Grim night for Cal Raleigh, Seattle Mariners offense in loss to Royals

SEATTLE – It was a rare grim night for Cal Raleigh and, predictably, for the Mariners’ offense as a whole, too.

Raleigh struck out four times and the Mariners twice grounded into double plays in the game to stymie late rallies in a 6-3 loss to the Kansas City Royals on Tuesday at T-Mobile Park.

Randy Arozarena homered in the second inning, his third homer in two games this seres.

The Mariners (44-41) fell to a season-high seven games back of the Houston Astros in the AL West.

The Royals (40-46) had lost eight of nine coming into the day. They tagged Mariners starter Emerson Hancock for five runs over six innings.

Hancock allowed three runs in the first two innings, and it could have been worse in the second inning if not for a nifty play from rookie third baseman Ben Williamson, who charged hard on a soft grounder to throw out Maikel Garcia at first base and strand the bases loaded.

It was an adventurous fifth inning in center field for Julio Rodriguez, who nearly made a nifty sliding catch deep in left-center field. The drive off the bat of Vinnie Pasquantino instead popped out of Rodriguez’s glove as he slid onto the warning track.

Two batters later, Salvador Perez launched a drive to center field that off the bat appeared as if it would leave the yard. Rodriguez turned his back and leapt at the wall, losing track of the ball as it clanked off the top of the wall in front of the J-Rod Squad section.

Perez settled for a double and two RBIs, extending the Royals’ lead to 5-1.

Rodriguez then took a hit away from the next batter, rookie Jac Caglianone, with a sliding grab coming in on a line drive.

Williamson doubled in Luke Raley in the fifth inning and scored on J.P. Crawford’s two-out flare to left field, cutting the Mariners’ deficit to 5-3.

They didn’t get any closer.

Double plays spoiled two prime chances for the Mariners to rally late.

With two runners on, pinch-hitter Donovan Solano grounded into a 5-4-3 double play to end the sixth inning.

After Royals reliever Angel Zerpa walked the first two batters in the, Lucas Erceg came in for the Royals and got rookie Cole Young, on a 3-1 pitch, to ground into a 4-6-3 double play for the first two outs. Crawford then grounded out softly to end the inning and the Mariners’ last real threat.

Raleigh was 0 for 4 with four strikeouts. Earlier in the day, he went through his Home Run Derby practice with his father Todd pitching to him at T-Mobile Park.

Mariners reliever Juan Burgos made his major-league debut, throwing a scoreless eighth inning on 11 pitches.

He struck out Kyle Isbel looking at a 96.5-mph sinker to end the inning, receiving a nice standing ovation from fans behind the home dugout as he walked off the field.

Back out for the ninth inning, Burgos allowed a one-out double to Royals star Bobby Witt Jr., and Perez’s two-out single drove in Witt for an insurance run.