Cal Raleigh blasted a home run, Jorge Polanco delivered the decisive run with a sixth-inning single, and the Seattle Mariners beat the Toronto Blue Jays 3-1 on Sunday evening as they made their return to the AL Championship Series for the initial occasion in 24 years.
Pitching Dominance on Display
George Springer homered on the first pitch from Bryce Miller, who then got out of a bases-threatening situation in a 27-pitch first inning. Anthony Santander hit a single in the second for the Blue Jays' only other hit, and Seattle pitchers set down 23 out of the final 24 Toronto hitters. The pitching quartet joined forces to throw just 100 deliveries under two days after the Seattle team needed 209 pitches to outlast the Tigers over 15 innings.
Key Offensive Plays
Raleigh, who led the major leagues with 60 homers, evened the game in the sixth with his ninth homer in 14 games at the Toronto ballpark. Kevin Gausman had held batters to 0 for 16 on splitters in the postseason before the homer by Raleigh.
Polanco delivered a go-ahead base hit subsequently in the frame and contributed an RBI single in the eighth.
“We are a resilient squad, you know, from top to bottom,” Raleigh stated. “Pitchers came out today, extremely impressive. They did awesome. Especially 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 win at home over the Detroit Tigers to claim the Division Series in the longest winner-take-all game in MLB history.
Record Accomplishments
The Mariners, the sole MLB franchise 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 Division Series against the New York Yankees. Miller, the winner, fanned three and issued three walks in six frames, 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, for sure,” Blue Jays manager John Schneider commented. “These guys will be ready for it.”
Springer's 21st playoff homer broke 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 bring home Rodríguez, who was walked by Gausman. Polanco added another RBI single against Domínguez.
Memorable Game Moments
Eugenio Suárez doubled against the top of the right-field fence in the seventh inning against Louis Varland. The 395-foot drive would have been a homer in half of MLB stadiums, including Seattle.
Blue Jays outfielder Nathan Lukes exited in the fourth. Lukes sustained a right knee bruise when he fouled a pitch off it in the opening frame.
