Toronto's Vladimir Guerrero celebrates after his fifth-inning home run against the Mariners in Game 3 of the ALCS. Alika Jenner/Getty Images

By Mitch Bannon, Tyler Kepner and Brittany Ghiroli

SEATTLE -- After two flat losses at home, the Toronto Blue Jays' power bats were on full display in a 13-4 drubbing of the Seattle Mariners in Game 3 of the American League Division Series on Wednesday night.

George Springer, Andrés Giménez, Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Alejandro Kirk and Addison Barger each homered and Toronto scored five runs in the top of the third inning to erase an early two-run deficit and bring the best-of-seven series to 2-1. The Jays rapped out 18 hits, roughing up Seattle starter George Kirby for eight runs in four innings. Guerrero, who had been hitless in the series, had four hits and finished a triple shy of the cycle.

Jays starter Shane Bieber, who was tagged with a two-run Julio Rodríguez homer in the first, made an adjustment, going six strong innings with a steady mix of off-speed stuff. Bieber, a trade deadline acquisition, became the first Toronto starter to go six innings this postseason.

Toronto's top offensive trait is contact. They can't change that. The Jays led baseball in batting average and contact rate, but that doesn't mean power doesn't matter.

When the Jays hit at least one homer this year, they went 73-30. When they didn't homer, they were 21-38. They stomped the Yankees in the ALDS, out-homering New York nine to four.

In the first two games of the ALCS, the Jays got few damage swings. It was Springer's leadoff homer in Game 1, and that's about it. Before Game 3, manager John Schneider said he wanted fewer jabs and more uppercuts. Early in the contest, Toronto's big punches arrived.

Giménez drifted down the first base line as he launched a game-tying two-run blast in the third. Then Springer held his hand up celebrating his second homer of the postseason an inning later. In four innings, the Jays flashed more power than the previous two games combined. In the fifth, Vladimir Guerrero Jr. added another well-admired blast for good measure.

Toronto can continue to wear down pitchers with relentless contact and create scoring opportunities with singles, but big swings matter. On Wednesday, the Jays got them.

Springer roared from the dugout, raising a lone fist as Guerrero sauntered around the bases. The Blue Jays' first baseman uncorked a 406-foot homer to deep centre, admiring his blast to put the Jays up 7-2 in Wednesday's fifth inning. It was Guerrero's third hit of the game, and third of the series after going hitless in two contests in Toronto.

After hitting over .500 with nine RBI in four games against the New York Yankees in the Division Series, Guerrero's bat went cold to start the ALCS. He didn't strike out in the two opening games, and ripped multiple balls over 105 mph, but the hits didn't fall. With plenty of ground balls and frustrated walks back to the dugout, the slugging DS Guerrero was gone. In Game 3, he reappeared -- so much so that Guerrero was intentionally walked in the fifth inning before adding another double in the eighth.

Toronto's offense is deep when it's clicking. Seven different Jay hitters recorded RBI in the first six innings on Wednesday. But Guerrero remains the core piece. When he's hitting, everything else is easier. When Guerrero mashes, playoff wins come easier. If Toronto wants to keep clawing back in this series, a productive Guerrero is essential.

Kirby not only matched a career high with eight earned runs allowed in Game 3, he matched the all-time postseason record.

Kirby became the 17th pitcher to allow eight earned runs in a postseason game. Not that it's much of a consolation to Kirby, but the list includes several other big names: Grover Cleveland Alexander (1928 World Series), Greg Maddux (1989 NLCS), David Wells (2002 ALDS), CC Sabathia (2007 ALCS), Josh Beckett (2008 ALCS) and Clayton Kershaw (2014 NLDS).

After the second inning, nine of Kirby's final 15 hitters reached base, a stretch that included the homers by Giménez, Springer and Guerrero. Kirby is one of baseball's premier control pitchers, with 1.3 walks per nine innings in his four-year career. But control (the ability to throw strikes) is different from command (the ability to hit a specific location), and Kirby's pitches strayed too far from the corners on Wednesday, allowing the Blue Jays' lineup of contact hitters to put the ball in play with authority.

Bieber reached uncharted territory: the end of the sixth.

The Jays' offense stole the show on Wednesday, but Bieber pulled Toronto's pitching back into this series. He became the first Blue Jays starter to pitch at least six innings in the playoffs since Marco Estrada in the 2016 ALCS.

The right-hander settled in after a first inning homer and delivered the Jays' first quality start of the postseason, finishing with two runs allowed in six innings of work.

Bieber struck out eight Mariners, roaring after striking out Raleigh to end the fifth and bouncing back to the dugout when his final inning finished. After lasting just 2 2/3 innings in his Division Series outing, Bieber delivered on his trade deadline promise. If Toronto pushes this series to seven games, Bieber will get the ball once again. If he repeats this performance, Bieber could send the Jays to the World Series.

The Mariners are 5-3 in October, so it's hard to point out a lot that's gone wrong for them. But it's worth noting that there sure is a lot of swing-and-miss in their lineup.

This is no surprise, because the Mariners did strike out 8.92 times per game in the regular season, and only five teams (the Angels, Rockies, Yankees, Orioles and Tigers) fanned more times overall. But in eight games against Detroit and Toronto in the postseason, Seattle hitters have struck out 93 times, for an average of 11.6 per game.

The other side of strikeouts, of course, is that big swings can lead to home runs. And the long ball, as always, has been the Mariners' speciality. They're built that way, understanding that the thick air at T-Mobile Park may depress doubles and triples, but well-hit fly balls can still find the seats.

The Mariners are also aggressive on the bases; Randy Arozarena stole second after his leadoff walk. But the most efficient way to score is to hit home runs, and all four Seattle runs on Wednesday came via the homer. Of the Mariners' 36 overall runs this postseason, 20 have scored on home runs.

Mariners-Blue Jays Game 3 takeaways: Guerrero, Toronto's bats steal the show in Seattle