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Cal Raleigh homered, Jorge Polanco delivered the winning 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 AL Championship Series for the first time in two dozen years.

Defensive Dominance on Display

George Springer homered on the first pitch from Miller, who then escaped a bases-threatening situation in a 27-pitch first inning. Anthony Santander hit a single in the second for Toronto’s sole additional hit, and Seattle pitchers set down 23 out of the final 24 Toronto hitters. Miller, Gabe Speier, Matt Brash and Andrés Muñoz joined forces to throw just 100 pitches less than 48 hours after the Seattle team needed 209 pitches to outlast Detroit over 15 innings.

Crucial Batting Moments

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

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

“We are a resilient squad, as you know, one through nine,” Raleigh said. “Pitchers came out today, really, really impressed us. They did awesome. Especially short rest and the high pitch count the previous game.”

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

Record Achievements

The Mariners, 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, fanned three and issued three walks in six frames, throwing 72 pitches. The bullpen trio each had perfect innings, with Muñoz securing 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 postseason home run ended a tie with the Yankees’ Derek Jeter, moving him into sole possession of fifth place on the all-time list. Raleigh’s homer was his fourth in 15 at-bats against Gausman, who suffered the defeat.

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

Notable Game Moments

Eugenio Suárez hit a double against the top of the right-field fence in the seventh inning against Louis Varland. The 395-foot hit 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.