Cal Raleigh homered, Jorge Polanco delivered the go-ahead run with a sixth-inning single, and the Mariners defeated the Toronto Blue Jays 3-1 Sunday night as they made their return to the ALCS for the initial occasion in 24 years.
Pitching Mastery on Display
George Springer launched a homer on the opening delivery from Bryce Miller, who then escaped a bases-threatening situation in a 27-pitch first inning. Anthony Santander hit a single in the second for the Blue Jays' sole additional 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 throws to outlast the Tigers over 15 innings.
Key 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 home run by the catcher.
Polanco hit a go-ahead single later in the inning and added an run-scoring single in the eighth inning.
“We are a resilient squad, you know, one through nine,” Raleigh said. “Pitchers came out today, extremely impressive. They were outstanding. Especially short rest and how many pitches they threw the other day.”
Seattle, the AL West titleholder traveled to AL East winner Toronto on the prior day 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 not have hosted a Fall Classic game, limited Toronto to just two hits after the Blue Jays had 50 hits along with 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 deliveries. The bullpen trio each had 1-2-3 innings, with Muñoz getting the save.
“This will be a fiercely contested series, for sure,” Toronto manager John Schneider said. “These guys will be ready for it.”
Springer’s 21st postseason home run broke a tie with the Derek Jeter of the Yankees, moving him into sole possession of fifth place on the all-time list. Raleigh’s homer was his fourth in 15 at-bats against Kevin Gausman, who took the loss.
Polanco, the hero of Friday's game, hit a single off Brendon Little to bring home Rodríguez, who was walked by the pitcher. Polanco added another RBI single against Seranthony Domínguez.
Notable Game Highlights
Eugenio Suárez doubled off the top of the right-field wall in the seventh inning against Louis Varland. The 395-foot hit would have been a homer 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.
