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Cal Raleigh blasted a home run, Jorge Polanco delivered the decisive run with a sixth frame single, and the Mariners overcame the Blue Jays 3-1 Sunday night as they returned to the AL Championship Series for the initial occasion in 24 years.

Defensive Dominance on Show

George Springer homered on the opening delivery from Bryce Miller, who then escaped a bases-threatening situation in a 27-delivery opening frame. Anthony Santander singled in the second for the Blue Jays' only other hit, and Seattle pitchers retired 23 out of the final 24 Toronto hitters. Miller, Gabe Speier, Matt Brash and Andrés Muñoz combined to throw just 100 deliveries under two days after the Mariners needed 209 throws to outlast the Tigers over 15 frames.

Key Offensive Moments

Raleigh, who led the major leagues with 60 homers, evened the game in the sixth inning with his ninth home run in 14 games at Rogers Centre. Kevin Gausman had held batters to 0 for 16 on splitters in the postseason before the homer by Raleigh.

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

“We are a resilient squad, you know, from top to bottom,” Raleigh said. “Our pitchers performed today, extremely impressive. They did awesome. Particularly on short rest and how many pitches they threw the previous game.”

Seattle, the AL West titleholder traveled to Toronto, the AL East champion on the prior day 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.

Historic Accomplishments

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 along with 34 runs in their four-game playoff series against the Yankees. Miller, who earned the win, fanned three and issued three walks in six frames, throwing 72 deliveries. The bullpen trio each had 1-2-3 innings, with Muñoz securing the save.

“This will be a fiercely contested series, man,” Toronto manager John Schneider said. “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 career list. Raleigh’s homer was his fourth in 15 at-bats against Gausman, who took the loss.

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

Memorable Contest Moments

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

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