Raleigh Homers as Seattle Mariners Defeat Toronto Blue Jays in Much-Anticipated Return to ALCS

Cal Raleigh homered, Jorge Polanco delivered the decisive run with a sixth-inning single, and the Seattle Mariners defeated the Blue Jays 3-1 Sunday night as they returned to the AL Championship Series for the initial occasion in two dozen years.

Pitching Dominance on Display

George Springer launched a homer on the first pitch from Bryce Miller, who then got out of a bases-threatening situation in a 27-pitch first inning. Anthony Santander singled in the second for Toronto’s sole additional hit, and Seattle pitchers retired 23 out of the final 24 Toronto hitters. The pitching quartet combined to throw just 100 pitches under two days after the Mariners needed 209 pitches to outlast the Tigers over 15 innings.

Key Offensive Plays

Raleigh, who led the major leagues with 60 homers, evened the game in the sixth with his ninth homer in 14 appearances at the Toronto ballpark. Kevin Gausman had previously kept batters hitless on splitters in the postseason before the homer by Raleigh.

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

“We’re a tough team, you know, one through nine,” Raleigh stated. “Our pitchers performed today, extremely impressive. They were outstanding. 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 home victory over the Detroit Tigers to win the Division Series in the most extended decisive contest in Major League Baseball history.

Record Achievements

Seattle, the sole MLB franchise to never host a Fall Classic game, limited Toronto to just two hits after the Toronto squad had 50 hits along with 34 runs in their four-game playoff series against the New York Yankees. Miller, the winner, fanned three and issued three walks in six frames, throwing 72 pitches. The bullpen trio each had perfect innings, with Muñoz securing the save.

“This will be a fiercely contested series, for sure,” Blue Jays manager John Schneider commented. “These guys will be ready 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 home run was his fourth in 15 at-bats against Gausman, who took the loss.

Polanco, the hero of Friday's game, singled against Brendon Little to drive in Julio Rodríguez, who was issued a walk by Gausman. Polanco added another RBI single against Domínguez.

Memorable Game Highlights

Eugenio Suárez hit a double off the top of the right-field wall in the seventh against Varland. The 395-foot drive would have been a home run in half of MLB stadiums, including Seattle.

Toronto outfielder Nathan Lukes exited in the fourth. Lukes sustained a right knee bruise when he fouled a ball into his knee in the first inning.