TORONTO — The Mariners knew what they were up against coming here. They get a sense of it every time the Blue Jays visit Seattle and all those neighbors from British Columbia take over T-Mobile Park, irritating everyone with their loud chants and their good manners.
Those fans weren’t so nice to the Mariners before Game 1.
Boos rained down when the Mariners were introduced during a pregame ceremony Friday afternoon with the roof closed at Rogers Centre, a sold-out crowd of 47,402 making its presence known.
“It was so cool — one of the coolest experiences I’ve ever had playing baseball,” Mariners shortstop J.P. Crawford said of the pregame vibe ahead of his first playoff game. “The atmosphere in here was great. You live for that.”
The crowd noise reached a crescendo almost immediately after the game started. Blue Jays ace Alek Manoah got ahead of Julio Rodriguez 0-2, and the crowd rose to its feet.
“An electric atmosphere,” Rodriguez said later.
But it would turn quiet soon. Very quiet.
Manoah hit Rodriguez in the hand on the next pitch, and two batters later Eugenio Suarez hit a two-run double to right field to score Rodriguez and give the Mariners an early 1-0 lead.
Cal Raleigh worked a 3-2 count and then drove a 95-mph fastball over the wall in right field, silencing the crowd and extending the Mariners’ lead to 3-0.
“You’ve got to get out front early. Otherwise you could be fighting all game,” first baseman Ty France said. “We knew one, maybe two runs would be enough. Fortunately we were able to give him four … and Luis (Castillo) took care of the rest.”
It was just about the perfect start for the Mariners’ first playoff game in 21 years.
“The big at-bats in the first inning were huge,” manager Scott Servais said after the Mariners wrapped up the 4-0 win to open the three-game wild-card series. “Cal has been on fire.”
Manoah, and the crowd, never quite recovered after that.
“Everyone was hyped up, and to set the tone early like that, get a big lead early — it’s huge for everyone,” Crawford said. “Quieting them down early was huge for us, keeping them out of the game and keeping the energy in our favor.”
It was the second straight Friday in which Raleigh has hit a milestone home run. His pinch-hit, walkoff homer last week clinched the Mariners’ playoff berth.
With his blast in the Rogers Center, he became the first player in franchise history to homer in his first playoff at-bat.
“It’s been a little crazy,” Raleigh said. “I think the biggest thing, though, is just ending the drought was amazing, and getting to (celebrate) with my teammates. Obviously, coming here and getting this win was huge. It’s awesome. We’re not done yet. We’re going to focus for tomorrow and try to get one more.”
Buoyed by the early 3-0 lead, Castillo put together the most dominant pitching performance in Mariners history.
Coming into Friday’s start, Castillo said he relishes big crowds and the big moment. He certainly proved that.
“The fans, the energy in that moment give me that little extra boost when I’m out there,” he said through interpreter Freddy Llanos. “ Like I said before, whenever I go up in the mound, I’m going to give everything that I have in my heart and my body to give the best I can.”