Cal Raleigh homered, Jorge Polanco drove in the go-ahead run with a sixth frame single, and the Seattle Mariners overcame the Toronto Blue Jays 3-1 on Sunday evening as they returned to the ALCS for the initial occasion in 24 years.
Pitching Dominance on Display
George Springer homered on the first pitch from Miller, who then escaped a bases-threatening situation in a 27-delivery first inning. Anthony Santander singled in the second for Toronto’s only other hit, and Seattle pitchers retired 23 of the Blue Jays’ final 24 batters. Miller, Gabe Speier, Matt Brash and Andrés Muñoz combined to throw just 100 pitches under two days after the Seattle team needed 209 pitches to outplay Detroit over 15 innings.
Key Offensive Plays
Raleigh, who led the major leagues with 60 homers, evened the game in the sixth inning with his ninth homer in 14 games at Rogers Centre. Kevin Gausman had held batters to 0 for 16 on splitters in the postseason before the home run by Raleigh.
Polanco hit a go-ahead single later in the inning and contributed an run-scoring single in the eighth inning.
“We are a resilient squad, you know, one through nine,” Raleigh stated. “Our pitchers performed today, extremely impressive. They did awesome. Particularly on short rest and the high pitch count the other day.”
AL West champion Seattle traveled to AL East winner Toronto 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 never host 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 bullpen trio 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. “These guys will be ready for it.”
Springer's 21st playoff homer broke a tie with the Derek Jeter of the Yankees, moving him into sole possession of fifth place on the career list. Raleigh's home run 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 Rodríguez, who was issued a walk by Gausman. Polanco later added another run-scoring hit against Seranthony Domínguez.
Notable 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, including Seattle.
Toronto 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.
