đź”— Share this article Raleigh Hits Home Run as Seattle Mariners Defeat Blue Jays in Much-Anticipated Comeback to ALCS Cal Raleigh homered, Jorge Polanco delivered the go-ahead run with a sixth-inning single, and the Seattle Mariners defeated the Blue Jays 3-1 on Sunday evening as they made their return to the AL Championship Series for the first time in two dozen years. Defensive Mastery on Display George Springer homered on the first pitch from Miller, who then escaped a two-on jam in a 27-delivery opening frame. Anthony Santander hit a single in the second inning for the Blue Jays' only other hit, and Seattle pitchers retired 23 of the Blue Jays’ final 24 batters. Miller, Gabe Speier, Matt Brash and AndrĂ©s Muñoz combined to throw just 100 deliveries less than 48 hours after the Seattle team needed 209 throws to outplay Detroit over 15 innings. Key Offensive Moments Raleigh, the major league home run leader with 60, evened the game in the sixth with his ninth home run 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. “We’re a tough team, 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 previous game.” AL West champion Seattle journeyed to AL East winner Toronto on the prior day after a 3-2 home victory over the Tigers to win the Division Series in the longest winner-take-all game in MLB history. Historic Accomplishments The Mariners, the sole MLB franchise to not have hosted a Fall Classic game, limited Toronto to just two hits after the Blue Jays had 50 hits along with 34 runs in their four-game playoff series against the New York Yankees. Miller, the winner, struck out three and walked three in six innings, throwing 72 deliveries. The three relievers each had 1-2-3 innings, with Muñoz getting the save. “This is going to be a hard-fought series, man,” Toronto manager John Schneider commented. “These guys will be ready for it.” Springer’s 21st postseason home run ended a tie with the Derek Jeter of the Yankees, moving him into sole possession of fifth place on the all-time 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 drive in Julio RodrĂguez, who was walked by Gausman. Polanco later added another run-scoring hit against Seranthony DomĂnguez. Memorable Game Highlights Eugenio Suárez hit a double against the top of the right-field fence in the seventh inning against Varland. The 395-foot hit would have been a home run in 15 of 30 big league ballparks, including Seattle. Blue Jays outfielder Nathan Lukes exited in the fourth. Lukes bruised his right knee when he fouled a pitch off it in the opening frame.