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Cal Raleigh blasted a home run, Jorge Polanco drove in the decisive run with a sixth-inning single, and the Seattle Mariners overcame the Toronto Blue Jays 3-1 on Sunday evening as they made their return to the ALCS for the first time in two dozen years.

Defensive Dominance on Show

George Springer homered on the opening delivery from Bryce Miller, who then got out of a two-on jam in a 27-pitch first inning. Anthony Santander hit a single in the second for Toronto’s only other hit, and Mariners pitchers set down 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 Mariners needed 209 pitches to outlast the Tigers over 15 innings.

Crucial Offensive 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 Rogers Centre. Kevin Gausman had previously kept batters hitless on splitters in the postseason 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.

“We are a resilient squad, 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 previous game.”

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

Record Accomplishments

The Mariners, the sole MLB franchise to never host a World Series game, limited Toronto to just 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 frames, throwing 72 pitches. The bullpen trio each had 1-2-3 innings, with Muñoz getting the save.

“This will be a fiercely contested series, man,” Blue Jays manager John Schneider commented. “These guys will be ready for it.”

Springer's 21st playoff homer ended a tie with the Yankees’ Derek Jeter, placing him alone in fifth position on the all-time list. Raleigh's home run was his fourth in 15 at-bats against Gausman, who suffered the defeat.

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

Notable Game Highlights

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 homer in 15 of 30 big league ballparks, including Seattle.

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