Blue Jays players celebrated for hours on the field at Rogers Centre and in a beer-and-champagne-soaked party in their clubhouse.
The Canadian Press
The Toronto Blue Jays are headed to the World Series for the first time since 1993.
A George Springer three-run homer in the seventh inning helped the Jays rally from behind to beat the Seattle Mariners 4-3 in a nervy Game 7 of the American League Championship Series.
Opinion: George Springer gave the Jays an all-time moment to lift them to the World Series
Springer treated fans to the most electrifying, ear-piercing moment of the 2025 season, when he rocked a shot over the left field wall at Rogers Centre to pull the Jays ahead in a game Seattle was leading by two.
Shane Bieber, Kevin Gausman, and Chris Bassitt were all part of the fascinating parade of pitchers Toronto used to lock down the win.
Canada’s team, now American League champs, earn a showdown with the National League Champion Los Angeles Dodgers on baseball’s biggest stage, starting Friday with Game 1 at Rogers Centre.
Vladimir Guerrero Jr. was named MVP of the ALCS. Through tears he talked to Sportsnet’s Hazel Mae in the seconds after the game: “We did this for y’all,” he said to Toronto’s fans. “Four more.”
The Jays celebrated on the field with their families and then in the hallway outside their clubhouse which they have fashioned into a party lane way. For the third time this year, they popped champagne, danced and bearhugged one another. Smoke machines filled the underbelly of Rogers Centre, lit by disco balls, club lights, and overfilled with icy basins of beer and champagne.
George Springer hits a three-run home run in the seventh inning on Monday.Mark Blinch/Getty Images
George Springer already had his tarp off, googles on.
“I love this team so much,” said Springer. “Everybody believes in each other. We stay in the moment. We don’t try to do too much. And have a lot of belief in the guy in the mound, the guys in the field, the guy in the batter’s box.”
The Jays leaned on Bieber for Monday’s start, the 2020 Cy Young Award winner the Jays acquired this year for nights just like this.
The Mariners knocked Bieber around a little in the opening inning and scored first. Leadoff batter Julio Rodriguez cracked a double, then Josh Naylor hit a deep RBI single to bring him home.
What’s your favourite piece of Toronto Blue Jays memorabilia? Share your story with The Globe
What happened next was strange. With Naylor on first base, Jorge Polanco hit a ground ball and as Ernie Clement tried to turn a double play to first, Naylor put himself in the path of the ball and got hit, stopping the ball dead as fans booed. After a lengthy review, the Jays were awarded the out at first too, and it ended the inning.
The Jays quickly tied the game, with an RBI single from Daulton Varsho that scored George Springer.
Rodriguez put Seattle back on top with a solo shot in the third inning, and the crowd of 44, 770 fell nervously silent as he trotted around the bases.
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With everything on the line, and no game for four days at least, all pitchers were available. So the Jays pulled Bieber after 3 2/3 innings with two runners on base, after he allowed seven hits and two runs, while striking out five.
Louis Varland entered in relief, and forced Rodriguez to ground out, ending the inning and leaving two Mariners stranded.
The Jays went scoreless for five innings, while the Mariners kept chugging.
Their star catcher Cal Raleigh, who went hitless on Sunday, rocked a solo homer off Varland into Seattle’s bullpen for a 3-1 lead. It fell so eerily quiet inside Rogers Centre that one could hear a few Mariners relievers celebrating in the pen.
Vladimir Guerrero Jr. celebrates after being named Most Valuable Player of the ALCS.Mark Blinch/Getty Images
The Jays bullpen grew busy. They called Seranthony Dominguez into the game, then Gausman, who each threw a scoreless inning.
The Jays got traffic on the bases in the seventh inning. That’s when Springer smashed his homer, then scampered around the bases joyfully, despite toughing through a knee contusion he’d suffered two days earlier when he took a pitch off his kneecap.
Bassitt pitched a fiery scoreless inning, then Hoffman earned the save.
The final outs were excruciating. One strikeout for Hoffman. Then two. Then three – Rodriguez down swinging.
The Jays spilled onto the field to mob one another in celebration as lights flashed and the fans went nuts. The biggest series is yet to come.
Thousands of Blue Jays fans poured into the streets of Toronto on Monday night celebrating the team’s first World Series berth in more than thirty years.
The Canadian Press
What's your favourite piece of Blue Jays memorabilia?
For the first time since 1993, the Toronto Blue Jays are headed to the World Series. As fans reminisce about the last time Canada's baseball team got this far, we want to hear about your most treasured piece of Blue Jays history. Is it a signed hat from your favourite player? A memento from the '90s World Series wins? Submit your story in the form below. If you'd like to include a photo, submit it through this link.