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Cal Raleigh homered, Jorge Polanco delivered the winning run with a sixth-inning single, and the Seattle Mariners beat the Toronto Blue Jays 3-1 on Sunday evening as they returned to the AL Championship Series for the first time in two dozen years.

Pitching Dominance on Display

George Springer launched a homer on the opening delivery from Miller, who then got out of a two-on jam in a 27-pitch opening frame. Anthony Santander singled in the second inning for the Blue Jays' sole additional hit, and Mariners pitchers retired 23 out of the final 24 Toronto hitters. Miller, Gabe Speier, Matt Brash and Andrés Muñoz joined forces to throw just 100 pitches under two days after the Seattle team needed 209 pitches to outlast Detroit over 15 innings.

Key Batting Moments

Raleigh, who led the major leagues with 60 homers, tied the score in the sixth with his ninth home run in 14 appearances at the Toronto ballpark. Kevin Gausman had previously kept batters hitless on splitters in the postseason before the home run by the catcher.

Polanco delivered a go-ahead base hit subsequently in the frame 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, extremely impressive. They were outstanding. Particularly on short rest and how many pitches they threw the other day.”

AL West champion Seattle journeyed 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 longest winner-take-all game in MLB history.

Historic Achievements

The Mariners, the sole MLB franchise to not have hosted a World Series 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, the winner, struck out three and walked three in six frames, throwing 72 pitches. The three relievers each had 1-2-3 innings, with Muñoz getting the save.

“This will be a fiercely contested series, for sure,” Blue Jays manager John Schneider commented. “Our team will be prepared for it.”

Springer's 21st playoff homer 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 suffered the defeat.

Polanco, who had the game-ending single Friday, singled against Brendon Little to bring home Julio Rodríguez, who was walked by Gausman. Polanco added another RBI single against Domínguez.

Memorable Game Moments

Eugenio Suárez doubled off the top of the right-field wall in the seventh inning against Varland. The 395-foot drive would have been a home run in half of MLB stadiums, including Seattle.

Blue Jays 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.