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

Pitching Dominance on Show

George Springer homered on the opening delivery from Miller, who then got out of a two-on jam in a 27-delivery opening frame. Anthony Santander hit a single in the second inning for the Blue Jays' sole additional hit, and Mariners pitchers retired 23 out of the final 24 Toronto hitters. Miller, Gabe Speier, Matt Brash and Andrés Muñoz joined forces to throw just 100 pitches under two days after the Mariners needed 209 pitches to outlast the Tigers over 15 innings.

Key Batting Moments

Raleigh, the major league home run leader with 60, evened the game in the sixth inning with his ninth homer in 14 appearances at Rogers Centre. Kevin Gausman had previously kept batters hitless on splitters in the postseason before the homer by Raleigh.

Polanco delivered a go-ahead base hit later in the inning and contributed an run-scoring single in the eighth.

“We’re a tough team, you know, one through nine,” Raleigh stated. “Our pitchers performed today, extremely impressive. They did awesome. Especially short rest and how many pitches they threw the other day.”

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

Record Accomplishments

Seattle, the only MLB team to never host a World Series game, held Toronto to two hits after the Toronto squad had 50 hits along with 34 runs in their four-game playoff series against the New York Yankees. Miller, the winner, fanned three and issued three walks in six frames, throwing 72 pitches. The three relievers each had 1-2-3 innings, with Muñoz getting 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 playoff homer broke a tie with the Derek Jeter of the Yankees, placing him alone in fifth position on the career list. Raleigh's home run was his fourth in 15 appearances against Kevin Gausman, who took the loss.

Polanco, who had the game-ending single Friday, singled against Brendon Little to drive in Rodríguez, who was walked by Gausman. Polanco added another RBI single against Domínguez.

Memorable Contest Highlights

Eugenio Suárez hit a double off the top of the right-field wall in the seventh against Varland. The 395-foot drive would have been a homer in 15 of 30 big league ballparks, Seattle’s field included.

Toronto outfielder Nathan Lukes exited in the fourth. Lukes sustained a right knee bruise when he fouled a pitch off it in the opening frame.