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Cal Raleigh blasted a home run, Jorge Polanco delivered the winning run with a sixth-inning single, and the Mariners defeated the Blue Jays 3-1 Sunday night as they made their return to the ALCS for the initial occasion in 24 years.

Defensive Dominance on Display

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

Crucial Batting Moments

Raleigh, who led the major leagues with 60 homers, tied the score in the sixth inning with his ninth homer in 14 appearances at the Toronto ballpark. Kevin Gausman had previously kept batters hitless on splitters in the playoffs before the home run by Raleigh.

Polanco delivered a go-ahead base hit subsequently in the frame and added an run-scoring single in the eighth.

“We are a resilient squad, as you know, one through nine,” Raleigh stated. “Pitchers came out today, extremely impressive. They did awesome. Particularly on short rest and the high pitch count the other day.”

Seattle, the AL West titleholder 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 Accomplishments

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 playoff series against the New York Yankees. Miller, the winner, fanned three and issued three walks in six innings, throwing 72 pitches. The bullpen trio each had perfect innings, with Muñoz securing the save.

“This is going to be a hard-fought series, for sure,” Toronto manager John Schneider said. “Our team will be prepared for it.”

Springer's 21st playoff homer broke a tie with the Derek Jeter of the Yankees, 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 Gausman, who took the loss.

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

Memorable Contest Highlights

Eugenio Suárez doubled against the top of the right-field fence in the seventh inning against Louis Varland. The 395-foot drive 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.