articles/american-league-alcs-mlb-playoffs-blue-jays-mariners) Both franchises were created in the 1977 expansion, and both carried long postseason droughts: Seattle had never played in a [World Series](https://www.edgepedia.org/world-series), while Toronto had not returned since winning back-to-back championships in 1992 and 1993.[1](https://www.baseball-reference.com/postseason/2025_ALCS.shtml) The teams' only prior playoff meeting was the 2022 AL Wild Card Series, which Seattle swept 2-0 at [Rogers Centre](https://www.edgepedia.org/rogers-centre).[5](https://www.mlb.com/amp/news/mlb-2025-league-championship-series-matchups.html) Toronto had won the 2025 regular-season series 4-2.[5](https://www.mlb.com/amp/news/mlb-2025-league-championship-series-matchups.html)
## The series, game by game
Seattle took control early, winning the first two games in Toronto: 3-1 in Game 1 on October 12 and 10-3 in Game 2 the next night, a rout powered by three-run home runs from [Julio Rodríguez](https://www.edgepedia.org/julio-rodriguez) and Jorge Polanco and a two-run drive from [Josh Naylor](https://www.edgepedia.org/josh-naylor).[6](https://www.mlb.com/news/2025-mlb-playoff-and-world-series-schedule) • [7](https://ufdcimages.uflib.ufl.edu/AA/00/06/85/31/02243/2025-10-14.pdf)
**Toronto's response.** The Blue Jays revived in Game 3 at T-Mobile Park, hitting five home runs in a 13-4 rout on October 15 behind [Vladimir Guerrero Jr.](https://www.edgepedia.org/vladimir-guerrero-jr) and [George Springer](https://www.edgepedia.org/george-springer); the teams combined for eight home runs, matching the postseason record, before a crowd of 46,471 at Seattle's first home ALCS game since 2001.[8](https://www.cbssports.com/mlb/gametracker/recap/MLB_20251015_TOR%40SEA/) In Game 4 the next night, [Max Scherzer](https://www.edgepedia.org/max-scherzer) allowed two runs over 5 2/3 innings and Andrés Giménez homered with four RBI in an 8-2 win that evened the series at two games apiece.[9](https://www.sportsnet.ca/mlb/article/scherzer-blue-jays-knock-off-mariners-to-even-alcs/)
Seattle regained the lead with a 6-2 win in Game 5 on October 17, in which [Cal Raleigh](https://www.edgepedia.org/cal-raleigh) tied the score with a solo homer in the eighth inning and Eugenio Suárez followed with a grand slam, Seattle's first home ALCS win since 2000.[6](https://www.mlb.com/news/2025-mlb-playoff-and-world-series-schedule) • [10](https://www.axios.com/newsletters/axios-seattle-5785f7d0-ab7b-11f0-a2e0-395fcffe5d97) Facing elimination in Game 6 on October 19, Toronto won 6-2 as Seattle grounded into inning-ending double plays in three straight turns at bat and committed a season-high three errors, forcing a Game 7.[6](https://www.mlb.com/news/2025-mlb-playoff-and-world-series-schedule) • [11](https://apnews.com/article/6e2407eb2c072912e80067b79c8223bc)
**Game 7.** It was the first Game 7 in Mariners franchise history and Toronto's first since losing at home to Kansas City in the 1985 ALCS.[11](https://apnews.com/article/6e2407eb2c072912e80067b79c8223bc) • [2](https://apnews.com/article/b916d00e6458a825b36c608a77328769) Seattle built a 3-1 lead behind a leadoff double and run from Julio Rodríguez and solo home runs from Cal Raleigh and Julio Rodríguez, but with eight outs remaining, George Springer hit a go-ahead three-run homer off Eduard Bazardo in the seventh inning, and Toronto held on for a 4-3 win and its first pennant since 1993.[2](https://apnews.com/article/b916d00e6458a825b36c608a77328769) • [12](https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/46667761/mariners-first-world-series-trip-line-let-game-7-lead-slip-away)
## Roster change
Before Game 4, Major League Baseball approved a roster substitution: outfielder Anthony Santander, injured, was replaced by outfielder Joey Loperfido for the remainder of the series.[13](https://www.mlb.com/amp/press-release/press-release-alcs-roster-substitution-for-toronto-approved-joey-loperfido-to-replace-anthony-santander-for-remainder-of-alcs.html) Manager John Schneider said the injury was related to the back tightness that had made Santander a late scratch for Game 2, and under postseason rules the injury removal made Santander ineligible for the World Series had Toronto advanced.[14](https://www.mlb.com/news/anthony-santander-replaced-on-blue-jays-alcs-roster) • [13](https://www.mlb.com/amp/press-release/press-release-alcs-roster-substitution-for-toronto-approved-joey-loperfido-to-replace-anthony-santander-for-remainder-of-alcs.html)
