Mariners’ Cal Raleigh increases AL HR lead to 21 with 2 more

Cal Raleigh hit the 20-homer mark before the end of May, but the star Seattle Mariners catcher didn’t stop there.

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Raleigh hit nearly identical home runs to right field in both the first and eighth innings Friday against the Minnesota Twins, driving in all but one of Seattle’s six runs on the night with his 20th and 21st homers of the year.

NUMBER 2️⃣0️⃣ #TridentsUp pic.twitter.com/l6M6RNwxF6

— Seattle Mariners (@Mariners) May 31, 2025

Raleigh’s first homer, a three-run shot, traveled 356 feet with an exit velocity of 102.9 mph.

The second landed in roughly the same part of the ballpark, but there was considerably more giddy-up to it, traveling 380 feet at 113.2 mph.

Cal does it AGAIN‼️ #TridentsUp pic.twitter.com/w5QTD0Mycm

— Seattle Mariners (@Mariners) May 31, 2025

Unfortunately for the Mariners, they blew a three-run lead in the ninth inning in a rare rough outing for closer Andrés Muñoz, and the Twins won the series opener 12-6 in 10 innings. It was the second straight game in which the M’s bullpen faltered late, as Seattle allowed seven runs in the 10th inning Thursday in a 9-3 loss to Washington.

Friday’s loss cost the Mariners (30-25) the AL West lead, with Houston (31-26) moving a half-game ahead of Seattle in the standings.

Raleigh maintained his American League home run lead with his two-homer night, however. You’d think he might also be in the MLB lead at this point, but Shohei Ohtani hit two homers himself Friday night for the Dodgers to push his total to 22, one ahead of Raleigh. “The Big Dumper” remains ahead of the Yankees’ Aaron Judge, who hit his 19th homer Friday, in the AL race.

The fact that Raleigh is sandwiched between the two reigning MVPs on the MLB home run leaderboard is a pretty strong indication of just how incredible he’s playing this year. So is the fact that no catcher in MLB history had hit 20 homers before June until now.

How Cal Raleigh made key improvement at the plate

Already the owner of an AL Gold Glove and Platinum Glove for his defensive efforts behind the plate last season, the switch-hitting Raleigh is well on his way to his first All-Star Game appearance. Following his big night Friday, he owns a .265/.381/.623 slash line for a 1.004 OPS with 42 RBIs.

Raleigh hit his 20th homer in his 56th game of the season, easily the fastest he has reached the milestone in his five-year big league career. In 2024, Raleigh hit his 20th homer on July 12, his 90th game of the season, en route to a career-high 34 homers.

This is the fourth straight season Raleigh has hit at least 20 home runs.

Friday was actually the second time this week that Raleigh hit two homers in one game. He also hit a pair in a win Tuesday over the Washington Nationals. While his two homers Friday both came from the left side, the switch-hitter smacked his two homers Tuesday from the right side. Raleigh has been equally as dangerous from either side of the plate this season, with 13 homers as a lefty and eight as a righty.

More on the Seattle Mariners

• M’s prospect Harry Ford continues tear in Triple-A with massive HR
• Three reasons the Mariners’ lead in AL West has shrunk
• How Logan Gilbert fared in first rehab start
• Jon Morosi hopes MVP voters will see Cal Raleigh’s value
• Seattle Mariners debut coming soon? Cole Young records five-hit game

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