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Cal Raleigh homered, Jorge Polanco delivered the winning run with a sixth-inning single, and the Mariners defeated the Blue Jays 3-1 on Sunday evening as they returned to the AL Championship Series for the first time in two dozen years.

Pitching Dominance on Show

George Springer launched a homer on the opening delivery from Bryce Miller, who then got out of a bases-threatening situation in a 27-pitch first inning. Anthony Santander singled in the second for Toronto’s sole additional 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 Mariners needed 209 pitches to outlast Detroit over 15 innings.

Crucial Batting Plays

Raleigh, who led the major leagues with 60 homers, tied the score in the sixth inning with his ninth home run in 14 appearances at the Toronto ballpark. Kevin Gausman had held batters to 0 for 16 on splitters in the playoffs before the home run by the catcher.

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

“We’re a tough team, you know, from top to bottom,” Raleigh said. “Pitchers came out today, extremely impressive. They did awesome. Particularly on short rest and the high pitch count the previous game.”

Seattle, the AL West titleholder journeyed to Toronto, the AL East champion on Saturday after a 3-2 home victory over the Detroit Tigers to win the Division Series in the most extended decisive contest in MLB history.

Record Accomplishments

Seattle, the sole MLB franchise to not have hosted 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, fanned three and issued three walks in six frames, throwing 72 deliveries. The three relievers each had 1-2-3 innings, with Muñoz getting the save.

“This is going to be a hard-fought series, man,” Blue Jays manager John Schneider said. “Our team will be prepared for it.”

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

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

Memorable Game Highlights

Eugenio Suárez doubled against the top of the right-field fence in the seventh inning against Varland. The 395-foot drive would have been a home run in 15 of 30 big league ballparks, including Seattle.

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