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Cal Raleigh homered, Jorge Polanco drove in the winning run with a sixth frame single, and the Seattle Mariners beat the Blue Jays 3-1 Sunday night as they returned to the ALCS for the first time in two dozen years.

Defensive Dominance on Display

George Springer launched a homer on the first pitch from Miller, who then got out of a bases-threatening situation in a 27-pitch first inning. Anthony Santander hit a single in the second for Toronto’s only other 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 deliveries under two days after the Seattle team needed 209 throws to outlast the Tigers over 15 frames.

Key Offensive Plays

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

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

“We are a resilient squad, you know, one through nine,” Raleigh stated. “Our pitchers performed today, extremely impressive. They were outstanding. Particularly on short rest and the high pitch count the previous game.”

Seattle, the AL West titleholder journeyed to Toronto, the AL East champion on the prior day after a 3-2 home victory over the Detroit Tigers to claim the Division Series in the longest winner-take-all game in Major League Baseball history.

Historic Accomplishments

The Mariners, the only MLB team to never host a World Series game, limited Toronto to just two hits after the Toronto squad had 50 hits along with 34 runs in their four-game Division Series against the Yankees. Miller, the winner, fanned three and issued three walks in six innings, throwing 72 deliveries. The three relievers each had perfect innings, with Muñoz securing the save.

“This will be a fiercely contested series, man,” Toronto 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 career list. Raleigh’s homer was his fourth in 15 at-bats against Kevin Gausman, who took the loss.

Polanco, who had the game-ending single Friday, 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.

Memorable 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 home run 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 opening frame.