SEATTLE — On a day that was defined early on about the next promising face to join the organization via the MLB Draft, it was the two homegrown picks who’ve blossomed into franchise fixtures who helped Seattle snap out of a brief two-game skid in Tuesday night’s 1-0 win at T-Mobile Park.
Logan Gilbert pitched into the seventh inning for the first time since Opening Day, surrendering just one hit while racking up 10 strikeouts in what could be a season-propelling start for the staff ace, while Cal Raleigh gave his good friend and batterymate just enough run support with his 39th homer in the sixth inning that put him into territory that only Ken Griffey Jr. has reached.
With it, the Mariners sent Kade Anderson — their first-round pick in last weekend’s Draft at No. 3 overall — off to the first stage of his pro career on a winning note, after the former LSU left-hander was formally introduced by the club earlier on Tuesday afternoon.
Seattle (54-47) also silenced red-hot Milwaukee (60-41) by snapping its win streak at 11 games, one day after it claimed sole possession of MLB’s best record. The Mariners were also able to overcome seven strikeouts in their first 14 batters against Brewers rookie sensation Jacob Misiorowski, who was pulled after just 64 pitches and with two outs in the fourth inning in a workload-management decision.
Gilbert might’ve been the Mariners’ MVP of the night, but it was Raleigh who had the biggest moment, pulling a 96.1 mph fastball from reliever Nick Mears way out for a 391-foot solo blast with two outs and in a 2-2 count in the sixth. In doing so, Raleigh tied Griffey with the most homers in a player’s first five seasons in franchise history, with 132.
Last week, Raleigh became the first — and only — Mariners slugger to win the Home Run Derby other than Griffey, and Tuesday marked the first time that the backstop cleared the fence since that epic exhibition in Atlanta. He last homered in a game on July 11 in Detroit, with Tuesday snapping a six-game drought.
Leading into All-Star Week, Raleigh also passed Griffey for the most homers before the break, and if he remains on this historic pace, he could pass the Hall of Famer’s record of 56 in a single season, set in 1997 and ‘98.
