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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 Toronto Blue Jays 3-1 Sunday night as they returned to the AL Championship Series for the first time in two dozen years.

Defensive Mastery on Display

George Springer launched a homer on the first pitch from Bryce Miller, who then escaped a two-on jam in a 27-pitch first inning. Anthony Santander hit a single in the second inning for Toronto’s only other hit, and Mariners pitchers set down 23 of the Blue Jays’ final 24 batters. The pitching quartet joined forces to throw just 100 pitches under two days after the Seattle team needed 209 pitches to outlast Detroit over 15 innings.

Crucial Offensive Plays

Raleigh, who led the major leagues with 60 homers, tied the score 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 home run by the catcher.

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

“We’re a tough team, as you know, from top to bottom,” Raleigh said. “Pitchers came out today, extremely impressive. They were outstanding. Especially short rest and the high pitch count the other day.”

Seattle, the AL West titleholder journeyed to AL East winner Toronto on Saturday after a 3-2 home victory over the Detroit Tigers to win the Division Series in the most extended decisive contest in MLB history.

Record Accomplishments

The Mariners, the only MLB team to never host a Fall Classic 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 New York Yankees. Miller, the winner, struck out three and walked three in six frames, throwing 72 deliveries. The three relievers each had 1-2-3 innings, with Muñoz securing the save.

“This is going to be a hard-fought series, man,” Toronto manager John Schneider commented. “Our team will be prepared for it.”

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

Polanco, the hero of Friday's game, singled against Brendon Little to drive in Rodríguez, who was walked by Gausman. Polanco added another RBI single against Domínguez.

Memorable Contest Moments

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, Seattle’s field included.

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