Cal Raleigh blasted a home run, Jorge Polanco drove in the decisive run with a sixth frame single, and the Seattle Mariners defeated the Toronto Blue Jays 3-1 on Sunday evening as they returned to the AL Championship Series for the first time in two dozen years.
Pitching Dominance on Display
George Springer homered on the first pitch from Miller, who then escaped a two-on jam in a 27-delivery first inning. Anthony Santander hit a single in the second for Toronto’s only other hit, and Mariners pitchers set down 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 Seattle team needed 209 pitches to outplay Detroit over 15 innings.
Key Batting 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 held batters to 0 for 16 on splitters in the postseason before the homer by the catcher.
Polanco delivered a go-ahead base hit subsequently in the frame and contributed an run-scoring single in the eighth inning.
“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 other day.”
AL West champion Seattle traveled to AL East winner Toronto on Saturday after a 3-2 win at home over the Detroit Tigers to claim the Division Series in the longest winner-take-all game in MLB history.
Historic Accomplishments
The Mariners, the only MLB team to not have hosted a Fall Classic game, held Toronto to two hits after the Toronto squad had 50 hits along with 34 runs in their four-game Division Series against the Yankees. Miller, the winner, struck out three and walked three in six innings, throwing 72 pitches. The three relievers each had 1-2-3 innings, with Muñoz getting 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 playoff homer ended a tie with the Yankees’ Derek Jeter, placing him alone in fifth position on the all-time list. Raleigh’s homer was his fourth in 15 at-bats against Kevin Gausman, who suffered the defeat.
Polanco, who had the game-ending single Friday, hit a single off Brendon Little to drive in Julio Rodríguez, who was walked by Gausman. Polanco later added another run-scoring hit against Domínguez.
Memorable Game Moments
Eugenio Suárez hit a double off the top of the right-field wall in the seventh inning against Varland. The 395-foot hit would have been a homer in half of MLB stadiums, Seattle’s field included.
Blue Jays 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.
