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Cal Raleigh homered, Jorge Polanco delivered the winning run with a sixth frame single, and the Seattle Mariners beat the Toronto Blue Jays 3-1 Sunday night as they made their return to the AL Championship Series for the initial occasion in 24 years.

Defensive Dominance on Show

George Springer launched a homer on the first pitch from Bryce Miller, who then escaped a bases-threatening situation in a 27-delivery opening frame. Anthony Santander hit a single in the second for the Blue Jays' only other hit, and Seattle pitchers retired 23 out of the final 24 Toronto hitters. The pitching quartet joined forces to throw just 100 pitches less than 48 hours after the Seattle team needed 209 throws to outplay Detroit over 15 frames.

Key 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 Rogers Centre. Kevin Gausman had previously kept batters hitless on splitters in the postseason before the home run by the catcher.

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

“We are a resilient squad, as you know, from top to bottom,” Raleigh said. “Our pitchers performed today, really, really impressed us. They did awesome. Especially short rest and the high pitch count the other day.”

AL West champion Seattle journeyed to AL East winner Toronto on the prior day after a 3-2 win at home over the 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 not have hosted 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 New York Yankees. Miller, the winner, fanned three and issued three walks in six frames, throwing 72 deliveries. The bullpen trio each had perfect innings, with Muñoz getting 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 ended a tie with the Derek Jeter of the Yankees, moving him into sole possession of fifth place on the career list. Raleigh’s homer was his fourth in 15 appearances against Gausman, who took the loss.

Polanco, the hero of Friday's game, singled against Brendon Little to drive in Julio Rodríguez, who was issued a walk by the pitcher. Polanco added another RBI single against Domínguez.

Memorable Game Highlights

Eugenio Suárez doubled off the top of the right-field wall in the seventh inning against Louis Varland. The 395-foot hit 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 ball into his knee in the opening frame.