CHICAGO (AP) — Cal Raleigh broke Johnny Bench’s record for home runs by a catcher before the All-Star break, hitting his major league-leading 28th and 29th in the Seattle Mariners’ 9-4 victory over the Chicago Cubs on Friday.
Raleigh broke a tie in the seventh with No. 29 to move ahead of Hall of Famer Bench’s 1970 mark. Raleigh needed only 73 games to break the record that Bench set in 87 games. The Seattle star shattered the mark with 22 games to spare before the All-Star game. Barry Bonds holds the overall record with 39 for San Francisco in 2001.
Raleigh had three hits in his sixth multi-homer game of the season. The 28-year-old slugger drove in three runs to push his season total to 63.
Mitch Garver also homered twice and drove in five runs, putting it away with a three-run shot in the ninth. Randy Arozarena and Donovan Solano each had three hits to help Seattle win for the fifth time in seven games.
Raleigh and Garver are the first pair of primary catchers for a team to each homer twice since Joe Ferguson and Steve Yeager did it for the Los Angeles Dodgers in a 1979 home victory over Houston.
The teams combined for six homers with the wind blowing out on a warm day when former Cubs slugger Sammy Sosa returned to Wrigley Field for the first time in over 20 years.
Ian Happ homered in Chicago’s three-run first inning, and Reese McGuire added a solo shot. Michael Busch had three hits and two RBIs as NL Central-leading Cubs dropped their second straight.
Raleigh hit his go-ahead drive to the back of the left-field bleachers off Caleb Thielbar (2-2). Raleigh sent his first homer just over the basket in the first off Matthew Boyd.
Eduard Bazardo (2-0) pitched a scoreless sixth for the win.
Key moment
Boyd made a dramatic catch of J.P. Crawford’s comebacker for the final out in the top of the fifth. Boyd snared the liner at the last instant as it was headed for his face.
Key stat
Chicago’s Pete Crow-Armstrong popped out softly three times and struck out a day after going deep and becoming the first player with 20 homers and 20 steals this season.
Up next
Seattle RHP Emerson Hancock (3-2, 4.48 ERA) was set to face RHP Cade Horton (3-1. 3.47) on Saturday.
AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb
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