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Cal Raleigh homered, Jorge Polanco delivered the decisive 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 Display

George Springer homered on the opening delivery from Miller, who then got out of a two-on jam in a 27-delivery first inning. Anthony Santander singled in the second for the Blue Jays' sole additional hit, and Mariners pitchers retired 23 of the Blue Jays’ final 24 batters. 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.

Crucial Batting Plays

Raleigh, the major league home run leader with 60, tied the score in the sixth inning with his ninth home run in 14 appearances at Rogers Centre. Kevin Gausman had previously kept batters hitless on splitters in the postseason before the homer by the catcher.

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

“We are a resilient squad, as you know, one through nine,” Raleigh said. “Pitchers came out today, extremely impressive. They did awesome. Especially short rest and how many pitches they threw the previous game.”

Seattle, the AL West titleholder traveled to AL East winner Toronto on the prior day after a 3-2 home victory over the Tigers to claim 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 Blue Jays had 50 hits along with 34 runs in their four-game Division Series against the Yankees. Miller, the winner, struck out three and walked three in six innings, throwing 72 pitches. The bullpen trio each had 1-2-3 innings, with Muñoz securing the save.

“This is going to be a hard-fought series, for sure,” Toronto manager John Schneider commented. “Our team will be prepared 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 Kevin 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 added another RBI single against Domínguez.

Notable Game Moments

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

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.