Sept. 25 (UPI) — Cal Raleigh continued his historic homer campaign, smashing Nos. 59 and 60, while helping the Seattle Mariners clinch their first American League West title since 2001.
Raleigh obliterated fastballs in the first and eighth innings of the 9-2 triumph over the Colorado Rockies on Wednesday in Seattle.
With the win, the Mariners (89-69) beat the Houston Astros (84-74) in the race for their first division crown in nearly a quarter century. The Astros won seven of the last eight division titles, including each of the last four.
“I’m just speechless,” Raleigh said on the Root Sports broadcast. “This is something that we’ve been working so hard for and the city is dying for.”
The Mariners currently hold the American League’s No. 2 seed, which includes a first-round bye and home-field advantage in the American League Division Series.
“I’m just so happy,” Raleigh said. “I love this team. I love this city. … I’m so happy for our guys. We are going to celebrate, [but] we’re not done yet.”
Raleigh, who leads MLB with 60 homers and is tops in the American League in RBIs (125), crushed his 59th long ball of the year in the bottom of the first inning Wednesday at T-Mobile Park.
He hit the third pitch he saw from Rockies starter Tanner Gordon — a 93.1-mph fastball — into the upper deck for a 438-foot solo shot. Mariners center fielder Julio Rodriguez hit a 422-foot homer in the next at-bat and the Mariners never looked back.
Second baseman Julio Polanco hit the third home run of the inning two at-bats later. Raleigh added to the lead with a two-run double in the second. Designated hitter Blaine Crim put the Rockies on the scoreboard with a 412-foot solo homer in the top of the fourth.
Left fielder Randy Arozarena and first baseman Josh Naylor each drove in runs in the bottom of the same inning for a 7-1 Mariners lead. Third baseman Eugenio Suarez smashed the Mariners’ fourth homer of the night — a 358-foot solo blast to right field — in the seventh.
Raleigh returned to the plate in the bottom of the eighth. He hit the first pitch he saw from Rockies relief pitcher Angel Chivilli to right field for a 389-foot solo homer.
The Rockies scored the final run of the night on an RBI ground out in the top of the ninth.
Raleigh went 3 for 5 with four RBIs and two runs scored. Designed hitter Dominic Canzone went 3 for 4 for the Mariners. Rodriguez and Polanco recorded two hits apiece in the victory.
Mariners starter Luis Castillo allowed just one hit and one run over 7 1/3 innings. He issued 10 strikeouts and no walks to improve to 11-8 in 2025.
Gordon allowed eight hits and seven runs, including five earned, over 3 1 /3 innings to drop to 6-8 this season. The Rockies, who own MLB’s worst record (43-115), totaled just two hits.
With the No. 2 seed, the Mariners are on track to play the winner of a potential wild card series between the No. 3 Cleveland Guardians and No. 6 Detroit Tigers.
The Guardians, who are 12-1 over their last 13 games, beat the Tigers 5-1 on Wednesday to take a one-game lead on their foes atop the American League Central.
The New York Yankees also improved their positioning with an 8-1 win over the Chicago White Sox on Wednesday in New York. They are now tied — record-wise — with the Toronto Blue Jays atop the American League East, but the Blue Jays own a tiebreaker.
The Blue Jays still hold the No. 1 seed and would face the winner of a wild card series between the Yankees and Boston Red Sox in an American League Division Series, if the playoffs started after Wednesday’s games.
The Yankees, Blue Jays and Mariners remain the only American League teams to clinch postseason spots, leaving three placements unsettled. The Mariners were the first American League team to clinch a division title.
The Yankees and Blue Jays each clinched at least a wild card berth. The Red Sox (87-71) and Tigers (85-73) are the other two wild card leaders. The Astros (84-74), who are on a five-game losing streak, are one game back in the wild card race.
Just one postseason ticket remains up for grabs in the National League, with several teams fighting for a wild card berth. The New York Mets (81-77), who currently hold the last wild card spot, lost 10-1 to the playoff-bound Chicago Cubs (89-69) on Wednesday, but their top competitors — the Cincinnati Reds (80-78) and Arizona Diamondbacks (80-78) — also lost and failed to make up ground.
The Milwaukee Brewers (96-63) and Philadelphia Phillies (93-65) clinched two of the National League’s three division titles. The Los Angeles Dodgers (89-69) hold a 2 1/2 game lead on the San Diego Padres (87-72) in the National League West.
The Reds will host the Pittsburgh Pirates (69-89) in the first game of MLB’s Thursday slate at 12:40 p.m. EDT in Cincinnati.
