The Blue Jays are back in the World Series, with nothing to lose

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Thirty-two years after Joe Carter touched 'em all to deliver a second consecutive championship to Toronto, the Blue Jays finally returned to the World Series by defeating Seattle 4-3 in a magnificent Game 7 of the American League Championship Series on Monday night at an absolutely bonkers Rogers Centre.

The Jays will face Shohei Ohtani and the defending champion Los Angeles Dodgers, beginning Friday in Toronto at 8 p.m. ET.

Here are some extended thoughts on last night's big win and what lies ahead:

1. George Springer hit a monumental homer.

Jays starting pitcher Shane Bieber did not have his best stuff last night, giving up a run in the first inning and a solo homer to Julio Rodriguez in the third before reliever Louis Varland surrendered a solo shot to star catcher Cal Raleigh in the fifth to put Seattle up 3-1.

But, in the seventh, the scrappy bottom of Toronto's batting order got to Mariners ace Bryan Woo, who was on in relief of starter George Kirby. Game 6 standout Addison Barger led off with a walk, Isiah Kiner-Falefa singled, and a sacrifice bunt by No. 9 hitter Andres Gimenez put them both in scoring position for Springer.

Curiously, Seattle manager Dan Wilson opted to not bring in lights-out closer Andrés Muñoz for the highest-leverage situation of the season, going with Eduard Bazardo (to be fair, a very good reliever in his own right) instead. Springer is an extremely dangerous hitter who clubbed 32 homers this season — his highest total since arriving in Toronto in 2021. But the 36-year-old had looked like a shell of himself since getting beaned on