The Seattle Mariners and the Toronto Blue Jays have reached Game 7 of the 2025 American League Championship Series, which is being played at Rogers Centre in Toronto this Monday night. With everything on the line, both teams are expected to give it their all to get to the World Series, where Shohei Ohtani and the reigning MLB champions Los Angeles Dodgers are already waiting for their next opponent.
Mariners first baseman Josh Naylor appeared to embody the whatever-it-takes kind of mentality in such a do-or-die game, as he seemingly tried to break up an inning-ending double play at the top of the first inning — by using his head, specifically his helmet.
The Blue Jays get the inning-ending double play after Josh Naylor is called for interference, where the ball hit him in the helmet.pic.twitter.com/ecYjeUTvp4
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) October 21, 2025
However, Naylor's dangerous move went for naught, as umpires later ruled that it was an illegal interference.
As pointed out by baseball personality Ben Verlander, the MLB rule book says that “Any batter or runner who has just been put out, or any runner who has just scored, hinders or impedes any following play being made on a runner. Such runner shall be declared out for the interference of his teammate.”
Nevertheless, Naylor had already given the Mariners an early boost in Game 7, as his single in the first inning drove Julio Rodriguez to home plate to put Seattle ahead, 1-0.
Naylor, who started the 2025 MLB season with the Arizona Diamondbacks before getting traded to the Mariners before the trade deadline, entered Monday's game hitting .341/.383/.591 with three home runs and four RBIs to go with two stolen bases in 11 games in the 2025 postseason.
