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

Defensive Dominance on Show

George Springer homered on the opening delivery from Bryce Miller, who then got out of a bases-threatening situation in a 27-pitch first inning. Anthony Santander singled in the second inning for Toronto’s only other hit, and Seattle pitchers set down 23 of the Blue Jays’ final 24 batters. The pitching quartet joined forces to throw just 100 pitches under two days after the Seattle team needed 209 throws to outlast Detroit over 15 frames.

Key Offensive Plays

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 the catcher.

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

“We’re a tough team, as you know, one through nine,” Raleigh stated. “Pitchers came out today, really, really impressed us. They did awesome. Particularly on short rest and the high pitch count the other day.”

Seattle, the AL West titleholder journeyed to Toronto, the AL East champion on Saturday after a 3-2 win at home over the Tigers to win the Division Series in the longest winner-take-all game in Major League Baseball history.

Record Achievements

The Mariners, the sole MLB franchise to never host a Fall Classic game, limited Toronto to just two hits after the Toronto squad had 50 hits and 34 runs in their four-game playoff series against the Yankees. Miller, who earned the win, fanned three and issued three walks 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,” Blue Jays manager John Schneider said. “Our team will be prepared for it.”

Springer’s 21st postseason home run 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 Gausman, who took the loss.

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

Notable Game Highlights

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.

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