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Cal Raleigh homered, Jorge Polanco drove in the decisive run with a sixth frame single, and the Mariners overcame the Blue Jays 3-1 Sunday night as they made their return to the ALCS for the initial occasion in 24 years.

Defensive Mastery on Show

George Springer launched a homer on the opening delivery from Bryce Miller, who then escaped a two-on jam in a 27-pitch opening frame. Anthony Santander singled in the second inning for Toronto’s 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 less than 48 hours after the Mariners needed 209 throws 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 with his ninth home run in 14 games at the Toronto ballpark. Kevin Gausman had previously kept batters hitless on splitters in the postseason before the home run by the catcher.

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

“We are a resilient squad, you know, from top to bottom,” Raleigh stated. “Our pitchers performed today, extremely impressive. They were outstanding. Particularly on short rest and how many pitches they threw the previous game.”

Seattle, the AL West titleholder journeyed to AL East winner Toronto 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.

Historic Accomplishments

The Mariners, the only MLB team to never host a World Series 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 New York Yankees. Miller, the winner, struck out three and walked three in six frames, throwing 72 pitches. The bullpen trio each had perfect innings, with Muñoz securing the save.

“This will be a fiercely contested series, man,” Toronto manager John Schneider commented. “These guys will be ready for it.”

Springer’s 21st postseason home run broke 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 Kevin Gausman, who suffered the defeat.

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

Memorable Game Moments

Eugenio Suárez hit a double against the top of the right-field fence in the seventh inning against Varland. The 395-foot hit would have been a homer 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 opening frame.