đź”— Share this article Cal Raleigh Hits Home Run as Seattle Mariners Overpower Toronto Blue Jays in Much-Anticipated Return to ALCS Cal Raleigh homered, Jorge Polanco drove in the winning run with a sixth-inning single, and the Mariners beat the Blue Jays 3-1 Sunday night as they returned to the ALCS for the initial occasion in two dozen years. Defensive Dominance on Display George Springer launched a homer on the first pitch from Miller, who then got out of a two-on jam in a 27-delivery opening frame. Anthony Santander singled in the second for Toronto’s only other hit, and Mariners pitchers set down 23 of the Blue Jays’ final 24 batters. The pitching quartet joined forces to throw just 100 pitches under two days after the Seattle team needed 209 throws to outlast Detroit over 15 innings. Key Batting Plays Raleigh, who led the major leagues with 60 homers, tied the score in the sixth inning with his ninth homer in 14 games at the Toronto ballpark. Kevin Gausman had held batters to 0 for 16 on splitters in the playoffs before the home run by the catcher. Polanco hit a go-ahead single subsequently in the frame and contributed an run-scoring single in the eighth. “We’re a tough team, you know, from top to bottom,” Raleigh said. “Pitchers came out today, extremely impressive. They did awesome. Especially short rest and how many pitches they threw the other day.” AL West champion Seattle traveled to Toronto, the AL East champion on the prior day after a 3-2 home victory over the Tigers to claim the Division Series in the longest winner-take-all game in Major League Baseball history. Historic Accomplishments Seattle, the only MLB team to never host a Fall Classic game, held Toronto to two hits after the Toronto squad had 50 hits and 34 runs in their four-game Division Series against the Yankees. Miller, who earned the win, struck out three and walked three in six innings, throwing 72 deliveries. The three relievers each had perfect innings, with Muñoz securing the save. “This is going to be a hard-fought series, for sure,” Blue Jays manager John Schneider said. “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 career 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, singled against Brendon Little to bring home RodrĂguez, who was issued a walk by the pitcher. Polanco added another RBI single against Seranthony DomĂnguez. Memorable Game Highlights Eugenio Suárez doubled off the top of the right-field wall in the seventh against Varland. The 395-foot hit would have been a home run in half of MLB stadiums, Seattle’s field included. Blue Jays outfielder Nathan Lukes left in the fourth inning. Lukes bruised his right knee when he fouled a ball into his knee in the first inning.