Raleigh, Polanco and Miller come up big as Mariners beat Blue Jays efficiently in ALCS Game 1

Jorge Polanco played hero on Friday night, capping off the epic Division Series Game 5 with an RBI single in the 15th inning off the Tigers’ Tommy Kahnle. Two nights later, in the American League Championship Series opener in Toronto, Polanco added his October highlight with a pair of late-inning RBI singles against Blue Jays relievers, the first of which gave Seattle the lead. The switch-hitting second baseman wasn’t the only Mariner to come up big, like Bryce Molenaar threw six strong innings on three days’ rest, Cal Raleigh hit a solo homer that tied the game, and three relievers turned in perfect innings as the Mariners won Game 1 in Toronto 3-1.

In stark contrast to the four-hour, 58-minute Division Series final that allowed Seattle to advance, this was a relatively condensed and fast-paced match, completed in two hours and 48 minutes. After throwing 209 pitches at the Tigers on Friday night, the Mariners fortunately only needed 100 pitches to beat the Blue Jays while giving up just two hits.

For as compelling a matchup as an ALCS pitting the two 1977 expansion teams — one seeking its first World Series berth in 32 years, the other its first-ever pennant — the Blue Jays starter combination Kevin Gambman against Miller seemed to be a mismatch based on their respective arcs. After a strong regular season and a big start in the Division Series Game 1 against the Yankees, and with seven days of rest under his belt, Gausman appeared to have a decent advantage over Miller, who has struggled this year due to injuries, taking an early exit in his Division Series Game 4 start against the Tigers and starting on Sunday only as an ALDS Game 2 starter Luis Castillo and Game 3 starter Logan Gilbert were both called in relief during overtime of Game 5.

After allowing just one run in 5 2/3 innings against the Yankees, Gausman nearly allowed one in the first against the Mariners. Raleigh and Julio Rodriguez both hit one-out singles, with the Big Dumper rushing to third on the latter. Polanco then hit a weak chopper to the third baseman Addison Bargerwho was pulled in. He threw to catcher Alejandro Kirk in time to beat Raleigh; the replay suggested the Mariners might have had a case had they challenged the call. Josh Naylor took a 2-0 lead and then connected on a splitter for a lazy ball into midfield, starting a stretch where Gausman crossed. From the point he struck out Naylor until the Mariners were two-out in the top of the sixth, the 34-year-old righty retired 15 consecutive hitters, five of them via strikeouts.

As for Miller, after a nice narrow escape in 2024, he has been the weakest link in Seattle’s rotation this season, in part due to bouts of elbow inflammation that landed him on the injured list twice in a total of 92 days. As if his 5.68 ERA and 5.17 FIP weren’t bad enough to begin with, he posted a 6.79 ERA and 6.09 FIP in 59 2/3 innings from June 5 – two starts before he was sidelined for the first time – through the end of the season. His stuff wasn’t as sharp as it was in 2024, and his strikeout rate plummeted from 24.3% to 18.9% as hitters chased his four-seamer, splitter and slider significantly less often. His gaudy ERA of 5.68 was the second-highest mark in the regular season among the 43 pitchers who started a playoff game in the Wild Card or Division Series round, only better than Aaron Nola’s 6.01.

Miller threw just 56 pitches in 4 1/3 innings against the Tigers in Game 4 of the Division Series, holding Detroit scoreless for the first four frames before allowing a leadoff single. Spencer Torkelson and a one-out RBI double to Dillon dangleswho soon came over to score. Going into this battle, he hadn’t thought about throwing many pitches, and it didn’t take long to consider the possibility that he wouldn’t make it through the first inning, as he struck out only one of the first four Blue Jays he faced. His first pitch on Sunday night, a 97.3 mph fastball George Springerwas a well-placed fastball on the outside edge of one, but Springer reached out and hammered it to right field for a solo home run. Nathan Lucas He then battled Miller for a 12-pitch walk, one that was interrupted when he fouled a ball off his right knee, causing a delay of a few minutes. Barger followed with another walk and put Miller on the ropes.

Raleigh then visited Miller on the mound, and whatever he said flipped the switch for the 27-year-old right-hander. He took out both Kirk and Daulton Varsho on fly balls, with Rodríguez chasing the latter’s 100 mph drive. All told, Miller threw 27 pitches in the inning.

