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Cal Raleigh blasted a home run, Jorge Polanco delivered the decisive run with a sixth-inning single, and the Seattle Mariners overcame the Toronto 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 Display

George Springer launched a homer on the opening delivery from Bryce Miller, who then got out of a two-on jam in a 27-pitch opening frame. Anthony Santander singled in the second for the Blue Jays' sole additional hit, and Mariners 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 throws to outlast Detroit over 15 innings.

Crucial Offensive Plays

Raleigh, the major league home run leader with 60, 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 the catcher.

Polanco delivered a go-ahead base hit later in the inning and added an run-scoring single in the eighth inning.

“We’re a tough team, as you know, one through nine,” Raleigh said. “Our pitchers performed today, extremely impressive. 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 Saturday after a 3-2 win at home over the Detroit Tigers to claim the Division Series in the longest winner-take-all game in Major League Baseball history.

Historic Achievements

The Mariners, 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 playoff 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 is going to be a hard-fought series, for sure,” Toronto 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 career list. Raleigh’s homer was his fourth in 15 at-bats against Gausman, who took the loss.

Polanco, who had the game-ending single Friday, hit a single off Brendon Little to drive in Rodríguez, who was walked by the pitcher. Polanco added another RBI single against Seranthony Domínguez.

Memorable Game Highlights

Eugenio Suárez hit a double off the top of the right-field wall in the seventh inning against Louis Varland. The 395-foot drive would have been a homer in half of MLB stadiums, Seattle’s field included.

Blue Jays outfielder Nathan Lukes exited in the fourth. Lukes bruised his right knee when he fouled a pitch off it in the first inning.