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Cal Raleigh homered, Jorge Polanco delivered the go-ahead run with a sixth frame single, and the Seattle Mariners beat the Blue Jays 3-1 on Sunday evening as they returned to the AL Championship Series for the first time in two dozen years.

Defensive Dominance on Show

George Springer homered on the opening delivery from Bryce Miller, who then got out of a bases-threatening situation in a 27-pitch opening frame. Anthony Santander singled in the second 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 deliveries under two days after the Mariners needed 209 pitches to outplay Detroit over 15 frames.

Crucial Offensive Plays

Raleigh, the major league home run leader with 60, evened the game in the sixth inning with his ninth homer 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 Raleigh.

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

“We are a resilient squad, you know, one through nine,” Raleigh stated. “Our pitchers performed 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 Toronto, the AL East champion on Saturday after a 3-2 win at home 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 Blue Jays 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 innings, 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, for sure,” Blue Jays manager John Schneider said. “These guys will be ready for it.”

Springer's 21st playoff homer broke a tie with the Derek Jeter of the Yankees, moving him into sole possession of fifth place on the career list. Raleigh's home run was his fourth in 15 at-bats against Kevin Gausman, who suffered the defeat.

Polanco, who had the game-ending single Friday, hit a single off Brendon Little to bring home Rodríguez, who was issued a walk by the pitcher. Polanco later added another run-scoring hit against Seranthony Domínguez.

Notable Contest Moments

Eugenio Suárez hit a double off the top of the right-field wall in the seventh inning against Louis Varland. The 395-foot drive would have been a home run in half of MLB stadiums, Seattle’s field included.

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