After jumping out to a 2-0 lead in the ALCS, the Seattle Mariners suffered back-to-back blowout losses. The Toronto Blue Jays tied the Championship Series 2-2 and had momentum on their side entering Game 5 on Friday.

Toronto appeared poised to win its third straight road game, taking a 2-1 lead into the eighth inning. But Mariners hero Cal Raleigh erased Seattle’s deficit with a clutch, game-tying solo home run.

Facing Blue Jays reliever Brendon Little, Raleigh led off the bottom of the eighth inning with a 348-foot blast to left. It was his fourth home run of the playoffs, giving Raleigh 64 total homers in 2025. That ties Aaron Judge’s American League record for home runs in the regular season and postseason combined, per Talkin' Baseball.

Cal Raleigh sparks Mariners' Game 5 rally with 64th HR

Seattle Mariners catcher Cal Raleigh (29) rounds the bases after hitting a solo home run against the Toronto Blue Jays in the eighth inning during game five of the ALCS round for the 2025 MLB playoffs at T-Mobile Park.
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Judge accomplished the feat in 2022 when he set the regular season AL home run record with 62 dingers. Raleigh hit an MLB-best 60 home runs in 2025.

The Mariners secured the No. 2 seed and a first-round bye in the playoffs on the strength of Raleigh's MVP-caliber campaign. And Big Dumper has continued hitting in the postseason. Raleigh is slashing .333/.435/.692 with four dingers, two doubles, seven RBI and seven runs scored in 10 playoff games.

Raleigh’s big fly in Game 5 wrestled momentum away from the Blue Jays and sparked a rally. With the game tied 2-2, the Mariners loaded the bases for Eugenio Suarez. The All-Star third baseman put Seattle on the board with a home run in the second inning. And he gave the Mariners the lead for good with an eighth-inning grand slam.

Seattle led 6-2 after the five-run frame. Andrés Muñoz came on in the top of the ninth and slammed the door on the Blue Jays with a 1-2-3 inning.

The dramatic comeback win gives the Mariners a 3-2 lead in the ALCS. The series moves back to Toronto for Game 6 on Sunday. Seattle is now one win shy of reaching the World Series for the first time in franchise history.