Mariners’ Cal Raleigh could surpass franchise icon against Pirates

Dan Wilson and Ken Griffey Jr. were teammates when the latter hit a franchise-record 35 home runs before the All-Star break in 1998.

Wilson, now the Seattle Mariners manager, was asked to make a comparison Friday afternoon after Cal Raleigh homered twice in a 6-0 victory against the Pittsburgh Pirates to match Griffey’s feat.

“It’s remarkable. I mean, it feels like (Raleigh) hits a home run every game. That’s what it feels like. And I remember feeling it as a player that Junior just felt like he hit a home run every day,” Wilson said. “And again, that’s the consistency that he has shown. It hasn’t been a streak where he’s hit a bunch of home runs in a short amount of time. It’s been kind of 10 per month and it’s continuing here in July.”

Raleigh will look to break the mark when the three-game interleague series continues Saturday night in Seattle.

Raleigh nearly left the yard — literally — on a two-run homer off Pirates left-hander Bailey Falter in the first inning, as his 433-foot blast landed three rows from the top of T-Mobile Park’s second deck in left field. It was the hardest hit ball of Raleigh’s career at 115.2 mph.

“It felt good. Took advantage of a mistake. He’s a good arm. Just tried to get on a heater middle of the plate and was able to take advantage,” Raleigh said.

As for matching Griffey?

“I’ve said it … to be mentioned with that name, with somebody who’s just iconic, is a legend, first ballot Hall of Famer, I’m just blessed,” Raleigh said. “Just trying to do the right thing and try to keep it rolling and if I can try to be like that guy, it’s a good guy to look up to.”

Teammate Randy Arozarena added a solo shot in the fourth, his fifth homer in as many games, and Raleigh just cleared the fence in the sixth on a high fly to left field.

“Raleigh is having one heck of a year and got (Bailey Falter) twice,” Pirates manager Don Kelly said. “(Falter) only gave up the three hits, but they were all home runs.”

Seattle’s Dylan Moore snapped out of a 1-for-38 slump that included 24 strikeouts with a solo homer in the seventh off Braxton Ashcraft.

That was more than enough offense for Bryan Woo, who allowed just three hits — all to Nick Gonzales — over six scoreless innings.

Raleigh, who will be the American League’s starting catcher in the All-Star Game, made a case for Woo (8-4, 2.77 ERA) to join him later this month in Atlanta.

“He’s taken that next step in his career and taken ownership of who he is as a pitcher and how he wants to go about his business,” Raleigh said. “I’m very proud of him and he’s doing great things. I think he should be an All-Star.”

While the Mariners didn’t have a single at-bat with a runners in scoring position, the Pirates went 0-for-7.

“Today was tough,” admitted Kelly, whose team had a six-game winning streak snapped, including a run of three consecutive shutouts. “We didn’t get that big hit with runners in scoring position. It’s something that’s plagued us this year at times, and it got us again. But when we look back over the past week, we’ve been getting those hits, and the guys are gonna continue to work and pull through most of the time.”

The Pirates are set to send Mike Burrows (1-2, 4.15 ERA) to the mound Saturday against a fellow right-hander in the Mariners’ Luis Castillo (4-5, 3.55).

Burrows, who will be facing the Mariners for the first time, most recently pitched Sunday, allowing one run on four hits in 4 1/3 innings of a 12-1 victory against the visiting New York Mets.

Castillo also pitched Sunday and didn’t get a decision at Texas despite allowing one run through six innings in a game the Mariners won 6-4 in 12 innings. Castillo is 6-5 with a 2.60 ERA in 15 career starts against Pittsburgh.

–Field Level Media