Watch: Two M’s launch upper-deck HRs, Turner hits grand slam
Aug 2, 2024, 10:05 PM | Updated: Aug 3, 2024, 9:54 pm
(Stephen Brashear/Getty Images)
The Seattle Mariners turned Friday’s series opener against the National League-leading Philadelphia Phillies into a long-ball parade.
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Víctor Robles set the tone with a leadoff, upper-deck blast in the first inning. Luke Raley added another upper-deck shot in the second, launching one of the longest home runs in T-Mobile Park history. Trade-deadline acquisition Justin Turner provided the exclamation point later in the second, breaking things open with a grand slam in his home debut with the Mariners. And Mitch Haniger added a solo shot in the seventh to put a 10-spot on the board in Seattle’s 10-2 rout.
It served as quite the emphatic start to the Mariners’ nine-game homestand, especially considering the offensive struggles that have plagued them for so much of the season.
Here’s a look at all four home runs:
• Robles launched the very first pitch from Phillies rookie starter Tyler Phillips into the upper deck in left field for a 426-foot homer that registered a 109.8 mph exit velocity. It continued a red-hot stretch for Robles, who is batting .367/.425/.557 with three homers, six doubles and nine stolen bases in 34 games with the Mariners since being released by the Washington Nationals on June 1. It was his second career leadoff homer.
• Raley became just the seventh player in T-Mobile Park’s 25-year history to reach the upper deck in right field. His mammoth three-run homer in the second inning registered a 115.4 mph exit velocity and soared 459 feet, which is tied for the second-longest home run by a Mariners player at T-Mobile Park since the Statcast era began in 2015. The longest belongs to Mike Zunino, who clubbed a 470-footer in 2018. It was Raley’s 12 homer of the season.
• Turner wasted no time introducing himself to Mariners fans at T-Mobile Park. In just his second home at-bat since joining the team, the 39-year-old veteran slugger hit a 397-foot grand slam over the left-field fence to cap Seattle’s seven-run second inning. It was Turner’s fourth career grand slam and his first home run since the Mariners acquired him in a trade with the Toronto Blue Jays on Monday.
• Haniger capped the home-run fireworks with a 410-foot solo shot to left-center field in the seventh. It was Haniger’s 10th homer of the season.
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