Raleigh, France lead Mariners to 9-3 victory over Tigers
DETROIT, MI - AUGUST 30: Cal Raleigh #29 of the Seattle Mariners rounds the bases after hitting a solo home run against the Detroit Tigers during the third inning at Comerica Park on August 30, 2022, in Detroit, Michigan. (Photo by Duane Burleson/Get
DETROIT - Cal Raleigh sparked a six-run third with a solo homer and capped it with a sacrifice fly as the Seattle Mariners rolled past the Detroit Tigers 9-3 on Tuesday night.
Ty France added three hits, including his 16th homer, and scored three runs with two RBIs. Carlos Santana had a two-run homer for Seattle, which has won four of its last five games.
In his first full major-league season, Raleigh has 19 home runs.
"He’s a phenomenal catcher and for him to have at-bats that he’s having, it’s big for the team," France said. "The biggest thing is just having that confidence of ‘I belong in the big leagues’ and he’s definitely running with it."
France has homered in back-to-back games after hitting just one the rest of the month.
"I was hoping it would carry over from what he did on Sunday and it started with that first swing tonight," manager Scott Servais said.
George Kirby (6-3) allowed only two hits in five scoreless innings. Chris Flexen pitched four innings of relief for his first save.
Tigers starter Matt Manning (1-2) gave up seven runs and seven hits in 2 1/3 innings. Rookie Riley Greene extended his hitting streak to eight games with an eighth-inning RBI triple.
Manning gave up just one run and three hits in seven innings against the Los Angeles Angels in his previous outing.
"He threw a couple of loose breaking balls that got hit and gave up some two-strike hits," manager A.J. Hinch said. "Just a bad night for him. Just looked like he was off from the get-go."
France’s one-out homer in the second put Seattle on top. It travelled an estimated 438 feet to right-center.
"I was running hard," France said. "It’s tough to go there. I knew I hit it well but this park’s big."
Raleigh’s homer in the third was followed by five hits from the next six batters, including consecutive RBI singles from Mitch Haniger, Eugenio Suarez and France. Adam Frazier’s single off Will Vest and Raleigh’s sacrifice fly capped the outburst.
"It’s great to see," Servais said. "Just keep the line moving. Everybody contributing and having good at-bats and barreling the balls up. We just haven’t done that recently. Sometimes it just takes a night like that to get everybody confident and relaxed again."
Santana homered off Daniel Norris in the fifth.