2025 American League Division Series
Teams
Team (Wins) Manager Season Toronto Blue Jays (3) John Schneider 94–68 (.580), GA: 0 New York Yankees (1) Aaron Boone 94–68 (.580), GB: 0
Dates	October 4–8
Television	Canada: Sportsnet TVA Sports (French) United States: Fox (Game 1) FS1 (Games 2–4) Fox Deportes (Spanish)
TV announcers	Dan Shulman,Buck Martinez, andHazel Mae (Sportsnet) Joe Davis,John Smoltz, andKen Rosenthal (Fox/FS1)
Radio	ESPN
Radio announcers	Karl Ravech,Eduardo Pérez, andTim Kurkjian
Umpires	Jordan Baker,Dan Bellino (crew chief),Adam Hamari,Roberto Ortiz,Tony Randazzo,Chris Segal
Teams
Team (Wins) Manager Season Seattle Mariners (3) Dan Wilson 90–72 (.556), GA: 3 Detroit Tigers (2) A. J. Hinch 87–75 (.537), GB: 3
Dates	October 4–10
Television	FS1 (Games 1–2 and 4) FS2/MLBN (Game 3) Fox (Game 5)
TV announcers	Adam Amin,A. J. Pierzynski,Adam Wainwright, andTom Verducci
Radio	ESPN
Radio announcers	Roxy Bernstein andGregg Olson
Umpires	Chris Guccione,Alan Porter (crew chief),Jeremie Rehak,Nate Tomlinson,Alex Tosi,John Tumpane
ALWC	Detroit Tigers overCleveland Guardians (2–1) New York Yankees overBoston Red Sox (2–1)
← 2024 ALDS

The2025 American League Division Series (ALDS) were the twobest-of-five playoff series inMajor League Baseball’s (MLB)2025 postseason to determine the participating teams of the2025 American League Championship Series (ALCS). These matchups were:

• (1)Toronto Blue Jays (AL East champions) vs. (4)New York Yankees (Wild Card Series winner): Blue Jays won the series, 3–1.
• (2)Seattle Mariners (AL West champions) vs. (6)Detroit Tigers (Wild Card Series winner): Mariners won the series, 3–2.

The team with the better regular season record (higher seed) of each series hosted Games 1, 2, and (if necessary) 5, while the lower seeded team hosted Game 3 and (if necessary) 4.^[1][2]

The top two division winners (first two seeds) were determined by regular seasonwinning percentages. The final two teams were the winners of theAmerican League (AL) Wild Card Series, played between the league's third to sixth-seeded teams.

TheToronto Blue Jays (94–68) clinched their fourth playoff berth since2020 on September 21^[3] and won their firstAL East title since2015, a first-round bye, and home-field advantage throughout the AL playoffs on September 28 by virtue of their 8–5 head-to-head record against theNew York Yankees, with a 13–4 victory against theTampa Bay Rays in their final regular season game.^[4] They played the fourth-seededNew York Yankees (94–68), who defeated their divisionalarchrivalBoston Red Sox in theWild Card Series in three games.^[5] The Blue Jays and Yankees both finished the regular season with an identical 94–68 record, with the Blue Jays winning their regular season series of 8–5 over the Yankees, which gave the Blue Jays a head-to-head tiebreaker for the division title and a first-round bye. This was the first postseason meeting between the Blue Jays and Yankees. There was controversy surrounding the announcers of both teams this season.Michael Kay, the Yankees' head play-by-play radio announcer, insisted the Blue Jays were "not a first-place caliber team" due to their run differential in July. Kay later stated he was misunderstood and reached out to former Yankees first baseman and current Blue Jays bench coachDon Mattingly to quell controversy.^[6] In September, Blue Jays’ color television analystBuck Martinez made critical comments towards the Yankees, stating they were "not a good team" due to their numerous wild pitches, fielding mistakes, and poor baserunning, along with their over-reliance on home runs.^[7]

TheSeattle Mariners (90–72) clinched a postseason berth for the first time since2022 on September 23 with a victory against theColorado Rockies.^[8] The next night, they won theAL West for the first time since2001, ending the second-longest division title drought in the majors, and also clinched a first-round bye with aCleveland Guardians loss to theDetroit Tigers on September 25.^[9][10] They played the sixth-seeded Tigers (87–75), who defeated their divisional rival Cleveland in theWild Card Series in three games.^[11] The Mariners had a 4–2 record against the Tigers in the regular season, including a road sweep of the Tigers just before theAll-Star break.^[12] This was the first postseason meeting between the Mariners and Tigers.

