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Cal Raleigh blasted a home run, Jorge Polanco delivered the decisive run with a sixth-inning single, and the Seattle Mariners overcame the Toronto Blue Jays 3-1 Sunday night as they made their return to the ALCS for the first time in 24 years.

Pitching Dominance on Display

George Springer homered on the first pitch from Miller, who then got out of a bases-threatening situation in a 27-delivery first inning. Anthony Santander singled in the second for the Blue Jays' sole additional hit, and Seattle pitchers set down 23 out of the final 24 Toronto hitters. Miller, Gabe Speier, Matt Brash and Andrés Muñoz joined forces to throw just 100 deliveries less than 48 hours after the Seattle team needed 209 throws to outplay the Tigers over 15 frames.

Key Offensive Plays

Raleigh, who led the major leagues with 60 homers, tied the score in the sixth inning with his ninth homer in 14 games at the Toronto ballpark. Kevin Gausman had previously kept batters hitless on splitters in the postseason before the home run by the catcher.

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

“We’re a tough team, you know, one through nine,” Raleigh stated. “Pitchers came out today, extremely impressive. They were outstanding. Especially short rest and how many pitches they threw the previous game.”

Seattle, the AL West titleholder traveled to AL East winner Toronto on Saturday 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.

Record Achievements

The Mariners, the only MLB team to never host a World Series game, held Toronto to 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, struck out three and walked three in six innings, throwing 72 pitches. The bullpen trio each had 1-2-3 innings, with Muñoz securing the save.

“This is going to be a hard-fought series, for sure,” Blue Jays manager John Schneider said. “Our team will be prepared for it.”

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

Polanco, who had the game-ending single Friday, singled against Brendon Little to drive in Rodríguez, who was walked by the pitcher. Polanco added another RBI single against Domínguez.

Memorable Contest Moments

Eugenio Suárez doubled off the top of the right-field wall in the seventh inning against Louis Varland. The 395-foot drive would have been a homer in 15 of 30 big league ballparks, including Seattle.

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