A Grip on Sports: After falling short on Sunday, the Mariners still have a high-stakes do-over tonight in Toronto

A GRIP ON SPORTS • The men met the moment. Were found lacking. It is a simple as that. Call it failing. Call it flopping. Call it choking if you want. Whatever. The Mariners’ most-significant playoff game ever proved too much for a group of players who faced the pressure for the first time.

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• It’s not worth arguing about. Sunday night in Toronto in the 6-2 loss, the M’s, as a collective, weren’t up to the challenge.

Julio Rodriguez’s steel-trap of a glove turned to steel, resulting in a key extra base. So did Eugenio Suarez’s. Logan Gilbert missed his spots too often. And The Mariners’ leader, their best player, their rock?

Cal Raleigh was awful, pure and simple. Awful at the plate, where his lack of discipline resulted in getting himself out four times. Awful behind the plate, where his pitch selection seemed stuck in a loop, calling the same pitch over and over, expecting different results. And awful as a defensive leader, throwing away a run that sealed the deal.

And they were not alone. Three double plays in three consecutive innings to kill rallies? The usual swing and miss attack against a rookie who was more than grateful for the help? The usual baserunning mishaps? Wait, that last one didn’t happen. Well, there is your silver lining.

Except that’s really not it.

Thanks to winning three of the first five games in the best-of-seven American League Championship Series, the Mariners had breathing room. That they couldn’t breathe Sunday was their fault – with an assist from Trey Yesavage and a Blue Jays’ lineup that includes a lot of pesky guys and one giant, Vladimir Guerrero Jr.

Now the oxygen is used up. The gauge reads zero. It’s either win or go home, with way-too-many “what-ifs” to think about. Tonight’s game (5, Fox) seals the room either way. Win and move on to the franchise’s first World Series – against the billion-dollar babies from Los Angeles. Lose and learn lessons no one wants to have to learn.

The question is, did the M’s, facing uncharted territory, find a road map last night? Or will they still be groping in the dark, their hands only finding their neck, where they will once again squeeze too hard?

There are positive signs. And negative ones.

– It’s hard to believe Raleigh will be as bad again. He’s shown the ability from the day he was drafted from Florida State in 2018 to learn, to adapt, to put the past behind him and excel. He’s the main reason the M’s are on the cusp of history, not just with his play but also with his clubhouse leadership. He opened his mouth two years ago, challenged the franchise to put up or shut up and it happened. Tonight is his turn. He’s done it once, signing a long-term contract with the team. The second time is harder – and easier. Harder because Shane Bieber and the Jays will have him in their crosshairs. Easier because if he just relaxes and plays his game, it doesn’t matter. OK, both are hard. But it’s what he’s signed up for, right?

– George Kirby will take the ball. When Kirby is furious, he’s impervious. When he’s passive, well, he’s not. It’s time for Furious George to show up. To not be afraid of the moment. To pitch inside if needed, and tell the 45,000 in the park (including Jays’ manager John Schneider) to shut up – the Series is on the line. To make everyone from George Springer to Andres Gimenez uncomfortable. Earl Weaver was always right. Momentum is the guy on the mound to start the game. Tonight, his name is George Kirby.

– Rodriguez is who he is. He’s not changing. Not in the seventh game of the ALCS. Hopefully, the butterflies have disappeared. The glove has softened. The bat will find the ball and the ball will find an outfield seat at least once. He’s one the best players in the game. Show it.

– Josh Naylor seems to have found his swing. It’s past time for others. A couple more guys – Randy Arozarena or J.P. Crawford come to mind – must tonight, stretching the lineup enough to strain Bieber and get into the bullpen early.

– Dan Wilson. He’s the wild card. Wouldn’t it be nice if tomorrow everyone is talking about his masterful orchestration of the pitching staff? Of his subtle moves, all of which hit the bullseye? Heck, even if the talk is of how he just let the game play out. Kept his hands off. Let his pitchers and hitters feel the support. And how they came through for him.

No one can predict what will happen. But there is one certainty. All that has happened before is gone. Tonight is all that matters. One sentence hasn’t changed in the past 48 hours.

“The Mariners are one win from the World Series.”

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WSU: There is nothing more positive for the Cougars than how their defense has played the past two weeks. Facing two of the best offenses in the nation on their home fields, the defense has yielded 44 points. (The other two were on Saturday’s game-deciding safety.) It’s a subject Greg Woods delves into today as he looks back to the Virginia defeat. Tomorrow is when he looks forward to Toledo’s visit to Pullman (Saturday, 12:30 p.m., The CW Network). … Elsewhere in the (current, old and future) Pac-12 and the nation, putting on a West Coast bowl game not nicknamed The Granddaddy of Them All isn’t easy. Or all that profitable. There is this story in the Mercury News telling us why the Holiday Bowl organizers listened to a pitch to move the game to Saudi Arabia before saying no. No way Cougar fans could deal with a game in a dry country. Smuggling a flask into Martin Stadium didn’t hold the penalties of trying to get one into whatever stadium the bowl would have been played in. … Jon Wilner has his Pac-12 rankings in the Mercury News. He’s been impressed by WSU’s play the past couple weeks. … John Canzano has a wide range of thoughts from Sunday. … While the Cougars play Toledo this week, Oregon State has a bye to get ready for their matchup Nov. 1. Robb Akey will enter the game 1-0 as Beavers’ coach. And that came about because he was willing to make a quarterback change. One with possible ramifications financially. … Don’t throw all the blame on USC if the rivalry series ends. The Trojans want it before the Big Ten season. The Irish want it to stay in October or November. Work it out folks. … Arizona has a while to think about the Houston loss.

