How Vladimir Guerrero Jr. Carried the Blue Jays to ALCS Game 7
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The American League Championship Series did not look like it was going to be much of a battle between the Toronto Blue Jays and the Seattle Mariners at first.
The Mariners went into Toronto to make a statement and they did just that. Seattle not only took home a pair of wins but also held the Jays to a measly four runs.
Going into game three in Seattle, the Jays were already down a pair of games in a best-of-seven series with a trip to the World Series on the line. Thankfully for the Jays, the entire team showed up with chips on their shoulders.
After being down two games, they stole a pair of their own and scored 21 runs in games three and four to even the series.
After going down 2-0, the Jays won three of the last four to force a game seven with the American League Pennant on the line. A fire was lit amongst the entire Jays, but especially in their first baseman, Vladimir Guerrero Jr.
Vladdy in Last Four Games
In the pair of losses at Rogers Centre, Vladdy didn't get a single hit in seven at-bats and it is no coincidence that the Jays lost both of those games. On a positive note, he didn't have a strikeout, but didn't contribute in any way either. Once he landed in Seattle, it was a different story.
Guerrero Jr. After Game Two Loss
- 9-for-15
- 3 Homeruns
- 3 Doubles
- 3 RBI
- 3 Walks Drawn
- 21 Total Bases
- 6 Runs
- 1 Strikeout
Four of Vlad's nine hits, one homer, two doubles, one RBI, one walk, nine total bases, and three runs all came in the game three victory. Technically, that game wasn't an elimination game for the Jays, but it was a must-win. If they had a lost, the Jays would have been down 3-0 and their dreams of making it to the World Series would have been all but dead.
VLADDY TIME! #ALCS pic.twitter.com/j9Y7vjOq2C
— MLB (@MLB) October 20, 2025
There is a direct correlation between Toronto's success in this series and how Guerrero Jr. has done at the plate. In their three losses he has gone 1-for-9, no runs, no homers, no RBI, two bases, and one strikeout.
Their first baseman is now leading their offense this postseason in homers (six), RBI (12), walks drawn (six), total hits (18), runs 11), batting average (.462), on-base percentage (.562), slugging (1.000) and OPS.
The Blue Jays are now gearing up for a game seven winner-take-all battle with the Mariners. Will their season be over, or will they be going to their first World Series since '93? That could ultimately come down to the game that their first baseman has today.
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Maddy Dickens resides in Loveland, Colorado. She grew up with two older brothers, where their lives revolved around sports. She earned a master's degree in business management from Tarleton State University while simultaneously playing basketball and competing in rodeo at the collegiate level. She successfully parlayed a reserve national championship into a professional rodeo career and now stays involved in upper-level athletics by writing for On SI on several different MLB teams' pages, along with some NCAA sites.