Cal Raleigh homered, Jorge Polanco drove in the decisive run with a sixth frame single, and the Mariners defeated the Blue Jays 3-1 Sunday night as they made their return to the ALCS for the initial occasion in 24 years.
Defensive Mastery on Show
George Springer homered on the opening delivery from Miller, who then escaped a bases-threatening situation in a 27-pitch opening frame. Anthony Santander hit a single in the second inning for Toronto’s sole additional hit, and Seattle pitchers set down 23 out of the final 24 Toronto hitters. Miller, Gabe Speier, Matt Brash and Andrés Muñoz joined forces to throw just 100 pitches under two days after the Mariners needed 209 pitches to outlast Detroit over 15 frames.
Crucial Offensive Moments
Raleigh, who led the major leagues with 60 homers, evened the game 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 homer by Raleigh.
Polanco hit a go-ahead single later in the inning and contributed an RBI single in the eighth inning.
“We are a resilient squad, as you know, one through nine,” Raleigh said. “Our pitchers performed today, extremely impressive. They were outstanding. Particularly on short rest and how many pitches they threw the other day.”
Seattle, the AL West titleholder traveled to Toronto, the AL East champion on the prior day after a 3-2 win at home over the Tigers to claim the Division Series in the longest winner-take-all game in MLB history.
Historic Achievements
Seattle, the only MLB team to never host a Fall Classic 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, fanned three and issued three walks in six frames, throwing 72 deliveries. The bullpen trio each had 1-2-3 innings, with Muñoz getting the save.
“This is going to be a hard-fought series, for sure,” Toronto manager John Schneider commented. “Our team will be prepared for it.”
Springer’s 21st postseason home run broke 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 took the loss.
Polanco, the hero of Friday's game, hit a single off Brendon Little to drive in Julio Rodríguez, who was walked by Gausman. Polanco later added another run-scoring hit against Seranthony Domínguez.
Memorable Game Moments
Eugenio Suárez hit a double against the top of the right-field fence in the seventh against Varland. The 395-foot drive would have been a home run in 15 of 30 big league ballparks, 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 first inning.
