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Cal Raleigh blasted a home run, Jorge Polanco delivered the go-ahead run with a sixth-inning single, and the Seattle Mariners overcame the Toronto Blue Jays 3-1 on Sunday evening as they returned to the AL Championship Series for the first time in two dozen years.

Defensive Mastery on Show

George Springer homered on the first pitch from Bryce Miller, who then escaped a two-on jam in a 27-pitch opening frame. Anthony Santander singled in the second for Toronto’s only other hit, and Mariners pitchers retired 23 of the Blue Jays’ final 24 batters. The pitching quartet joined forces to throw just 100 pitches under two days after the Mariners needed 209 throws to outlast Detroit over 15 innings.

Key Batting Moments

Raleigh, who led the major leagues with 60 homers, evened the game in the sixth inning with his ninth homer in 14 appearances at Rogers Centre. Kevin Gausman had held batters to 0 for 16 on splitters in the postseason before the home run by the catcher.

Polanco delivered a go-ahead base hit subsequently in the frame and contributed an RBI single in the eighth.

“We are a resilient squad, as you know, from top to bottom,” Raleigh said. “Our pitchers performed today, really, really impressed us. They were outstanding. Especially short rest and the high pitch count the previous game.”

Seattle, the AL West titleholder journeyed to AL East winner Toronto on the prior day after a 3-2 home victory over the Detroit Tigers to claim the Division Series in the longest winner-take-all game in MLB history.

Record Achievements

The Mariners, the only MLB team to not have hosted a World Series game, limited Toronto to just two hits after the Toronto squad had 50 hits along with 34 runs in their four-game Division Series against the Yankees. Miller, the winner, struck out three and walked three in six innings, throwing 72 pitches. The bullpen trio each had 1-2-3 innings, with Muñoz securing the save.

“This will be a fiercely contested series, for sure,” Blue Jays manager John Schneider commented. “These guys will be ready for it.”

Springer’s 21st postseason home run broke a tie with the Yankees’ Derek Jeter, placing him alone in fifth position on the career list. Raleigh’s homer was his fourth in 15 at-bats against Kevin Gausman, who suffered the defeat.

Polanco, who had the game-ending single Friday, hit a single off Brendon Little to bring home Rodríguez, who was walked by Gausman. Polanco added another RBI single against Domínguez.

Notable Game Highlights

Eugenio Suárez hit a double off the top of the right-field wall in the seventh against Louis Varland. The 395-foot hit would have been a home run in half of MLB stadiums, including Seattle.

Toronto outfielder Nathan Lukes exited in the fourth. Lukes bruised his right knee when he fouled a ball into his knee in the opening frame.