Cal Raleigh clubs 31st homer as Mariners pummel Cubs to take series

CHICAGO – In the “what else is new?” category, Mariners catcher Cal Raleigh hit another home run Sunday, his Major League-leading 31st in just Seattle’s 76th game of the season.

In what did qualify as news, of the happiest kind for the Mariners, Raleigh’s fourth home run in three days helped lead Seattle to a 14-6 victory over the Cubs and a series-win on the road against the team with the second-best winning percentage in MLB. That’s a promising start to what looms as a rugged 10-games-in-10-days road trip.

In tying a season-high for runs scored, the Mariners (39-37) also won for the sixth time in nine games, a stretch coming on the heels of losing eight of nine, which has allowed them to not lose touch of the Astros, who lead the AL West by five games.

“Just a really good series win for us,’’ manager Dan Wilson said. “Came at a really nice time.’’

While Raleigh seems to make history almost every day, he was hardly alone Sunday.

Dominic Canzone and Donovan Solano hit two home runs apiece, each hit one early to build a 5-1 lead and then late to seal the win. Along with Raleigh, that made a season-high five homers for Seattle.

Those homers led to eight of Seattle’s first nine runs , typifying a series at hot and windy Wrigley Field – it was 92 degrees at first pitch with a breeze again blowing out, which Wilson called “classic Wrigley Field conditions.’’

Seattle’s five home runs were its most since clubbing seven against the Royals on Aug. 26, 2023.

The Mariners had two players hit two or more home runs in a game in the same series for the first time in franchise history. Raleigh and Garver did it during Friday’s 9-4 win.

“It’s a different kind of ballgame when it’s like this and the guys responded well,’’ said Wilson. “You can’t underestimate the heat.’’

Wilson grew up in nearby Arlington Heights and watched many Cubs games on TV along the way.

But he said nothing could have prepared him for the conditions of this weekend.

“Until you experience it you don’t really understand what it is and that’s what we had the last few days,’’ he said.

Wilson praised his players for understanding how the conditions would change the game.

“I thought our guys put in some really good at-bats,’’ Wilson said, after his team that pounded out a season-high 18 hits and drew four walks. “And not only can you take advantage of that offensively but you have to pitch against that defensively and I thought today the guys did a really nice job.’’

Solano, who grew up in Barranquilla, Colombia, said the weather reminded him of his hometown and admitted that he tried to alter his launch angle to get balls in the air .

“I’m from this weather,’’ Solano said. “… You see like five more homers going, the wind is blowing out, so like I try to hit it hard, like line drive it, and stay in the air.’’

After bludgeoning the Cubs early, the Mariners used small-ball to tag on five more runs in the eighth.

Solano had three hits in all three games here in continuing a recent surge and had a season-high five RBIs.

Canzone’s two solo shots gave him the first multi-homer game of his career.

The Mariners needed every run they could get as the Cubs also clubbed four homers. The two teams combined for 21 home runs in the series – 10 by Seattle.

By the end of Sunday’s slugfest it was almost easy to forget that Raleigh got it all started.

Almost.

Raleigh, getting a day off from catching and serving as the designated hitter, slammed a two-run shot on the first pitch he saw off Cubs starter Colin Rea in the top of the first to give the Marines a lead they never relinquished.

“Rea’s a tough one,’’ Raleigh said, adding his approach was to “try to get on something early, something starting in the heart of the plate. He was able to leave one there and I was able to take advantage.’’

The homer adds to what has already been an historic first half for Raleigh, who on Friday passed Johnny Bench for the most home runs by a catcher before the All-Star break.

Sunday’s homer gave him the third-highest total of any Mariner before the All-Star break, trailing only Ken Griffey Jr.’s MVP season (35 in 1998) and Griffey again (33 in 1994).

It was Raleight’s fifth homer in five games and his fourth in the three-game series . He also scored eight runs in the three games against the Cubs, tying a MLB record by a catcher in a three-game series.

“He just continues to march through history here,’’ Wilson said. “It’s fun to watch.’’

Logan Gilbert pitched in his second start since returning from missing almost two months with a right elbow flexor strain – he struck out six through four innings – leaving hope the Mariners had things well in hand.

Gilbert said he relied more than usual on his sinker and splitter to try to keep the ball down and not allow the Cubs to get it up into the air.

But this is Wrigley Field and a good-hitting Cubs team that issecond in MLB in runs and third in extra base hits.

The Cubs began to revert to form in the fifth when catcher Reese McGuire, a Seattle native, led off the inning by blasting a Gilbert pitch over the wall in center – his second home run in the series – and Seiya Suzuki followed a few batters later with a two-run shot over the wall in left and onto Waveland Avenue.

That was Suzuki’s second of the game, having also hit a solo shot in the first.

“Thought the slider was pretty good, splitter was pretty good,’’ Gilbert said, “Made a couple mistakes with them, but overall pretty good.’’

Gilbert finished allowing four runs on eight hits – but maybe most vitally, no walks – in throwing 90 pitches.

Seattle responded to the Cubs’ uprising with two in the top of the sixth – including Canzone’s second homer of the game – to take a 7-4 lead.

Solano then added a two-run shot far over the left-field wall for what was the fourth multi-home run game of the 37-year-old’s career to make it 9-4.

The Mariners bullpen mostly closed the door from there, capping off a series in which the pen allowed just three runs in 13 innings.

“To come out here and make a statement and win the series the way they did is impressive,’’ Wilson said.

The Mariners begin a four-game set at Minnesota on Monday at 4:40 p.m. with Bryan Woo (6-4, 3.12 ERA) going against Bailey Ober (4-4, 4.54).