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

Pitching Dominance on Display

George Springer homered on the opening delivery from Miller, who then got out of a bases-threatening situation in a 27-delivery opening frame. Anthony Santander hit a single in the second inning for the Blue Jays' sole additional hit, and Seattle pitchers retired 23 of the Blue Jays’ final 24 batters. Miller, Gabe Speier, Matt Brash and Andrés Muñoz combined to throw just 100 pitches less than 48 hours after the Mariners needed 209 throws to outlast Detroit over 15 innings.

Crucial Offensive Plays

Raleigh, who led the major leagues with 60 homers, evened the game in the sixth with his ninth homer in 14 games at Rogers Centre. Kevin Gausman had previously kept batters hitless on splitters in the postseason before the homer by Raleigh.

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, as you know, from top to bottom,” Raleigh stated. “Our pitchers performed today, extremely impressive. They did awesome. Particularly on short rest and the high pitch count the other day.”

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

Record Achievements

Seattle, the sole MLB franchise to never host a World Series game, limited Toronto to just two hits after the Toronto squad had 50 hits and 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 three relievers each had perfect innings, with Muñoz securing the save.

“This will be a fiercely contested series, for sure,” Toronto manager John Schneider said. “These guys will be ready for it.”

Springer’s 21st postseason home run broke a tie with the Derek Jeter of the Yankees, 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, the hero of Friday's game, hit a single off Brendon Little to bring home Julio Rodríguez, who was issued a walk by Gausman. Polanco later added another run-scoring hit against Domínguez.

Memorable Contest Highlights

Eugenio Suárez hit a double against the top of the right-field fence in the seventh against Louis Varland. The 395-foot drive would have been a home run in half of MLB stadiums, Seattle’s field included.

Blue Jays outfielder Nathan Lukes exited in the fourth. Lukes bruised his right knee when he fouled a pitch off it in the first inning.