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Cal Raleigh homered, Jorge Polanco drove in the go-ahead run with a sixth frame single, and the Seattle Mariners beat 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.

Pitching Mastery on Display

George Springer homered on the opening delivery from Bryce Miller, who then escaped a two-on jam in a 27-pitch first inning. Anthony Santander hit a single in the second for the Blue Jays' only other hit, and Seattle pitchers retired 23 of the Blue Jays’ final 24 batters. The pitching quartet joined forces to throw just 100 deliveries under two days after the Mariners needed 209 pitches to outlast Detroit over 15 frames.

Key Batting Plays

Raleigh, the major league home run leader with 60, tied the score in the sixth with his ninth home run in 14 appearances at the Toronto ballpark. Kevin Gausman had held batters to 0 for 16 on splitters in the playoffs before the home run by the catcher.

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

“We are a resilient squad, as you know, one through nine,” Raleigh said. “Pitchers came out today, extremely impressive. They were outstanding. Especially short rest and how many pitches they threw the other day.”

AL West champion Seattle traveled to AL East winner Toronto on Saturday after a 3-2 win at home over the Detroit Tigers to claim the Division Series in the most extended decisive contest in Major League Baseball history.

Historic Achievements

The Mariners, the sole MLB franchise to not have hosted a World Series game, held Toronto to two hits after the Blue Jays had 50 hits and 34 runs in their four-game playoff series against the New York Yankees. Miller, who earned the win, fanned three and issued three walks in six innings, throwing 72 pitches. The bullpen trio each had perfect 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 ended a tie with the Yankees’ Derek Jeter, placing him alone in fifth position on the career list. Raleigh’s homer was his fourth in 15 at-bats against Gausman, who suffered the defeat.

Polanco, the hero of Friday's game, hit a single off Brendon Little to bring home Julio Rodríguez, who was issued a walk by Gausman. Polanco added another RBI single against Domínguez.

Notable Contest Highlights

Eugenio Suárez doubled off the top of the right-field wall in the seventh against Varland. The 395-foot hit would have been a homer in 15 of 30 big league ballparks, including Seattle.

Blue Jays outfielder Nathan Lukes left in the fourth inning. Lukes bruised his right knee when he fouled a pitch off it in the first inning.