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Cal Raleigh homered, Jorge Polanco delivered the decisive run with a sixth-inning single, and the Mariners overcame the Blue Jays 3-1 Sunday night as they returned to the AL Championship Series for the initial occasion in 24 years.

Pitching Mastery on Show

George Springer launched a homer on the opening delivery from Miller, who then escaped a bases-threatening situation in a 27-pitch opening frame. Anthony Santander hit a single in the second for Toronto’s only other hit, and Seattle pitchers set down 23 out of the final 24 Toronto hitters. The pitching quartet joined forces to throw just 100 deliveries under two days after the Seattle team needed 209 pitches to outplay Detroit over 15 innings.

Crucial Offensive Plays

Raleigh, the major league home run leader with 60, tied the score in the sixth inning with his ninth home run in 14 games at Rogers Centre. Kevin Gausman had previously kept batters hitless on splitters in the playoffs before the home run by the catcher.

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

“We’re a tough team, you know, one through nine,” Raleigh stated. “Our pitchers performed today, extremely impressive. They did awesome. Especially short rest and how many pitches they threw the previous game.”

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

Historic Achievements

The Mariners, the sole MLB franchise to never host a Fall Classic game, held Toronto to two hits after the Blue Jays had 50 hits and 34 runs in their four-game Division Series against the New York Yankees. Miller, the winner, struck out three and walked three in six innings, throwing 72 pitches. The bullpen trio each had 1-2-3 innings, with Muñoz getting the save.

“This is going to be a hard-fought series, for sure,” Toronto manager John Schneider said. “These guys will be ready for it.”

Springer's 21st playoff homer 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 Kevin Gausman, who took the loss.

Polanco, the hero of Friday's game, singled against Brendon Little to drive in Julio Rodríguez, who was walked by the pitcher. Polanco added another RBI single against Domínguez.

Memorable Game Highlights

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

Toronto outfielder Nathan Lukes exited in the fourth. Lukes sustained a right knee bruise when he fouled a ball into his knee in the opening frame.