SEATTLE — Cal Raleigh hit his major league-leading 59th and 60th home runs of the season, and the Mariners won their fourth AL West title with a 9-2 victory over the Rockies on Wednesday night.
Raleigh, batting lefthanded, connected off Tanner Gordon in the first inning for his first home run to right field that reached the top deck at T-Mobile Park. Then in the eighth inning, Raleigh, batting lefthanded again, connected off Angel Chivilli.
Raleigh has 11 multihome run games this season, tied with Aaron Judge (2022), Hank Greenberg (1938), and Sammy Sosa for the MLB record.
With four games remaining in the Mariners’ regular season, Raleigh has a chance to pass Yankees star Aaron Judge for the American League single-season home run record. Judge hit 62 home runs in 2022 to break the previous record set by Roger Maris, which stood since 1961.
Raleigh’s latest homers came just four days after he passed Ken Griffey Jr. for the franchise’s single-season home run record with his 57th homer. Griffey hit 56 in both 1997 and 1998.
Raleigh has also surpassed Mickey Mantle’s previous MLB record of 54 home runs by a switch-hitter that had stood since 1961. He also set the MLB record for homers by a catcher this season, eclipsing the 48 hit by Salvador Perez in 2021.
Raleigh is four home runs ahead of Phillies slugger Kyle Schwarber and six home runs ahead of Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani.
Luis Castillo (11-8) threw 7⅓ innings of one-run ball to help the Mariners — the only team in the major that has never reached the World Series — win for the 16th time in 17 games. Castillo didn’t give up at hit until Blaine Crim hit a solo shot in the fourth.
Eugenio Suárez hit his 48th homer in the seventh.