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

Defensive Dominance on Display

George Springer launched a homer on the first pitch from Bryce Miller, who then got out of a bases-threatening situation in a 27-pitch opening frame. Anthony Santander singled in the second for the Blue Jays' only other hit, and Mariners 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 pitches less than 48 hours after the Mariners needed 209 throws to outplay Detroit over 15 frames.

Crucial Offensive Plays

Raleigh, who led the major leagues with 60 homers, tied the score in the sixth inning with his ninth home run 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 the catcher.

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

“We are a resilient squad, you know, from top to bottom,” Raleigh said. “Pitchers came out today, extremely impressive. They were outstanding. Especially 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 Detroit Tigers to win the Division Series in the longest winner-take-all game in Major League Baseball history.

Historic Achievements

Seattle, the sole MLB franchise to not have hosted a World Series game, limited Toronto to just two hits after the Toronto squad had 50 hits and 34 runs in their four-game playoff series against the New York Yankees. Miller, who earned the win, fanned three and issued three walks in six innings, throwing 72 pitches. The three relievers each had 1-2-3 innings, with Muñoz securing the save.

“This will be a fiercely contested series, man,” Blue Jays manager John Schneider commented. “These guys will be ready for it.”

Springer’s 21st postseason home run broke a tie with the Yankees’ Derek Jeter, 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 Rodríguez, who was walked by the pitcher. Polanco added another RBI single against Domínguez.

Memorable Contest Highlights

Eugenio Suárez doubled off the top of the right-field wall in the seventh against Varland. The 395-foot drive would have been a homer in 15 of 30 big league ballparks, including Seattle.

Toronto outfielder Nathan Lukes left in the fourth inning. Lukes sustained a right knee bruise when he fouled a pitch off it in the first inning.