The Toronto Blue Jays evened up the American League Championship Series with two road wins against the Seattle Mariners. Max Scherzer took the mound in Game 4 and turned back the clock one more time, shutting the Mariners offense down. However, his desire to stay in the game when Blue Jays manager John Schneider wanted to take him out impressed even Alejandro Kirk.

Kirk has been a key piece of Toronto's offense throughout the team's playoff run. However, his biggest responsibility is managing the game from behind home plate. He and Scherzer worked together to get through 5.2 innings of two run ball. When Schneider came out of the Blue Jays' dugout in the fifth inning, he endured verbal punishment from his starter, who demanded to stay in.

Kirk, along with Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and the rest of Toronto's lineup, were in awe of the veteran's dominance. The catcher spoke to Major League Baseball Network's Jon Morosi about Scherzer's argument to remain on the mound. According to him, Scherzer wanted to finish his outing strong.

“He said he was good. He wants to pitch so bad. That's what you want to see, right? Pitchers want to go through the order three times, right? I think he's a great competitor, and wow, unbelievable. The way he pitches. You can see it on his face,” Kirk said. “He's like ‘I want to punch this guy,' and that's huge.”

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Scherzer stepped up in a huge game in Toronto's run for a World Series title. However, the Blue Jays offense also showed up, led by Vladimir Guerrero Jr.. The slugger helped give his pitcher all the run support he needed to walk away with a postseason win. Despite the victory, all eyes turn to a decisive Game 5 on Friday night.

He may not pitch in the game, but Scherzer set the tone for his team.