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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.

Defensive Dominance on Display

George Springer homered on the opening delivery from Bryce Miller, who then got out of a bases-threatening situation in a 27-delivery first inning. Anthony Santander singled in the second inning for Toronto’s sole additional hit, and Seattle pitchers retired 23 of the Blue Jays’ final 24 batters. The pitching quartet joined forces to throw just 100 deliveries less than 48 hours after the Mariners needed 209 pitches to outplay the Tigers over 15 innings.

Crucial Batting Moments

Raleigh, the major league home run leader with 60, evened the game in the sixth inning with his ninth home run 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 hit a go-ahead single later in the inning and contributed an RBI single in the eighth.

“We are a resilient squad, as you know, from top to bottom,” Raleigh stated. “Pitchers came out today, really, really impressed us. They were outstanding. Particularly on short rest and how many pitches they threw the other day.”

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

Historic Achievements

The Mariners, the only MLB team 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, who earned the win, fanned three and issued three walks in six innings, throwing 72 deliveries. The three relievers each had 1-2-3 innings, with Muñoz securing the save.

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

Springer’s 21st postseason home run broke a tie with the Yankees’ Derek Jeter, placing him alone in fifth position on the career list. Raleigh’s homer was his fourth in 15 at-bats against Gausman, who took the loss.

Polanco, the hero of Friday's game, singled against Brendon Little to drive in Julio Rodríguez, who was issued a walk by the pitcher. Polanco later added another run-scoring hit against Seranthony Domínguez.

Memorable Game Moments

Eugenio Suárez hit a double against the top of the right-field fence in the seventh against Louis Varland. The 395-foot drive would have been a home run in 15 of 30 big league ballparks, Seattle’s field included.

Toronto outfielder Nathan Lukes left in the fourth inning. Lukes sustained a right knee bruise when he fouled a pitch off it in the opening frame.