Cal Raleigh's Hot Season Hits 33rd Homer; Randy Arozarena Joins 100-Homer Club

Randy Arozarena’s two homers marked his 100th career home run, yet Cal Raleigh remained the main highlight with his 33rd homer contributing to a historic campaign. The Seattle Mariners secured a 6-2 victory over the faltering Kansas City Royals, fueled by these three home runs and an extra sacrifice fly by Raleigh, starting their last home series ahead of the All-Star Game. Local fans will have a week to cheer Raleigh on before this year’s All-Star event.

Raleigh still needs to pass the second phase of All-Star voting (ending Wednesday at 9 a.m. Pacific Time) to officially make the team. Currently, he is in a one-on-one competition with Alejandro Kirk of the Blue Jays, who has nationwide fan support; the winner will earn the American League starting catcher spot.

Having already committed to this year’s Home Run Derby, Raleigh once again showed his championship potential in this game. In the seventh inning against left-handed reliever Daniel Lynch IV, with a 2-1 count, he caught a curveball just outside the strike zone and crushed it to right-center field, 393 feet away—exactly where Arozarena’s two homers landed.

Raleigh is now just one home run shy of tying his personal single-season record (he led the majors as a catcher in 2024). Even more impressive, as of the end of June 2025, only Barry Bonds (39 homers in 2001) and Mark McGwire (37 homers in 1998) have more home runs than Raleigh—both years being the seasons they set their personal records. Ken Griffey Jr. and Sammy Sosa also reached 33 homers before July in 1998, tying Raleigh as the tenth player in history to hit this mark by the team’s 84th regular-season game (note: recent seasons have started earlier each year).