Blue Jays and Mariners play for World Series ticket in decisive seventh game

The Toronto Blue Jays beat the Seattle Mariners 6-2 on Sunday to force a seventh and deciding game for a World Series berth both teams have chased for decades.

The American League Championship Series was tied 3-3 after Seattle missed a chance in Toronto on Sunday to reach its first World Series.

The Blue Jays will again host the deciding game Monday to determine the Los Angeles Dodgers’ opponent in the World Series, which begins Friday.

Canadian fans have waited for a return to the Fall Classic since 1993, when they celebrated the second of back-to-back titles, and on Sunday they rallied behind a team powered by Vladimir Guerrero Jr..

The Dominican Canadian again led Toronto’s offense with his franchise-record sixth home run of the postseason and scored in the seventh inning as the Mariners rallied with two straight runs.

Heading into the final game, the powerful slugger recalled a lesson from his father, Hall of Famer Vladimir Guerrero of the Dominican Republic.

Dodgers on standby

Before Guerrero Jr.’s key moments, the Blue Jays built a big early lead by capitalizing on Seattle’s rough night in the field.

The early tension at Rogers Centre eased when the hosts took a 2-0 lead in the second inning.

Daulton Varsho and Ernie Clamant scored after hits by Addison Barger and Isiah Kiner-Falefa.

The Blue Jays still had runners on base when Guerrero Jr. came to bat, but his hit was caught by Venezuelan Eugenio Suarez, who made up for an earlier defensive error.

Suarez, the hero of Friday’s win with a grand slam, and Cal Raleigh, the regular-season home run leader, collided with the wall Sunday while chasing a ball off Toronto’s 22-year-old rookie starter Trey Sesavage.

In the third inning, Barger extended the Canadian lead with a two-run homer, and in the fifth, Guerrero Jr. added another home run to put Toronto ahead 5-0.

On the other side, the Mariners came up empty in three consecutive innings with the bases loaded.

Their offense finally woke up in the sixth inning when Josh Naylor hit a solo home run.

The Blue Jays removed Sesavage from the mound, and his reliever, Louis Varland, gave up another run to Cuban-Mexican Randy Arozarena after a single by Suarez.

Varland then halted Seattle’s momentum by striking out J.P. Crawford, and Guerrero Jr. scored the final run in the seventh on a throwing error by Raleigh.