Cal Raleigh homered, Jorge Polanco drove in the winning run with a sixth frame single, and the Mariners beat the Toronto Blue Jays 3-1 Sunday night as they made their return to the AL Championship Series for the initial occasion in two dozen years.
Pitching Mastery on Show
George Springer launched a homer on the opening delivery from Miller, who then got out of a bases-threatening situation in a 27-delivery opening frame. Anthony Santander singled in the second inning for Toronto’s only other hit, and Seattle pitchers retired 23 out of the final 24 Toronto hitters. Miller, Gabe Speier, Matt Brash and Andrés Muñoz combined to throw just 100 deliveries less than 48 hours after the Seattle team needed 209 pitches to outplay the Tigers over 15 frames.
Key Batting Plays
Raleigh, who led the major leagues with 60 homers, evened the game in the sixth inning with his ninth homer in 14 appearances at Rogers Centre. Kevin Gausman had previously kept batters hitless on splitters in the playoffs before the home run by Raleigh.
Polanco delivered a go-ahead base hit later in the inning and contributed an run-scoring single in the eighth inning.
“We are a resilient squad, as you know, from top to bottom,” Raleigh said. “Our pitchers performed today, extremely impressive. They were outstanding. Particularly on short rest and how many pitches they threw the previous game.”
Seattle, the AL West titleholder 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 Major League Baseball history.
Historic Accomplishments
Seattle, the sole MLB franchise to not have hosted 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 Division 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 1-2-3 innings, with Muñoz securing the save.
“This is going to be a hard-fought series, man,” Toronto manager John Schneider commented. “Our team will be prepared for it.”
Springer’s 21st postseason home run ended a tie with the Derek Jeter of the Yankees, placing him alone in fifth position on the all-time list. Raleigh's home run was his fourth in 15 appearances against Kevin Gausman, who suffered the defeat.
Polanco, who had the game-ending single Friday, singled against Brendon Little to drive in Julio Rodríguez, who was issued a walk by Gausman. Polanco added another RBI single against Seranthony Domínguez.
Memorable Contest Moments
Eugenio Suárez hit a double off the top of the right-field wall in the seventh inning against Varland. The 395-foot drive would have been a home run in 15 of 30 big league ballparks, including Seattle.
Blue Jays 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.
