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Cal Raleigh homered, Jorge Polanco delivered the winning run with a sixth-inning single, and the Mariners overcame the Toronto Blue Jays 3-1 on Sunday evening as they made their return to the AL Championship Series for the initial occasion in two dozen years.

Pitching Mastery 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 hit a single in the second inning for the Blue Jays' only other hit, and Seattle pitchers retired 23 out of the final 24 Toronto hitters. The pitching quartet joined forces to throw just 100 deliveries less than 48 hours after the Mariners needed 209 throws to outlast Detroit over 15 frames.

Key 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 games at the Toronto ballpark. Kevin Gausman had held batters to 0 for 16 on splitters in the postseason before the home run by Raleigh.

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

“We are a resilient squad, you know, one through nine,” 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 Toronto, the AL East champion on Saturday after a 3-2 home victory over the Tigers to claim the Division Series in the most extended decisive contest in Major League Baseball history.

Record Achievements

The Mariners, the only MLB team to not have hosted a Fall Classic game, limited Toronto to just two hits after the Toronto squad 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 bullpen trio each had 1-2-3 innings, with Muñoz securing 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 playoff homer ended a tie with the Yankees’ Derek Jeter, moving him into sole possession of fifth place on the all-time list. Raleigh’s homer was his fourth in 15 at-bats against Gausman, who took the loss.

Polanco, the hero of Friday's game, singled against Brendon Little to drive in Rodríguez, who was walked by the pitcher. Polanco later added another run-scoring hit against Domínguez.

Notable Game Moments

Eugenio Suárez doubled off the top of the right-field wall in the seventh inning against Varland. The 395-foot drive would have been a homer in half of MLB stadiums, including Seattle.

Blue Jays outfielder Nathan Lukes exited in the fourth. Lukes sustained a right knee bruise when he fouled a ball into his knee in the opening frame.