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

Pitching Mastery on Show

George Springer homered on the opening delivery from Bryce Miller, who then got out of a two-on jam in a 27-pitch first inning. Anthony Santander hit a single in the second for the Blue Jays' sole additional hit, and Mariners pitchers set down 23 out of the final 24 Toronto hitters. 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 frames.

Key Offensive Plays

Raleigh, who led the major leagues with 60 homers, evened the game in the sixth inning with his ninth homer in 14 games at Rogers Centre. Kevin Gausman had previously kept batters hitless on splitters in the postseason before the home run by Raleigh.

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

“We are a resilient squad, you know, one through nine,” Raleigh stated. “Our pitchers performed today, really, really impressed us. They did awesome. Especially short rest and how many pitches they threw the previous game.”

AL West champion Seattle journeyed to AL East winner Toronto on Saturday after a 3-2 home victory over the Tigers to win 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, 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, who earned the win, struck out three and walked three in six frames, throwing 72 pitches. 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 commented. “Our team will be prepared for it.”

Springer's 21st playoff homer ended a tie with the Yankees’ Derek Jeter, placing him alone in fifth position on the career list. Raleigh's home run was his fourth in 15 appearances against Kevin 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.

Memorable Game Moments

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

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