Cal Raleigh homered, Jorge Polanco delivered the decisive run with a sixth-inning single, and the Mariners beat the Blue Jays 3-1 on Sunday evening as they returned to the ALCS for the initial occasion in two dozen years.
Pitching Mastery on Display
George Springer launched a homer on the first pitch from Miller, who then escaped a two-on jam in a 27-delivery 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 joined forces to throw just 100 pitches less than 48 hours after the Mariners needed 209 throws to outlast Detroit over 15 innings.
Key Batting Plays
Raleigh, the major league home run leader with 60, tied the score in the sixth inning with his ninth home run in 14 games at the Toronto ballpark. Kevin Gausman had previously kept batters hitless on splitters in the playoffs before the homer by Raleigh.
Polanco delivered a go-ahead base hit later in the inning and added an RBI single in the eighth.
“We are a resilient squad, as you know, one through nine,” Raleigh stated. “Pitchers came out today, extremely impressive. They were outstanding. Particularly on short rest and how many pitches they threw the other day.”
Seattle, the AL West titleholder traveled to Toronto, the AL East champion on Saturday after a 3-2 home victory over the Detroit Tigers to claim the Division Series in the longest winner-take-all game in Major League Baseball history.
Record Accomplishments
Seattle, the sole MLB franchise to never host 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 New York Yankees. Miller, who earned the win, fanned three and issued three walks in six frames, throwing 72 deliveries. The three relievers each had 1-2-3 innings, with Muñoz securing the save.
“This will be a fiercely contested series, man,” Toronto manager John Schneider commented. “Our team will be prepared 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 homer was his fourth in 15 appearances against Gausman, who suffered the defeat.
Polanco, who had the game-ending single Friday, singled against Brendon Little to bring home Rodríguez, who was walked by Gausman. Polanco added another RBI single against Domínguez.
Notable 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.
Blue Jays outfielder Nathan Lukes left in the fourth inning. Lukes bruised his right knee when he fouled a pitch off it in the first inning.
