Mariners a win from first World Series, beat Blue Jays behind Suárez's grand slam for 3-2 ALCS lead

SEATTLE (AP) — As Eugenio Suárez crossed home plate, he formed a heart with his hands as he has countless times.

Suárez suddenly stopped, pointed toward his wife in the stands behind home plate and took a second to embrace the moment. His bat had brought the Mariners within a victory of the the first World Series trip for a team that started play in 1977.

Suárez hit a go-ahead grand slam after Cal Raleigh’s tying drive in a five-run eighth inning, giving the Mariners a 6-2 win over the Toronto Blue Jays on Friday and a 3-2 lead in the American League Championship Series.

“I’ve been waiting for games like this my whole career," Suárez said. “Today, I had it. Today, I had it in front of our crowd, in front of my family, my two daughters, my wife, and the moment is very special right now.”

Suárez also homered in the second inning for Seattle’s first run, and the Mariners became the first home team to win in the series.

Game 6 is at Toronto on Sunday night.

“For our fans, they’ve been waiting a long time for this moment and we’re here to give it to them. We’re here to fight for a World Series,” Suárez said.

Raleigh, a switch-hitting catcher who led the major leagues with 60 home runs during the regular season, was hitting right-handed for the first time in the series when he led off the eighth by pulling a 2-0 sinker from loser Brendon Little.

“I came in and really couldn’t have pitched worse,” Little said.

The 348-foot drive rose 155 feet above the field on a high arc and had a 6.7-second hang time before it dropped over the left field wall at T-Mobile Park.

“It felt like Cal’s ball was in the air for like an hour,” Mariners manager Dan Wilson said.

Raleigh's fourth homer of the postseason tied the score 2-2.

“Obviously it was really high, so you never know in this building,” Raleigh said. “Luckily today the roof's closed.”

Jorge Polanco and Josh Naylor walked, and Seranthony Domínguez relieved and hit Randy Arozarena with a pitch.

Suárez fouled off a 2-2 fastball, then hit an opposite-field drive to right, and the ball landed several rows into the seats for his fourth slam this season.

“Obviously, this is the biggest home run of my career,” Suárez said.

Suárez, who had put Seattle ahead in the second against Kevin Gausman, entered the game in a 6-for-50 slump. He was reacquired from Arizona at the trade deadline, finished the regular season with 49 homers and has three in the playoffs.

“I’ve been waiting for this for a long time,” Suárez said. “It’s been a while (since) I’ve had a game like this today. It was awesome being able to hit that grand slam there to give the win to my team, to the fans. They’ve been here supporting us all year long.”

Seattle's Bryce Miller was pitching shutout ball when he was removed after allowing Addison Barger's leadoff single in the fifth, and George Springer hit an RBI double off Matt Brash.

Springer left in the seventh when he was hit on the right kneecap by a 95.6 mph sinker from Bryan Woo.

“He’s got a right knee contusion. He had X-rays, which were negative, which is a good thing.,” Blue Jays manager John Schneider said. “George is about as tough as they come. I think he’ll have to really, really be hurting to not be in the lineup on Sunday.”

Pitching for the first time since Sept. 19 after recovering from pectoral tightness, Woo allowed Ernie Clement's go-ahead single in the sixth.

Gabe Speier got the win with a perfect, nine-pitch eighth inning. Toronto wasted many chances, going 2 for 11 with runners in scoring position.

Raleigh turned only the second 2-3 grounded double into play in postseason history when Clement tapped the ball onto the plate with the bases loaded and one out in the fourth inning. Raleigh grabbed the ball with a foot on the plate for a forceout, then threw to first.

The prior 2-3 DP in Game 2 of the 2000 ALCS was turned by Wilson with the New York Yankees' Bernie Williams at the plate.

“That’s what he’s done all season long," Wilson said of Raleigh, “both sides of the ball.”

Rookie RHP Trey Yesavage, who started Game 2 of both the AL Division Series, will start for the Blue Jays in Game 6. The Mariners scored five runs off the 22-year-old on Monday.

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

Seattle Mariners' Eugenio Suárez (28) comes in to celebrate with teammates after hitting a grand slam during the eighth inning of Game 5 of baseball's American League Championship Series against the Toronto Blue Jays in Seattle, Friday, Oct. 17, 2025. (Frank Gunn/The Canadian Press via AP)

Seattle Mariners' Eugenio Suárez reacts after Game 5 of baseball's American League Championship Series against the Toronto Blue Jays, Friday, Oct. 17, 2025, in Seattle. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)

Seattle Mariners' Eugenio Suárez celebrates after hitting a grand slam home run during the eighth inning in Game 5 of baseball's American League Championship Series against the Toronto Blue Jays, Friday, Oct. 17, 2025, in Seattle. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)

Seattle Mariners' Eugenio Suárez celebrates after hitting a grand slam home run during the eighth inning in Game 5 of baseball's American League Championship Series against the Toronto Blue Jays, Friday, Oct. 17, 2025, in Seattle. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)

Seattle Mariners' Eugenio Suárez rounds the bases after hitting a grand slam home run during the eighth inning in Game 5 of baseball's American League Championship Series against the Toronto Blue Jays, Friday, Oct. 17, 2025, in Seattle. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)

Seattle Mariners' Eugenio Suárez holds the trident after hitting a grand slam home run during the eighth inning in Game 5 of baseball's American League Championship Series against the Toronto Blue Jays, Friday, Oct. 17, 2025, in Seattle. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)

NUUK, Greenland (AP) — Troops from several European countries continued to arrive in Greenland on Thursday in a show of support for Denmark as talks between representatives of Denmark, Greenland and the U.S. highlighted “fundamental disagreement” over the future of the Arctic island.

