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Cal Raleigh homered, Jorge Polanco delivered the decisive run with a sixth-inning single, and the Seattle Mariners defeated the Blue Jays 3-1 Sunday night as they made their return to the ALCS for the first time in two dozen years.

Pitching Dominance on Display

George Springer homered on the opening delivery from Miller, who then got out of a two-on jam in a 27-pitch first inning. Anthony Santander singled in the second for the Blue Jays' sole additional hit, and Seattle pitchers retired 23 out of the final 24 Toronto hitters. The pitching quartet combined to throw just 100 pitches less than 48 hours after the Mariners needed 209 pitches to outlast Detroit over 15 frames.

Crucial Offensive Plays

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

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

“We’re a tough team, you know, from top to bottom,” Raleigh said. “Our pitchers performed today, really, really impressed us. 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 home victory over the Detroit Tigers to claim the Division Series in the longest winner-take-all game in Major League Baseball history.

Historic Achievements

Seattle, the sole MLB franchise to never host a World Series game, limited Toronto to just two hits after the Blue Jays had 50 hits along with 34 runs in their four-game Division Series against the New York Yankees. Miller, the winner, struck out three and walked three 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,” Blue Jays manager John Schneider commented. “These guys will be ready 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 appearances 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 Gausman. Polanco added another RBI single against Seranthony Domínguez.

Notable Game Moments

Eugenio Suárez doubled against the top of the right-field fence in the seventh against Louis Varland. The 395-foot hit would have been a home run in half of MLB stadiums, 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.