Toronto won the series, 3–1.

Seattle won the series, 3–2.

This was the first postseason match-up between theToronto Blue Jays andNew York Yankees.

In the bottom of the first inning,Vladimir Guerrero Jr. hit a solo home run offLuis Gil to give the Blue Jays a 1–0 lead. In the bottom of the second inning,Alejandro Kirk hit another home run to extend the Blue Jays' lead to 2–0. Yankees starter Gil pitched2+2⁄3 innings, allowing four hits and two runs while striking out two batters. In the top of the sixth inning,Anthony Volpe scored to get the Yankees on the board after Blue Jays starterKevin Gausman walkedCody Bellinger. Gausman allowed four hits and one run in5+2⁄3 innings while striking out three batters. Then,Louis Varland escaped a bases-loaded jam to preserve a one-run lead for the Blue Jays. In the bottom of the seventh inning, the Blue Jays extended their lead to 3–1 whenAndrés Giménez hit a RBI single to right field, scoringDaulton Varsho. In the bottom of the seventh inning,Nathan Lukes scored Giménez andErnie Clement on a RBI double, and Guerrero Jr. scoredGeorge Springer on a sacrifice fly, extending the Blue Jays' lead to 6–1. In the bottom of the eighth inning, Kirk hit his second home run of the game to extend the Blue Jays' lead to 7–1. The Blue Jays scored three more runs after an RBI double from Giménez, Clement scoredMyles Straw on a sacrifice fly, and a RBI single from Lukes to extend their lead 10–1. The Blue Jays got the final out of the game when relieverJeff Hoffman struck out Volpe to give the Blue Jays the first game of the series.

It was the first postseason win for the Blue Jays since Game 4 of the2016 ALCS againstCleveland.^[22]

In the bottom of the second inning,Ernie Clement hit a two-run home run off Yankees starterMax Fried to give the Blue Jays a 2–0 lead. In the bottom of the third inning,Davis Schneider,Vladimir Guerrero Jr., andDaulton Varsho scored on an RBI groundout, double, and single respectively to extend the Blue Jays' lead to 5–0. Fried pitched three innings, allowed eight hits and five runs while walking two batters and striking out only one batter. In the bottom of the fourth inning, Guerrero Jr. hit a grand slam off Yankees relieverWill Warren to extend the Blue Jays' lead to 9–0, which was the first grand slam home run in Blue Jays postseason history.^[23] A two-run home run from Varsho further extended the lead to 11–0. In the bottom of the sixth inning,George Springer hit a solo home run to extend the Blue Jays' lead to 12–0. The Yankees got on the board afterCody Bellinger hit a two-run home run in the top of the sixth inning. Blue Jays rookie starterTrey Yesavage pitched5+1⁄3 innings, walking one batter and striking out eleven batters, not giving up any hits in the process. In the bottom of the sixth, Varsho hit his second home run of the game to extend the Blue Jays' lead to 13–2. In the top of the seventh inning,Aaron Judge scoredRyan McMahon on a RBI single, and Bellinger hit a sacrifice fly to cut the Blue Jays' lead to 13–4. Consecutive RBI hits fromBen Rice andGiancarlo Stanton further reduced the lead to 13–7. The Blue Jays got the final out of the game when relieverSeranthony Domínguez struck Stanton out via a blocked sweeper and took a 2–0 lead over their divisional rivals, leaving the Blue Jays one win away from reaching the ALCS for the first time since2016, and creating a win-or-go-home situation for the Yankees in Game 3 as the series shift to the Bronx.^[24]

