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

Pitching Dominance on Display

George Springer homered on the first pitch from Bryce Miller, who then got out of a two-on jam in a 27-pitch 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. The pitching quartet combined to throw just 100 deliveries under two days after the Mariners needed 209 throws to outlast the Tigers over 15 innings.

Crucial Offensive Plays

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

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

“We’re a tough team, you know, from top to bottom,” Raleigh stated. “Our pitchers performed today, extremely impressive. They did awesome. Particularly on short rest and the high pitch count the other day.”

Seattle, the AL West titleholder journeyed to AL East winner Toronto on the prior day 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

The Mariners, the sole MLB franchise to not have hosted a Fall Classic game, limited Toronto to just two hits after the Blue Jays had 50 hits and 34 runs in their four-game Division Series against the New York Yankees. Miller, the winner, fanned three and issued three walks in six innings, throwing 72 deliveries. 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 said. “These guys will be ready for it.”

Springer’s 21st postseason home run broke 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 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 later added another run-scoring hit against Domínguez.

Memorable Game Highlights

Eugenio Suárez hit a double off the top of the right-field wall in the seventh inning against Louis Varland. The 395-foot hit would have been a homer in half of MLB stadiums, Seattle’s field included.

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