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Blue Jays' Infielder Quietly Becoming ALCS Unsung Hero

Originally posted on Toronto Blue Jays on SI
By Scott Roche | Last updated Oct 20, 2025 5:00 PM ET

Trailing 2-0 in the American League Championship Series to the Seattle Mariners, the Toronto Blue Jays were in a tough spot. They needed to go to T-Mobile Park to win at least two games to get the series back to Toronto for Games 6 and a possible Game 7.

The Blue Jays won Games 3 and 4 to even the series and begin the comeback before Seattle scored five runs in the bottom of the eighth inning on Friday night in Game 5 for a 3-2 series lead. Toronto did what they needed to get the series back home on the strength of the whole lineup.

Vladimir Guerrero, Jr. has been big in the Blue Jays rally, as has been the bottom of the order getting some key rallies started. One player who went hitless in the first two games of the series, Addison Barger, has certainly come up big in the last four games. His biggest swing he saved for Game 6.

Addison Barger's Clutch Home Run Forces Game 7

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Barger collected one hit, including a home run in Game 3, in the last three games heading into Game 6. He opened the scoring with an RBI single in the bottom of the second, and then one inning later, he hit a two-run home run for a 4-0 lead. That swing ended up being the difference in a 6-2 win to force a winner-take-all Game 7 Monday night.

“It felt awesome,” said Barger. "Obviously, that’s a moment you dream about as a kid and everything.

"Yeah, Gilbert, he’s disgusting — he has a great arm. I think it was just he left that slider a little too middle and got extended on it. And that was it.”

Manager John Schneider called it “kind of the swing of the game," and it was. Barger has been coming clutch in the last four games, and his two-hit, three RBI performance extended the series to a deciding game at Rogers Centre.

All eyes will be on Guerrero in Game 7, and he'll be ready, but don't discount the rest of the lineup and Barger's contributions in the last four games. He has been just as vital as anyone else on the roster, which is why the Blue Jays are playing a Game 7 rather than cleaning out their lockers.

Game 7 is all hands on deck when it comes to the entire roster. It has been that way for Toronto since the series began and they fell behind 2-0 at home. Now they get a chance in a winner-take-all Game 7 to get to the World Series against the Los Angeles Dodgers, which Barger has played a big part in forcing a deciding game. Do Barger and his teammates have one more clutch performance left in them?