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Cal Raleigh blasted a home run, Jorge Polanco drove in the winning run with a sixth-inning single, and the Seattle Mariners beat the Blue Jays 3-1 Sunday night as they returned to the ALCS for the first time in 24 years.

Pitching Dominance on Display

George Springer homered on the opening delivery from Bryce Miller, who then got out of a bases-threatening situation in a 27-delivery opening frame. Anthony Santander singled in the second for Toronto’s sole additional hit, and Seattle pitchers set down 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 Seattle team needed 209 pitches to outplay Detroit over 15 frames.

Key Batting Plays

Raleigh, who led the major leagues with 60 homers, evened the game in the sixth with his ninth home run in 14 appearances at Rogers Centre. Kevin Gausman had previously kept batters hitless on splitters in the postseason before the homer 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, you know, one through nine,” Raleigh said. “Pitchers came out today, really, really impressed us. They did awesome. Especially short rest and how many pitches they threw the previous game.”

Seattle, the AL West titleholder traveled to Toronto, the AL East champion 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 Major League Baseball history.

Historic Achievements

Seattle, the only MLB team 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, who earned the win, fanned three and issued three walks in six innings, throwing 72 deliveries. The bullpen trio each had 1-2-3 innings, with Muñoz securing the save.

“This will be a fiercely contested series, for sure,” Toronto manager John Schneider commented. “Our team will be prepared for it.”

Springer’s 21st postseason home run broke a tie with the Derek Jeter of the Yankees, placing him alone in fifth position on the all-time list. Raleigh's home run was his fourth in 15 appearances against Kevin Gausman, who took the loss.

Polanco, the hero of Friday's game, singled against Brendon Little to drive in Julio Rodríguez, who was walked by the pitcher. Polanco later added another run-scoring hit against Seranthony Domínguez.

Memorable Game Highlights

Eugenio Suárez doubled 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 half of MLB stadiums, 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.