Springer and Guerrero deliver for Toronto in Game 3 of the AL Championship Series

SEATTLE (AP) — It was a productive night for George Springer and Vladimir Guerrero Jr.

Two of Toronto's biggest stars led the way for the Blue Jays in Game 3 of the AL Championship Series on Wednesday.

Springer and Guerrero each hit a solo shot as Toronto finished with five homers overall. Springer had three hits, and Guerrero went 4 for 4 and scored three times in a 13-4 victory over the Mariners.

“It feels great obviously, but for me, it’s just about winning,” Guerrero said through a translator. “I’m very happy we won the game. I never think about myself.”

The Blue Jays dropped the first two games of the best-of-seven series in Toronto, ramping up the pressure on the AL East champions for Game 3. Springer went 2 for 8 with a solo homer in the first two games, and Guerrero was 0 for 7 with a walk.

But the two sluggers played a major role in a fast start for Toronto in Seattle.

Springer hit a two-out solo homer off George Kirby in the fourth, driving a 94.8 mph sinker deep to center. The 431-foot shot was Springer's 22nd postseason homer, moving him into a tie with Bernie Williams for fourth on the career list.

The four-time All-Star has three homers this postseason. He also connected on Bryce Miller's first pitch of Game 1.

“I think as a team, it was a good overall game,” Springer said. “It’s on to the next.”

Guerrero led off the fifth with a 406-foot drive off Kirby that went just over the glove of a leaping Julio Rodríguez at the wall in center.

The five-time All-Star reached on an infield single in the first. He doubled and scored on Daulton Varsho's two-run double in Toronto's five-run third.

Guerrero was a triple away from a postseason cycle when he batted in the eighth with Toronto holding a 12-2 lead. He hit a liner into the gap in right-center that rolled all the way to the wall, but third base coach Carlos Febles signaled for Guerrero to stay at second.

Guerrero, who agreed to a $500 million, 14-year contract in April, responded with a friendly holler in the direction of Febles and the Toronto dugout.

“I was kind of asking him if he thought I was going to make it to third,” Guerrero said. “He told me no.”

Guerrero and Springer both scored on Alejandro Kirk's three-run homer in Toronto's four-run sixth.

The 26-year-old Guerrero was terrific in Toronto's AL Division Series win against the New York Yankees, batting .529 (9 for 17) with three homers and nine RBIs in four games.

“Every day I go out there and give all I have for my team, for my teammates, and thank God everything came out good today, and I did good,” Guerrero said.

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Toronto Blue Jays' Vladimir Guerrero Jr. (27) celebrates while rounding the bases after hitting a solo home run against the Seattle Mariners during fifth inning Game 3 American League Championship Series baseball action in Seattle on Wednesday, Oct. 15, 2025. (Frank Gunn/The Canadian Press via AP)

Toronto Blue Jays' Vladimir Guerrero Jr., left, celebrates with Andres Gimenez (0) after hitting a solo home run against the Seattle Mariners during fifth inning Game 3 American League Championship Series baseball action in Seattle on Wednesday, Oct. 15, 2025. (Frank Gunn/The Canadian Press via AP)

Toronto Blue Jays' Vladimir Guerrero Jr. celebrates his solo home run against the Seattle Mariners during the fifth inning in Game 3 of baseball's American League Championship Series, Wednesday, Oct. 15, 2025, in Seattle. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)

Toronto Blue Jays' George Springer (4) celebrates while rounding the bases after hitting a solo home run against the Seattle Mariners during fourth inning Game 3 American League Championship Series baseball action in Seattle on Wednesday, Oct. 15, 2025. (Frank Gunn/The Canadian Press via AP)

Toronto Blue Jays' George Springer (4) celebrates with Vladimir Guerrero Jr. (27) after hitting a solo home run against the Seattle Mariners during fourth inning Game 3 American League Championship Series baseball action in Seattle on Wednesday, Oct. 15, 2025. (Frank Gunn/The Canadian Press via AP)

PARIS (AP) — Ukraine signed a letter of intent to buy up to 100 Rafale warplanes from France, the Ukrainian Embassy and the French president’s office said.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and French President Emmanuel Macron signed the document on Monday stating that Ukraine is considering the possibility of buying French defense equipment, including Rafale jet fighters, Macron’s office said. It did not provide further details.

Zelenskyy was on his ninth visit to Paris since Russia's full-scale invasion in February 2022. His talks are meant to strengthen Ukraine’s defenses as the country enters another winter under Russian bombardment of its energy infrastructure and other targets.

On Monday morning, Macron and Zelenskyy visited an air base in the Paris outskirts, before heading to the headquarters of a multinational force, dubbed the “coalition of the willing,” that France and Britain have been preparing with more than 30 other nations to police an eventual ceasefire in Ukraine.

Zelenskyy wrote on X on Sunday that he looked forward to a “historic deal with France in Paris to strengthen our combat aviation and air defense.”

Last month, Ukraine and Sweden signed an agreement exploring the possibility of Ukraine buying up to 150 Swedish-made Gripen fighter jets over the next decade or more. Ukraine has already received American-made F-16s and French Mirages.

Follow AP’s coverage of the war in Ukraine at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine

French President Emmanuel Macron, left, and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, center, visit the offices of the future international force known as the coalition of the willing, Monday, Nov. 17, 2025 at the Mont Valerien in Suresnes, outside Paris. (AP Photo/Christophe Ena, Pool)

French President Emmanuel Macron, right, and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy shake hands after signing an agreement Monday, Nov. 17, 2025 at the Villacoublay air base near Paris. (AP Photo/Christophe Ena, Pool)

French President Emmanuel Macron, right, and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy sign an agreement Monday, Nov. 17, 2025 at the Villacoublay air base near Paris. (AP Photo/Christophe Ena, Pool)

French President Emmanuel Macron, right, and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy hug after signing an agreement Monday, Nov. 17, 2025 at the Villacoublay air base near Paris. (AP Photo/Christophe Ena, Pool)

A Rafale jet fighter is seen before the arrival of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy Monday, Nov. 17, 2025 at the Villacoublay air base near Paris. (AP Photo/Christophe Ena, Pool)

A Rafale jet fighter, drones and ammunitions are seen before the arrival of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy Monday, Nov. 17, 2025 at the Villacoublay air base near Paris. (AP Photo/Christophe Ena, Pool)

A Rafale jet fighter is seen before the arrival of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy Monday, Nov. 17, 2025 at the Villacoublay air base near Paris. (AP Photo/Christophe Ena, Pool)