The only fitting way for the Mariners to take over first place alone atop the American League West was to have the man that carried them through the first half of the season check off another historical mark on his résumé for the American League Most Valuable Player award.
On the final day of a seven-game homestand where the Mariners didn’t lose a game, but the leading home run hitter in baseball hadn’t put one over the fence, Cal Raleigh gave the crowd of 42,513 what it wanted to see while setting the tone immediately Sunday in what would be an 11-2 pasting of the Angels for their ninth consecutive win.
Facing veteran right-hander Kyle Hendricks with Randy Arozarena on first base in the first inning, Raleigh ambushed a first-pitch sinker that was about three inches off the outside corner of the plate, lashing a low-screaming line drive to left-center that kept carrying and rising over the wall in left-center for his 54th homer of the season.
The blast, which had an exit velocity of 109-mph and traveled 409 feet, a stunning distance for an opposite field blast, tied Mickey Mantle’s record for most homers in a season by a switch-hitter. But it also broke Javy Lopez's record of 42 homers in a season while catching in a game.
With the Astros (81-69) losing in Atlanta, the Mariners (82-68), who have Monday off before opening a three-game series in Kansas City on Tuesday, will sit alone atop the division standings for at least two days. Meanwhile, the Rangers (79-71) lost on a walkoff homer to the Mets to drop another game back of Seattle.
The early two-run lead provided by Raleigh would balloon to 11-0 by the fourth inning as the Mariners’ offense unleashed a run-scoring fiesta in the third and fourth innings to turn the game into a rout.
Raleigh started the inning with an infield single, hustling out a soft ground ball to third and beating the throw from Yoan Moncada. Julio Rodríguez followed with a low line drive to the left-center gap that scored Raleigh from first base.
Rodríguez stole third base and scored on Josh Naylor’s lineout to center to make it 4-0. With two outs, Jorge Polanco, who had already doubled in the first inning to give him seven straight games with a two bagger, hit his second double of the game. He would later score on Dom Canzone’s single to right to make it 5-0.
The Mariners knocked Hendricks out of the game with out in the fourth inning, J.P. Crawford looped a leadoff single to right field, Raleigh took a one-out walk much to the displeasure of the home crowd and Rodríguez followed with his second double of the game to make it 6-0. Naylor drove home Raleigh and Rodríguez with a single to right field that ended Hendricks’ outing.
But Seattle wasn’t done.
Polanco greeted Hendricks’ replacement — Connor Brogdon — with a double to put runners on second and third. Canzone followed with a single to center that scored both runners and make it 10-0. In his second plate appearance of the inning. J.P. Crawford capped off the inning with a crisp double to left to score Canzone to make it 11-0.
The run support was plenty for starter George Kirby, who delivered a much-needed bounce back outing, pitching 6 1/3 innings, allowing two runs on three hits with no walks and a career-high 14 strikeouts.
Kirby retired the first 13 batters he faced, striking out nine of them, before Christian Moore hit a solo homer to left-center that trimmed the Mariners’ lead to 11-1.
The other run allowed came on a solo homer to Oswald Peraza in the sixth inning.
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