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Cal Raleigh homered, Jorge Polanco drove in the winning run with a sixth-inning single, and the Mariners defeated the Blue Jays 3-1 on Sunday evening as they returned to the ALCS for the first time in two dozen years.

Defensive Dominance on Show

George Springer homered on the opening delivery from Miller, who then escaped a two-on jam in a 27-pitch opening frame. Anthony Santander hit a single in the second inning for the Blue Jays' only other hit, and Seattle pitchers retired 23 out of the final 24 Toronto hitters. The pitching quartet joined forces to throw just 100 deliveries less than 48 hours after the Mariners needed 209 throws to outplay the Tigers over 15 frames.

Key Offensive Moments

Raleigh, the major league home run leader with 60, tied the score 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 home run by the catcher.

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

“We are a resilient squad, as you know, from top to bottom,” Raleigh stated. “Our pitchers performed today, extremely impressive. They were outstanding. Particularly on short rest and the high pitch count the other day.”

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

Record Achievements

The Mariners, the only MLB team to never host a World Series game, held Toronto to two hits after the Toronto squad had 50 hits and 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 bullpen trio each had perfect innings, with Muñoz securing the save.

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

Springer’s 21st postseason home run ended 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 at-bats against Gausman, who suffered the defeat.

Polanco, who had the game-ending single Friday, singled against Brendon Little to bring home Julio Rodríguez, who was walked by Gausman. Polanco later added another run-scoring hit against Domínguez.

Memorable Contest Moments

Eugenio Suárez doubled 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 exited in the fourth. Lukes bruised his right knee when he fouled a pitch off it in the first inning.