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By Nelson Espinal
Contributing Sports Reporter
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The Toronto Blue Jays and Seattle Mariners are set to square off in Game 7 of the ALCS on Monday for a spot in the World Series.
On Sunday, the Blue Jays forced a Game 7 after a 6-2 win in Game 6. Vladimir Guerrero Jr. hit a home run during the game, but it was a team-wide effort that put pressure on pitchers with constant traffic on the basepaths.
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Both teams have depleted their pitching resources, but with elimination circumstances, they are forced to stretch out their arms and see who can go.
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For the Mariners, starting pitcher George Kirby will take the mound in Game 7, according to manager Dan Wilson.
"I mean, I think he's the guy that we want in that situation, and he's thrown the ball well and it's his spot," Wilson said.
"George will be the starter and expect to have a lot of — like, all hands on deck down there in the bullpen and ready to go at any point."
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On the Toronto side, manager John Schneider is rolling with former Cy Young winner Shane Bieber as the starter, though he stressed to reporters that everyone will be available if needed as they take an all-hands-on-deck approach.
"Yeah, everyone's available tomorrow. Biebs is obviously starting, so that takes him out of the equation in the bullpen, but every single person that is active on our roster will be available to play tomorrow," Schneider said.
"I think when you get into this situation, historical game for the franchise, right, you want a guy that's kind of been there. You want a guy that has a super high sense of awareness in the moment. That's exactly why we traded for him. I said it before, it was kind of a quiet, I don't want to say quiet acquisition at the deadline, because he was hurt, but this is what we envisioned.
"So when you're in a game that if really, really matters, obviously, and there's been a ton of those games since we acquired him. But you expect him to be Shane. You expect him to have a slow heart beat, you expect him to execute and give us a chance to win."
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In terms of fatigue, the Blue Jays have the advantage since Seattle went five games long against the Detroit Tigers in the ALDS. Considering how small the margins between both teams are, it may come down to the smallest of factors to separate them.
It will all be settled on Monday.
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