Cal Raleigh homered, Jorge Polanco delivered the decisive run with a sixth frame single, and the Seattle Mariners overcame the Blue Jays 3-1 on Sunday evening as they made their return to the AL Championship Series for the initial occasion in two dozen years.
Pitching Dominance on Display
George Springer homered on the opening delivery from Miller, who then escaped a bases-threatening situation in a 27-pitch first inning. Anthony Santander hit a single in the second inning for Toronto’s 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 under two days after the Mariners needed 209 pitches to outplay the Tigers over 15 frames.
Key Batting Moments
Raleigh, who led the major leagues with 60 homers, tied the score in the sixth with his ninth home run in 14 appearances at the Toronto ballpark. 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 contributed an RBI single in the eighth.
“We are a resilient squad, as you know, from top to bottom,” Raleigh stated. “Our pitchers performed today, really, really impressed us. They did awesome. Particularly on short rest and the high pitch count the other day.”
AL West champion Seattle traveled to Toronto, the AL East champion on Saturday 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.
Record Accomplishments
Seattle, the only MLB team to not have hosted a World Series 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 Yankees. Miller, who earned the win, struck out three and walked three in six frames, throwing 72 pitches. The bullpen trio each had perfect 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 playoff homer broke a tie with the Derek Jeter of the Yankees, placing him alone in fifth position on the career list. Raleigh’s homer was his fourth in 15 at-bats against Gausman, who suffered the defeat.
Polanco, who had the game-ending single Friday, singled against Brendon Little to bring home Julio Rodríguez, who was issued a walk by Gausman. Polanco later added another run-scoring hit against Domínguez.
Notable Game Moments
Eugenio Suárez doubled against the top of the right-field fence in the seventh against Louis Varland. The 395-foot hit would have been a home run in 15 of 30 big league ballparks, including Seattle.
Toronto outfielder Nathan Lukes left in the fourth inning. Lukes sustained a right knee bruise when he fouled a pitch off it in the first inning.
