The Seattle Mariners, ever since they caught fire to start the month of September, have not looked back. And now, they're only two wins away from clinching their first World Series berth in franchise history. On Monday night, the Mariners destroyed the Toronto Blue Jays in Game 2 of the ALCS, 10-3, to take a 2-0 lead even though both games were on the road at Rogers Centre.

Suffice to say, going off to a 2-0 start in the ALCS puts the Mariners at such a commanding position as it is. But for them to do so with the series headed to T-Mobile Park? Seattle has not known baseball success like this in its history, not even during their historic 116-win campaign.

Mariners center fielder Julio Rodriguez, who hit a monster three-run home run to get the scoring started for Seattle in the first inning on Monday, knows just how much fan support they'll be getting when the series shifts out to the Pacific Northwest.

“I'm expecting the same thing that's been happening through the playoffs. A lot of energy, a lot of support from the fans. I know they are very excited for us to come back home and play Game 3,” Rodriguez told Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports following the Mariners' win.

This Mariners franchise has been very starved of success; they've only made the playoffs four times in all of the 21st century thus far and have won just 17 playoff games over the past 30 years heading into the 2025 postseason.

This is near-unprecedented territory for the Mariners; in their 49 seasons of existence, the closest they've gone to the World Series is two wins away, in 1995, 2000, and now, in 2025.

Article Continues Below

Will this be the year that the Mariners break their World Series duck?

Mariners in the driver's seat with ALCS shifting to Seattle

Dan Hamilton-Imagn Images

The Mariners simply might have the Blue Jays' number; in 2022, Seattle swept them in the AL Wild Card series. Now, the Mariners have won the first two games of the 2025 ALCS on the road, the same way they did in 2022 when they triumphed over Toronto in the ALWCS.

Seattle managed to jump rookie starter Trey Yesavage early, tagging him for five earned runs and chasing him after just 4.0 innings. Rodriguez got the ball rolling for the Mariners, but it was Jorge Polanco who hit the damaging blow, as he homered yet again to add to his growing postseason legend and drove in three runs to give Seattle a lead they would not relinquish.