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Cal Raleigh homered, Jorge Polanco drove in the decisive run with a sixth frame single, and the Seattle Mariners beat the Toronto Blue Jays 3-1 on Sunday evening as they returned to the AL Championship Series for the initial occasion in two dozen years.

Defensive Mastery on Show

George Springer homered on the opening delivery from Miller, who then got out of a two-on jam in a 27-delivery first inning. Anthony Santander hit a single in the second inning for Toronto’s 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 Seattle team needed 209 pitches to outplay Detroit over 15 frames.

Crucial Offensive Plays

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 held batters to 0 for 16 on splitters in the postseason before the home run by Raleigh.

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

“We’re a tough team, you know, one through nine,” Raleigh said. “Pitchers came out today, extremely impressive. They did awesome. Especially short rest and how many pitches they threw the other day.”

Seattle, the AL West titleholder traveled to AL East winner Toronto on the prior day after a 3-2 win at home over the Detroit Tigers to win the Division Series in the most extended decisive contest in Major League Baseball history.

Historic Achievements

The Mariners, the only MLB team to not have hosted a Fall Classic 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 Yankees. Miller, the winner, struck out three and walked three in six frames, throwing 72 deliveries. The bullpen trio each had perfect innings, with Muñoz getting 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 postseason home run broke a tie with the Yankees’ Derek Jeter, moving him into sole possession of fifth place on the career list. Raleigh’s homer was his fourth in 15 at-bats against Gausman, who took the loss.

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

Notable Game Moments

Eugenio Suárez hit a double 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, including Seattle.

Blue Jays outfielder Nathan Lukes exited in the fourth. Lukes bruised his right knee when he fouled a ball into his knee in the opening frame.