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Cal Raleigh homered, Jorge Polanco delivered the decisive run with a sixth frame single, and the Seattle Mariners defeated the Blue Jays 3-1 on Sunday evening as they made their return to the ALCS for the initial occasion in two dozen years.

Defensive Dominance on Display

George Springer homered on the first pitch from Bryce Miller, who then escaped a two-on jam in a 27-delivery opening frame. Anthony Santander singled in the second inning for Toronto’s sole additional hit, and Seattle pitchers set down 23 out of the final 24 Toronto hitters. Miller, Gabe Speier, Matt Brash and Andrés Muñoz combined to throw just 100 deliveries under two days after the Mariners needed 209 throws to outlast Detroit over 15 frames.

Crucial Batting Plays

Raleigh, the major league home run leader with 60, evened the game in the sixth inning with his ninth home run 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 contributed an RBI single in the eighth.

“We’re a tough team, you know, one through nine,” Raleigh said. “Pitchers came out today, really, really impressed us. They were outstanding. Particularly on short rest and the high pitch count the previous game.”

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

Record 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 Division Series against the Yankees. Miller, the winner, struck out three and walked three in six frames, throwing 72 deliveries. The bullpen trio each had 1-2-3 innings, with Muñoz securing the save.

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

Springer’s 21st postseason home run ended 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 appearances against Kevin 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 Domínguez.

Notable Game Highlights

Eugenio Suárez hit a double off the top of the right-field wall in the seventh against Louis Varland. The 395-foot drive would have been a homer in half of MLB stadiums, including Seattle.

Blue Jays outfielder Nathan Lukes left in the fourth inning. Lukes bruised his right knee when he fouled a pitch off it in the first inning.