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Cal Raleigh blasted a home run, Jorge Polanco drove in the decisive run with a sixth frame single, and the Mariners defeated the 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.

Defensive Dominance on Show

George Springer launched a homer on the first pitch from Miller, who then escaped a bases-threatening situation in a 27-delivery first inning. Anthony Santander singled in the second inning for Toronto’s only other hit, and Mariners pitchers set down 23 of the Blue Jays’ final 24 batters. Miller, Gabe Speier, Matt Brash and Andrés Muñoz joined forces to throw just 100 pitches under two days after the Seattle team needed 209 pitches to outplay the Tigers over 15 frames.

Crucial Batting Moments

Raleigh, who led the major leagues with 60 homers, evened the game in the sixth inning with his ninth home run in 14 appearances at the Toronto ballpark. Kevin Gausman had previously kept batters hitless on splitters in the playoffs before the home run by the catcher.

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

“We are a resilient squad, you know, from top to bottom,” Raleigh stated. “Pitchers came out today, really, really impressed us. They were outstanding. Especially short rest and how many pitches they threw the previous game.”

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

Record Achievements

Seattle, the sole MLB franchise to not have hosted a World Series 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, the winner, struck out three and walked three in six frames, throwing 72 pitches. The three relievers each had perfect innings, with Muñoz getting the save.

“This is going to be a hard-fought series, for sure,” Toronto manager John Schneider said. “These guys will be ready 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 at-bats against Gausman, who took the loss.

Polanco, the hero of Friday's game, singled against Brendon Little to drive in Julio Rodríguez, who was issued a walk by the pitcher. Polanco added another RBI single against Seranthony Domínguez.

Memorable Game Highlights

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

Blue Jays outfielder Nathan Lukes exited in the fourth. Lukes bruised his right knee when he fouled a ball into his knee in the first inning.