Mariners beat Royals 12-5 as Cal Raleigh catches Ken Griffey Jr.

Cal Raleigh ties the Mariners record of 56 homers in a season, on an evening when Dominic Canzone left his own mark on franchise history.

This Seattle Mariners season is now entering the stage where you may well be questioning if this is all actually real, or if there’s a glitch in the matrix. What’s happening right now is the stuff of dreams for fans, with their beloved team having to be considered one of the very best teams in the AL and possibly the majors as a whole.

Tuesday night in Kansas City was another example of this very surreal 2025 campaign, as the Mariners came out firing from the very start and held a 9-0 lead at the mid-point of the fourth inning. The Royals should be commended for at least trying to get back into the game, but when it was all said and done the M’s secured an important 12-5 win on the road.

The Mariners have now won 10 games in a row, which is tied for the third-longest in franchise history and they maintain the minutest of advantages over the Astros at the top of the AL West. In addition the Tigers lost on Tuesday night and now the M’s move to within two games of the second seed in the AL and the first round bye which would come with it.

Dominic Canzone has a career night for the Mariners

Dominic Canzone led the way for the Mariners with a game for the ages, in his first start as a designated hitter this season. He went 5-for-5 and became just the 12th player in M’s history to hit three home runs in a game.

Canzone also became just the second player in franchise history to have five hits and three homes in the same game. Just for good measures he had four RBI and scored four runs of his own as he continued the best season of his Major League career, highlighted by a .304 batting average, .854 OPS and 144 OPS+.

Postgame, Mariners manager Dan Wilson talked about the 28-year-old’s magnificent performance. He said:

“A huge night for Dom. We saw some great at-bats the other day on Sunday at home and he just brought it out here again today. You don’t hit a cheap homer in this ballpark. You’ve got to earn it and he crushed some balls today. Just his ability to be an all around hitter as well has been very apparent in these last couple of days and he has really done well.”

Cal Raleigh continues his climb up the record books

Despite Canzone’s career-game, in some ways he still had to play second fiddle because of what Cal Raleigh accomplished himself on the night. First he hit a solo blast in the top of the third to surpass Mickey Mantle for the most home runs by a switch-hitter in a season, then hit his 56th the very next inning to equal Ken Griffey Jr.’s mark for most in a campaign in franchise history.

Asked about his latest accomplishments after the game, the Mariners’ clubhouse leader continued to remain grounded and tried to keep focused on the team’s success as a whole. He said:

“I mean it’s very cool, (I’m) very humbled by it. A crazy kind of thing I never thought would happen, but just taking it day-by-day. pitch-by-pitch. Like I said before, I’m just really enjoying the ride with these guys and trying to really finish this season strong.”

Wilson also talked about Raleigh’s continued success and how the catcher was now in hallowed territory after surpassing Mantle and equalling Griffey in the same day. He said:

“We’ve said this all before, but it just continues and it continues at a historic level. To do what he’s doing and to do it behind the plate as often as he’s back there, it’s kind of unfathomable. And the way he led the staff again tonight, what he’s done for us behind the plate all year and to do it at that level, and to do what he’s doing offensively it’s just unmatched. I mean I think you can honestly say it’s unmatched.”

Whether it provided Raleigh with extra motivation or not, he appreciated seeing the Royals’ Salvador Perez being honored pre-game for making history at the weekend by reaching 300 home runs. The M’s 2025 All-Star said:

“It was really cool. For a catcher to hit 300 home runs is amazing in itself and he is one of a kind. A Hall of Famer for sure in my opinion. Gold Gloves, Silver Sluggers, World Series MVP, won a World Series, it’s the dream. He’s somebody I look up to and you definitely want to honor those people. He does it right and definitely the right way.”

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Cal Raleigh continues to be a role model for aspiring baseball players

On the subject of doing it the right way, this definitely also applies to Raleigh. Speaking about how he’s handled this season, Wilson said:

“He’s approached this from day one with a ton of humility. That’s the kind of person he is. His desire is to win and that’s what he wants to do in Seattle is win. That’s where his drive comes from and that’s the way he’s approached this whole thing. He just continues to check off all these milestones and he does it with such a humble heart. The position lends itself to that a little bit, because you get knocked down back there, but he’s handled it all so incredibly well and I don’t know how he’s been able to do it.”

It wasn’t all smooth sailing on the night for Raleigh though, as he was hit in the neck by a wayward Logan Gilbert pitch in the bottom of the second. He didn’t blame Gilbert though, as he said:

“I’ve got to be better and just keep my head down. I got down late, it kind of moved on me. I was trying to track it and I’ve got to keep my head down. It’s one of those things catchers get every once in a while, but not often.”

Wilson marvelled at the 28-year-old’s ability to shake off the incident so quickly and once more show just how tough he is. He said:

“He’s not one to want to take a little time and he said ‘I need a second’, but that’s all he took. He’s tough as nails. He’s so durable back there. He knows that’s part of the job, but to do that in the next half inning (coming) out there and hitting a home run, it says a lot about the kind of fight in that guy and his desire to win.”

Now, it’s a case of the Mariners in general proving their desire to win, with the Astros continuing to breathe down their necks and with that vital three-game series in Houston coming up at the weekend. Bryce Miller will take the mound on Wednesday night, looking to build on a career-high 11 strikeouts in his last start.

Photos court​‌esy of Tim Rodgers Photography

Where does this end for Raleigh? You would like to think he’ll hit at least one more home run to surpass Griffey, but does he get the magic 60-mark with just 11 games remaining in the regular season? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below.