Blue Jays' homer barrage halves Mariners' ALCS advantage

SEATTLE -- Andres Gimenez, George Springer, Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Alejandro Kirk and Addison Barger homered as the Toronto Blue Jays clobbered the Seattle Mariners 13-4 on Wednesday in Game 3 of the American League Championship Series.

Shane Bieber (1-0) overcame a shaky first inning to make a quality start as the Blue Jays pulled within 2-1 in the best-of-seven series after losing the first two games at home.

Game 4 is scheduled for Thursday night in Seattle.

Julio Rodriguez hit a two-run homer in the first inning for the Mariners, but the Blue Jays followed with 12 unanswered runs.

Seattle's Randy Arozarena and Cal Raleigh hit back-to-back homers in the eighth before the Toronto's Barger went deep in the ninth.

The Blue Jays failed to score a run after the second inning in the first two games of the series, but they scored five times in the third on Wednesday and tacked on runs in the fourth, fifth and sixth to pull away.

Mariners starter George Kirby (0-1) cruised through the first two innings, allowing only an infield single, but seemed to lose his command in the third, leaving pitches down the middle of the plate.

Ernie Clement led off the Toronto third with a double, and Gimenez followed with a homer to right-center to tie the score at 2-2. With one out, Nathan Lukes singled and Guerrero Jr. doubled. Kirby walked Kirk with two outs to load the bases. A wild pitch brought home the go-ahead run, and Daulton Varsho doubled to right to make it 5-2.

Springer homered to center with two outs in fourth to extend the Blue Jays' lead to 6-2.

Guerrero hit the first pitch of the fifth over the wall in center. Following a walk to Anthony Santander, Kirby was pulled. Kirk greeted reliever Carlos Vargas with a single, and with two outs, Clement singled to make it 8-2.

Gimenez and Springer began the sixth with singles off Vargas, who was replaced by Caleb Ferguson. Lukes hit a tapper down the first base line to score Gimenez from third before Guerrero was walked intentionally. An out later, Kirk went deep to right -- his three-run shot increasing the lead to 12-2.

Bieber pitched six innings and gave up two runs on four hits, with one walk and eight strikeouts.

Kirby went four-plus innings and allowed eight runs on eight hits, with two walks and four strikeouts.

--Gene Warnick, Field Level Media