SEATTLE — Cal Raleigh tied Mickey Mantle’s season record for most home runs by a switch hitter with his 54th, and the Seattle Mariners extended their winning streak to nine by routing the Los Angeles Angels 11-2 Sunday to take sole possession of the American League West lead for the first time since June.
Batting left-handed, Raleigh hit a first-pitch homer to left-center off Kyle Hendricks for a 2-0 lead in the first inning.
Mantle hit his 54 homers for the 1961 New York Yankees.
Raleigh’s homer was his record-setting 43rd this season as a catcher, one more than Atlanta‘s Javy López in 2003.
In his fifth major league season, Raleigh had a previous high of 34 homers last year. He is two shy of tying the Mariners’ single-season record held by Ken Griffey Jr. (1997, 1998).
George Kirby matched his career high with 14 strikeouts as the Mariners completed a four-game sweep and won for the 20th time in their last 23 home games.
The Mariners (82-68) moved one game ahead of Houston (81-69) at the top of the division, winning nine in a row for the first time since a 14-game streak from July 2-17, 2022, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.
The Mariners had not been alone in first place since before play on June 3.
It’s the latest in a season that Seattle has been in first place since 2001, when the Mariners won their last division title. That 23-year drought is the longest active streak in the American League.
ESPN Research and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
