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Cal Raleigh homered, Jorge Polanco delivered the go-ahead run with a sixth frame single, and the Mariners overcame the Blue Jays 3-1 Sunday night as they made their return to the ALCS for the first time in two dozen years.

Pitching Mastery on Show

George Springer homered on the opening delivery from Miller, who then escaped a two-on jam in a 27-pitch first inning. Anthony Santander singled in the second for Toronto’s only other hit, and Seattle 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 frames.

Crucial Offensive Plays

Raleigh, who led the major leagues with 60 homers, tied the score in the sixth with his ninth homer in 14 appearances at the Toronto ballpark. Kevin Gausman had held batters to 0 for 16 on splitters in the playoffs before the homer by Raleigh.

Polanco hit a go-ahead single subsequently in the frame and contributed an run-scoring single in the eighth inning.

“We are a resilient squad, you know, one through nine,” Raleigh said. “Our pitchers performed today, extremely impressive. They did awesome. Especially short rest and the high pitch count the previous game.”

Seattle, the AL West titleholder traveled to AL East winner Toronto 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 MLB history.

Historic Achievements

Seattle, the sole MLB franchise to never host a Fall Classic game, held Toronto to two hits after the Blue Jays had 50 hits along with 34 runs in their four-game Division Series against the New York Yankees. Miller, who earned the win, struck out three and walked three in six innings, throwing 72 deliveries. The three relievers each had 1-2-3 innings, with Muñoz securing 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 Derek Jeter of the Yankees, moving him into sole possession of fifth place on the career list. Raleigh’s homer was his fourth in 15 at-bats against Kevin Gausman, who took the loss.

Polanco, who had the game-ending single Friday, hit a single off Brendon Little to bring home Rodríguez, who was issued a walk by the pitcher. Polanco added another RBI single against Domínguez.

Memorable Contest Moments

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 home run in half of MLB stadiums, 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 opening frame.