Raleigh breaks AL record with 38th HR, 1 shy of Bonds' 1st-half mark

DETROIT -- In a sport where nearly anything can happen at any point during any game, one thing seems destined to live on repeat each night: Cal Raleigh is going to hit homers wherever he goes.

Seattle’s slugger struck again on Friday, mashing his 37th and 38th home runs during the Mariners’ 12-3 win over the Tigers at Comerica Park.

No. 38 was particularly magnificent, and not just because it was a grand slam that blew the game wide open for Seattle in the ninth inning. Raleigh’s 405-foot blast to left field also set the American League record for the most home runs before the All-Star break, eclipsing Chris Davis' 37 in 2013.

Raleigh’s next long ball will tie Barry Bonds, whose 39 first-half homers for the Giants in 2001 are the most in MLB history.

“I don't really have words for it, I guess. I’m just very grateful and thankful,” said Raleigh, who will compete in the T-Mobile Home Run Derby on Monday. “I’m just trying to stay consistent in what I do and just try to keep it rolling.”

Raleigh’s swats put the game on ice, but his teammates combined to put an end to the defending American League Cy Young Award winner’s dominant stretch early. Despite not arriving in Detroit until 3 a.m. local time, the Mariners hit the ground running against Tigers ace Tarik Skubal.

Donovan Solano was the one to get the ball rolling. Seattle’s 37-year-old first baseman turned a two-out knuckle curve from Skubal into a sinking liner in shallow center field in the second. Outfielder Parker Meadows dove headfirst for the ball and missed.

Meadows remained frozen in a prone position on the turf, lifting his head just enough to watch Solano’s ball as it rolled to the warning track. Jorge Polanco was closing in on third at this point, and Solano’s pedal was also firmly to the floor.

The former scored easily, while the latter arrived at third base with an ear-to-ear grin.

Solano’s triple -- his first since Sept. 5, 2023, when he played for the Twins -- opened the scoring for the Mariners. It also made him the oldest Seattle player to triple since Nelson Cruz completed the feat on June 24, 2018, against the Red Sox. Both Mariners were in their age-37 seasons.

“Just a couple of really good at-bats there,” Seattle manager Dan Wilson said. “And Donny just going right up the middle, and the ball getting by and him chugging for that, that’s a big run.”

Skubal’s pitch to Solano -- which floated in on the outside edge of the zone -- didn’t fit the definition of a mistake, but it did show a rare lapse for Skubal, and Seattle seized its opportunity. The Mariners pounced again in the fifth inning when J.P. Crawford hit a two-out RBI single to bring up Julio Rodríguez, who connected for his 12th home run to push the lead to 4-1.

The offense helped make a winner out of Luis Castillo, who limited Detroit’s potent offense to three runs on six hits in his five-plus innings. He also earned a nod of respect from Skubal as the two switched spots following the third inning.

“He said hi to me, asked me how I was doing,” Castillo said in Spanish. “He told me, 'You're a horse,' and I told him, 'I'm just trying to do the same as you.'"

Castillo and the Mariners also handed Skubal a loss on April 2, with Castillo twirling a two-run, seven-inning gem to outduel his Tigers counterpart. Detroit had lost since then, but Skubal had not. The Tigers lefty entered the rematch with a 10-0 record, a 1.62 ERA and 138 strikeouts against just 10 walks since that initial encounter.

For much of the season, one of the surest things in baseball seemed to be a win on each day Skubal pitches. For one night, at least, Raleigh and the Mariners flipped the script on one of baseball’s best by flexing with a few of their own.

“Up and down the line, there’s not a guy who didn’t have something today that they were able to contribute,” Wilson said. “... It was just a huge win all around. A big one for us.”