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Cal Raleigh blasted a home run, Jorge Polanco delivered the go-ahead run with a sixth frame single, and the Seattle Mariners defeated the Toronto Blue Jays 3-1 on Sunday evening as they made their return to the AL Championship Series for the initial occasion in two dozen years.

Pitching Mastery on Show

George Springer homered on the opening delivery from Miller, who then escaped a two-on jam in a 27-delivery opening frame. Anthony Santander hit a single in the second inning for the Blue Jays' only other hit, and Mariners pitchers set down 23 out of the final 24 Toronto hitters. The pitching quartet joined forces to throw just 100 deliveries under two days after the Seattle team needed 209 pitches to outlast Detroit over 15 frames.

Key Offensive Moments

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 Rogers Centre. Kevin Gausman had previously kept batters hitless on splitters in the playoffs before the homer by Raleigh.

Polanco hit a go-ahead single later in the inning and contributed 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.”

AL West champion Seattle traveled to AL East winner Toronto 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.

Record Achievements

The Mariners, the sole MLB franchise to not have hosted a World Series game, limited Toronto to just two hits after the Toronto squad had 50 hits along with 34 runs in their four-game Division Series against the New York Yankees. Miller, who earned the win, 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, man,” Blue Jays manager John Schneider said. “These guys will be ready for it.”

Springer's 21st playoff homer broke a tie with the Derek Jeter of the Yankees, moving him into sole possession of fifth place on the career list. Raleigh's home run was his fourth in 15 appearances against Kevin Gausman, who took the loss.

Polanco, who had the game-ending single Friday, singled against Brendon Little to drive in Rodríguez, who was walked by the pitcher. Polanco added another RBI single against Domínguez.

Memorable Game Moments

Eugenio Suárez doubled off the top of the right-field wall in the seventh against Louis Varland. The 395-foot drive would have been a homer in half of MLB stadiums, 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.