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

Pitching Mastery on Display

George Springer homered on the opening delivery from Miller, who then got out of a bases-threatening situation in a 27-pitch opening frame. Anthony Santander singled in the second inning for the Blue Jays' only other hit, and Seattle pitchers set down 23 out of the final 24 Toronto hitters. The pitching quartet joined forces to throw just 100 deliveries under two days after the Seattle team needed 209 throws to outplay the Tigers over 15 innings.

Key Offensive 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 Rogers Centre. Kevin Gausman had previously kept batters hitless on splitters in the playoffs before the homer by the catcher.

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

“We are a resilient squad, you know, one through nine,” Raleigh said. “Pitchers came out today, extremely impressive. They were outstanding. Particularly on short rest and the high pitch count the other day.”

Seattle, the AL West titleholder traveled to AL East winner Toronto on Saturday after a 3-2 win at home over the Detroit Tigers to claim the Division Series in the longest winner-take-all game in MLB history.

Historic Achievements

Seattle, the sole MLB franchise to never host a World Series game, held Toronto to two hits after the Blue Jays had 50 hits and 34 runs in their four-game playoff series against the New York Yankees. Miller, the winner, fanned three and issued three walks in six frames, throwing 72 deliveries. The three relievers each had perfect innings, with Muñoz securing the save.

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

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

Polanco, who had the game-ending single Friday, singled against Brendon Little to bring home Rodríguez, who was issued a walk by the pitcher. Polanco later added another run-scoring hit against Domínguez.

Notable Game Highlights

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

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.