Good morning, I’m Dan Gartland. If you’re following the AL East race, be sure to keep a close eye on the weather today. It’s downright dreadful here in the New York area and I don’t think the Yankees will be able to get their game against the White Sox in. Are they going to be forced to play a doubleheader while fighting for first place?
In today’s SI:AM:
🔱 60 for Raleigh
⛳ Home course advantage
⚾ Ohtani peaking at the right time
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Big Dumper, big number
Things could not be going any better right now for Cal Raleigh and the Mariners. Not only did Wednesday’s 9–2 win over the Rockies mark Seattle’s 16th win in its last 17 games, but the victory also clinched the AL West for the M’s and saw Raleigh reach one of the sport’s most elusive milestones.
Raleigh hit two homers in the win to become just the seventh player in MLB history to hit 60 home runs in a season. Only Babe Ruth, Roger Maris, Sammy Sosa, Mark McGwire, Barry Bonds and Aaron Judge had reached that threshold before Raleigh.
Raleigh’s first homer of the night was a towering blast in the first inning that landed in the third deck of Seattle’s T-Mobile Park. Then, in the eighth inning, Raleigh ripped another homer to right for his 60th of the year.
Raleigh’s emergence as one of the sport’s elite power hitters has been a primary storyline of this season. Without his production in the middle of the lineup, Seattle would be nowhere near the top of the standings. On an individual level, Raleigh’s pursuit of Aaron Judge’s single-season AL home run record has been another one of the season’s driving narratives.
When Raleigh hit his 50th homer on Aug. 25, 60 seemed well within reach. A month to hit 10 more homers? A breeze for a hitter as prolific as Raleigh. But a mini slump cast doubt on his ability to reach the milestone. In 17 games between Aug. 26 and Sept. 13, Raleigh hit just three homers. It was just the second time this season that he’d hit three home runs or fewer in a 17-game stretch. Raleigh has been on fire lately, though, hitting seven homers in his last nine games. With four games left in the season, he needs three homers to pass Judge on the single-season AL leaderboard.
More importantly, the Mariners clinched their first AL West crown since their record-breaking 2001 season. They had trailed the Astros by seven games in the division on July 10 and were four games back on Sept. 3. But they’ve been on fire as of late, while Houston has sputtered. Seattle has won six in a row, including a three-game sweep of the Astros in Houston last weekend, and 16 of its last 17, while the Astros are 8–9 over that span.
“I don’t know what to say, I’m just so happy,” Raleigh said in an on-field interview on the Mariners’ TV broadcast after the game. “I love this team. I love this city. I love my parents, thank you for being here. I’m just so happy for our guys. We’re gonna celebrate tonight, and like I said, we’re not done yet.”
While the Mariners have already clinched the division and are nearly assured of a first-round bye, they do still have something to play for. They’re currently one game behind the Yankees and Blue Jays (who are tied atop the AL East, with Toronto holding the tiebreaker) for the best record in the AL. If Seattle wants a chance at home field advantage throughout the AL playoffs, it can’t take its foot off the gas over the final four days of the season. That means Raleigh should be in the lineup and have an opportunity to surpass Judge.
The best of Sports Illustrated
- In today’s Digital Cover, Bob Harig examines the recent trend of home team success at the Ryder Cup and why that might change this year.
- Greg Bishop spoke with Bengals quarterback Jake Browning on his opportunity to prove that he’s worthy of being an NFL starter.
- Tom Verducci writes that Shohei Ohtani delivered his sharpest outing of the year on Tuesday, rewarding the Dodgers’ patient plan and signaling he’s ready to make his long-awaited postseason pitching debut.
- Albert Breer reports that NFL offensive coaches were split on Jaxson Dart before the draft, raising concerns about the Giants’ new starter despite his potential.
- Dan Lyons ranks each SEC team’s yearly rivalry slate under the new nine-game format, assessing which programs drew easier paths and which face daunting annual matchups.
The top five…
… plays in baseball last night:
5. An inside-the-park home run by the Reds’ Noelvi Marte.
4. A franchise-record eight home runs by the Phillies.
3. Aaron Judge’s 50th homer of the season. He’s just the fourth player in MLB history to hit at least 50 homers in four separate seasons. (He added his 51st later in the game.)
2. Pete Crow-Armstrong’s hustle and awareness to score from second on a wild pitch.
1. Brewers center fielder Jackson Chourio’s home run robbery.
This article was originally published on www.si.com as SI:AM | Cal Raleigh Hits 60th Homer as Mariners Clinch AL West.