## Aftermath
Vladimir Guerrero Jr. was named the series MVP after batting .385 with 3 doubles and 3 home runs, and Toronto advanced to face the defending champion Los Angeles Dodgers, who had swept Milwaukee in the NLCS, in a World Series that opened in Toronto on October 24.[1](https://www.baseball-reference.com/postseason/2025_ALCS.shtml) • [2](https://apnews.com/article/b916d00e6458a825b36c608a77328769) • [6](https://www.mlb.com/news/2025-mlb-playoff-and-world-series-schedule) For Seattle, the loss ended a season that had carried the franchise closer to the pennant than ever before, eight outs short of its first World Series appearance.[15](https://www.axios.com/newsletters/axios-seattle-43c22190-ad8f-11f0-87ba-4519cfa13d48)
## References
1. [2025 ALCS - Toronto Blue Jays over Seattle Mariners (4-3), Baseball-Reference.com](https://www.baseball-reference.com/postseason/2025_ALCS.shtml)
2. [Springer's homer sends Blue Jays into World Series with 4-3 win over Mariners in Game 7 of ALCS, AP News](https://apnews.com/article/b916d00e6458a825b36c608a77328769)
3. [MLB Playoff Predictions: Why Each Team Will and Won't Win the World Series, Opta Analyst](https://theanalyst.com/articles/mlb-playoff-predictions-2025-world-series-picks)
4. [AL Power Shift: Are the Astros and Yankees Out, and the Blue Jays and Mariners In?, Opta Analyst](https://theanalyst.com/articles/american-league-alcs-mlb-playoffs-blue-jays-mariners)
5. [MLB 2025 League Championship Series matchups, MLB.com](https://www.mlb.com/amp/news/mlb-2025-league-championship-series-matchups.html)
6. [2025 MLB Playoff and World Series schedule, MLB.com](https://www.mlb.com/news/2025-mlb-playoff-and-world-series-schedule)
7. [M's take 2-0 ALCS lead, beat Blue Jays 10-3, newspaper wire report (University of Florida Digital Collections)](https://ufdcimages.uflib.ufl.edu/AA/00/06/85/31/02243/2025-10-14.pdf)
8. [Toronto Blue Jays vs. Seattle Mariners Recap - October 15, 2025, CBS Sports](https://www.cbssports.com/mlb/gametracker/recap/MLB_20251015_TOR%40SEA/)
9. [Scherzer, Blue Jays roar back to even ALCS with Mariners, Sportsnet.ca](https://www.sportsnet.ca/mlb/article/scherzer-blue-jays-knock-off-mariners-to-even-alcs/)
10. [Cheap dining hack (ALCS Game 5 notes), Axios Seattle](https://www.axios.com/newsletters/axios-seattle-5785f7d0-ab7b-11f0-a2e0-395fcffe5d97)
11. [Double plays and errors send Mariners to first Game 7, AP News](https://apnews.com/article/6e2407eb2c072912e80067b79c8223bc)
12. [Mariners, 8 outs from 1st World Series, let Game 7 slip away, ESPN](https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/46667761/mariners-first-world-series-trip-line-let-game-7-lead-slip-away)
13. [ALCS roster substitution for Toronto approved: Joey Loperfido to replace Anthony Santander, MLB.com](https://www.mlb.com/amp/press-release/press-release-alcs-roster-substitution-for-toronto-approved-joey-loperfido-to-replace-anthony-santander-for-remainder-of-alcs.html)
14. [Santander out for rest of postseason; Loperfido replaces him on roster, MLB.com](https://www.mlb.com/news/anthony-santander-replaced-on-blue-jays-alcs-roster)
15. [Maybe next year, Axios Seattle](https://www.axios.com/newsletters/axios-seattle-43c22190-ad8f-11f0-87ba-4519cfa13d48)
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*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 21, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 21, 2026 · Last review: Oct 21, 2026*
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