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Cal Raleigh blasted a home run, Jorge Polanco delivered the decisive run with a sixth-inning single, and the Mariners overcame the Blue Jays 3-1 on Sunday evening as they made their return to the AL Championship Series for the first time in two dozen years.

Pitching Mastery on Show

George Springer homered on the first pitch from Miller, who then escaped a two-on jam in a 27-delivery opening frame. Anthony Santander singled in the second inning for the Blue Jays' only other hit, and Seattle pitchers set down 23 of the Blue Jays’ final 24 batters. The pitching quartet combined to throw just 100 pitches under two days after the Mariners needed 209 pitches to outlast the Tigers over 15 innings.

Crucial Offensive Moments

Raleigh, who led the major leagues with 60 homers, tied the score in the sixth inning with his ninth homer in 14 games at Rogers Centre. Kevin Gausman had previously kept batters hitless on splitters in the postseason before the home run by Raleigh.

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

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

Seattle, the AL West titleholder journeyed to Toronto, the AL East champion on the prior day after a 3-2 win at home over the Tigers to win the Division Series in the longest winner-take-all game in MLB history.

Historic Accomplishments

Seattle, the only MLB team to not have hosted a World Series game, limited Toronto to just two hits after the Toronto squad had 50 hits and 34 runs in their four-game playoff series against the Yankees. Miller, the winner, struck out three and walked three in six innings, throwing 72 deliveries. The three relievers each had perfect innings, with Muñoz securing the save.

“This is going to be a hard-fought 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 Yankees’ Derek Jeter, placing him alone in fifth position on the all-time list. Raleigh’s homer was his fourth in 15 at-bats against Gausman, who suffered the defeat.

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

Notable Game Highlights

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.

Toronto outfielder Nathan Lukes exited in the fourth. Lukes sustained a right knee bruise when he fouled a pitch off it in the opening frame.