Raleigh Homers as Mariners Defeat Toronto Blue Jays in Long-Awaited Comeback to AL Championship Series
Cal Raleigh homered, Jorge Polanco drove in the go-ahead run with a sixth frame single, and the Seattle Mariners beat the Blue Jays 3-1 Sunday night as they made their return to the AL Championship Series 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 bases-threatening situation in a 27-delivery first inning. Anthony Santander hit a single in the second for the Blue Jays' only other hit, and Mariners pitchers retired 23 of the Blue Jays’ final 24 batters. Miller, Gabe Speier, Matt Brash and Andrés Muñoz combined to throw just 100 deliveries under two days after the Mariners needed 209 pitches to outlast the Tigers over 15 innings.
Key Offensive Moments
Raleigh, who led the major leagues with 60 homers, evened the game in the sixth inning with his ninth home run in 14 appearances at Rogers Centre. Kevin Gausman had held batters to 0 for 16 on splitters in the postseason before the home run by Raleigh.
Polanco hit a go-ahead single later in the inning and added an run-scoring single in the eighth inning.
“We are a resilient squad, as 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 journeyed to Toronto, the AL East champion on the prior day after a 3-2 win at home over the Detroit Tigers to win the Division Series in the longest winner-take-all game in MLB history.
Historic Achievements
Seattle, the only MLB team 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, the winner, struck out three and walked three in six frames, throwing 72 deliveries. The bullpen trio each had 1-2-3 innings, with Muñoz getting the save.
“This will be a fiercely contested series, for sure,” Toronto 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, placing him alone in fifth position on the career list. Raleigh's home run was his fourth in 15 at-bats against Kevin Gausman, who suffered the defeat.
Polanco, who had the game-ending single Friday, singled against Brendon Little to drive in Rodríguez, who was walked by Gausman. Polanco later added another run-scoring hit against 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 drive would have been a home run in half of MLB stadiums, including Seattle.
Toronto outfielder Nathan Lukes exited in the fourth. Lukes sustained a right knee bruise when he fouled a ball into his knee in the first inning.
