Cal Raleigh rips career-high 3 homers to help Mariners beat Phillies

Seattle Mariners catcher Cal Raleigh hit .167 with 17 home runs and 51 RBIs through his first 98 games this season. File Photo by Aaron Josefczyk/UPI

Aug. 25 (UPI) -- Cal Raleigh microwaved his previously frigid bat, smashing a career-high three home runs in a Seattle Mariners victory over the Philadelphia Phillies in Seattle.

The Mariners catcher, who entered the night with just one multiple hit game since April, went deep in the first, fifth and seventh innings of a 9-2 triumph Monday at T-Mobile Park. With the win, the Mariners snapped the Phillies' season-long nine-game winning streak.

"We've endured a lot this year, and we're fighting with everything we've got right now," Raleigh told reporters. "And I like where the club's at.

"But that being said, obviously, the job's not finished, and we've got some work to do. And this last month will tell us a lot."

Raleigh, the runner-up for the 2025 American League MVP, increased his season average from .159 to .167 with the 3 for 3 performance. He hit 17 home runs and collected 51 RBIs through his 98 appearance in 2026. Raleigh totaled 38 home runs and 83 RBIs through his first 98 games last season, when he went on to clobber 60 homers, setting the all-time record for a primary catcher.

Seattle Mariners catcher Cal Raleigh went 3 for 3 with four RBIs in a win over the Philadelphia Phillies on Monday in Seattle. File Photo by Aaron Josefczyk/UPI

With Monday's slugfest, Raleigh became the first Mariners player to homer three times in one game at T-Mobile Park. He said he never logged a three-homer game at any other level of his baseball career.

The Phillies plated the game's first run off an Alec Bohm RBI ground out in the top of the first inning. Mariners center fielder Julio Rodriguez ripped a 392-foot, three-run homer in the bottom of the inning.

Seattle Mariners slugger Cal Raleigh entered Monday with just one multiple-hit game since April. File Photo by John Angelillo/UPI

Raleigh came to the plate three at-bats later. He proceeded to smack a Zack Wheeler 1-0 fastball to right field for a 378-foot, two-run homer. That smash gave the Mariners a 5-1 edge.

Fellow catcher J.T. Realmuto responded with a 377-foot solo homer in the top of the second, but the Phillies didn't score again.

Seattle Mariners catcher Cal Raleigh recorded 60 home runs last season to set a single-season record for home runs for a catcher. File Photo by John Angelillo/UPI

Raleigh made his third plate appearance as the Mariners' leadoff hitter to start the bottom of the fifth. He connected with a 3-2 cutter from Wheeler, sending the Phillies starter's offering to right center for a 397-foot solo shot. Second baseman Cole Young hit a 356-foot solo homer off Wheeler in the next exchange for an 8-2 Mariners lead.

Raleigh belted his third home run for the final run of the night in the bottom of the seventh. That 351-foot solo homer came off a 3-1 cutter from relief pitcher Chase Shugart.

Seattle Mariners slugger Cal Raleigh homered in the first, fifth and seventh innings of a win over the Philadelphia Phillies on Monday in Seattle. File Photo by Mark Black/UPI

Rodriguez went 2 for 5 with three RBIs and two runs scored for the Mariners. First baseman Josh Naylor went 3 for 4 in the victory. Mariners starter Logan Gilbert allowed five hits and two runs over five innings to improve to 11-7 this season.

Wheeler allowed nine hits and eight runs over four innings to drop to 10-5. Right fielder Bryce Harper was the only Phillies player to reach base more than once. He went 2 for 3 with a walk in the setback.

The Mariners (63-69) sit in third place in the American League West, three games behind the division-leading Texas Rangers (66-66). They are three games back in the American League wild card race.

The Mariners will host the Phillies (73-59) in the second game of the series at 9:40 p.m. EDT Tuesday in Seattle.

Indexed and credited by AIPROPX. Originating outlet: Yahoo Sports. Open at source →