Raleigh makes Fenway history, one-ups childhood hero

BOSTON -- Cal Raleigh grew up idolizing Red Sox icon Jason Varitek and rooting for the Boston teams that the switch-hitting backstop led to two World Series titles.

Yet, Big Dumper did something on Monday night that Varitek never accomplished, despite being one of the best switch-hitters in the rich history of the Red Sox. Raleigh became the first catcher to homer from both sides of the plate in Fenway Park’s 112 years of existence while lifting the Mariners to a 10-1 win.

“It’s special here,” Raleigh said. “It’s really cool. I haven’t thought a lot about it, but it’s kind of surprising that Varitek never did it. But it’s super cool, and I guess I get to say that I did that.”

Raleigh’s father, Todd, is from Swanton, Vt., and he played in the Red Sox organization in 1991 before finding his calling in coaching one year later, beginning at the University of Vermont. So, when the Mariners came to Boston last year and Raleigh got a chance to meet Varitek, he got his idol to sign a jersey, which now hangs in his childhood home.

“He obviously had the ‘C’ on his chest, he was the captain,” Raleigh said of Varitek. “I feel like you don't see a lot of guys like that, who get that respect and kind of earn all that. That's just the kind of player you want to be. I don't really care about the home runs and stats. I want to be a good teammate, a good leader, and a good guy that people can lean on.”

Adding more quirk to the connection, Varitek only blossomed into a Red Sox great after the Mariners dealt him and pitcher Derek Lowe for fledgling reliever Heathcliff Slocumb at the 1997 Trade Deadline, in what’s widely viewed as one of the most lopsided deals in either franchise’s history.

Monday night went into the record books for different reasons.

Raleigh’s left-side homer went further, at 438 feet and way past Pesky’s Pole, but his right-side blast cleared the Green Monster and left the ballpark altogether, at 434 feet. They represented two of his five longest blasts among his career 36.

“You always think about hitting one over the Monster when you’re little,” said Raleigh, whose grandmother was in attendance. “It’s so big, so daunting. But to obviously do it today was super special.”

Raleigh’s efforts, along with an offensive onslaught in the eighth inning and the seventh straight quality start from George Kirby, secured the Mariners’ 10th win in their past 14 games. They can go to two games above .500 for the first time in 2023 with a victory on Tuesday.

Most encouraging, though, has been the life that Seattle’s offense has shown on this road trip to back up the assertion that once their bats found their footing, they could really take off -- especially with efforts like Kirby’s.

“I love our starting pitching,” manager Scott Servais said. “We’re super competitive. We're young. We’ve got good arms. You hope the offense gets to be more consistent, then you start winning 10 out of 12, streaks when you start to click. We've done it before. It's certainly within our grasp to go out and do it again.”

Firmly in that group of hitters seeking more regular results has been Raleigh, who also ripped a 107.3 mph single and drove in four. He entered the day hitting .156/.270/.188 (.458 OPS) in the 10 games since his most recent homer, on April 30 in Toronto, when he also crushed two.

Specifically, Raleigh has been susceptible to the strikeout, with a 30.8% K rate entering Monday that was MLB’s 10th-highest. Overall, the Mariners have a 25.7% rate, MLB’s worst.

“Any time you start thinking about your swing, it's never good,” Raleigh said. “I'm trying to get back on time for the fastball and try not to do too much with it. I'm trying to get back to what I was doing last year.”

The Mariners are not built on batting average, but rather on-base and slugging percentages. Their offensive blueprint over the past two seasons, when they won 90 games in each, has hinged on grinding opposing pitchers out and hitting homers with runners on base -- precisely their formula on Monday.

Eugenio Suárez also crushed a two-run homer, after Jarred Kelenic legged out an infield single. AJ Pollock followed with a pinch-hit RBI single and Ty France tacked on an RBI double, extending his hit streak to 12 games. The Mariners went 5-for-15 with runners in scoring position, and five of their 15 hits were with two strikes, tying a season high.