In the top of the first inning,Vladimir Guerrero Jr. hit a two-run home run off Yankees starterCarlos Rodón to give the Blue Jays an early 2–0 lead. In the bottom of the first,Giancarlo Stanton hit an RBI single to left field, scoringAaron Judge to cut the Blue Jays' lead to 2–1. In the top of the third inning, successive RBI hits fromDaulton Varsho,Ernie Clement, andAnthony Santander extended the lead to 6–1. Yankees starting pitcher Rodon was removed from the game after conceding six runs in2+1⁄3 innings. In the bottom of the third inning,Trent Grisham scored on a line drive from Judge to cut the Blue Jays' lead to 6–2.Giancarlo Stanton then scoredCody Bellinger on a sacrifice fly to cut the lead further to 6–3, with Blue Jays manager John Schneider removing their starter Shane Bieber after2+2⁄3 innings. In the bottom of the fourth inning, Judge hit a three-run home run offLouis Varland to tie the game at 6–6. In the bottom of the fifth inning,Jazz Chisholm Jr. hit a solo home run off Varland to put the Yankees ahead, 7–6.Austin Wells then hit an RBI single, scoringAmed Rosario to extend the Yankees' lead to 8–6. In the bottom of the sixth inning, Judge scored on another sacrifice fly fromBen Rice, further extending the lead to 9–6.David Bednar pitched1+2⁄3 innings to earn the save as the Yankees avoided elimination and forced a Game 4.^[25]

In the top of the first inning,Vladimir Guerrero Jr. scoredGeorge Springer on an RBI single, giving the Blue Jays a 1–0 lead. Blue Jays starterLouis Varland pitched1+1⁄3 innings, allowing one hit while striking out two batters.Ryan McMahon tied the game in the bottom of the third inning with a home run off ofMason Fluharty. The Blue Jays would retake the lead in the top of the fifth inning on a sacrifice fly from Springer. In the top of the seventh,Nathan Lukes tacked on some insurance runs with a two-run RBI single to extend the lead to 4–1, following an error byJazz Chisholm Jr. that prevented them from getting out of the inning. Yankees starterCam Schlittler would leave after the error, having pitched6+1⁄3 innings and allowing eight hits and four runs (two earned) while striking out only two batters. The Blue Jays added one more in the eighth inning on aMyles Straw RBI single to further extend their lead to 5–1. The Yankees threatened in the bottom half of the inning, but relieverJeff Hoffman gotAustin Wells to pop out to escape a bases-loaded jam and preserve the lead. The Yankees cut into the lead in the ninth whenAaron Judge scoredJasson Domínguez to trim the Blue Jays' lead to 5–2, but Hoffman closed out the series by striking outCody Bellinger to send the Blue Jays to the ALCS for the first time since2016.^[26]

The Yankees' series loss resulted in the 16th consecutive season without a World Series title, the third-longest drought in franchise history.^[27] In addition,Aaron Boone tiedMike Hargrove for most playoff games managed for one team without winning the World Series.^[28]

During the postgame interview withFox, Vlad Guerrero Jr., encouraged by Fox analyst andRed Sox legendDavid Ortiz, chanted the "Daaaa Yankees lose!", a playful imitation of the signature call, "THEEEEEE Yankees win!", used by the Yankees' long-time radio broadcaster,John Sterling after a Yankees win.^[29]

2025ALDS (3–1):Toronto Blue Jays beatNew York Yankees

This was the first postseason match-up between theSeattle Mariners andDetroit Tigers.

In the fourth inning,Julio Rodríguez hit a leadoff solo home run off Tigers starterTroy Melton to give the Mariners a 1–0 lead. Melton pitched four innings, allowed two hits and one run while striking out four batters. In the top of the fifth inning,Kerry Carpenter hit a two-run home run off Mariners starterGeorge Kirby to take a 2–1 lead for the Tigers. Kirby pitched five innings, allowed six hits and two runs while striking out eight batters. In the bottom of the sixth inning, Rodríguez scoredRandy Arozarena via a RBI single to tie the game at 2–2. The game remained at 2–2 into extra innings untilZach McKinstry hit a RBI single, scoringSpencer Torkelson in the eleventh inning. The Tigers closed out the game withKeider Montero inducing aJosh Naylor groundout to Torkelson, giving the Tigers the early lead in the series.^[30]

In the bottom of the fourth inning,Jorge Polanco hit a leadoff solo home run off Tigers starterTarik Skubal to put the Mariners in the lead 1–0. Mariners starterLuis Castillo pitched4+2⁄3 innings, allowing one hit and four walks while striking out only three batters. In the top of the fifth inning,Gabe Speier got the Mariners out of a jam as he struck outKerry Carpenter to keep their one-run lead. In the bottom of the sixth inning, Polanco hit his second home run of the game off Skubal to extend the lead to 2–0. Skubal pitched seven innings, allowing five hits and two earned runs while walking a batter and striking out nine batters. In the top of the eighth,Spencer Torkelson hit a two-run RBI double to tie the game at 2–2. In the bottom of the eighth,Julio Rodríguez hit an RBI double, withCal Raleigh scoring the go-ahead run for the Mariners to retake the lead at 3–2.Andrés Muñoz got the save for the Mariners as the series was tied at one game each. It was the first home postseason victory for the Mariners since Game 5 of the2001 ALDS.^[31]

