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Cal Raleigh homered, Jorge Polanco delivered the winning run with a sixth frame single, and the Seattle Mariners beat the Toronto Blue Jays 3-1 on Sunday evening as they returned to the AL Championship Series for the initial occasion in two dozen years.

Pitching Mastery on Display

George Springer homered on the opening delivery from Bryce Miller, who then escaped a bases-threatening situation in a 27-pitch opening frame. Anthony Santander hit a single in the second for the Blue Jays' only other hit, and Seattle pitchers retired 23 of the Blue Jays’ final 24 batters. Miller, Gabe Speier, Matt Brash and Andrés Muñoz joined forces to throw just 100 deliveries less than 48 hours after the Mariners needed 209 throws to outlast the Tigers over 15 innings.

Crucial Batting 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 the catcher.

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

“We are a resilient squad, you know, from top to bottom,” Raleigh said. “Our pitchers performed today, extremely impressive. They did awesome. Especially 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 win the Division Series in the most extended decisive contest in MLB history.

Historic Accomplishments

Seattle, the sole MLB franchise 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 Yankees. Miller, who earned the win, fanned three and issued three walks in six innings, throwing 72 pitches. The three relievers each had perfect innings, with Muñoz securing the save.

“This is going to be a hard-fought series, for sure,” Blue Jays manager John Schneider said. “These guys will be ready 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 homer was his fourth in 15 at-bats against Gausman, who suffered the defeat.

Polanco, the hero of Friday's game, hit a single off Brendon Little to bring home Julio Rodríguez, who was walked by Gausman. Polanco later added another run-scoring hit against Domínguez.

Memorable Game Moments

Eugenio Suárez doubled against the top of the right-field fence in the seventh inning against Louis Varland. The 395-foot hit would have been a homer in 15 of 30 big league ballparks, Seattle’s field included.

Toronto outfielder Nathan Lukes left in the fourth inning. Lukes bruised his right knee when he fouled a ball into his knee in the opening frame.