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Cal Raleigh blasted a home run, Jorge Polanco delivered the winning run with a sixth frame single, and the Seattle Mariners beat the Toronto Blue Jays 3-1 Sunday night as they made their return to the AL Championship Series for the initial occasion in 24 years.

Pitching Mastery on Show

George Springer launched a homer on the opening delivery from Miller, who then escaped a two-on jam in a 27-delivery first inning. Anthony Santander singled in the second inning for the Blue Jays' only other hit, and Mariners pitchers set down 23 out of the final 24 Toronto hitters. The pitching quartet combined to throw just 100 deliveries less than 48 hours after the Mariners needed 209 throws to outplay the Tigers over 15 frames.

Key Batting Moments

Raleigh, who led the major leagues with 60 homers, evened the game in the sixth with his ninth home run in 14 games at the Toronto ballpark. Kevin Gausman had held batters to 0 for 16 on splitters in the playoffs 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, from top to bottom,” Raleigh said. “Our pitchers performed today, extremely impressive. They were outstanding. Particularly on short rest and how many pitches they threw the previous game.”

AL West champion Seattle traveled to Toronto, the AL East champion on Saturday after a 3-2 home victory over the Tigers to claim the Division Series in the most extended decisive contest in MLB history.

Historic Achievements

Seattle, the sole MLB franchise to not have hosted a World Series game, limited Toronto to just two hits after the Blue Jays had 50 hits and 34 runs in their four-game playoff series against the New York Yankees. Miller, the winner, struck out three and walked three in six innings, throwing 72 deliveries. The bullpen trio each had perfect innings, with Muñoz securing 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 broke a tie with the Yankees’ Derek Jeter, moving him into sole possession of fifth place on the all-time list. Raleigh’s homer was his fourth in 15 at-bats against Gausman, who took the loss.

Polanco, the hero of Friday's game, hit a single off Brendon Little to bring home Julio Rodríguez, who was issued a walk by Gausman. Polanco later added another run-scoring hit against Domínguez.

Notable Contest Moments

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

Toronto outfielder Nathan Lukes exited in the fourth. Lukes bruised his right knee when he fouled a pitch off it in the opening frame.