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Cal Raleigh blasted a home run, Jorge Polanco delivered the decisive run with a sixth frame single, and the Mariners defeated the Blue Jays 3-1 on Sunday evening as they made their return to the AL Championship Series for the initial occasion in 24 years.

Defensive Mastery on Show

George Springer homered on the first pitch from Miller, who then escaped a two-on jam in a 27-pitch opening frame. Anthony Santander singled in the second 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 combined to throw just 100 deliveries less than 48 hours after the Mariners needed 209 throws to outlast the Tigers over 15 frames.

Key Offensive Moments

Raleigh, the major league home run leader with 60, evened the game in the sixth with his ninth homer in 14 games at Rogers Centre. Kevin Gausman had held batters to 0 for 16 on splitters in the playoffs before the homer by Raleigh.

Polanco hit a go-ahead single later in the inning and added an run-scoring single in the eighth.

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

Seattle, the AL West titleholder traveled to Toronto, the AL East champion 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.

Record Accomplishments

The Mariners, the sole MLB franchise to not have hosted a Fall Classic game, limited Toronto to just 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 getting the save.

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

Springer’s 21st postseason home run broke a tie with the Yankees’ Derek Jeter, moving him into sole possession of fifth place on the career list. Raleigh’s homer 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 bring home Rodríguez, who was issued a walk by Gausman. Polanco later added another run-scoring hit against Domínguez.

Notable Game Highlights

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

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