HOUSTON -- Cal Raleigh went into an astronomical orbit on Friday night at Daikin Park, blasting one of the biggest home runs in recent Mariners memory that came with the appropriate stakes, helped his third-base coach overcome a backfired send the inning prior and lifted the Mariners a 5-3 win over the Astros.
Raleigh ambushed one of the sport’s best leverage relievers with two outs in the seventh inning, crushing a first-pitch slider from Bryan Abreu that nearly reached the roof and just barely stayed fair -- nearly plunking the Chick-fil-A cow who sits at the top of the right-field foul pole.
With the increasing assortment to choose from -- Raleigh now has 17 homers this season, pulling back into a tie for the MLB lead -- Friday’s might be his most dramatic.
“I know for myself, it's always been trying to stay aggressive and be ready to go from the first pitch,” Raleigh said, “because that could be the one that could change the game.”
It came in the clutch
Raleigh had the decisive highlight of the night, but only because of the moments that preceded. On the pitch prior from Abreu, Julio Rodríguez ripped a 108.2 mph double into the right-field corner that scored J.P. Crawford all the way from first base to tie the game, after the shortstop poked a one-out single.
With momentum firmly in Houston’s favor and the crowd roaring, Rodríguez jumped on a 97.6 mph fastball on the outer half in a 1-1 count, which continued his upward trend in May and came in his return to the lineup after being a late scratch with an upper back spasm on Thursday.
“Shout out to the trainers -- all of them, the strength coaches, too,” Rodriguez said. “They did a great job to get me on the field today."
Rodríguez now has 11 game-tying RBis in the seventh inning or later since his rookie year in 2022, tied for second-most in MLB in that span with former Mariners slugger Eugenio Suárez. Moreover, Raleigh now has 11 go-ahead homers in the seventh or later in that same span, an MLB-best.
It continued a team-wide power trend
Raleigh’s 17 homers are a big reason that the Mariners rank sixth in MLB with 70 homers, though bottom-of-the-order guys Leody Taveras and Miles Mastrobuoni also went yard on Friday.
Manager Dan Wilson has preached all season about “doing the little things,” but it’s been the big things that have helped Seattle soar into first place. A sizable 47.9% of the Mariners’ runs this season have been via the long ball, the second-highest rate in MLB.
“Sometimes, the game doesn't call for a walk,” Raleigh said. “It calls for you swinging the bat, trying to drive in a run. If you're in a bad-advantage count, you can't be too picky. Sometimes, you've got to be able to try to drive runners in.”
It overcame an aggressive putout
Raleigh was also the centerpiece of what was shaping up to be the Mariners’ most critical play of the night, but on the wrong end, when he was thrown out at the plate on an 85.5 mph putout from Jose Altuve in left field in the sixth.
On second base, Raleigh appeared to hesitate as the ball reached shallow left but was still sent home by third-base coach Kristopher Negrón and tagged well in time.
A bolder send, to be sure, but one that the Mariners were willing to take given that Altuve -- a second baseman for his entire career until this season -- ranked in the third percentile with negative-nine outs above average in 2024 and only had one outfield assist this season entering Friday, one aided by a cutoff man.
“If the throw is a little bit to the right or little bit to the left, maybe we're having a different conversation,” Raleigh said. “So we're just playing aggressive.”
Negrón quickly moved past the play in the seventh when sending Crawford, who scored the game-tying run just as the relay was arriving but wide.
It was off Abreu
Abreu has been scoreless in 18 of his 20 outings this season -- the lone exceptions being April 9 and Friday, both against the Mariners and both in which he surrendered three earned runs apiece.
And like the previous outing, Rodríguez sparked the rally -- and in carbon-copy fashion. Back then, Rodríguez also jumped on a high-90s heater, also away and also with a double into the corner, which set up Randy Arozarena for a bases-loaded, walk-off walk.
The Mariners were 4-8 at the time and are an MLB-best 25-13 since.