John Schneider gives Addison Barger props for ALCS HR
The The Toronto Blue Jays roared against the Seattle Mariners in Game 3 of the 2025 American League Championship Series on Wednesday night on the road.
After losing both games at home to open the series, Toronto faced the scary potential scenario of falling behind in three games against the Mariners. But the Blue Jays dug deep and overcame an early deficit of 2-0 in Game 3 with a 13-4 victory at T-Mobile Park in Seattle to move within a win of tying the series.
The Blue Jays’ bats came alive in Game 3, as they hit a total of five home runs in the contest. One of those was Addison Barger in the top of the ninth inning, as he took Mariners reliever Luke Jackson deep for 414 feet.
While Barger’s homer didn’t move the needle much for Toronto, which was already ahead by eight runs before stepping to the plate in the ninth frame, it was still a welcome development for him and his team.
Barger struggled offensively heading into Game 3. He was 0-for-6 with two walks in the first two games of the ALCS in Toronto. He was also 0-for-4 in Game 3 until that huge home run that had to be good for him.
“Yeah, it’s great, man, the manager of the Blue Jays John Schneider said Barger hit a home run against the Mariners, Sportsnet reports. I said that before the game. He carried us for about three weeks this year. He’s a first-year major leaguer, and he’s going to go through ups and downs, so hopefully that was a little bit of a breather, you know, I mean, he washed it out pretty well. So it was nice for him.”
If Barger has indeed recovered from the slump, that’s a big plus for the Blue Jays, who still have work to do to catch up with Seattle.
Toronto will win the series this Thursday when they give the ball to future Baseball Hall of Famer Max Schetzer. Seattle, on the other hand, will have Luis Castillo on the mound, which seems like a good sign for Barger, who is a career .429 (3-for-7) hitter with three doubles and a walk against the right-handed Mariner.
2025-10-16 05:42:00
