Hardly the due up that spells doom, but the 7th inning of the 7th game proved unlucky for the Mariners.

A common refrain for me since 2019 has been: Not only were the Seattle Mariners the only team to not win a pennant, they were never within one game of winning the pennant. The best they'd ever done is win two games in the ALCS. They'd done it twice: 1995 and 2000. That was it.

Well, now we've gotten closer, but I don't know it makes me happier.

The M's finally won that elusive third ALCS game of the Friday night behind Eugenio Suarez's opposite-field grand slam in the 8th inning, to go up three games to two against the Blue Jays, with two to play in Toronto. We just needed to win one of those. 

Sunday, BJs took the early lead, padded it, we had bases-loaded chances that went nowhere, etc. 

Last night, we had a better chance. There was a fire there. Julio seemed fired up from the get-go and led off with a double and scored on Josh Naylor's single to right. They actually tried to get Julio at the plate. I thought that was funny. No way Julio not scoring on that. Next time up, Julio homered to left. Both hits were off BJs starter Shane Bieber, whose splitter wasn't splitting. Meanwhile, George Kirby was doing OK. Gave up a run in the first, allowed a two-out infield single in the second, 1-2-3 in the third, allowed a two-out single in the fourth.

I began this postseason admitting that I didn't know the 2025 Mariners well enough to question the moves of manager Dan Wilson. I feel that's no longer the case. Some of my question marks:

• I didn't get J.P.'s sac bunt with two on and nobody out in the 2nd. That's giving them an out with Leo Rivas and Victor Robles due up, and neither was hitting well. And yes, nobody budged. The ball wasn't even hit out of the infield: K, 1-3. Inning over.
• Didn't get pulling Kirby after 4. He seemed to be settling down. I guess it was the “third time through the lineup” argument, but, c'mon, by now everyone's seen everybody. They were all old pals. No one had any secrets. 
• I particularly didn't get that move if your only option between Bryan Woo and Andres Munoz was Eduard Bazardo. Because (I guess) you don't trust Gabe Speier and because you spent Matt Brash the day before. And why did you spend Matt Brash the day before in a losing effort?

All of that I don't get.

Admittedly, Dan made a bunch of moves that I also questioned that turned out OK. But these moves didn't.

In the bottom of the eighth, now down 4-3 of Whatshisface's three-run homer, I kept thinking, “Just get somebody on, just get somebody on, and if there are no DPs, we get both Julio and Cal in the ninth.” We didn't get anybody on. We also don't have much on the bench to pinch-hit. In the ninth, Rivas batted and struck out swinging. Dominic Canzone and his .100 postseason batting average hit for Victor Robles: K swinging. Then it was Julio, the face of the franchise, the man who had started the night so well, who had scored two of our three runs and driven in another, who had been fired up from the get-go. And on a 3-2 pitch he did what he often does: swings at the breaking ball low and away. And there went the at-bat, the game, the season. Julio didn't deserve that. He didn't deserve to be the one to end the season with Cal on-deck. But as the man said, deserve's got nothing to do with it.

We got close. Closer than this franchise has ever been. Maybe someday that fact will make me happier.