• Here are the rest of the (current, old and future) Pac-12 games this week, listed chronologically. All are on Saturday unless noted. The schedule below also includes any game in which finding news turned out to be nearly impossible. …  

– California at Virginia Tech (Friday, 4:30 p.m., ESPN): Could Shane Beamer be the legacy hire the Hokies want to make?

– Boise State at Nevada (7, CBS Sports): The Broncos are coming off their most impressive offensive showing. … In off-the-field news, former BSU running back Doug Martin died Sunday at 36. Reports say it happened while in police custody.

– UCLA at Indiana (9 a.m., Fox): Does Tim Skipper have a shot at being the full-time coach? This game could decide his fate.

– Utah State at New Mexico (noon, Mountain West Network): The Lobos have to do the gritty work to keep winning.

– No. 23 Illinois at Washington (12:30 p.m., Big Ten): The Huskies are coming off a 24-7 loss at Michigan, one that taught them some lessons.

– San Diego State at Fresno State (12:30, FS1): The Aztecs aren’t ranked. But they have earned votes.

– Wisconsin at No. 6 Oregon (4, FS1): The late start isn’t going to be late enough for the Badgers, who are struggling. … The Ducks aren’t, that’s for sure as they moved up the Associated Press poll after the rout in New Jersey.

– Stanford at No. 9 Miami (4, ESPN): The Cardinal had to dig deep at running back in the win over Florida State.

– Colorado State at Wyoming (4:30, CBS Sports): Jay Norvell is out as the 2-5 Rams’ coach. Maybe the CSU folks feel as if they need to give the interim coach a chance at a win this week as the Cowboys aren’t doing well. … The change was a long time coming. … Who should replace Norvell permanently? Some folks have ideas.

– Houston at No. 24 Arizona State (5, ESPN2): If the Sun Devils are healthy here on out, they will be a handful for anyone.

– Colorado at Utah (7:15, ESPN): The Utes have to put the BYU loss into the rearview mirror for the third consecutive time. That hasn’t been easy in the past for Kyle Whittingham and the Utes.

• In basketball news, Washington’s men had little trouble with UNLV in their exhibition opener Sunday. … Colorado’s exhibition victory over Grace featured a new offensive look.

Gonzaga: I didn’t have a chance to watch the Zags play, and win, 111-62, their exhibition game with Northwest University on Sunday. (If you want to know why they played the Kirkland-based NAIA school, Jim Meehan was kind enough to tell everyone.) But just looking at the numbers, hearing reports from people I trust, it seems as if what I expected happened. Mark Few showed off this team’s depth. At least for one exhibition game. Theo Lawson has the game story as well as another piece covering Few’s thoughts on Tyon Grant-Foster’s lawsuit against the NCAA.

EWU: Efton Chism III is no longer running around Roos Field, making Big Sky special team players look silly. He’s doing that for the New England Patriots. Colton Clark highlights that in his weekly look at local players in the NFL. … Elsewhere in the (current and future) Big Sky, Sacramento State opened its first men’s basketball season under Mike Bibby on Saturday night. Sort of. The Hornets lost an exhibition game in New Orleans.

Chiefs: Spokane’s fifth game on their six-game road trip wasn’t its best. As Dave Nichols documents here, the Chiefs looked tired in their 5-0 loss at Calgary.

Mariners: If you waded through our thoughts above, good for you. Want more? OK, I’ll oblige. Let’s start with Jacob Thorpe’s column in the S-R. He shows how close Seattle was to winning Sunday. … Mike Vorel has his thoughts in the Times. … The rest of the S-R and Times stories are linked above, with this space reserved for columns from elsewhere, most of them focused on the Blue Jays, and stories about the game, which also focuses on the winning team in most instances.

Seahawks: There is a bit of a logjam for Northwest sports fans tonight. The M’s start at 5 on Fox. The Seahawks’ game at home against the Texans kicks at 7 on ESPN. If you do switch over – and I’m guessing in most cases that’s dependent on what’s happening in Toronto – this is what you should be looking for. … Jaxon Smith-Njigba talks the talk and is walking the walk.

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• As I said yesterday, Monday nights are busy. The DVR will be going. And I could very well have a late night catching up. Despite the beautiful day outside, I have scheduled a mid-afternoon nap. Sorry. You probably are stuck doing TPS reports this afternoon. My advice: Don’t forget the cover sheet. Until later …