Guerrero, Springer sparks Blue Jays, who hit 5 HRs and cut Mariners' ALCS lead to 2-1 with 13-4 rout

SEATTLE (AP) — Tired in Toronto, the Blue Jays slugged in Seattle.

Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and George Springer woke up Toronto as the Blue Jays hit five home runs to rebound from an early deficit, routing the Mariners 13-4 Wednesday night and closing to 2-1 in the AL Championship Series.

Toronto had 18 hits — all within the first three pitches of each at-bat.

“If they give us a first pitch, the pitch that we’re looking for, we’re going to attack and we’re going to be aggressive,” Guerrero said.

Seattle starter George Kirby gave up eight of the hits.

“I wasn’t really executing when they got the guys on base," Kirby said. “And they’re really aggressive when that happens. They made some good swings.”

Julio Rodríguez’s two-run, first-inning homer off former Cy Young Award winner Shane Bieber put Seattle ahead and stirred thoughts of a possible sweep in the best-of-seven matchup by a team seeking its first World Series appearance.

Andrés Giménez then sparked the comeback with a tying, two-run homer in a five-run third against Kirby.

Springer, Guerrero, Alejandro Kirk and Addison Barger also went deep as the Blue Jays totaled 2,004 feet of homers.

Guerrero had four hits, falling a triple short of the cycle, after going 0 for 7 as the Blue Jays lost the first two games at home.

“No one expected us to win the division, no one expected us to be here, and I think the guys take that to heart," Blue Jays manager John Schneider said. “I said it when we left Toronto: I hope we find some slug in the air out here. Maybe we did.”

In the 2-3-2 format, teams that lost the first two games at home and won Game 3 on the road have captured the series three of 11 times.

A crowd of 46,471 at T-Mobile Park for Seattle's first home ALCS game since 2001 saw the teams combine to match the postseason record of eight combined home runs, set by the Chicago Cubs and St. Louis in Game 3 of the 2015 NL Division Series and matched by the Los Angeles Dodgers and Houston in Game 2 of the 2017 World Series.

Giménez hadn’t homered since Aug. 27 before his drive off a Kirby fastball.

“Definitely something changed for our offense," Giménez said. “We come tonight with a mentality to attack.”

Kirby allowed eight runs, eight hits and two walks, taking the loss.

“The first couple innings I thought he was dynamite," Mariners manager Dan Wilson said. “This is a team that’s going to hurt you if you make mistakes on the plate. It looked like there were a couple that they were able to get to.”

Kirby's run-scoring wild pitch put Toronto ahead 3-2 and Daulton Varsho followed with a two-run double.

Springer homered in the fourth, tying Bernie Williams for fourth on the career list with his 22nd postseason homer. Guerrero hit his fourth of the postseason for a 7-2 lead on the first pitch of the fifth.

Kirk added a three-run homer in the sixth and is hitting .413 (19 for 46) with eight RBIs in 14 games at T-Mobile Park.

Bieber, who got the win, pitched shutout ball after the first and wound up allowing four hits in six innings — the longest outing by a Blue Jays starter in seven postseason games.

“Obviously didn’t start the way he would have wanted to, but that’s pretty much who he is,” Springer said. "He can battle back from anything.”

After the Blue Jays opened a 12-2 lead, Randy Arozarena connected in the eighth against Yariel Rodríguez for his first home run since Sept. 9 and Cal Raleigh, who led the major leagues with 60 home runs during the regular season, followed three pitches later with his third of the postseason.

“If there’s one thing we’ve done since I’ve been here, we bounce back together well as a team," Mariners reliever Caleb Ferguson said. "We respond well when we kind of get smacked in the face a little bit.”

Seattle RHP Luis Castillo, who pitched 1 1/3 innings of relief against Detroit in Game 5 of the Division Series, starts Thursday against RHP Max Scherzer. The 41-year-old, a three-time Cy Young Award winner, is 0-3 over eight postseason starts since the 2019 World Series opener and hasn’t started since Sept. 24.

AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb

Toronto Blue Jays fans hold signs during the eighth inning in Game 3 of baseball's American League Championship Series against the Seattle Mariners, Wednesday, Oct. 15, 2025, in Seattle. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)

Toronto Blue Jays fans celebrate after the Blue Jays defeated the Seattle Mariners in Game 3 of baseball's American League Championship Series, Wednesday, Oct. 15, 2025, in Seattle. (Frank Gunn/The Canadian Press via AP)

Toronto Blue Jays' Vladimir Guerrero Jr. (27) celebrates after the final out to defeat the Seattle Mariners in Game 3 of baseball's American League Championship Series, Wednesday, Oct. 15, 2025, in Seattle. (Frank Gunn/The Canadian Press via AP)

Toronto Blue Jays pitcher Shane Bieber (57) delivers a pitch against the Seattle Mariners during first 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 connects for a solo home run against the Seattle Mariners during the fourth inning in Game 3 of baseball's American League Championship Series, Wednesday, Oct. 15, 2025, in Seattle. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr)

Toronto Blue Jays' Vladimir Guerrero Jr. rounds the bases after hitting a 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)

RABAT, Morocco (AP) — A Congo team staff member used voodoo during the penalty shootout, Nigeria coach Éric Chelle claimed after the African soccer power was eliminated from qualifying for the 2026 World Cup.

Congo won the African playoff final late Sunday in a penalty shootout — getting two saves from a substitute goalkeeper sent on late in extra time of a 1-1 draw — and advanced to the intercontinental playoffs in March.

Chelle was filmed during the shootout getting agitated with the Congo coaching staff and moving aggressively toward the rival technical area.

“The guy of Congo did some voodoo,” former Mali international Chelle told reporters in the postgame media mixed zone. “Every time, every time, every time, so this is why I was a little nervous (of) him.”

Asked to explain what happened, Chelle did a gesture of shaking a water bottle.

Nigeria has now failed to qualify for back-to-back World Cups despite star strikers Victor Osimhen and Ademola Lookman being in their career prime years.

Osimhen was injured in the first half Sunday and replaced at half time with the score 1-1, and Lookman also was removed in the second half.

Congo coach Sebastien Desabre swapped his goalkeepers in the 119th minute of the game with the shootout in mind, sending on Timothy Fayulu to replace Lionel Mpasi.

Fayulu saved two of Nigeria’s six spot-kicks, the second from Moses Simon and the sixth by Semi Ajayi, before Congo’s Chancel Mbemba sealed the win.

Fayulu’s feat echoed the most famous substitute goalkeeper in a World Cup shootout, at the 2014 tournament in Brazil.

Netherlands coach Louis van Gaal famously took off Jasper Cillessen and sent on Tim Krul to make two key saves against Costa Rica and sent the Dutch to the semifinals.

Geneva-born Fayulu is currently playing on loan from Swiss club Sion with Armenian champion Noah. He has been a regular in the UEFA Conference League this season.

FIFA makes the six-team draw on Thursday for the intercontinental playoffs. Congo is joined by Bolivia, New Caledonia, either Iraq or the United Arab Emirates and two teams from the north American region CONCACAF who finish their qualifying program Tuesday.

AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer

Congo national team members celebrate with their coach Sebastien Desabre after being qualified for the FIFA 2026 soccer World Cup in the African qualifier final match against Nigeria, in Rabat, Morocco, Sunday, Nov. 16, 2025. (AP Photo)

Congo's Ngal'ayel Mukau challenges Nigeria's Wilfred Ndidi during the World Cup African qualifier soccer match between Congo and Nigeria, in Rabat, Morocco, Sunday, Nov. 16, 2025. (AP Photo)

Supporters of Congo cheer their national team ahead of World Cup African qualifier soccer match against Nigeria, in Rabat, Morocco, Sunday, Nov. 16, 2025. (AP Photo)

Congo national team members pose for a photo as they celebrate with their coach Sebastien Desabre after being qualified for the FIFA 2026 soccer World Cup in the African qualifier final match against Nigeria, in Rabat, Morocco, Sunday, Nov. 16, 2025. (AP Photo)