By Paul L. Taylor Posted on

Mariners see signs of life from Cal Raleigh in loss to White Sox

Cal Raleigh hits his first home run of spring training and other takes, as the Mariners fall short 12-10 to the White Sox in Peoria.

While not exactly panic stations for a player coming off a 60-home run season and finishing runner-up for AL MVP, Cal Raleigh had endured a challenging start to spring training. He was 0-for-6 through his first two games of Cactus League action for the Mariners, with three strikeouts and the one positive of two walks.

However, Raleigh’s bat finally woke up on Tuesday afternoon versus the White Sox, as he hit a first-pitch two-run blast to left-center in the bottom of the third inning. He additionally worked a first-inning walk and hit a single in the bottom of the seventh, to complete a fine day at the office.

The 2024 Platinum Glove winner needs to report to Team USA by the end of this month ahead of the World Baseball Classic, so he was keen to get things going ASAP both for the benefit of his club and country. He’ll be just fine once opening day comes around, with him more focused than ever on helping deliver a first World Series berth to the Mariners.

George Kirby only just getting warmed up

Tuesday also saw George Kirby make his first start of spring training, with him aiming to bounce back from the worst season of his Major League career in 2025, although in fairness he was compromised by a right shoulder inflammation which cost him effectively two months to begin the season. It’s fair to say that he labored — not exactly unexpected — through his outing on Tuesday, taking 33 pitches to complete 1.1 innings of action.

Kirby did have 22 called strikes in his 33 pitches as he regularly got ahead in the count, but it certainly proved to be an eventful outing as he also allowed two hits, a walk and gave up two earned runs and even added a hit batter. Speaking to the media postgame about just working on getting back into game shape and fine-tuning things, he said:

“I think just the main focus is to get out get back out there, just enjoy being out there on the mound again and then work on a couple things that I had in mind to go out there, whether it’s the cutter or the splitter.”

Leadoff hope for the Mariners

In a sign of what’s to come in the regular season, Brendan Donovan hit first in the lineup on Tuesday in his first game of spring training. Acquired from the St. Louis Cardinals at the beginning of this month, the hope is that he can revitalize a leadoff position which was a source of poor productivity throughout last year for the Mariners.

The early results will have proved encouraging, with Donovan going 2-for-2 as he hit two singles versus the White Sox, belying the reality that he was nervous ahead of his first game action for the Mariners. He said:

“Yeah, I had some jitters, I’m not going to lie. I mean, new team and first time playing, but for me, I just wanted to be under control. I wanted to make sure I was going on good pitches and I wanted to get something off the barrel too. So, to see those balls sneak out into the outfield, that was pretty cool.”

Other notes

Julio Rodriguez and Rick Rizzs
Julio Rodriguez and Rick Rizzs courtesy of Mariners media
  • Julio Rodríguez had a two-out, two-RBI double in the bottom of the fourth and he is now 4-for-7 with a 1.482 OPS in three games of Cactus League action.
  • The Mariners had 12 hits and nine walks as they produced their 10 runs, but could have tallied even more after going just 3-for-17 with runners in scoring position.
  • The 12 runs the pitching staff gave up was their most so far this year in spring training, with Troy Taylor coming off worst as he allowed four hits, a walk and three earned runs in just 0.2 innings.
  • Next up the Mariners will play the Royals on the road on Wednesday afternoon, with Bryan Woo scheduled to make his first start of spring training.

Quote of the day

Even after leaving the game, Donovan decided to remain in the dugout and mingle with his new teammates. When asked about the importance of this, he said:

“Yeah, I mean, I’m new here and I’m trying to see how people play and, you know, talk to them, build relationships on a personal level and I think that’s important to do in the dugout too. … I believe in getting to know someone as a person too and then you get to know them as a player as well. So that’s an area I tried to lean into today.”

Photos court​‌esy of Tim Rogers Photography & Mariners Media

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