Cal Raleigh blasted a home run, Jorge Polanco drove in the go-ahead run with a sixth frame single, and the Seattle Mariners beat the Toronto Blue Jays 3-1 Sunday night as they returned to the AL Championship Series for the initial occasion in two dozen years.
Defensive Mastery on Show
George Springer homered on the opening delivery from Miller, who then got out of a two-on jam in a 27-pitch opening frame. Anthony Santander hit a single in the second inning for the Blue Jays' only other hit, and Seattle pitchers set down 23 out of the final 24 Toronto hitters. Miller, Gabe Speier, Matt Brash and Andrés Muñoz combined to throw just 100 pitches under two days after the Mariners needed 209 throws to outlast the Tigers 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 appearances at the Toronto ballpark. Kevin Gausman had held batters to 0 for 16 on splitters in the postseason before the home run by the catcher.
Polanco hit a go-ahead single later in the inning and contributed an RBI single in the eighth inning.
“We are a resilient squad, you know, from top to bottom,” Raleigh stated. “Our pitchers performed today, extremely impressive. They did awesome. Especially short rest and the high pitch count the other day.”
Seattle, the AL West titleholder traveled to Toronto, the AL East champion on Saturday after a 3-2 home victory over the Detroit 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 not have hosted a Fall Classic game, held Toronto to two hits after the Blue Jays had 50 hits and 34 runs in their four-game playoff series against the Yankees. Miller, the winner, struck out three and walked three in six frames, throwing 72 deliveries. The three relievers each had perfect innings, with Muñoz securing the save.
“This is going to be a hard-fought series, for sure,” Blue Jays manager John Schneider commented. “Our team will be prepared for it.”
Springer's 21st playoff homer ended a tie with the Derek Jeter of the Yankees, 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 took the loss.
Polanco, the hero of Friday's game, singled against Brendon Little to bring home Rodríguez, who was issued a walk by the pitcher. Polanco added another RBI single against Domínguez.
Memorable Contest Highlights
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 15 of 30 big league ballparks, including Seattle.
Toronto outfielder Nathan Lukes left in the fourth inning. Lukes bruised his right knee when he fouled a pitch off it in the first inning.
