Three things Blue Jays must do to rally against Mariners in ALCS

For the Toronto Blue Jays, their postseason fate will be determined by how well they can rebound on the road against what has been a dominant Seattle Mariners squad so far in the ALCS.

Seattle outscored Toronto by a 13-4 margin to take a commanding 2-0 lead in the best-of-seven series that now shifts to the Pacific Northwest for three games. History certainly favors the Mariners, as teams taking a 2-0 lead in any best-of-seven series in MLB history go on to win 78 out of 93 times.

That's an 83.9 percent obstacle staring the Blue Jays in the face. So how can they come back against Seattle? Here are three things that must happen.

Blue Jays need Vladimir Guerrero Jr. to catch fire

The face of the Toronto lineup, Guerrero has gone 0-for-7 so far against the Mariners, which is one of the main reasons why the Blue Jays' offense has been largely dormant.

As the series shifts to T-Mobile Park, Guerrero has to find his swing...and Seattle has been a tough place for him to do that so far this season. In 15 plate appearances, Guerrero is slashing just .167/.333/.167 with a pair of his doubles as his only hits.

Since making his debut early in the 2019 campaign, he's a .256 hitter in Seattle, so there's hope for him to bounce back from his lack of performance in the three-game series in early May. Toronto will need that to happen quickly in Game 3.

Blue Jays need to make Seattle their home field

There is little doubt that Toronto will get its fair share of support from Canadian fans making the drive across the border to Seattle. Historically, it has been estimated that 20,000 Blue Jays fans attend when Toronto makes its annual appearance in Seattle, making T-Mobile Park sound like Rogers Centre West on occasion.

That, of course, has been during the regular season. How able Blue Jays fans are to get tickets in Seattle as the Mariners make their first ALCS home appearance since 2001 remains to be seen.

Toronto did sweep the Mariners in Seattle in May, outscoring the home team 21-7 in the process. Included in that was a 6-3 victory where the Blue Jays tagged Seattle starter Luis Castillo for five runs and seven hits in five innings, leading to his loss. 

Castillo is scheduled to start Game 4, so tapping back into those early-season moments when the Blue Jays' offense shone against him could be big for the visitors.

Blue Jays need to limit Mariners' home runs

Seattle has blasted four home runs in the first two games of the series against Toronto, including three in Game 2 that accounted for seven of the 10 runs plated by the Mariners. 

For Toronto to have a chance to rally, it must force the Mariners to play small ball and prevent a big fly from turning into an opportunity for the Seattle crowd to explode. With Toronto's offense not clicking in the first two games, keeping the ball in the park is critical if the Blue Jays are going to rally.