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

Defensive Dominance on Show

George Springer homered on the opening delivery from Miller, who then got out of a bases-threatening situation in a 27-delivery first inning. Anthony Santander hit a single in the second for the Blue Jays' sole additional hit, and Seattle pitchers retired 23 of the Blue Jays’ final 24 batters. The pitching quartet combined to throw just 100 deliveries less than 48 hours after the Mariners needed 209 pitches to outplay Detroit over 15 frames.

Key Batting Moments

Raleigh, the major league home run leader with 60, evened the game in the sixth inning with his ninth homer in 14 appearances at the Toronto ballpark. Kevin Gausman had held batters to 0 for 16 on splitters in the playoffs before the homer by Raleigh.

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

“We’re a tough team, as you know, from top to bottom,” Raleigh said. “Pitchers came out today, really, really impressed us. They were outstanding. Particularly on short rest and how many pitches they threw the other day.”

AL West champion Seattle traveled to Toronto, the AL East champion on the prior day after a 3-2 win at home over the Detroit Tigers to win the Division Series in the most extended decisive contest in MLB history.

Historic Accomplishments

The Mariners, the sole MLB franchise 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 Division Series against the Yankees. Miller, the winner, struck out three and walked three in six frames, throwing 72 deliveries. The bullpen trio each had 1-2-3 innings, with Muñoz getting the save.

“This will be a fiercely contested series, man,” Toronto manager John Schneider commented. “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 career list. Raleigh’s homer was his fourth in 15 appearances against Gausman, who suffered the defeat.

Polanco, who had the game-ending single Friday, hit a single off Brendon Little to drive in Julio Rodríguez, who was walked by Gausman. Polanco added another RBI single against Domínguez.

Notable Game Highlights

Eugenio Suárez hit a double against the top of the right-field fence in the seventh against Louis Varland. The 395-foot hit would have been a home run in half of MLB stadiums, including Seattle.

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