For seven innings of Thursday's game, the New York Yankees couldn't touch Seattle Mariners pitching. Mariners starter Bryan Woo tossed seven no-hit innings, then exited the game in the bottom of the eighth inning with a 5-1 lead after surrendering a sacrifice fly, entrusting the four-run margin to the Mariners' reliable bullpen. Only, this time, Mariners reliever Matt Brash, who has an ERA under 1.00, yielded a two-run home run to Giancarlo Stanton.
Then, something even stranger occurred. Mariners closer Andrés Muñoz, an All-Star for the second time this year, surrendered two earned runs in the bottom of the ninth inning to blow the save. And in stark contrast to how they fared against Woo, the Yankees were all over Muñoz.
There was a good reason for that.
After the game, Mariners All-Star catcher Cal Raleigh admitted that Muñoz was tipping his pitches.
"He was tipping it every time at second base," Raleigh said, via The Athletic. “Obviously, they weren’t making it very discreet, I guess is the word. It’s part of the game. It’s our job. We should have known about that going into the series. That made it really hard there at the end."
Mariners manager Dan Wilson disagreed, telling reporters he didn't "think" Muñoz was tipping his pitches. That could simply be Wilson putting on a public front in an attempt to dismiss what the Yankees had done, as broadcast replays clearly show that New York seemed to pick something up from the Mariners reliever. In particular, every time Muñoz threw a slider, Yankees outfielder Trent Grisham, who was standing on second base, would wave an arm in the air to alert New York's batter.
.@JackCurryYES breaks down the success the Yankees had vs Andres Muñoz in the ninth inning.#YANKSonYES pic.twitter.com/7nZ6azb2dE
— YES Network (@YESNetwork) July 11, 2025
Muñoz had tossed 8 1/3 scoreless innings entering Thursday's appearance. The Yankees went on to win on a walk-off sacrifice fly by reigning American League MVP Aaron Judge in the bottom of the 10th inning, completing a rare comeback that hadn't been seen in MLB in nearly 50 years.
As for the tipping pitches? Raleigh acknowledged it's something the Mariners are going to need to "figure out."
"Yeah, you try to do as much as you can without trying to distract him from what’s happening at the plate," Raleigh continued. "That’s something that we will have to figure out in the next couple of days for sure."
Seattle will next take on the Detroit Tigers in a three-game series before the All-Star break.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Cal Raleigh Admits Mariners Star Closer Was Tipping Pitches During Yankees' Comeback.
