The Seattle Mariners continued their torrid home run pace on Monday night, delivering a commanding 11-2 victory over the Minnesota Twins at Target Field in Minneapolis. The Mariners, who had already showcased their power by belting 10 home runs over a three-game series at Wrigley Field during the weekend, maintained their offensive onslaught in less hitter-friendly conditions with a barrage of long balls, including key homers by Julio Rodríguez, Luke Raley, and Cal Raleigh.
Julio Rodríguez snapped a prolonged power drought with a towering two-run homer in the third inning, his 11th of the season. Rodríguez’s blast came off a 1-2 changeup from Twins starter Bailey Ober, soaring an impressive 442 feet off the facade of the upper deck in left-center field. This home run ended a nearly month-long stretch without a big fly for Rodríguez, who had gone 107 plate appearances since his last home run on May 27 during a 9-1 win over the Washington Nationals. His homer extended the Mariners' lead to 3-0 after a sacrifice fly from J.P. Crawford had opened the scoring earlier in the inning.
Shortly after Rodríguez’s homer, Luke Raley stepped up and continued the power surge. Raley, who recently returned from nearly two months sidelined with an oblique strain, launched a massive three-run home run estimated at 436 feet to center field off a fastball from Ober. This was Raley’s third home run of the season and his first since April 17, giving the Mariners a commanding 6-0 lead. The left-handed slugger’s timely return has injected much-needed firepower into Seattle’s lineup.
Dominic Canzone added to the Mariners’ offensive fireworks with his third home run in just two days, further padding the lead to 7-0 in the sixth inning. The Mariners’ relentless slugging overshadowed another strong performance from starting pitcher Bryan Woo, who earned his second consecutive win by pitching seven innings, allowing just two runs, and striking out nine. Woo, the only MLB pitcher this season to throw at least six innings in all 15 of his starts, showcased his consistency and poise despite surrendering back-to-back home runs to Twins hitters Trevor Larnach and Carlos Correa in the sixth inning.
Cal Raleigh, the Mariners’ catcher and current major league home run leader, capped off the scoring with a two-run shot in the ninth inning off reliever Joey Wentz. This homer marked Raleigh’s 32nd of the season and his fourth consecutive game with a home run, extending his major-league lead and putting him on pace for an astonishing 67 homers. Raleigh’s power surge has placed him in rare company historically; at this point in the season, he has more home runs than legendary sluggers Babe Ruth (1927), Roger Maris (1961), and Aaron Judge (2022). Mariners pitcher Bryan Woo expressed both amazement and amusement at Raleigh’s feat, stating, “I’d put up four fingers and that’s it. I’m not pitching to him.”
Teammate Julio Rodríguez echoed the sentiment, calling Raleigh’s performance “unbelievable” and adding, “I feel like that’s something that we have never seen before.” Rodríguez further praised Raleigh’s dual impact behind the plate and at the plate, saying, “What he’s doing as a catcher is pretty special, and the way that he can impact the game — truly both on both sides of the game, I just don’t think there’s anybody doing that right now.”
Raleigh’s ninth-inning homer came after Rodríguez’s two-out, two-run double into the left-center gap, which set the stage for the catcher’s final blast. Rodríguez, batting second and ahead of Raleigh in the lineup, emphasized his current approach at the plate: “My objective these days is to get on base any way I can.”
Raleigh’s historic pace is also putting him within striking distance of the Mariners’ franchise record for most home runs in the first half of a season, held by Ken Griffey Jr., who hit 35 homers before the All-Star break in 1998. With 19 games remaining before the break, Raleigh needs just two more homers to tie the mark.
The Mariners’ offensive explosion on this 10-game road trip has been remarkable, with 14 home runs in the first four games and a total of 41 runs scored on 57 hits. This production has helped Seattle improve to 40-37 overall and pull within 4.5 games of the idle Houston Astros atop the American League West division. The Mariners have proven especially effective when scoring at least four runs, boasting a 33-11 record in such games.
Meanwhile, the Twins continue to struggle amid injuries and poor form. Since losing starting pitchers Pablo López and Zebby Matthews to shoulder injuries in early June, Minnesota has allowed 133 runs in 17 games, averaging 7.8 runs per game. Monday’s loss marked their 14th defeat in their last 17 outings and their fifth consecutive loss at home, all of which involved yielding nine or more runs.
Twins starter Bailey Ober pitched a solid game overall, striking out seven and allowing only two other baserunners outside the damaging third inning. However, that third inning proved costly, as he surrendered six runs, including the home runs by Rodríguez and Raley. Ober was just one out away from escaping with only three runs allowed before leaving a fastball over the middle of the plate, which Raley did not miss.
Despite the Twins’ offensive efforts, including back-to-back homers by Trevor Larnach and Carlos Correa in the sixth inning, they were unable to keep pace with the Mariners’ relentless power display. Brooks Lee, Larnach, and Correa each recorded two hits, but it was not enough to stem the Mariners’ onslaught.
Looking ahead, the series continues with a pitching matchup featuring Seattle’s Luis Castillo (4-5, 3.38 ERA) against Minnesota’s Chris Paddack (3-6, 4.48 ERA), promising another competitive contest.
On a night where the Mariners’ bats refused to cool off despite a more temperate 80-degree evening, the power surge led by Cal Raleigh and Julio Rodríguez underscored Seattle’s offensive might. As Raleigh rounded the bases after his ninth-inning homer, Mariners fans behind the visitors’ dugout serenaded him with a resounding “MVP!” chant, a sentiment Rodríguez wholeheartedly supported: “I think he definitely deserves his first shot at the MVP.”
With their potent lineup firing on all cylinders and pitching staff holding strong, the Mariners have positioned themselves as serious contenders in the AL West as the season approaches its midway point. Meanwhile, the Twins face the daunting task of regrouping amid injuries and a prolonged slump.
