The Seattle Mariners struck first in the American League Championship Series (ALCS) on Sunday with a 3-1 win over the Toronto Blue Jays at Rogers Centre.
Cal Raleigh hit a solo shot in Seattle’s two-run sixth inning. Jorge Polanco had a pair of RBI singles and Bryce Miller (1-0) threw six strong frames for the win.
Andres Munoz worked a clean ninth inning for the save.
“It’s a tough team and they were the second-best team in the AL for a reason,” said Blue Jays outfielder Davis Schneider.
George Springer put a charge into the sellout crowd of 44,474 with a leadoff homer for the Blue Jays. Anthony Santander singled in the second inning for Toronto’s only other hit.
“I thought we took some good swings and hit some balls at people a little bit,” said Toronto manager John Schneider. “[We] didn’t have a whole lot of batted ball luck, if you want to call it that.”
Toronto starter Kevin Gausman (1-1) retired 15 batters in a row after a shaky first inning. Raleigh, who hit 60 homers in the regular season, launched a 420-foot blast to tie the game.
Gausman was pulled after a two-out walk to Julio Rodriguez. Brendon Little came on and gave up an RBI single to Polanco, who also drove in Randy Arozarena with an insurance run in the eighth.
“I had the game right there,” Gausman said. “This one’s on me.”
After averaging 8.5 runs per game in the division series, the Toronto bats were quiet. The loss ended the Blue Jays’ six-game home winning streak.
The Blue Jays had three days off between games after eliminating the New York Yankees last Wednesday. The Mariners arrived in Toronto late Saturday after a 15-inning Game 5 win over the Detroit Tigers on Friday night.
“I think we’ve talked about just how resilient these guys are, and tonight was one of those instances again,” said Mariners manager Dan Wilson. “Great job all around.”
Lukes was removed from the game in the fourth inning with a right knee contusion. He fouled a ball off his leg in the opening frame. A CT scan came back negative for a fracture, his manager said.
Trey Yesavage to start Game 2
Game 2 in the best-of-seven series was scheduled for Monday afternoon in Toronto.
Rookie right-hander Trey Yesavage was scheduled to start Game 2. He set a Blue Jays postseason record by striking out 11 Yankees in 5 1/3 hitless innings in AL Division Series Game 2 on Oct. 5.Â
Yesavage said his family has been subjected to abuse since his impressive postseason debut last weekend against the New York Yankees.
“Living in this world where there’s so many different opinions and feelings which results in a lot of hate, it’s sad to see that people close to me are being attacked for my performances on the field,” Yesavage said Sunday before the game against Seattle.
Logan Gilbert, who threw in relief on Friday, will start for the Mariners in Game 2.
The series will shift to Seattle’s T-Mobile Park for Game 3 on Wednesday.
“This is going to be a hard-fought series, man,” Schneider said. “These guys will be ready for it.”
