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          2025 MLB playoffs: Moments, heroes as Dodgers, Blue Jays win

          Luke Hales/Getty Images
          • ESPN
          Oct 17, 2025, 03:30 AM

          It was a tremendous two-game Thursday in the 2025 MLB playoffs.

          The top-seeded Milwaukee Brewers are still searching for a win in the National League Championship Series after falling to the Los Angeles Dodgers in Game 3 -- making Friday's Game 4 in L.A. a must-win if the Brewers want to prolong their season. In the American League, the Toronto Blue Jays evened the ALCS in Game 4 by slugging past the Seattle Mariners for a second straight night.

          Here's how it all went down, including the top moments, the heroes and what it means moving forward.

          Key links: Bracket

          Takeaways

          Toronto Blue Jays 8, Seattle Mariners 2

          Series tied at 2

          It was over when ... Josh Naylor got thrown out at third base to end the bottom of the sixth. Eugenio Suarez had just singled in a run to make it 5-2, but Addison Barger unleashed a 94-mph throw from right field to easily nail Naylor trying to go from first to third. Instead of two runners on base and the tying run coming to the plate, the inning was over. It was the second baserunning mistake of the game for the Mariners, after Leo Rivas had been picked off first base in the third inning with Cal Raleigh at the plate. -- David Schoenfield

          Game 4 hero: Long after Max Scherzer makes his Hall of Fame speech in Cooperstown, he will remember his 500th start as a big leaguer: Taking the ball for the first time in 20 days, Scherzer held the Mariners to two runs over 5⅔ innings to help even the ALCS. -- Buster Olney

          The stat that defined Game 4: Scherzer became the fourth starting pitcher 41 or older to win a playoff game, joining Kenny Rogers, Roger Clemens and Dennis Martinez. He also finished the night with 176 career postseason strikeouts -- moving past Clemens into fifth place on the all-time list. -- ESPN Research

          What it means for the rest of the series: The Jays and Mariners have turned this series into a best-of-three, assuring that there will be at least one more game played in Toronto. The Mariners' Bryce Miller, excellent after starting on short rest in Game 1, will be tasked with regaining the momentum for the Mariners in front of a taxed Seattle bullpen in Game 5. Kevin Gausman, Toronto's ace, starts for the Jays. -- Olney

          Los Angeles Dodgers 3, Milwaukee Brewers 1

          L.A. leads series 3-0

          It was over when ... Roki Sasaki threw a 1-2-3 ninth inning. Because the beleaguered Dodgers' bullpen, which has been mediocre all postseason, was tasked with getting 10 outs after Tyler Glasnow was taken out in the sixth, and a two-run advantage felt tenuous. Alex Vesia, Blake Treinen, Anthony Banda and Sasaki carved through Milwaukee's lineup, allowing just one baserunner and the Dodgers are now one win from a sweep and another World Series appearance. -- Jeff Passan

          Game 3 hero: Glasnow wasn't as dominant as Blake Snell and didn't go as deep as Yoshinobu Yamamoto, but 5⅔ innings of one-run ball kept the Dodgers even before Tommy Edman got to Jacob Misiorowski for the winning hit in the sixth. -- Passan

          The stat that defined Game 3: The Brewers, who managed just four hits on Thursday, have just nine hits in this series, tied for the fewest through three games of a series in postseason history. They match the 1906 Chicago White Sox, who were known as the "hitless wonders" after hitting .230 that season. The White Sox had nine hits through three games against the Chicago Cubs in the World Series, but the bats came alive later in the series as they went on to beat the Cubs in six games. -- ESPN Research

          What it means for the rest of the series: Well, either the Brewers are about to make the greatest comeback in National League history, or the Dodgers are going to another World Series. Only one team has come back from a 3-0 deficit in MLB history: the 2004 Boston Red Sox. Milwaukee simply has not been on the Dodgers' level this series, which could end as soon as Friday. -- Passan

          Top moments

          Blue Jays at Mariners

          Gimenez's two-run single gives him four RBIs on the night

          Vlad Jr. goes deep in October (again)

          Eugenio Suarez singles in a run, but Josh Naylor gets nabbed at third

          Time to take out Max Scherzer? Maybe not ...

          Springer races home on a wild pitch

          George Springer's double makes it 4-1

          Daulton Varsho's bases-loaded walk gives Jays another run

          Blue Jays take lead behind Andres Gimenez's 2-run homer

          Josh Naylor's solo blast gives Seattle first run of Game 4

          Brewers at Dodgers

          Roki Sasaki gets final 3 outs in Dodgers' Game 3 win

          Tommy Edman puts L.A. back on top in the 6th

          The Miz is throwing FIRE on the mound

          Brewers tie as Caleb Durbin triples, gets knocked in by Jake Bauers

          Mookie Betts doubles in Shohei Ohtani for Dodgers' first score