Cal Raleigh’s ninth-inning homer saves Mariners in 5-4 victory over Astros

HOUSTON – No one took Friday’s loss to the Astros harder than Cal Raleigh. It was the probably the Mariners’ most demoralizing setback of the season, and it ate at their catcher that night.

Fair or not, Raleigh blamed himself for some of his pitch-selection decisions in Friday’s decisive seventh inning, when the Astros scored four runs off the Mariners’ bullpen to steal a win in the series opener.

Fear not.

Two days later, with the game on the line in the top of the ninth inning, there was no one the Mariners would have rather have step to the plate than Raleigh.

Their slugging catcher delivered once again, crushing an 0-2 fastball from Astros closer Josh Hader for a go-ahead home run on a blistering line drive out to the short-porch Crawford Boxes, giving the Mariners an anxious 5-4 victory Sunday afternoon at Minute Maid Park.

It was Raleigh’s team-leading eighth homer and his second go-ahead home run in the ninth inning or later this season. No one else in MLB has multiple go-ahead homers that late in games.

“He’s a heck of a player and he cares so much about his teammates and this team,” manager Scott Servais said. “And it shows up in those moments.”

Raleigh, of course, will forever be remembered in Seattle for his iconic walkoff home run on Sept. 30, 2022, against Oakland that ended the Mariners’ playoff drought. He just seems built for those moments, doesn’t he?

“Just trying to slow the game down. I think that’s the biggest thing,” he said. “Those moments can speed up on a lot of guys, including myself, so I was just trying to slow it down, take a deep breath, and do what I can to help the team.”

Luis Urias drove in the tying run with a clutch, two-strike single in the eighth inning, as Dylan Moore scored from second base with a head-first slide home.

Houston’s Jose Altuve, with two outs in the bottom of the ninth, drove a 99-mph sinker from Mariners closer Andres Muñoz deep to right field, but the Mariners’ Luke Raley hauled it in in front of the wall to close out a sixth straight series win.

The Mariners (19-15) improved to 8-2 in their last 10 games at Minute Maid Park, a place that had tormented them for so long.

In their first meeting of the season, the Mariners took two of three from their hated AL Wests rivals, maintaining their lead atop the division while extending a miserable start for the Astros (12-22).

“You never feel comfortable in this ballpark because things can happen really quick,” Servais said. “And they did today.”

Bryce Miller was dealing through five innings, allowing just two infield singles and helping the Mariners build a 3-0 lead.

But in the sixth inning, Miller left a sweeper over the plate to Kyle Tucker, who pulled it out to right field for a two-run homer to get the Astros within 3-2.

In the seventh, Miller left another sweeper out for Jon Singleton, who also pulled it out to deep right field – and, suddenly, the Astros had a 4-3 lead.

Miller hasn’t used his sweeper as much this season – preferring his new splitter against left-handed hitters – but it had still been effective. In fact, according to MLB’s Statcast data, he hadn’t allowed a hit of any kind on the 54 sweepers he’d thrown before Sunday.

“I was cruising the whole game. Everything felt really good,” said Miller, a New Braunfels, Texas, native who had a strong contingent of family and friends in attendance. “Both of those (pitches) were sweeper-curveballs that were supposed to be away and they both leaked in. … Just gotta make better pitches on those.”

Miller finished with four earned runs allowed over six-plus innings, with one walk and three strikeouts. So ended the Mariners’ streak of 21 straight games in which their starter had allowed two runs or less, the longest such streak in MLB since 1917.

In the ninth, Miller was in the trainer’s room going through his arm-care routine when Raleigh hit his go-ahead homer. Last Monday night, he was also in the trainer’s room at T-Mobile Park doing arm care when Mitch Garver hit his walkoff homer against Atlanta.

“We were fired up,” Miller said.

The switch-hitting Raleigh has four home runs already this season hitting from the right side, matching his total from all of the 2023 season. He also hit a two-run homer Saturday off Astros lefty Framber Valdez.

Facing Houston’s new $95 million closer on Sunday, Raleigh fell behind 0-2 on consecutive sliders from Hader.

The next pitch was a 96-mph fastball that Hader said he intended to throw up and in; instead, he left it over the middle of the plate, and Raleigh didn’t miss it. The ball had an exit velocity of 109.2 mph off the bat.

“Looking for a fastball there, trying to protect, and he left it in the middle,” Raleigh said.

Last year, Raleigh emerged as a leading voice in the Mariners clubhouse, and his work ethic and professionalism help set a tone for the team to be able to rebound from ugly losses like Friday’s, Servais said.

“I’s really been fun watching him grow, to a point where he is running the pitching staff on a nightly basis,” Servais said. “He takes that personally. He takes that on himself.”

Raley hit his first homer as a Mariner – a towering blast to right field in the sixth inning – and Josh Rojas had three hits, finishing a homer shy of the cycle. He has one of the majors’ hottest bats of late, hitting .360 with a 1.029 OPS through his first 75 at-bats of the season.

Rojas started in left field for the first time this season, and because he doesn’t own an outfield glove he borrowed one from pitcher Geroge Kirby.

Rojas’ move to left allowed Servais to keep Urias in the lineup at third base, something Servais could do more of going forward, regardless of the lefty/righty pitching matchup.

“I didn’t say anything, but I’ve been thinking the same thing,” Rojas said. “I have the ability to move around and we’ve got two guys swinging the bat really well playing the same spot. … I was excited when they told us I’d get the chance to go out to left and get us both in the lineup.”

Urias had driven in the first run of the game in the second inning when he drew a bases-loaded walk, after falling behind 0-2 in the count.

The Mariners squandered a prime chance to add against Houston’s Hunter Brown, stranding the bases loaded with no outs when Julio Rodriguez struck out and Jorge Polanco grounded into an inning-ending double play.

The Mariners left 10 men on base and were 3 for 14 with runners in scoring position.