Denmark announced it would increase its military presence in Greenland on Wednesday as foreign ministers from Denmark and Greenland were preparing to meet with White House representatives in Washington. Several European partners — including France, Germany, the U.K., Norway and Sweden — started sending symbolic numbers of troops already on Wednesday or promised to do so in the following days.

The troop movements were intended to portray unity among Europeans and send a signal to President Donald Trump that an American takeover of Greenland is not necessary as NATO together can safeguard the security of the Arctic region amid rising Russian and Chinese interest.

“The first French military elements are already en route” and “others will follow,” French President Emmanuel Macron announced Wednesday, as French authorities said about 15 soldiers from the mountain infantry unit were already in Nuuk for a military exercise.

Germany will deploy a reconnaissance team of 13 personnel to Greenland on Thursday, the Defense Ministry said.

On Thursday, Danish Defense Minister Troels Lund Poulsen said the intention was “to establish a more permanent military presence with a larger Danish contribution,” according to Danish broadcaster DR. He said soldiers from several NATO countries will be in Greenland on a rotation system.

Danish Foreign Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen, flanked by his Greenlandic counterpart Vivian Motzfeldt, said Wednesday that a “fundamental disagreement” over Greenland remains with Trump after they held highly anticipated talks at the White House with Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio.

Rasmussen added that it remains “clear that the president has this wish of conquering over Greenland” but that dialogue with the U.S. would continue at a high level over the following weeks.

Inhabitants of Greenland and Denmark reacted with anxiety but also some relief that negotiations with the U.S. would go on and European support was becoming visible.

Greenland's Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen welcomed the continuation of “dialogue and diplomacy.”

“Greenland is not for sale,” he said Thursday. “Greenland does not want to be owned by the United States. Greenland does not want to be governed from the United States. Greenland does not want to be part of the United States.”

In Greenland’s capital, Nuuk, local residents told The Associated Press they were glad the first meeting between Greenlandic, Danish and American officials had taken place but suggested it left more questions than answers.

Several people said they viewed Denmark’s decision to send more troops, and promises of support from other NATO allies, as protection against possible U.S. military action. But European military officials have not suggested the goal is to deter a U.S. move against the island.

Maya Martinsen, 21, said it was “comforting to know that the Nordic countries are sending reinforcements” because Greenland is a part of Denmark and NATO.

The dispute, she said, is not about “national security” but rather about “the oils and minerals that we have that are untouched.”

On Wednesday, Poulsen announced a stepped-up military presence in the Arctic “in close cooperation with our allies,” calling it a necessity in a security environment in which “no one can predict what will happen tomorrow.”

“This means that from today and in the coming time there will be an increased military presence in and around Greenland of aircraft, ships and soldiers, including from other NATO allies,” Poulsen said.

Asked whether the European troop movements were coordinated with NATO or what role the U.S.-led military alliance might play in the exercises, NATO referred all questions to the Danish authorities. However, NATO is currently studying ways to bolster security in the Arctic.

The Russian embassy in Brussels on Thursday lambasted what it called the West's “bellicose plans” in response to “phantom threats that they generate themselves”. It said the planned military actions were part of an “anti-Russian and anti-Chinese agenda” by NATO.

“Russia has consistently maintained that the Arctic should remain a territory of peace, dialogue and equal cooperation," the embassy said.

Rasmussen announced the creation of a working group with the Americans to discuss ways to work through differences.

“The group, in our view, should focus on how to address the American security concerns, while at the same time respecting the red lines of the Kingdom of Denmark,” he said.

Commenting on the outcome of the Washington meeting on Thursday, Poulsen said the working group was “better than no working group” and “a step in the right direction.” He added nevertheless that the dialogue with the U.S. did not mean “the danger has passed.”

“We are really happy that action is being taken to make sure that this discussion is not just ended with that meeting alone,” Greenlandic MP Aki-Matilda Høegh-Dam said on Thursday during a news conference in Copenhagen.

She said Greenlandic people understood they were a “pivotal point” in a broader transformation of the international rules-based order and that they felt responsible not just for themselves but also for the whole world to get it right.

Høegh-Dam said the military operations should not happen “right next to our schools and right next to our kindergartens.”

Line McGee, 38, from Copenhagen, told AP that she was glad to see some diplomatic progress. “I don’t think the threat has gone away,” she said. “But I feel slightly better than I did yesterday.”

Trump, in his Oval Office meeting with reporters, said: “We’ll see how it all works out. I think something will work out.”

Niemann reported from Copenhagen, Denmark, and Ciobanu from Warsaw, Poland.

Denmark's Foreign Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen and Greenland's Foreign Minister Vivian Motzfeldt speak at a news conference at the Embassy of Denmark, Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/John McDonnell)

People walk on a street in Nuuk, Greenland, Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka)

From center to right, Greenland Foreign Minister Vivian Motzfeldt, Denmark's Ambassador Jesper Møller Sørensen, rear, and Danish Foreign Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen, right, arrive on Capitol Hill to meet with senators from the Arctic Caucus, in Washington, Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

An Airbus A400M transport aircraft of the German Air Force taxis over the grounds at Wunstorf Air Base in the Hanover region, Germany, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026 as troops from NATO countries, including France and Germany, are arriving in Greenland to boost security. (Moritz Frankenberg/dpa via AP)

Fishermen load fishing lines into a boat in the harbor of Nuuk, Greenland, Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka)

Greenland Foreign Minister Vivian Motzfeldt, left, and Danish Foreign Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen, arrive on Capitol Hill to meet with members of the Senate Arctic Caucus, in Washington, Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)