%20%20--%3E%0A%3Csvg%20version%3D%221.1%22%20id%3D%22Layer_1%22%20xmlns%3D%22http%3A%2F%2Fwww.w3.org%2F2000%2Fsvg%22%20xmlns%3Axlink%3D%22http%3A%2F%2Fwww.w3.org%2F1999%2Fxlink%22%20x%3D%220px%22%20y%3D%220px%22%0A%09%20width%3D%2239px%22%20height%3D%2240px%22%20viewBox%3D%220%200%2039%2040%22%20enable-background%3D%22new%200%200%2039%2040%22%20xml%3Aspace%3D%22preserve%22%3E%0A%3Cpath%20fill%3D%22%23FFFFFF%22%20d%3D%22M38.5%2C7H28.2v26h10.3V7z%22%2F%3E%0A%3Cpath%20fill-rule%3D%22evenodd%22%20clip-rule%3D%22evenodd%22%20fill%3D%22%23FFFFFF%22%20d%3D%22M26.1%2C25.5c0%2C5.8-4.1%2C7.5-12.9%2C7.5C3.9%2C33%2C0%2C31.2%2C0%2C25.2v-1.1h11.6%0A%09v2.4c0%2C0.7%2C0.1%2C1.4%2C1.2%2C1.4c1%2C0%2C1.2-0.4%2C1.2-1.3v-0.9c0-1.6-0.9-1.6-3.5-2.2C2.2%2C21.7%2C0%2C19.7%2C0%2C15.3v-0.9C0%2C9.3%2C5.5%2C7%2C12.9%2C7%0A%09c10.2%2C0%2C12.8%2C2.6%2C12.8%2C7.4v1.8h-11v-2.9c0-0.6-0.4-1.1-1.2-1.1c-0.6%2C0-1.2%2C0.4-1.2%2C1.1v0.9c0%2C1.5%2C0.9%2C2%2C3.3%2C2.5%0A%09c8%2C1.6%2C10.5%2C3.3%2C10.5%2C7.5V25.5z%22%2F%3E%0A%3C%2Fsvg%3E%0A)
Fans Slam Fox for Cutting to Commercial With Two Outs Left in the Ninth of ALCS Game 7
Nothing sets the mood for playoff baseball quite like a Capital One ad.
As the Blue Jays were two outs away from their first World Series appearance since 1993, the Fox broadcast cut to an advertisement for Capital One, a move that did not gel well with the built-up tension for fans watching at home. Check it out below:
With just two outs left in the Mariners' season, Fox decided to take 15 seconds in the middle of an at-bat to show a Capital One advertisement.
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) October 21, 2025
Gotta keep the lights on somehow 🤷pic.twitter.com/MM18Xqjhgw
The importance of each pitch in playoff baseball, let alone in the ninth inning of Game 7 in the American League Championship series, is impossible to overstate. So viewers were not happy about the interruption, to say the least:
NOT NOW, CAPITAL ONE
— Stephen J. Nesbitt (@stephenjnesbitt) October 21, 2025
A Capital One ad in the middle of the 9th inning of a game 7 is a joke.
— BallPark Buzz (@BallParkBuzz) October 21, 2025
A "quick word from Capitol One" in the NINTH INNING OF GAME SEVEN??
— Patrick Daugherty (@RotoPat) October 21, 2025
A credit card commercial in between pitches in the *middle* of the 9th inning during a one-run game in Game 7 to decide the pennant is crazy work
— Pete Blackburn (@PeteBlackburn) October 21, 2025
Capital one just ripping a quick commercial after a foul ball to make it a 1-1 count with 1 out in the 9th is wild
— G (@GBigilin) October 21, 2025
Not now Capital One! 9th inning!
— Andrew Marchand (@AndrewMarchand) October 21, 2025
THIS IS NOT THE TIME, CAPITAL ONE
— Nathaniel Rakich (@baseballot) October 21, 2025
Toronto prevailed in the end, shutting the door on the Mariners in a 4-3 win thanks to George Springer's electric go-ahead home run in the seventh inning. Springer's dinger powered the Blue Jays to overcome homers from Seattle stars Julio RodrÃguez and Cal Raleigh earlier in the game.
Game 7 of the ALCS lived up to the hype despite the vibe killer of an ad during the ninth inning. Let's all hope Fox learns from its mistakes during the World Series, where the Blue Jays are off to meet the defending champion Dodgers in a Game 1 slated for Friday at 8 p.m. ET.
Postseason baseball is the best, with drama on each pitch. Let's keep it that way.
More MLB on Sports Illustrated
feed
Blake Silverman is a contributor to the Breaking and Trending News team at Sports Illustrated. Before joining SI in November 2024, he covered the WNBA, NBA, G League and college basketball for numerous sites, including Winsidr, SB Nation's Detroit Bad Boys and A10Talk. He graduated from Michigan State University before receiving a master's in sports journalism from St. Bonaventure University. Outside of work, he's probably binging the latest Netflix documentary, at a yoga studio or enjoying everything Detroit sports. A lifelong Michigander, he lives in suburban Detroit with his wife, young son and their personal petting zoo of two cats and a dog.