Raleigh Hits Home Run as Mariners Stifle Toronto Blue Jays in Long-Awaited Return to ALCS
Cal Raleigh homered, Jorge Polanco drove in the winning run with a sixth frame 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 launched a homer on the first pitch from Miller, who then got out of a bases-threatening situation in a 27-pitch opening frame. Anthony Santander singled in the second for the Blue Jays' sole additional hit, and Mariners pitchers set down 23 of the Blue Jays’ final 24 batters. Miller, Gabe Speier, Matt Brash and Andrés Muñoz combined to throw just 100 pitches less than 48 hours after the Mariners needed 209 pitches to outplay the Tigers over 15 frames.
Crucial Batting Plays
Raleigh, who led the major leagues with 60 homers, tied the score in the sixth with his ninth homer in 14 appearances at Rogers Centre. Kevin Gausman had held batters to 0 for 16 on splitters in the playoffs before the homer by Raleigh.
Polanco hit a go-ahead single later in the inning and contributed an run-scoring single in the eighth inning.
“We are a resilient squad, as you know, one through nine,” Raleigh stated. “Pitchers came out today, really, really impressed us. They did awesome. Particularly on short rest and how many pitches they threw the previous game.”
AL West champion Seattle journeyed to Toronto, the AL East champion on the prior day after a 3-2 win at home over the Tigers to win the Division Series in the longest winner-take-all game in MLB history.
Historic Achievements
The Mariners, the sole MLB franchise to not have hosted a Fall Classic game, limited Toronto to just two hits after the Toronto squad had 50 hits and 34 runs in their four-game playoff series against the New York Yankees. Miller, who earned the win, fanned three and issued three walks in six frames, throwing 72 pitches. The bullpen trio each had 1-2-3 innings, with Muñoz securing the save.
“This will be a fiercely contested 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, moving him into sole possession of fifth place on the all-time list. Raleigh's home run was his fourth in 15 at-bats against Gausman, who took the loss.
Polanco, the hero of Friday's game, hit a single off Brendon Little to bring home Julio Rodríguez, who was issued a walk by the pitcher. Polanco added another RBI single against Domínguez.
Memorable Game Moments
Eugenio Suárez hit a double against the top of the right-field fence 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 ball into his knee in the first inning.
