Sometimes in baseball, all it takes is one decision for the game to fall apart.
The Toronto Blue Jays learned that the hard way in the bottom of the eighth inning of Game 5 of the ALCS against the Seattle Mariners.
Coming into the frame with a 2-1 lead, the Blue Jays looked to be in solid position to escape Seattle with three-straight wins and a 3-2 series lead.
Instead, a homer from Cal Raleigh and a massive grand slam from Eugenio Suarez lit up the Mariners fans and silenced the otherwise loud group of Blue Jays fans in the crowd at T-Mobile Park.
It started at the outset of the frame, as manager John Schneider opted to turn to Brendon Little over the usual end-of-game arms in Seranthony Dominguez or Jeff Hoffman — a bold choice against the heart of the Mariners' lineup, featuring guys like Raleigh, Jorge Polanco and Josh Naylor.
"Wanted that part of the lineup to see different guys, we talked about it all series, " Schneider said after the 6-2 loss. "Little's been one of our best pitchers in big spots. Tough guy to elevate, Cal's a really good hitter."
Little, who has made only one appearance in this series in Game 1, got into trouble right off the bat, giving up a leadoff homer to the always-scary slugger Raleigh, crushing his third homer of the series to shallow left field.
Instead of putting that one mistake behind him, the 29-year-old reliever gave up walks to Jorge Polanco and Josh Naylor on the ensuing batters, prompting Schneider to make the switch and bring in Dominguez.
Usually reliable, Dominguez struggled in the high-pressure situation, hitting Randy Arozarena to load the bases with no outs.
Then, in one swing, it all fell apart. Third baseman Suarez put the game away, crushing a grand slam to right field and establishing a four-run lead that the Blue Jays wouldn't be able to overcome.
It was the first grand slam that the Jays have given up in the ALCS. More impressive, perhaps, is that Suarez became only the second player in Mariners history to hit a grand slam in the post-season, joining Hall of Fame DH Edgar Martinez who hit the team's first in 1995 — one of the most iconic moments in Seattle sports history.
"I trust every single guy on this roster. It's hard, no one feels worse than Little, no one feels worse than Ser(anthony) right now, or me," Schneider said. "But I trust every single guy on this roster. Today it didn't work out, but we've won two games in a row a whole lot this year."
As Schneider alluded to, Little was very disappointed with his performance.
"Obviously, it feels terrible," Little said after the loss. "The team battled all game, to put us in a position to win and came in and really couldn't have pitched worse."
The series now heads back to Toronto for Game 6 on Sunday, with Seattle carrying a 3-2 lead and the Blue Jays needing two straight wins to head to the World Series.
