MINNEAPOLIS — Cal Raleigh picked up right where he left off last week.
Raleigh hit his major league-leading 32nd home run in the ninth inning of the Seattle Mariners’ 11-2 win over the Minnesota Twins.
Raleigh was chosen AL player of the week after he hit .417 with five homers and 12 RBIs in six games. Much of that came in the Mariners’ series with the Cubs, when Raleigh hit four home runs as the Mariners took two of three at Wrigley Field.
His latest home run came off left-handed reliever Joey Wentz, a two-run shot to left field off a high changeup that Wentz left over the middle of the plate. It was Raleigh’s fourth straight game with a home run.
“He’s just in a really good spot,” Mariners manager Dan Wilson said. “I think he feels comfortable, clearly, and he’s getting good pitches. And when he gets them, he doesn’t miss them.”
In his last 30 games, Raleigh is hitting .331 (39 for 118) with 17 home runs and 36 RBIs. For the season, he’s hitting .278 with 68 RBIs and a 1.048 OPS.
The 28-year-old catcher, who signed a six-year, $105 million contract with Seattle this spring, needs three more homers to match Ken Griffey Jr. for the most before the All-Star break in Mariners history.
“He’s hit a lot of home runs, but he’s found a lot of barrels, and when you’re hitting .270 with that kind of power, you’re putting up a lot of good at-bats,” Wilson said. “He’s hitting the ball hard. He’s hitting the ball on the line, and then occasionally he’s getting … underneath it a little bit more and driving it out of the ballpark.”
Mariners starter Bryan Woo struck out nine in six innings to earn the win. He’s pitched at least six innings in each of his 15 starts this year and sports a 3.12 ERA. But even Woo shook his head when asked how he’d pitch to Raleigh right now.
“I’d put up four fingers and let him take first base,” said Woo. “Yeah, I’m not pitching to him.”
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