Cal Raleigh Homers as Seattle Mariners Defeat Toronto Blue Jays in Long-Awaited Comeback to AL Championship Series
Cal Raleigh homered, Jorge Polanco drove in the decisive run with a sixth-inning single, and the Seattle Mariners overcame the Blue Jays 3-1 Sunday night as they made their return to the ALCS for the initial occasion in two dozen years.
Pitching Dominance on Display
George Springer homered on the first pitch from Miller, who then escaped a two-on jam in a 27-pitch opening frame. Anthony Santander hit a single in the second for Toronto’s only other hit, and Seattle pitchers retired 23 of the Blue Jays’ final 24 batters. Miller, Gabe Speier, Matt Brash and Andrés Muñoz combined to throw just 100 pitches under two days after the Mariners needed 209 pitches to outplay the Tigers over 15 innings.
Crucial Batting Plays
Raleigh, the major league home run leader with 60, evened the game in the sixth with his ninth homer in 14 games at the Toronto ballpark. 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 added an run-scoring single in the eighth.
“We are a resilient squad, as you know, from top to bottom,” Raleigh stated. “Pitchers came out today, extremely impressive. They did awesome. Particularly on short rest and the high pitch count the other day.”
Seattle, the AL West titleholder journeyed to Toronto, the AL East champion on Saturday after a 3-2 win at home over the Tigers to claim the Division Series in the longest winner-take-all game in Major League Baseball history.
Historic Achievements
Seattle, the sole MLB franchise to never host a Fall Classic game, held Toronto to two hits after the Blue Jays had 50 hits and 34 runs in their four-game playoff series against the Yankees. Miller, the winner, struck out three and walked three 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,” Toronto manager John Schneider said. “Our team will be prepared for it.”
Springer's 21st playoff homer broke a tie with the Yankees’ Derek Jeter, placing him alone in fifth position on the all-time list. Raleigh's home run was his fourth in 15 at-bats against Kevin Gausman, who took the loss.
Polanco, who had the game-ending single Friday, hit a single off Brendon Little to drive in Rodríguez, who was walked by Gausman. Polanco added another RBI single against Seranthony Domínguez.
Memorable Contest Highlights
Eugenio Suárez hit a double off the top of the right-field wall in the seventh inning against Louis Varland. The 395-foot hit would have been a homer in 15 of 30 big league ballparks, including Seattle.
Toronto outfielder Nathan Lukes exited in the fourth. Lukes bruised his right knee when he fouled a pitch off it in the opening frame.
