Cal Raleigh blasted a home run, Jorge Polanco drove in the decisive run with a sixth-inning single, and the 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.
Pitching Mastery on Show
George Springer homered on the opening delivery from Bryce Miller, who then escaped a two-on jam in a 27-pitch first inning. Anthony Santander singled in the second inning for the Blue Jays' sole additional hit, and Mariners 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 Mariners needed 209 throws to outplay Detroit over 15 frames.
Key Offensive 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 Raleigh.
Polanco hit a go-ahead single subsequently in the frame and added an run-scoring single in the eighth.
“We are a resilient squad, you know, from top to bottom,” Raleigh stated. “Our pitchers performed today, really, really impressed us. They did awesome. Particularly on short rest and how many pitches they threw the previous game.”
AL West champion Seattle traveled to Toronto, the AL East champion on the prior day 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
Seattle, the only MLB team to not have hosted a World Series game, held Toronto to two hits after the Blue Jays had 50 hits and 34 runs in their four-game Division Series against the Yankees. Miller, who earned the win, struck out three and walked three in six innings, throwing 72 deliveries. The bullpen trio each had 1-2-3 innings, with Muñoz getting the save.
“This will be a fiercely contested series, man,” Toronto manager John Schneider said. “These guys will be ready 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 appearances against Kevin Gausman, who suffered the defeat.
Polanco, who had the game-ending single Friday, singled against Brendon Little to bring home Julio Rodríguez, who was issued a walk by Gausman. Polanco later added another run-scoring hit against Domínguez.
Notable Contest Highlights
Eugenio Suárez hit a double against the top of the right-field fence in the seventh inning against Varland. The 395-foot hit would have been a homer in half of MLB stadiums, including Seattle.
Blue Jays outfielder Nathan Lukes exited in the fourth. Lukes bruised his right knee when he fouled a ball into his knee in the opening frame.
