MLB: ALCS review

The 2025 ALCS has come and gone, with the Toronto Blue Jays off to their first World Series in 32 years.

Toronto defeated the Seattle Mariners in seven games, clinching the American League pennant with a 4-3 victory Monday night. They will host the National League champion Los Angeles Dodgers for game one on Friday night.

But before the World Series begins, here are my takeaways from the ALCS.

Game Sevens are awesome

They don’t call game seven the two best words in sports for no reason.

Anytime a best-of-seven series goes the distance, it’s must-watch television, no matter who you’re a fan of.

This was the first game seven in a Postseason series since the 2023 NLCS. Ironically, both championship series from that year featured a game seven.

Unlike the two games in 2023, this one had me on the edge of my seat the entire time.

I spent the first two-thirds of the game thinking Seattle was off to the World Series for the first time, and one inning changed my belief. You can’t beat that.

Expect the unexpected

Let’s be honest with ourselves. Did we really think the Toronto Blue Jays would make the World Series?

When the season started, MLB fans would’ve called the idea of the Blue Jays playing in the fall classic a crazy one.

Even after they clinched the AL’s No. 1 seed, I still doubted them when the Postseason began. You can check CommRadio’s Postseason predictions article. I had Toronto losing in the ALDS to the Boston Red Sox.

This series once again proves that in MLB, you should expect the unexpected, and had the Mariners won, I would’ve said the same thing.

The Dodgers will surely be massive favorites, even with Toronto holding home-field advantage, but what’s stopping the Blue Jays from taking down MLB’s Goliath?

After all, the Blue Jays have the most comeback wins in MLB this year with 51 (with two of those being in the Postseason).

On both sides, the stars shone brightest

Vladimir Guerrero Jr. Cal Raleigh. George Springer. Julio Rodríguez. Eugenio Suárez. If you were a star player in this series, you came up big for your team.

Guerrero Jr. won ALCS MVP by posting a .442/.510/1.440 slash line between the Blue Jays’ ALDS and ALCS victories. He’s clubbed six home runs and collected 12 RBI.

Springer had the biggest moment of the series with a go-ahead three-run home run in ALCS game seven. That’s one of four homers he’s hit this Postseason, and one of the 23 he’s hit in his entire Postseason career.

Suárez came through for Seattle with a big moment himself, slugging a grand slam to clinch the game five victory for the Mariners and take the series lead back to Toronto.

J-Rod and Raleigh were also big contributors to Seattle’s success with a combined nine HR and 17 RBI.

Relief Pitcher dominance

On the pitching side of things, the relief pitchers showed up.

Andrés Muñoz was as reliable as ever for the Mariners. He did not allow an earned run in the Postseason, posted a WHIP of 0.48, and collected two saves.

For Toronto, it was offseason addition Jeff Hoffman.

He threw 35 pitches in game six, the most he’s thrown in a game since his time with the Philadelphia Phillies in 2023.

In game seven, he got Toronto the three outs they needed to advance on no rest.

The year of Trey Yesavage continues

If the Postseason is the first time you’ve watched Toronto baseball this year, you’d think Trey Yesavage has been on the roster for the whole season.

What if I told you that he opened the year in single A?

Yesavage’s climb through the ranks has been nothing short of extraordinary. In 2025, he pitched in single, double and triple A, and he’s also been on the Blue Jays’ roster throughout their entire Postseason run.

The 22-year-old starting pitcher owns a 4.20 ERA through three starts, but has posted 22 strikeouts and a 1.13 WHIP across 15 total innings.

While he’s had his ups and downs, you can argue the Jays wouldn’t be in the World Series without him.

Unc still got it?

Last Thursday night, the NFL featured a combined quarterback age of 81 between Aaron Rodgers and Joe Flacco on Thursday night football.

However, they weren’t the only two athletes playing in primetime.

Out in Seattle, a 41-year-old Max Scherzer got the ball for Toronto in game four of the ALCS, a must-win game to avoid going down 3-1.

Despite speculation that the veteran wouldn’t be up to the task, Scherzer pitched 5.2 innings, allowing three hits, two runs and four walks while striking out four Mariners.

It was the veteran’s first Postseason start since the 2023 World Series with the Texas Rangers, and his first Postseason win since the 2019 World Series with the Washington Nationals.

Overall, one of the greatest series I’ve ever seen

This series was awesome.

The entire matchup was unpredictable, and with so much on the line, you couldn’t help but root for both teams.

It reminded me of the 2017 World Series, probably my favorite series since this one (even though it gets met with criticism). In 2017, the Houston Astros were vying for their first-ever title with the Los Angeles Dodgers back in the World Series for the first time in forever.

In this year’s ALCS, Toronto advanced to its first World Series for the first time since 1993, and the Mariners came one game short of their first World Series ever.

Especially after how one-sided the NLCS was, I’m thankful this series gave us some fireworks.

Adam Pietrzak is a fifth-year student majoring in broadcast journalism. To contact him, email app5940@psu.edu.