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Cal Raleigh homered, Jorge Polanco drove in the go-ahead run with a sixth-inning single, and the Seattle Mariners defeated the Toronto Blue Jays 3-1 Sunday night as they made their return to the AL Championship Series for the first time in two dozen years.

Defensive Mastery on Show

George Springer homered on the first pitch from Bryce Miller, who then escaped a two-on jam in a 27-delivery first inning. Anthony Santander singled in the second for Toronto’s sole additional hit, and Seattle 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 less than 48 hours after the Mariners needed 209 throws to outplay the Tigers over 15 innings.

Key Offensive Plays

Raleigh, who led the major leagues with 60 homers, evened the game in the sixth with his ninth homer in 14 appearances at the Toronto ballpark. Kevin Gausman had held batters to 0 for 16 on splitters in the postseason before the home run by the catcher.

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

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

AL West champion Seattle traveled to AL East winner Toronto 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

Seattle, the sole MLB franchise to never host a Fall Classic game, held Toronto to two hits after the Toronto squad had 50 hits along with 34 runs in their four-game playoff series against the New York Yankees. Miller, who earned the win, struck out three and walked three in six innings, throwing 72 deliveries. The three relievers each had perfect innings, with Muñoz getting the save.

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

Springer’s 21st postseason home run ended a tie with the Yankees’ Derek Jeter, placing him alone in fifth position on the all-time list. Raleigh's home run was his fourth in 15 at-bats against Gausman, who took the loss.

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

Memorable Contest Highlights

Eugenio Suárez hit a double off the top of the right-field wall in the seventh inning against Louis Varland. The 395-foot hit would have been a homer in 15 of 30 big league ballparks, Seattle’s field included.

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.