Cal Raleigh homered, Jorge Polanco drove in the winning run with a sixth-inning single, and the Seattle Mariners beat the Toronto Blue Jays 3-1 on Sunday evening as they made their return to the ALCS for the initial occasion in two dozen years.
Defensive Dominance on Display
George Springer launched a homer on the opening delivery from Miller, who then got out of 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 Seattle pitchers retired 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 throws to outlast Detroit over 15 frames.
Crucial Offensive Plays
Raleigh, who led the major leagues with 60 homers, evened the game in the sixth inning with his ninth homer in 14 games at Rogers Centre. Kevin Gausman had previously kept batters hitless on splitters in the playoffs before the homer by Raleigh.
Polanco delivered a go-ahead base hit subsequently in the frame and added an run-scoring single in the eighth.
“We’re a tough team, you know, one through nine,” Raleigh said. “Our pitchers performed today, really, really impressed us. They were outstanding. Particularly on short rest and the high pitch count the other day.”
AL West champion Seattle traveled to Toronto, the AL East champion on the prior day after a 3-2 win at home over the Tigers to win the Division Series in the longest winner-take-all game in MLB history.
Record Achievements
The Mariners, the only MLB team to never host a Fall Classic 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 frames, throwing 72 deliveries. The three relievers each had perfect innings, with Muñoz getting the save.
“This is going to be a hard-fought series, man,” 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 all-time list. Raleigh’s homer was his fourth in 15 appearances against Gausman, who took the loss.
Polanco, who had the game-ending single Friday, singled against Brendon Little to drive in Julio Rodríguez, who was walked by Gausman. Polanco added another RBI single against Domínguez.
Memorable Game Highlights
Eugenio Suárez hit a double off the top of the right-field wall in the seventh inning against Louis Varland. The 395-foot drive would have been a homer 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 ball into his knee in the first inning.