Building on his breakout from the first, however, Miller found a groove. He needed just 32 pitches to complete the next four innings, with a one-out single in the second inning of Anthony Santander the only goal he allowed in that period. On that one, Santander hit a high first-pitch four-seater from Miller for a 100-mph liner to right field, where Victor Robles – who was probably caught off guard, as he had his defensive alignment chart between his teeth (!) – ran the ball down after it bounced twice, only to squirt away as the mistake moved Santander into second. Nevertheless, the Blue Jays stranded him.

Gausman rode his streak of 15 straight retirees (16 straight including the out at the plate) to tie Raleigh at 2-2 with two outs in the sixth, trying to throw a splitter down and in. He left the field too far over the plate, and Raleigh pulverized it, sending it 450 feet to right center field for a game-tying homer, his second of the postseason after an astonishing 60 during the regular season.

After Gausman walked Rodríguez on five pitches, his night was over. He had thrown 76 pitches and had 10 swings and misses, five of which came against his splitter, three on his four-seamer (which averaged 90.4 miles per hour) and two with his slider. The Mariners did manage eight hard-hit balls at 90 mph or higher against him — none harder than Raleigh’s 105 mph home run — but five of them were on the ground.

Gausman’s outing might have looked better. Blue Jays manager Johannes Schneider could have brought in a right-handed reliever to keep Polanco hitting what had been his weaker side this year; he hit .254/.321/.481 (127 wRC+) against righties compared to a blistering .305/.345/.543 (150 wRC+) against lefties. That said, on a career basis, Polanco has been a better hitter against righties (116 wRC+) than lefties (110 wRC+), and two of the next three hitters (Naylor and Dominic Song) were also left-handed. Schneider played up the larger sample size by calling on lefty Brendon Kleinwho sent Rodríguez to second base on a wild pitch when the count was full. Two pitches later, Polanco scorched a single to left field – at 110.7 mph, it was the fastest hit for either team all night – and plated Rodríguez to give the Mariners a 2-1 lead. Little recovered to take down Naylor and end the threat.

Sailors manager Then Wilson sent Miller out for the sixth. It took him just six pitches to retire Myles Strawwho had taken over for Lukes in the fourth, and Vladimir Guerrero Jr.but then issued a two-out, four-pitch walk to Barger. It looked like Miller’s night was over after another mound visit, but he stayed in to eliminate Kirk with a flyball.

The Mariners had a chance to extend their lead in the seventh afterward Eugenio Suarez missed a solo home run by a few inches and had to settle for a loud double from the right-center field wall Louis Varland. He advanced to third base on a Canzone grounder, but did not advance any further. However, the Mariners then scored another run in the eighth Seranthony Dominguez issued a leadoff walk to Randy Arozarenawho, after Raleigh struck out, stole second and third base, the latter without a throw. Rodríguez walked, then Polanco, who was left-handed again, drove in Arozarena with a single to right field.

Polanco is just 6-for-26 this postseason, but five of those hits were huge: two solo homers Pull Skubal in their ALDS Game 2 victory, plus the game-winning goal on Friday, and plus these two. That’s all the stuff legends are made of.

Miller left after six innings, having matched Gausman’s pitch count of 76. While he got just one whiff in the first two innings, he finished the night with eight: three apiece on his foursieve and splitter, and one apiece on his sinker and slider. He walked three batters and struckout three, but gave up only two hits. It was the first time since April 29 that he allowed fewer than two runs in a start. Considering the circumstances it was a wonderful outing.

After he left, the Mariners bullpen made short work of the Blue Jays, with Gabe Speier, Matt BrashAnd Andrés Munoz each requires only eight throws to get the side in order; they combined to get just two whiffs and retire just one batter (Brash retired Springer in the eighth), but allowed only two hard-hit balls, both routine catches. Between Miller and the relievers, Guerrero, Varsho and Ernie Clemens – three batters who combined to go 25-for-47 against the Yankees – were held hitless in 10 at bats.

Before the series started, I wondered if the Mariners would experience any hangover after their marathon victory. I spent some time researching Baseball Reference, looking at the previous eight teams that had advanced to the next round of the postseason after winning a winner-take-all game in extra innings.

Including the Mariners, the teams that won these epics went 7-2 in the opener of their next series. So far they are 4-4 in those series overall; it does not appear that they uniformly suffered from any hangover effect.

Either way, now the Mariners have effectively seized home field advantage from the Blue Jays. They will call on Gilbert to meet the rookie Trey Yesavage on Monday with a chance to send them back to Seattle with a significant advantage.