Cal Raleigh homers three times as Mariners beat Phillies 9-2
Cal Raleigh drove in four runs with three home runs and Logan Gilbert worked five solid innings as the Mariners beat the Phillies 9-2, pushing their record to 63-69 and their last five to 3-2.
Raleigh's three-homer night
Phillies9-2The Mariners beat the Phillies 9-2 at T-Mobile Park on August 24, and Cal Raleigh made most of it himself, going 3-for-3 with three home runs and four RBI. Per Talkin' Baseball, Raleigh's night included his 15th homer of the year, part of a five-run first inning the Mariners hung on Zack Wheeler. Foul Territory TV noted Raleigh and Cole Young went back-to-back to make it 8-2, and Young finished 1-for-4 with the homer and an RBI of his own.
Julio Rodríguez went 2-for-5 with a homer and three RBI, and Josh Naylor added a 3-for-4 night, giving the Mariners four players who did damage in the same game. Logan Gilbert got the start and worked five innings, allowing five hits and two earned runs with five strikeouts against two walks. The win extended the Mariners to 3-2 in their last five games and 63-69 on the season, three games back of a wild-card spot with an elimination number of 28.
Recent News
The Mariners' infield is thinner than it was a week ago. Daniel Kramer of MLB.com reports that Brendan Donovan's concussion symptoms are starting to improve after the club placed him on the 7-day concussion IL. There is better news elsewhere on that front, but Colt Emerson's is worse: general manager Justin Hollander told Adam Jude of The Seattle Times that Emerson will undergo season-ending left wrist surgery on Wednesday.
The Mariners also settled their Jhonathan Díaz situation this week, outrighting him off the 40-man roster per MLB Trade Rumors, days after designating him for assignment to select Kade Anderson. The moves leave Seattle piecing together its bench and rotation depth at exactly the point in the schedule where every roster spot matters.
Brendan Donovan's injury-riddled season continues with another trip to the #Mariners' IL: t.co/bijoCNUOMB
Upcoming
George Kirby starts for the Mariners against Aaron Nola as the Mariners host the Phillies tonight. Kirby is 8-10 with a 4.18 ERA and was rocked for six earned runs in 3.1 innings in his last start against Milwaukee, while Nola, 5-9 with a 5.12 ERA, was sharp in his last outing, throwing seven innings of one-run ball against Miami with eight strikeouts and no walks.
The Phillies are favored, and the total points to a low-scoring game, which lines up with Nola's recent form more than Kirby's. For Seattle to beat that number, Kirby needs to look more like the pitcher who took the mound before his Milwaukee start than the one who left it after 3.1 innings there.