TORONTO — Cal Raleigh homered, Jorge Polanco drove within the go-ahead run with a sixth-inning single and the Seattle Mariners beat the Toronto Blue Jays 3-1 Sunday evening as they returned to the AL Championship Sequence for the primary time in 24 years.
George Springer homered on the primary pitch from Bryce Miller, who then escaped a two-on jam in a 27-pitch first inning.
Anthony Santander singled within the second for Toronto’s solely different hit, and Seattle pitchers retired 23 of the Blue Jays’ closing 24 batters. Miller, Gabe Speier, Matt Brash and Andrés Muñoz mixed to throw simply 100 pitches lower than 48 hours after the Mariners wanted 209 pitches to outlast Detroit over 15 innings.
Raleigh, who led the most important leagues with 60 homers, tied the rating within the sixth together with his ninth homer in 14 video games at Rogers Centre. Kevin Gausman had held batters to 0 for 16 on splitters within the postseason earlier than the homer by Raleigh.
Polanco hit a go-ahead single later within the inning and added an RBI single within the eighth.
“We’re a troublesome group, you understand, one by way of 9,” Raleigh mentioned. “Pitchers got here out at the moment, actually, actually impressed us. They did superior. Particularly brief relaxation and what number of pitches they threw the opposite day.”
AL West champion Seattle traveled to AL East winner Toronto on Saturday after a 3-2 house victory over the Tigers to win the Division Sequence within the longest winner-take-all recreation in Main League Baseball historical past.
Seattle, the one MLB group to by no means host a World Sequence recreation, held Toronto to 2 hits after the Blue Jays had 50 hits and 34 runs of their four-game Division Sequence in opposition to the New York Yankees.
Miller, the winner, struck out three and walked three in six innings, throwing 72 pitches. The three relievers every had 1-2-3 innings, with Muñoz getting the save.
Toronto’s Vladimir Guerrero Jr. went 9 for 17 with three homers and 9 RBIs in opposition to the Yankees however completed 0 for 4 Sunday with three groundouts.
“That is going to be a hard-fought collection, man,” Toronto supervisor John Schneider mentioned. “These guys shall be prepared for it.”
Springer’s twenty first postseason house run broke a tie with the Yankees’ Derek Jeter, shifting him into sole possession of fifth place on the profession listing.
Raleigh’s homer was his fourth in 15 at-bats in opposition to Gausman, who took the loss.
Polanco, who had the game-ending single Friday, singled in opposition to Brendon Little to drive in Julio Rodríguez, who was walked by Gausman.
Polanco added one other RBI single in opposition to Seranthony Domínguez.
Eugenio Suárez doubled of the highest of the right-field wall within the seventh in opposition to Louis Varland. The 395-foot drive would have been a homer in 15 of 30 massive league ballparks, together with Seattle.
Toronto outfielder Nathan Lukes left within the fourth inning. Lukes bruised his proper knee when he fouled a pitch off it within the first inning.