Game 3, originally scheduled for 4:08 pm ET, was delayed due to rain and subsequently moved to 7:00 pm ET.^[32] The Mariners scored first in the top of the third inning on a RBI single byJ. P. Crawford, scoringVíctor Robles to take a 1–0 lead. Another RBI single byRandy Arozarena scored Crawford to extend the Mariners' lead to 2–0. In the top of the fourth inning,Eugenio Suárez hit a solo home run to further the lead to 3–0.Cal Raleigh then hit an RBI single, scoringDominic Canzone and bringing the lead to 4–0. Tigers starterJack Flaherty pitched3+1⁄3 innings, allowing four hits and four runs (three earned) while striking out six batters. In the bottom of the fifth inning,Dillon Dingler scored afterKerry Carpenter hit a force out to get the Tigers on the board. In the top of the sixth, Crawford hit a solo home run off Detroit relieverBrant Hurter to extend the Mariners' lead to 5–1. In the top of the eighth inning, Crawford hit a sacrifice fly to left field, scoringLuke Raley and extending the lead to 6–1.Cal Raleigh homered in the top of the ninth inning to add two more runs for the Mariners. In the bottom of the ninth,Spencer Torkelson hit a two-run RBI double to cut the Mariners' lead to 8–3.Andy Ibáñez then scored Torkelson to cut the lead to 8–4, still with nobody out, forcing the Mariners to bring inAndrés Muñoz. The Mariners got the final two outs of the game whenParker Meadows lined into an unassisted double play by first basemanJosh Naylor, with Ibáñez out at first. The Mariners took a 2–1 lead in the series, leaving them one win away from reaching the ALCS for the first time since2001 and creating a win-or-go-home situation for the Tigers in Game 4.^[33]

Josh Naylor scored the game's first run in the top of the second inning off aDominic Canzone RBI single, giving the Mariners a 1−0 lead. Tigers starterCasey Mize pitched three innings, giving up two hits and one run while striking out two batters. In the top of the fourth inning, Naylor scored whenVíctor Robles grounded into a double play, extending the lead to 2−0. In the top of the fifth inning,Randy Arozarena scored on an RBI single byCal Raleigh, pushing the Mariners' lead to 3−0. In the bottom of the fifth inning,Dillon Dingler scoredZach McKinstry, which cut the Mariners' lead to 3−1. Mariners starting pitcherBryce Miller pitched4+1⁄3 innings, allowing two runs on four hits and two walks while striking out only two batters. Dingler scored later in the fifth inning on an RBI double byJahmai Jones with the Mariners leading 3−2. Jones would then score on an RBI single byJavier Báez, which tied the game 3−3. In the bottom of the sixth inning,Riley Greene hit a solo home run, giving the Tigers a 4−3 lead. Later in the sixth inning,Spencer Torkelson scored on an RBI single by McKinstry, extending the Tigers' lead 5−3. With two outs in the inning,Wenceel Pérez hit a double, followed by Báez hitting a two-run home run to further extend the lead to 7–3. In the bottom of the seventh inning,Gleyber Torres hit another solo home run for the Tigers, which gave them an 8−3 lead. The Tigers scored their ninth unanswered run in the bottom of the eighth inning, when McKinstry scored on an RBI fielder's choice by Báez, extending the lead to 9−3.Will Vest pitched the ninth inning in a non-save situation to give the Tigers the 9−3 victory and even the series 2−2 to force a winner-take-all Game 5 back in Seattle.^[34]

External videos
Game 5 full replay on the MLB's official YouTube channel

This was the Mariners' first winner-take-all postseason game since the2001 ALDS. For the Tigers, this situation mirroredlast year, with ace pitcherTarik Skubal starting on the road for a chance to advance to the ALCS. Skubal, the prospective ALCy Young Award favorite, was making his fourth start against Seattle this season; the Mariners had won all three previous games.^[35]

