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

Defensive Dominance on Show

George Springer launched a homer on the first pitch from Miller, who then got out of a bases-threatening situation in a 27-delivery first inning. Anthony Santander singled in the second inning for the Blue Jays' sole additional hit, and Mariners pitchers retired 23 of the Blue Jays’ final 24 batters. Miller, Gabe Speier, Matt Brash and Andrés Muñoz joined forces to throw just 100 deliveries under two days after the Seattle team needed 209 pitches to outplay the Tigers 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 homer in 14 games at the Toronto ballpark. Kevin Gausman had previously kept batters hitless on splitters in the playoffs 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 are a resilient squad, you know, one through nine,” Raleigh said. “Our pitchers performed today, really, really impressed us. They were outstanding. Especially short rest and how many pitches they threw the other day.”

Seattle, the AL West titleholder journeyed to AL East winner Toronto on the prior day after a 3-2 win at home over the Tigers to claim the Division Series in the longest winner-take-all game in MLB history.

Historic Achievements

The Mariners, the only MLB team to never host a World Series game, limited Toronto to just two hits after the Blue Jays had 50 hits and 34 runs in their four-game playoff series against the New York Yankees. Miller, the winner, fanned three and issued three walks in six innings, 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. “Our team will be prepared for it.”

Springer's 21st playoff homer broke 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 Kevin Gausman, who took the loss.

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 added another RBI single against Domínguez.

Memorable Game Moments

Eugenio Suárez doubled against the top of the right-field fence 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 left in the fourth inning. Lukes sustained a right knee bruise when he fouled a ball into his knee in the first inning.