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Cal Raleigh blasted a home run, Jorge Polanco delivered the go-ahead run with a sixth-inning single, and the Mariners beat the Toronto Blue Jays 3-1 Sunday night as they returned to the ALCS for the initial occasion in two dozen years.

Defensive Mastery on Show

George Springer homered on the first pitch from Miller, who then got out of a two-on jam in a 27-pitch first inning. 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. Miller, Gabe Speier, Matt Brash and Andrés Muñoz joined forces to throw just 100 pitches under two days after the Mariners needed 209 pitches to outplay the Tigers over 15 frames.

Key Offensive Moments

Raleigh, the major league home run leader with 60, evened the game in the sixth inning with his ninth home run in 14 games at the Toronto ballpark. Kevin Gausman had previously kept batters hitless on splitters in the playoffs before the homer by Raleigh.

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

“We are a resilient squad, as you know, from top to bottom,” Raleigh stated. “Pitchers came out today, extremely impressive. They did awesome. Especially short rest and how many pitches they threw the previous game.”

AL West champion Seattle traveled to Toronto, the AL East champion 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 MLB history.

Record Achievements

The Mariners, the sole MLB franchise to not have hosted a Fall Classic game, held Toronto to two hits after the Toronto squad had 50 hits and 34 runs in their four-game Division Series against the Yankees. Miller, who earned the win, struck out three and walked three in six innings, throwing 72 pitches. The three relievers each had 1-2-3 innings, with Muñoz securing the save.

“This is going to be a hard-fought series, for sure,” Blue Jays manager John Schneider said. “Our team will be prepared for it.”

Springer's 21st playoff homer ended a tie with the Derek Jeter of the Yankees, placing him alone in fifth position on the all-time list. Raleigh’s homer was his fourth in 15 at-bats against Kevin Gausman, who took the loss.

Polanco, the hero of Friday's game, hit a single off Brendon Little to bring home Julio Rodríguez, who was walked by the pitcher. Polanco later added another run-scoring hit against Seranthony Domínguez.

Memorable 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.

Toronto outfielder Nathan Lukes exited in the fourth. Lukes sustained a right knee bruise when he fouled a ball into his knee in the first inning.