Mariners notes: Raleigh emerges in catching role as M’s sweep Halos, drop set to A’s
Without context, Cal Raleigh’s two-run homer in the ninth inning of Wednesday’s win was already a feat of its own.
Having worked a full count, Seattle’s catcher went low to golf Jaime Barria’s slider up and over Angel Stadium’s right field wall and some 15 rows up the bleachers.
It also padded the Mariners’ lead en route to a sweep. The blast was Raleigh’s second homer of the day, en route to YouTube’s Player of the Game honors. And it was his 18th of the season, which surpassed Salvador Perez (KC) and Will Smith (LAD) for most among MLB catchers.
Thanks to what Raleigh dubbed a “change in mindset,” complemented by shortened swing mechanics, Seattle’s 24-year-old catcher has blossomed in recent months into one of the more valuable backstops in baseball.
“Now up on the first tee – Cal Raleigh,” broadcaster Yonder Alonso exclaimed as Raleigh’s blast crashed into the seats. “That was absolutely nuked.”
It was always Raleigh’s dream to be an everyday catcher in the big leagues, and while it certainly appears Seattle’s third-round draft selection in 2018 has attained that title, it wasn’t always an easy road, he told reporters Wednesday.
In April, after a rocky nine-game start to the campaign that saw Raleigh go 2-for-24, Seattle optioned him to Triple-A Tacoma. That’s where he shortened his swing, in an attempt to “get back to the basics” – to square up the ball and “not do too much.”
The change allowed Raleigh to better square up fastballs, while he focused on driving with his front foot to handle off-speed offerings. He’s more comfortable at the plate, and admittedly more relaxed, which he deemed integral for his offensive production.
“You can’t be, you know, tense, or trying to do too much,” Raleigh said Wednesday. “It never works out for anybody. It doesn’t matter how good you are.”
Raleigh’s work ethic and dedication to multiple pitching staffs throughout Seattle’s organization impressed the front office, as well as those in the dugout. Triple-A Tacoma manager Tim Federowicz, a former major league catcher, noted Raleigh’s keen ability to work with pitchers in an interview with The News Tribune last month.
“He can bring a different perspective to the game and how they call pitches and game-plan up in the big leagues, which ultimately will help our guys here,” Federowicz said. “So that was really nice to have.”
When catcher Tom Murphy exited Seattle’s game with what became a season-ending shoulder injury on May 6, Raleigh was recalled. That’s when his run to the top of the home run leaderboard – and his first full season in the big leagues – truly began.
Raleigh’s first homer in Wednesday’s win pushed Seattle ahead, 7-1. Starter George Kirby lasted 5 ⅔ innings and surrendered three runs before the offense poured on 11.
In the ninth inning of Monday’s series opener with the Angels, Seattle broke a scoreless tie and plated four runs to win, 6-2. They overcame an early deficit Tuesday – Los Angeles starter Jose Suarez had worked five perfect innings – before Julio Rodriguez homered in the ninth and Seattle rolled to another 8-2 win.
With Wednesday’s 11-7 win – and after a rocky series loss in Texas – Seattle had swept aside the Angels on the road.
“Huge day frankly, for Cal,” manager Scott Servais said. “It’s hard to hit two home runs in a major league game. It really is.”
When Raleigh reached base safely three times on Friday night, it raised his OPS to .803 since May 15, swatting 17 home runs and 41 RBI across that 73-game span. Entering Saturday’s contest, the Mariners were 53-34 when Raleigh took the field. They were 13-20 when he didn’t.
“This is a guy going through, basically, a rookie season,” Servais added. “And (we’re) seeing him emerge.”
SUAREZ MASHES, BUT M’S DROP WEEKEND SERIES IN OAKLAND
When Eugenio Suarez struck out in a home contest with the Yankees on Aug. 9 – capping an 0-for-5 night in an eventual 13-inning win – he uncharacteristically snapped his bat over his leg while trotting back to the dugout.
Typically one to stay calm, the third baseman behind Seattle’s adopted “good vibes only” slogan was mad – enough to break his bat in anger for the first time in over a year.
“I knew at that moment, I think I tried too much,” he told reporters Friday. “I tried to be bigger, I tried to be a hero.
“And that is not my game.”
He’d go on to slash .087/.276/.130 across Seattle’s recent seven-game homestand. If Suarez could relax, the results would come, he promised.
So in Texas from Aug. 12-14, Seattle’s first stop on a nine-game road trip, Suarez drove in three runs over the weekend, including a two-run homer on Saturday. He homered again in Wednesday’s series finale in Anaheim, and homered twice in Friday night’s series opener with Oakland.
The 31-year-old logged a sacrifice fly in Saturday’s extra-inning loss, which was Suarez’s 11th RBI of the road trip.
“It’s unbelievable, man,” Suarez told reporters after Friday night’s win. “It’s unbelievable. The way we’ve been doing it, the way we’ve been playing the game… we’ve been doing a lot of good things.
“When you keep that energy, more importantly starting in the clubhouse. When you get here and everybody’s got the same goals… people see what we’re doing, and they want to do something, too.”
Suarez’s multi-homer performance lifted Seattle to victory on Friday, 10-2, but Seattle dropped two of three to Oakland despite Suarez’s ascending power numbers.
The Mariners rallied to push Saturday’s middle-game to extras, but lost when reliever Diego Castillo loaded the bases and failed to field an incoming grounder, allowing Oakland’s Tony Kemp to scamper home. It was Sheldon Neuse, an earlier pinch-runner in the game, who logged the walk-off fielder’s choice.
Oakland outlasted the Mariners on Sunday, jumping on Seattle ace Luis Castillo for eight hits four runs across five innings of work. Outfielder Mitch Haniger homered, Raleigh logged an RBI double, and Julio Rodriguez plated another with a run-scoring single, but Seattle’s late rally fell short in a 5-3 defeat.
The loss finalized a 5-4 road trip that featured two series losses in three cities. That puts Seattle (66-56), as of Sunday afternoon, in a virtual three-way tie for each of the American League’s trio of wild card allocations. Both Tampa Bay (65-55) and Toronto (65-55) lost on Sunday morning, leaving each club a share of the top spot.
Minnesota (62-57), the first team out, is two and a half games behind.
SHORT HOPS
– T-Mobile Park will host the 93rd playing of the MLB All-Star Game on July 11, 2023, the Mariners announced Tuesday.
– Outfielder Julio Rodriguez is one home run away from Seattle’s first 20+ homer, 20+ stolen-base season since Mike Cameron accomplished the feat in 2002, and the 10th individual season in Mariners history.
The All-Star rookie would become the ninth player in baseball history to reach the 20/20 club in his age-21-or-younger season, per Mariners PR.
ON DECK
Seattle gets Monday off – their second off-day in five days. A two-game interleague series with Washington begins Tuesday, and the Mariners close a six-game homestand with four against Cleveland over the weekend (Aug. 25-28).
Fans will pack T-Mobile Park full on Saturday, when the organization inducts Ichiro to the Mariners Hall of Fame in a pregame ceremony. It’s part of a three-day-long celebration of Ichiro’s career with the Mariners, including Ichiro-themed fireworks on Friday night and Ichiro ‘Hall of Fame’ bobbleheads on Sunday afternoon.
This story was originally published August 21, 2022 at 4:53 PM.
