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Cal Raleigh homered, Jorge Polanco drove in the winning run with a sixth frame single, and the Mariners beat the Blue Jays 3-1 Sunday night as they returned to the ALCS for the initial occasion in two dozen years.

Pitching Mastery on Display

George Springer launched a homer on the opening delivery from Bryce Miller, who then got out of a bases-threatening situation in a 27-delivery first inning. 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. Miller, Gabe Speier, Matt Brash and Andrés Muñoz joined forces to throw just 100 pitches under two days after the Seattle team needed 209 pitches to outplay the Tigers over 15 innings.

Key Offensive Moments

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

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

“We’re a tough team, you know, one through nine,” Raleigh stated. “Our pitchers performed today, extremely impressive. They were outstanding. Especially short rest and the high pitch count the other day.”

AL West champion Seattle journeyed to Toronto, the AL East champion on Saturday after a 3-2 win at home over the Tigers to win the Division Series in the longest winner-take-all game in Major League Baseball history.

Record Achievements

Seattle, the only MLB team to not have hosted a Fall Classic 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 New York Yankees. Miller, the winner, fanned three and issued three walks in six frames, throwing 72 pitches. The bullpen trio each had 1-2-3 innings, with Muñoz securing the save.

“This will be a fiercely contested series, for sure,” Toronto manager John Schneider said. “Our team will be prepared for it.”

Springer's 21st playoff homer broke a tie with the Derek Jeter of the Yankees, placing him alone in fifth position on the career list. Raleigh's home run was his fourth in 15 at-bats against Gausman, who took the loss.

Polanco, who had the game-ending single Friday, hit a single off Brendon Little to drive in Rodríguez, who was issued a walk by Gausman. Polanco added another RBI single against Seranthony Domínguez.

Memorable Contest Moments

Eugenio Suárez hit a double 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, including Seattle.

Blue Jays outfielder Nathan Lukes left in the fourth inning. Lukes sustained a right knee bruise when he fouled a ball into his knee in the first inning.