Game 7 in the MLB postseason means all hands on deck, and that's certainly the case for the Seattle Mariners and Toronto Blue Jays when they play for the American League pennant on Monday.
Blue Jays pitchers Kevin Gausman and Max Scherzer are both available out of the bullpen to back up starter Shane Bieber, and if both get into the game, it will be an odd repeat of history. As the fine folks at Just Baseball pointed out, the last relief appearance for each actually came in the same game — when Gausman pitched for the San Francisco Giants and Scherzer for the Los Angeles Dodgers.
It was Game 5 of the 2021 NLDS. Gausman got the last two outs of the top of the 9th inning that night after Cody Bellinger broke a 1-1 tie with an RBI single off Camilo Doval. That turned out to be the game-winning hit, as Scherzer came in for the Dodgers to slam the door and earn the save.
The Dodgers went on to lose to the eventual World Series champion Atlanta Braves in the NLCS. Fittingly, the winner of Monday's Game 7 will face the Dodgers in the 2025 Fall Classic.
Gausman has already made two starts against the Mariners in this ALCS. He pitched 5.2 innings in both games 1 and 5, giving up three hits in both and three total runs. The Blue Jays lost both of those games. Scherzer went 5.2 in his Game 4 start as well, allowing two runs on three hits.
But it will all start with Bieber, who made a grand total of seven regular season starts. He came up big for the Blue Jays in Game 3 as Toronto was trying to avoid a 3-0 series hole. Bieber went six innings and struck out eight batters while giving up two runs on four hits.
The Mariners will counter with George Kirby, who is looking to make up for a woeful Game 3 performance where he gave up three home runs — and eight total runs — in the 13-4 loss.
