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

Pitching Dominance on Show

George Springer launched a homer on the opening delivery from Bryce Miller, who then escaped a bases-threatening situation in a 27-pitch opening frame. Anthony Santander singled in the second inning for Toronto’s only other hit, and Mariners pitchers retired 23 out of the final 24 Toronto hitters. Miller, Gabe Speier, Matt Brash and Andrés Muñoz combined to throw just 100 deliveries less than 48 hours after the Mariners needed 209 throws to outplay Detroit over 15 frames.

Crucial Offensive Plays

Raleigh, the major league home run leader with 60, evened the game in the sixth with his ninth homer in 14 games at Rogers Centre. 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 later in the inning and contributed an RBI single in the eighth.

“We are a resilient squad, you know, from top to bottom,” Raleigh said. “Pitchers came out today, extremely impressive. They did awesome. Particularly on short rest and how many pitches they threw 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.

Record Accomplishments

The Mariners, the sole MLB franchise to never host 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 Division Series against the New York Yankees. Miller, the winner, struck out three and walked three in six innings, throwing 72 pitches. The bullpen trio each had perfect innings, with Muñoz getting the save.

“This will be a fiercely contested series, for sure,” Blue Jays manager John Schneider commented. “Our team will be prepared for it.”

Springer’s 21st postseason home run broke a tie with the Derek Jeter of the Yankees, placing him alone in fifth position on the career list. Raleigh’s homer was his fourth in 15 at-bats against Gausman, who took the loss.

Polanco, the hero of Friday's game, hit a single off Brendon Little to drive in Rodríguez, who was issued a walk by Gausman. Polanco later added another run-scoring hit against Domínguez.

Notable Contest Moments

Eugenio Suárez hit a double against the top of the right-field fence in the seventh against Louis Varland. The 395-foot drive 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 sustained a right knee bruise when he fouled a ball into his knee in the opening frame.