SEATTLE (AP) — Cal Raleigh busted out of a season-long slump with the first three-homer game of his career Monday night.
The switch-hitting catcher capped a five-run first inning with a two-run shot off struggling Philadelphia Phillies ace Zack Wheeler. Raleigh and Cole Young opened the fifth with back-to-back homers, chasing Wheeler, and Raleigh connected for another solo shot off reliever Chase Shugart in the seventh to give him 17 home runs this season.
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“I had never done that before — at any level. So, hard to fathom, and it was a fun night,” Raleigh said.
It was the first multihomer game of the year for Raleigh, who finished 3 for 3 with a walk in a 9-2 victory and raised his batting average from .159 to .167. He began the night with a strikeout rate of 31.2%.
“I’ve been feeling better in the box,” Raleigh said. “Physically, trying to just get my hands back sooner and I feel like I’ve done a better job of that. And then mentally, it’s just been about that belief and just having that hope and that optimism every single day. Not getting too down, not getting too up and, you know, trying to just be ready and prepared for the game.”
Raleigh pulled all three homers to right field from the left side of the plate, becoming the 13th player in franchise history to hit three home runs in a game. The previous one was teammate Dominic Canzone on Sept. 16 last year.
The only other Seattle catcher to accomplish the feat was current Mariners manager Dan Wilson in April 1996.
Raleigh was runner-up for the AL MVP award last year, when he led the majors with 60 home runs and added 125 RBIs. He helped the Mariners reach the American League Championship Series, where they lost in seven games to Toronto.
“Finding the barrel more often, taking his walks more often, swinging at better pitches more often. Tonight was just a combination of all of that again,” Wilson said. “To get up there and do it left-handed like he did tonight, I think all of us love to see it and love to see the smile and just all the work that he’s put in. So, a big night for him.”
Mariners starting pitcher Logan Gilbert was thrilled to see it, too.
“That’s just huge I think for confidence and for (getting) rolling,” Gilbert said. “You know how this team does when he gets hot and gets rolling, so I think we’re in a good spot.”
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