Mariners star Cal Raleigh bashes pair of home runs to move within one of All-Star break record

The catcher already has 38 home runs on the season as he looks to make history

Seattle Mariners catcher Cal Raleigh is closing in on home run history. Raleigh hit two out, including a grand slam, in the Mariners' dominating 12-3 win over the American League-best Detroit Tigers on Friday night. It was his eighth multi-homer game of the season, which ties Ken Griffey Jr's franchise record. Even more notable, though, is that Raleigh now has 38 home runs on the season, and he needs only one more in the next two games to tie Barry Bonds all-time record of 39 home runs before the All-Star break, which he set back in 2001. 

The Tigers started the best pitcher in baseball Tarik Skubal, and the Mariners managed four runs off him in five innings of work. Raleigh, though, didn't get his licks in until Skubal had given way to the Detroit bullpen. Homer No. 1 of the night came off Tyler Holton in the eighth inning.

That 383-footer was No. 37 on the season for Raleigh. No. 38 came the very next inning, and it was a 405-foot grand slam off Brant Hurter: 

There's No. 38, and that means Raleigh has two more games, both against the Tigers, to tie or even break Bonds' first-half record of 39. Raleigh is already closing in on Salvador Perez's single-season record for home runs by a primary catcher of 48 in 2021. As well, Raleigh's lofty first-half total has put Aaron Judge's AL-record 62 home runs in 2022 within range. First, though, comes Raleigh's shot at Bonds' mark. 

After Friday night's outburst, Raleigh is now slashing .264/.377/.645. That's sky-scraping production for any player, let alone a skilled defensive catcher who plays his home games at T-Mobile Park and the power-suppressing marine layer. That's why he's very much in the mix for AL MVP honors this season.