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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 Toronto Blue Jays 3-1 on Sunday evening as they made their return to the ALCS for the initial occasion in two dozen years.

Pitching Mastery on Display

George Springer launched a homer on the opening delivery from Miller, who then escaped a bases-threatening situation in a 27-delivery opening frame. Anthony Santander hit a single in the second inning for Toronto’s only other hit, and Mariners pitchers retired 23 of the Blue Jays’ final 24 batters. Miller, Gabe Speier, Matt Brash and Andrés Muñoz combined to throw just 100 pitches less than 48 hours after the Mariners needed 209 throws to outlast Detroit over 15 innings.

Key Offensive Moments

Raleigh, the major league home run leader with 60, evened the game in the sixth with his ninth homer in 14 games at Rogers Centre. Kevin Gausman had held batters to 0 for 16 on splitters in the postseason before the home run by Raleigh.

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

“We are a resilient squad, you know, from top to bottom,” Raleigh said. “Our pitchers performed today, extremely impressive. 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 most extended decisive contest in MLB history.

Record Achievements

The Mariners, the sole MLB franchise to not have hosted a Fall Classic 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, who earned the win, struck out three and walked three in six frames, throwing 72 deliveries. The bullpen trio each had 1-2-3 innings, with Muñoz securing the save.

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

Springer's 21st playoff homer ended a tie with the Yankees’ Derek Jeter, moving him into sole possession of fifth place on the all-time list. Raleigh's home run was his fourth in 15 at-bats against Kevin Gausman, who took the loss.

Polanco, the hero of Friday's game, hit a single off Brendon Little to bring home Rodríguez, who was walked by Gausman. Polanco later added another run-scoring hit against Domínguez.

Notable Game Moments

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

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