DETROIT — Cal Raleigh launched his 37th and 38th home runs, closing in on Barry Bonds’ 2001 pre-All-Star break record of 39 homers. The Seattle Mariners defeated the Detroit Tigers 12-3 on Friday night, snapping Tarik Skubal’s unbeaten run that spanned over three months.
Raleigh — in the lineup as designated hitter — made it 5-3 on a solo shot in the eighth inning, then hit a grand slam in a seven-run ninth.
He broke the American League record for homers before the break of 37 set by Reggie Jackson in 1969 and matched by Chris Davis in 2013.
Skubal (10-3) had maintained a 10-0 record with an impressive 1.62 ERA across 16 starts after last facing a loss against the Mariners in a close 3-2 game on April 2 in Seattle. During his five innings, he gave up four runs on four hits and two walks, while striking out five players.
Luis Castillo (6-5) got the win, giving up three runs in five innings.
The Mariners grabbed a 1-0 advantage in the third inning when Parker Meadows, the center fielder, unsuccessfully dove for Donovan Solano’s sinking liner, which turned into an RBI triple as it reached the wall. Zach McKinstry leveled the score with a single in the fourth inning.
J.P. Crawford’s two-out RBI single made it 2-1 in the fifth, and Rodríguez followed with a two-run homer over the Seattle bullpen in left-center field.
Riley Greene’s RBI triple got the major league-leading Tigers to 4-2 in the sixth, and Spencer Torkelson followed with a sacrifice fly.
Key moment
Nine of Seattle’s first 10 batters reached base in the ninth inning, leading manager A.J. Hinch to insert catcher Jake Rogers for his third career pitching appearance. He retired two of the three batters he faced to escape the inning.
Key stat
Skubal started on four days rest in order to get an extra day off before the All-Star Game.
In his career, he’s 14-15 with a 3.98 ERA on four days of rest, but 37-16 with a 2.68 ERA on five or more.
The biggest difference comes in walks (2.6 per nine as opposed to 1.6) and homers (1.4 per nine as opposed to 0.8).
Up next
Tigers All-Star RHP Casey Mize (9-2, 2.63) was set to face RHP George Kirby (3-4, 4.22) on Saturday.
