Cal Raleigh homered, Jorge Polanco drove in the decisive run with a sixth-inning single, and the Mariners defeated the Toronto Blue Jays 3-1 Sunday night as they returned to the ALCS for the initial occasion in two dozen years.
Pitching Mastery on Show
George Springer launched a homer on the opening delivery from Miller, who then got out of a bases-threatening situation in a 27-delivery first inning. Anthony Santander hit a single in the second for Toronto’s only other hit, and Seattle pitchers set down 23 out of the final 24 Toronto hitters. The pitching quartet joined forces to throw just 100 pitches under two days after the Mariners needed 209 pitches to outplay the Tigers over 15 innings.
Crucial Offensive Moments
Raleigh, the major league home run leader with 60, tied the score in the sixth inning with his ninth homer in 14 appearances at Rogers Centre. Kevin Gausman had previously kept batters hitless on splitters in the postseason before the home run by Raleigh.
Polanco hit a go-ahead single later in the inning and added an RBI single in the eighth inning.
“We are a resilient squad, you know, from top to bottom,” Raleigh stated. “Our pitchers performed today, really, really impressed us. They were outstanding. Particularly on short rest and how many pitches they threw the other day.”
AL West champion Seattle traveled to Toronto, the AL East champion on Saturday after a 3-2 win at home over the Detroit Tigers to win the Division Series in the longest winner-take-all game in MLB history.
Historic Achievements
The Mariners, the only MLB team to not have hosted a World Series game, limited Toronto to just two hits after the Blue Jays had 50 hits and 34 runs in their four-game playoff series against the New York Yankees. Miller, who earned the win, struck out three and walked three in six frames, throwing 72 pitches. The three relievers each had perfect innings, with Muñoz getting the save.
“This is going to be a hard-fought series, man,” Blue Jays manager John Schneider said. “Our team will be prepared for it.”
Springer’s 21st postseason home run ended a tie with the Yankees’ Derek Jeter, placing him alone in fifth position on the all-time list. Raleigh's home run was his fourth in 15 at-bats against Gausman, who suffered the defeat.
Polanco, who had the game-ending single Friday, singled against Brendon Little to drive in Rodríguez, who was walked by Gausman. Polanco later added another run-scoring hit against Domínguez.
Notable Game Highlights
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 home run in 15 of 30 big league ballparks, Seattle’s field included.
Toronto outfielder Nathan Lukes exited in the fourth. Lukes sustained a right knee bruise when he fouled a pitch off it in the first inning.
