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Cal Raleigh homered, Jorge Polanco drove in the decisive run with a sixth frame single, and the Seattle Mariners defeated the Blue Jays 3-1 Sunday night as they returned to the ALCS for the initial occasion in two dozen years.

Pitching Dominance on Display

George Springer launched a homer on the opening delivery from Miller, who then escaped a bases-threatening situation in a 27-pitch first inning. Anthony Santander singled in the second inning for the Blue Jays' sole additional hit, and Seattle pitchers set down 23 out of the final 24 Toronto hitters. The pitching quartet joined forces to throw just 100 pitches under two days after the Mariners needed 209 throws to outplay Detroit over 15 frames.

Crucial Offensive Plays

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

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

“We are a resilient squad, you know, one through nine,” Raleigh stated. “Our pitchers performed today, really, really impressed us. They were outstanding. Particularly on short rest and how many pitches they threw the previous game.”

Seattle, the AL West titleholder journeyed to Toronto, the AL East champion 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 Major League Baseball history.

Record Achievements

Seattle, the sole MLB franchise to not have hosted a World Series game, limited Toronto to just two hits after the Blue Jays had 50 hits along with 34 runs in their four-game playoff series against the Yankees. Miller, the winner, struck out three and walked three in six innings, throwing 72 deliveries. The three relievers each had perfect innings, with Muñoz getting the save.

“This will be a fiercely contested series, man,” Toronto manager John Schneider said. “Our team will be prepared for it.”

Springer's 21st playoff homer broke a tie with the Yankees’ Derek Jeter, moving him into sole possession of fifth place on the career list. Raleigh’s homer 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 the pitcher. 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 inning against Louis Varland. The 395-foot hit would have been a home run in half of MLB stadiums, including Seattle.

Toronto outfielder Nathan Lukes left in the fourth inning. Lukes bruised his right knee when he fouled a ball into his knee in the first inning.