In the bottom of the second inning,Josh Naylor doubled, stole third, and scored on aMitch Garver sacrifice fly to center field to take a 1–0 lead for the Mariners. In the top of the sixth inning, Kirby was removed after allowing a double to Javier Baez, and lefty relieverGabe Speier was brought in to face the left-handedKerry Carpenter. Carpenter hit a two-run home run to put the Tigers ahead, 2–1. Mariners starterGeorge Kirby pitched five innings, allowing three hits, one run, and one walk while striking out six batters. Tigers starter Skubal pitched six innings, allowing two hits and one run while striking out 13 batters.Kyle Finnegan relieved Skubal in the bottom of the seventh inning. He walkedJorge Polanco with one out and allowed a two-out single to Naylor to put men on first and second.Tyler Holton relieved Finnegan, but blew the lead when pinch-hitterLeo Rivas, batting for Garver, scored Polanco on a RBI single to tie it at two. Holton did escape the inning without further damage by gettingVictor Robles to ground into a force play.

Seven scoreless innings followed, although it was not uneventful. The Mariners put a runner in scoring position with no outs to start the tenth againstTroy Melton with a leadoff double fromVictor Robles, only for him to escape the jam. The Tigers responded with a Kerry Carpenter single, followed by a passed ball that put Carpenter at second with no outs in the 11th, only for Mariners' starter-turned-relieverLogan Gilbert to strand him. The Mariners put a man on second with no outs in both the 12th and the 13th against Montero and starter-turned-relieverJack Flaherty, only to ground into inning-ending double plays both times. The Tigers also squandered a runner in scoring position with no outs and one out in the 12th and 14th, respectively, against Mariners relieversEduard Bazardo in the 12th and Bazardo and Game 2 starterLuis Castillo pitching in relief. After a scoreless 1-2-3 inning of relief from Castillo in the 15th inning, the Mariners finally broke the tie in the bottom of the 15th inning against Tigers relieverTommy Kahnle.J. P. Crawford led off with a single, and Arozarena was hit by a pitch to put two men on and nobody out. Kahnle gotCal Raleigh to strike out, but walked Julio Rodriguez to load the bases with one out for Polanco. Polanco singled to right field to scoreJ. P. Crawford and to seal the series and send the Mariners to theALCS for the first time since2001.

In Skubal's final five starts, with the division title on the line and in the playoffs, he allowed just six combined earned runs to go along with 51 strikeouts. However, the Tigers went 1–4 in those games.^[36] Afterwards, Skubal received some criticism for coming out of the game after throwing just 99 pitches of one-run ball in an elimination game.^[37][38][39]

Carpenter had four of the five hits for the Tigers and drove in both of the team's runs. The Mariners used three of their starting pitchers in the game (Kirby, Gilbert, and Castillo) while the Tigers deployed Melton, who started in Game 1, and Jack Flaherty, the Game 3 starter, worked in and out of trouble in his two innings pitched in extra innings. For Kahnle, it was the third time in his career that he gave up what would be the winning run(s) to end his team’s postseason.^[40] This was the longest winner-take-all postseason game in MLB history, both by innings and elapsed time.^[41][42] Game 5 was regarded as an instant classic and one of the best games in MLB postseason history.^[43][44]

This game was nicknamed the "Battle in Seattle" by Mariners local radio announcerRick Rizzs.^[45] One quirk of the game was that due to its length, during the '14th inning stretch', a popular 7th inning stretch activity was repeated: the 'Salmon Run', a race among four mascot characters representing different kinds of salmon. One mascot which had always lost every Salmon Race, Humpy, finally had his first win during the 14th inning mascot race in order to inspire and excite the crowd. As it so happened, the Mariners won the game in a walk-off the next inning.^[46]

After the walk-off win for the Mariners, Tigers radio announcerDan Dickerson unintentionally gave a frustrated rant on ahot mic before cutting into a commercial break.^[47] Thinking that he was off the air, the broadcast stayed on during aCorewell Health commercial. Dickerson shouted: "I don't have to do a game [recap], ahfuck. Fuck this game recap! Oh, I'm sorry, was that out loud? 3, 2, 1!"^[48] The following day, Dickerson apologized to listeners and addressed the incident in a statement to theDetroit Free Press.^[49]

2025ALDS (3–2):Seattle Mariners beatDetroit Tigers

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