The Seattle Mariners needed a sensational effort from Game 1 starter Bryce Miller Sunday night after a 15-inning marathon on Friday.
They got exactly that. Miller allowed a leadoff home run to George Springer on his first pitch of the game. He didn’t allow another run in six sterling innings to lead Seattle to a 3-1 win over the Toronto Blue Jays in Game 1 of the ALCS.
Advertisement
The win silenced a Rogers Centre crowd that spent last week in a frenzy as Blue Jays bats pounded Yankees pitching in the ALDS. That energy carried into the first inning Monday when Springer hit his solo shot to give Toronto a 1-0 lead en route to a 27-pitch first for Miller.
But Miller didn’t wilt.
He settled in and needed just 49 pitches to get through the next five innings to extend a start wasn’t expected to go that long and certainly didn’t seem likely after the first frame. He got through each of the third, fourth and fifth innings without allowing a baserunner and was allowed to remain in the sixth after issuing a two-out walk to cleanup hitter Addison Barger.
Advertisement
[Yahoo Sports TV is here! Watch live shows and highlights 24/7]
Miller got out of the frame with a lineout of Alejandro Kirk. And the once-frenetic Toronto crowd was reduced to a murmur, facing the prospect of a Game 1 loss at home.
Cal Raleigh blast puts Mariners on the board
Meanwhile, Seattle’s bats did just enough to take control. MVP candidate Cal Raleigh picked up in the sixth inning where he left off from a sensational ALDS in which he hit .381 with a home run and four RBI. With Toronto holding a 1-0 lead and starter Kevin Gausman one out away from six shutout innings, Raleigh launched a no-doubt home run over the right-field bullpen and deep into the bleachers to tie the game at 1-1.
Gausman walked Julio RodrÃguez on the next at-bat, and his night was done.
Advertisement
Reliever Brendon Miller was called upon to secure the final out of the inning. He threw a wild pitch that allowed RodrÃguez to score from second on a Jorge Polanco single, and the Mariners took a 2-1 lead.
And that was all the runs they would need. Seattle’s bullpen that was exhausted in Friday’s epic 3-2 win over Detroit in Game 5 of the ALDS pitched three scoreless innings to close out the game and secure the win. Gabe Speier, Matt Brash and closer Andrés Muñoz threw a scoreless frame each to keep the Blue Jays off the board with the exception of Springer’s leadoff home run.
In total, Miller and three Mariners relievers combined to limit a Blue Jays team that averaged 8.5 runs in the ALDS to that single run. And they stole home-field advantage in the best-of-seven series in the process.
Advertisement
The Blue Jays will look to even the series at home on Monday (5:15 p.m. ET/Fox, FS1)