The Toronto Blue Jays roared back against the Seattle Mariners in Game 3 of the 2025 American League Championship Series on Wednesday night on the road.
After losing both games at home to start the series, Toronto faced the dreaded potential scenario of being behind by three games against the Mariners. But the Blue Jays dug deep and overcame an early 2-0 deficit in Game 3 to score a 13-4 victory at T-Mobile Park in Seattle and move to within a win of tying the series.
The Blue Jays' bats came alive in Game 3, as they hit a total of five home runs in the contest. One of them was from Addison Barger at the top of the ninth inning, as he took Mariners reliever Luke Jackson deep for a 414-foot tater.
Although Barger's homer didn't exactly move the needle much for Toronto, which was already ahead by eight runs before he stepped on the plate in the ninth frame, it was still a welcome development for him and his team.
Barger had been struggling on offense heading into Game 3. He was 0-for-6 with two walks in the first two games of the ALCS in Toronto. He was also 0-for-4 in Game 3 until that huge home run that must have felt good for him.
“Yeah, it's awesome, man, Blue Jays manager John Schneider said of Barger hitting a home run against the Mariners, per Sportsnet. I said it before the game. He carried us for about three weeks or so this year. He's a first-year big leaguer, and he's gonna go through ups and downs, so that was hopefully a little bit of an exhale, you know, I mean he he flushed that pretty good. So it was nice for him.”
If Barger has indeed recovered from his slump, that's a big plus for the Blue Jays, who still have work to do to catch up to Seattle.
Toronto will go for a series-tying win this Thursday, when it gives the ball to future Baseball Hall of Famer Max Scherzer. Seattle, on the other hand, will have Luis Castillo on the mound, which seems like a good sign for Barger, who is a career .429 (3-for-7) hitter with three doubles and a walk against the Mariners right-hander.
