SEATTLE — Cal Raleigh tied Mickey Mantle’s season record for most home runs by a switch hitter with his 54th, and the Seattle Mariners extended their winning streak to nine by routing the Los Angeles Angels 11-2 Sunday to take sole possession of the American League West lead for the first time since June.
“You know, in today’s age it’s hard not to go on your phone and people are talking about it, texting you about it,” Raleigh told reporters about his achievements. “I’m trying to do my best to block that out. I’m glad that we have something bigger to work towards.”
Batting left-handed, Raleigh hit a first-pitch homer to left-center off Kyle Hendricks for a 2-0 lead in the first inning.
Mantle hit his 54 homers for the 1961 New York Yankees.
“I remember him talking about [Mantle] like he was a god. Which he was,” Raleigh said of a visit to Yankee Stadium as a youngster with his father. “It’s kind of cool to think about that.”
Raleigh’s homer was his record-setting 43rd this season as a catcher, one more than Atlanta‘s Javy López in 2003.
“To do what he has done offensively, to do what he does defensively, to do what he does with our pitching staff, you just marvel at all the things that he’s accomplishing,” Mariners manager Dan Wilson told reporters. “On top of that, making history, and just in a very humble way, that’s the kind of guy he is. He just wants to win, and that’s where it all comes from. That’s the driver.”
In his fifth major league season, Raleigh had a previous high of 34 homers last year. He is two shy of tying the Mariners’ single-season record held by Ken Griffey Jr. (1997, 1998).
“I don’t mean to downplay [the record] at all; it’s a very awesome and meaningful thing,” Raleigh told reporters. “… But I’m not trying to go out there and try to hit homers or trying to break a certain record or anything. I’m just trying to help the team out any way I can.”
George Kirby matched his career high with 14 strikeouts as the Mariners completed a four-game sweep and won for the 20th time in their last 23 home games.
The Mariners (82-68) moved one game ahead of Houston (81-69) at the top of the division, winning nine in a row for the first time since a 14-game streak from July 2-17, 2022, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.
The Mariners had not been alone in first place since before play on June 3.
It’s the latest in a season that Seattle has been in first place since 2001, when the Mariners won their last division title. That 23-year drought is the longest active streak in the American League.
ESPN Research and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
