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Cal Raleigh blasted a home run, Jorge Polanco drove in the go-ahead run with a sixth-inning single, and the Seattle Mariners beat the Toronto Blue Jays 3-1 Sunday night as they returned to the AL Championship Series for the first time 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-delivery first inning. Anthony Santander singled in the second inning for Toronto’s sole additional hit, and Seattle pitchers retired 23 out of the final 24 Toronto hitters. The pitching quartet joined forces to throw just 100 pitches less than 48 hours after the Seattle team needed 209 pitches to outlast the Tigers over 15 innings.

Crucial Offensive Moments

Raleigh, the major league home run leader with 60, evened the game in the sixth with his ninth homer in 14 appearances at Rogers Centre. Kevin Gausman had previously kept batters hitless 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 are a resilient squad, as you know, one through nine,” Raleigh said. “Pitchers came out today, really, really impressed us. They did awesome. Particularly on short rest and the high pitch count the other day.”

AL West champion Seattle journeyed to Toronto, the AL East champion on Saturday after a 3-2 home victory over the Tigers to claim the Division Series in the most extended decisive contest in Major League Baseball history.

Historic Accomplishments

The Mariners, the sole MLB franchise to not have hosted a Fall Classic game, held Toronto to two hits after the Blue Jays 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 frames, throwing 72 pitches. The bullpen trio each had 1-2-3 innings, with Muñoz securing the save.

“This is going to be a hard-fought series, man,” Blue Jays manager John Schneider commented. “Our team will be prepared 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 all-time list. Raleigh's home run was his fourth in 15 appearances against Gausman, who took the loss.

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

Notable Game Moments

Eugenio Suárez hit a double against the top of the right-field fence in the seventh inning against Varland. The 395-foot drive would have been a home run in 15 of 30 big league ballparks, including Seattle.

Toronto outfielder Nathan Lukes left in the fourth inning. Lukes bruised his right knee when he fouled a ball into his knee in the opening frame.