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

Pitching Mastery on Display

George Springer launched a homer on the first pitch from Miller, who then got out of a two-on jam in a 27-pitch first inning. Anthony Santander singled in the second for Toronto’s sole additional hit, and Seattle pitchers retired 23 of the Blue Jays’ final 24 batters. Miller, Gabe Speier, Matt Brash and Andrés Muñoz joined forces to throw just 100 pitches less than 48 hours after the Mariners needed 209 throws to outplay Detroit over 15 innings.

Crucial Offensive Plays

Raleigh, who led the major leagues with 60 homers, tied the score in the sixth 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 subsequently in the frame and added an RBI single in the eighth inning.

“We are a resilient squad, as you know, from top to bottom,” Raleigh said. “Pitchers came out today, really, really impressed us. They did awesome. Particularly on short rest and how many pitches they threw the other day.”

AL West champion Seattle journeyed to Toronto, the AL East champion on the prior day after a 3-2 home victory 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, held Toronto to two hits after the Toronto squad had 50 hits and 34 runs in their four-game playoff series against the Yankees. Miller, the winner, fanned three and issued three walks in six innings, 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. “These guys will be ready for it.”

Springer's 21st playoff homer ended 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 appearances against Gausman, who suffered the defeat.

Polanco, who had the game-ending single Friday, singled against Brendon Little to bring home Julio 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 Louis Varland. The 395-foot drive would have been a home run in 15 of 30 big league ballparks, Seattle’s field included.

Toronto outfielder Nathan Lukes left in the fourth inning. Lukes bruised his right knee when he fouled a ball into his knee in the first inning.