\n Posted on: October 19, 2025, 04:41h.\u00a0\n <\/p>\n
\n Last updated on: October 19, 2025, 05:09h.\n <\/p>\n
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- Springer back in the lineup at DH for Game 6<\/b><\/li>\n
- Yesavage starts for Blue Jays, Gilbert for Mariners<\/strong><\/li>\n
- Blue Jays betting favourites at <\/strong>sportsbooks<\/b><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Lineups are set for tonight\u2019s pivotal Game 6 of the American League Championship Series between the Blue Jays and the Mariners at the Rogers Centre (8:03 p.m. EST), with Shohei Ohtani and the Los Angeles Dodgers waiting for the winner for a showdown in the World Series<\/strong>.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/Vladimir-Guererro-Jr.-Blue-Jays-858x572.jpeg\")
Vladimir Guerrero Jr. of the Toronto Blue Jays celebrates while rounding the bases after hitting a solo home run in the seventh inning during Game Four of the American League Championship Series against the Mariners in Seattle on Thursday. Guerrero has been on a torrid pace this post-season. Photo by Rod Mar\/MLB Photos via Getty Images.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n Springer Back After Scary Injury<\/h2>\n
The big takeaway on the Jays\u2019 side is that George Springer is back in the lineup<\/strong>. That\u2019s a surprise, after Springer took a 96-mph fastball off his kneecap late in Game 5 Friday, and it sure looked as he was being helped off the field that an appearance in Game 6 would be a long shot.<\/p>\n
But the Jays just released their lineup for tonight and there he is at DH, at the top of the order. Springer was the Jays\u2019 MVP this past season, and one of the most productive hitters in the American League overall, so this is huge news<\/strong>.<\/p>\n
As we wrote Friday, the extreme emotional swings for Canadian sports fans when it comes to their pro sports teams is unlike any other. It\u2019s been dark clouds since Friday\u2019s 6-2 loss in Game 5 in Seattle, giving the Mariners a 3-2 lead in the series. The Mariners can punch their ticket to the World Series with a win in a few hours.<\/p>\n
Schneider Criticized for Game 5 Decision<\/h2>\n
Manager John Schneider has justifiably been taking a beating across the country for his inexplicable decision to bring in reliever Brendon Little in Game 5 in the 8th<\/sup> inning, up 2-1, to face league MVP favourite Cal Raleigh. The Jays had late game closers Jeff Hoffman and Seranthony Dominguez in the bullpen \u2013 for a power-on-power, best-on-best showdown with Raleigh and the heart of the Mariners\u2019 order. As television broadcasters were saying, you go best-on-best in that scenario, and if you lose, at least you lost with your best<\/strong>.<\/p>\n
Little had been average at best for two months, and as another TV broadcaster (and former player), Caleb Joseph, put it, Little\u2019s body language coming out of the bullpen displayed a lack of confidence that the Mariners feasted on. They could smell the doubt. Raleigh parked a Little pitch into the left field seats, then Little walked two players, before handing the ball over to Dominguez, who gave up a grand slam to Eugenio Suarez to salt the Mariners\u2019 win<\/strong>.<\/p>\n
Ohtani and the Dodgers Awaits the Winner<\/h2>\n
Blue Jays fans went from the emotional peak of Max Scherzer\u2019s gutsy win in Game 4 to tie the series again to the peak of anxiety, all because of Schneider\u2019s boneheaded decision to stubbornly go with Little. Schneider\u2019s on-the-defensive, swearword-laden post-game news conference didn\u2019t help him. I\u2019ve never seen Joseph, or Joe Siddall, another former player now broadcaster, that angry. Kevin Pillar, another former player, and now a broadcaster, wasn\u2019t happy either with the Little decision.<\/p>\n
So, the Jays had tied the series, were up 2-1 with six outs to go, and in one swoop saw the series momentum switch to the Mariners<\/strong>.<\/p>\n
Yesavage Looks To Bounce Back<\/h2>\n
Schneider is a manager of the year candidate for leading the team to 94 wins this season. But Toronto once had a coach of the year with their NBA team, the Raptors, after the 2006-07 season, with Sam Mitchell, who was then fired 17 games into the 2009 season. Those awards don\u2019t mean anything. What Schneider did Friday night was a fireable offence<\/strong>.<\/p>\n
Schneider has stuck to his guns the past 24 hours, defending his Little decision. In the pre-game news conference today, Schneider said: \u201cI think you just have to be very prepared, very convicted in a decision, trust the people around you that have helped you get to this point. You make a decision, you move on.<\/em><\/p>\n
\u201cYou know, I\u2019ve lost plenty of sleep over the last couple of years about things that haven\u2019t gone right, and I don\u2019t gain sleep when things do go right, you know what I mean? It\u2019s just you realize this is the position you\u2019re in, and you\u2019re trying to do what\u2019s right by the group.\u201d<\/p>\n
Guerrero Jr. on a Tear<\/h2>\n
So, there\u2019s tonight to see if the situation can swing back in the Jays\u2019 direction to the positive and optimistic, with Game 7 set for tomorrow night in Toronto. An elite home team like the Blue Jays is unlikely to lose three games at home, one would think (the Jays lost Games 1 and 2 at home). Also, Mariners\u2019 starter Logan Gilbert pitches better at home than on the road \u2013 2.24 ERA at home, with a .158 opponent batting average and .512 OPS, compared to 4.74, .261, and .767 on the road.<\/p>\n
For the Jays, let\u2019s hope that\u2019s the last we see of Little. If starter Trey Yesavage falters, Schneider and pitching coach Pete Walker will go to the bullpen fast. The Mariners chased the rookie off the mound in four innings in Game 2 after beating him up for five runs. Will starter-now-reliever Chris Bassitt finally slot in there?<\/p>\n
Jays the Betting Favourites<\/h2>\n
Plus, the Mariners haven\u2019t been able to contain Vladimir Guererro Jr., who\u2019s having a monster post-season \u2013 .457 batting average, .524 on-base percentage, .971 slugging percentage, with 5 HRs, including going 7-for-11 with five extra base hits over those three games in Seattle.<\/p>\n
A quick scan of the sportsbooks a few hours before first pitch:<\/strong><\/p>\n
Moneyline at ESPN Bet<\/a> is Blue Jays -130, Mariners +100, Jays\u2019 spread -1.5 (+165), Mariners +1.5 (-200) and the O\/U 7.5. At BetRivers<\/a> it\u2019s Mariners +107, Jays -125 on the ML, Mariners +1.5 (-230), Jays -1.5 (+175) on the spread, and the O\/U 7.5.<\/p>\n
Most bet player markets at DraftKings<\/a> are Raleigh 1+ Home Runs, Guerrero Jr. 1+ Hits, Guererro Jr. 2+ Total Bases, Raleigh 1+ RBIs, Yesavage 6+ Strikeouts.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
- Yesavage starts for Blue Jays, Gilbert for Mariners<\/strong><\/li>\n