‘We don’t have to change anything’ Mariners feeling good ahead of Game 2 of ALCS

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The Seattle Mariners know the job is not done, but Monday night's performance was a great start.

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The team may not have swung the bats particularly well, but the pitching under Bryce Miller was fantastic, the defense was excellent, and the Toronto Blue Jays ultimately led the Toronto Blue Jays to a 1-0 lead in the American League Championship Series.

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And now they're feeling good, if not overly confident, heading into Game 2 on Tuesday at Rogers Center.

“Big opportunity,” third baseman Eugenio Suaraz said afterward in the Mariners’ locker room. “We don't need to change anything. Come here with the same mentality, try to take second and go to Seattle 2-0.”

Toronto should have had Miller, who had a Mariner in-game shortstop hanging in his locker, on the ropes after a long first inning that included a George Springer homer, but he couldn't get close again and couldn't connect with a depleted bullpen.

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And Jorge Polanco, the Seattle forward who lost 4 of 5 games to start Seattle's playoffs, has been out of it at times. Polanco won Friday's winner-take-all marathon against Detroit in the 15th inning with a single, and on Sunday he gave the Mariners the lead with an RBI single in the sixth and then added insurance with another single in the eighth.

If the Mariners were tired of Friday's doubleheader, the party that followed and the long flight, they didn't show it.

“We try to play every pitch, just stay in the moment and take it game by game,” Polanco explained.

And in the debut things went as usual. Before Polanco's first RBI hit, Jays pitcher Brendon Little threw a wild pitch to advance the runner to second, and catcher Alejandro Kirk failed to force Polanco's third hit, giving him another chance, which he took.

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Later, a pair of stolen bases by Randy Arozarena set up Polanco's second RBI.

Suarez nearly hit a home run in the seventh, but the ball bounced off the wall. However, he was pleased with the hard contact and, more importantly, the end result.

“We came here to try to win both games. We won the first game today, we did a really good job… an absolutely outstanding job of keeping the game up and keeping the game going and we did the little things and that's why we won the game,” Suarez said.

“We did a good job preparing for this game. We did a good job and got (the win).

“We have to come in tomorrow with the same energy, the same mentality, try to take another ball and come to Seattle with an advantage.”

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