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Cal Raleigh homered, Jorge Polanco delivered the winning run with a sixth frame single, and the Seattle Mariners defeated the Toronto Blue Jays 3-1 on Sunday evening as they returned to the ALCS for the first time in two dozen years.

Defensive Mastery on Show

George Springer launched a homer on the opening delivery from Miller, who then escaped a bases-threatening situation in a 27-pitch first inning. Anthony Santander singled in the second inning for Toronto’s only other hit, and Seattle pitchers retired 23 out of the final 24 Toronto hitters. Miller, Gabe Speier, Matt Brash and Andrés Muñoz joined forces to throw just 100 pitches under two days after the Mariners needed 209 throws to outlast Detroit over 15 innings.

Crucial Offensive Moments

Raleigh, who led the major leagues with 60 homers, tied the score in the sixth with his ninth home run in 14 games at Rogers Centre. Kevin Gausman had previously kept batters hitless 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’re a tough team, you know, one through nine,” Raleigh stated. “Pitchers came out today, extremely impressive. They did awesome. 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 win at home over the Detroit Tigers to claim the Division Series in the longest winner-take-all game in Major League Baseball history.

Historic Accomplishments

The Mariners, the sole MLB franchise 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 New York Yankees. Miller, the winner, struck out three and walked three in six frames, throwing 72 deliveries. 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,” 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 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 walked by the pitcher. Polanco later added another run-scoring hit against Seranthony 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 home run in half of MLB stadiums, Seattle’s field included.

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