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Cal Raleigh homered, Jorge Polanco delivered the decisive run with a sixth-inning single, and the Seattle Mariners beat the Blue Jays 3-1 on Sunday evening as they made their return to the ALCS for the initial occasion in 24 years.

Pitching Dominance on Display

George Springer homered on the opening delivery from Bryce Miller, who then got out of a two-on jam in a 27-delivery opening frame. Anthony Santander singled in the second for the Blue Jays' only other hit, and Mariners pitchers set down 23 out of the final 24 Toronto hitters. Miller, Gabe Speier, Matt Brash and Andrés Muñoz combined to throw just 100 pitches under two days after the Seattle team needed 209 pitches to outplay the Tigers over 15 frames.

Key Batting Moments

Raleigh, the major league home run leader with 60, tied the score in the sixth inning with his ninth home run in 14 appearances at the Toronto ballpark. Kevin Gausman had held batters to 0 for 16 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, from top to bottom,” Raleigh stated. “Pitchers came out today, extremely impressive. They were outstanding. Particularly on short rest and the high pitch count the other day.”

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

Record Achievements

Seattle, the sole MLB franchise to not have hosted a Fall Classic game, held Toronto to two hits after the Toronto squad had 50 hits along with 34 runs in their four-game Division Series against the New York Yankees. Miller, who earned the win, fanned three and issued three walks in six innings, throwing 72 pitches. The bullpen trio each had 1-2-3 innings, with Muñoz getting the save.

“This is going to be a hard-fought series, man,” Blue Jays manager John Schneider commented. “These guys will be ready for it.”

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

Polanco, who had the game-ending single Friday, hit a single off Brendon Little to bring home Julio Rodríguez, who was issued a walk by the pitcher. 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 Louis Varland. The 395-foot hit would have been a home run in 15 of 30 big league ballparks, Seattle’s field included.

Toronto outfielder Nathan Lukes left in the fourth inning. Lukes bruised his right knee when he fouled a pitch off it in the first inning.