Mariners’ Cal Raleigh Breaks AL Home Run Record with Grand Slam originally appeared on Athlon Sports.
‘Big Dumper’ goes deep twice against Detroit Tigers, eclipses AL home run before All-Star break mark.
There’s no stopping Seattle Mariners catcher Cal Raleigh right now as the “Big Dumper” continues to hit home runs. Raleigh, who will be taking part in the MLB Home Run Derby in Atlanta next week, added two more homers on Friday against the Detroit Tigers.
He broke the American League home run mark before the All-Star break with his 38th homer. Raleigh made it a grand showing, too, with a grand slam as Seattle destroyed the Tigers 12-3. His grand slam broke the American League record for homers before the All-Star break, snapping the 37 homers that Chris Davis hit in 2013.
After the game, Raleigh was quite happy with his performance on the field. “I don’t really have words for it, I guess,” he said, according to MLB.com. “I’m just very grateful and thankful. I’m just trying to stay consistent in what I do and just try to keep it rolling.”
CAL RALEIGH
GRAND SLAM
HOMER NO. 38 pic.twitter.com/dlbEjAGU87— MLB (@MLB) July 12, 2025
Raleigh is on pace to possibly break the AL single-season home run record, too. The Mariners were able to pick up a game on the AL West Division-leading Houston Astros, who lost to the Texas Rangers 7-3 at Daikin Park in Houston.
Cal Raleigh’s home run show helped Mariners pick up a game on Houston Astros in AL West Division race
For the Mariners to put even more pressure on the Astros, Raleigh will have to keep on pounding homers. He’s been the center of attention for Seattle fans. But Raleigh needs support from his Seattle teammates, too.
With his next home run, Raleigh will tie Barry Bonds. In 2001, Bonds had 39 first-half home runs for the San Francisco Giants.
Seattle pounded Tigers ace starting pitcher Tarik Skubal, a rare time that Skubal didn’t stand out for Detroit. The Mariners did give Skubal a rare loss back on April 2. Since that loss, though, Skubal went 10-0 record, a 1.62 ERA and 138 strikeouts against just 10 walks.
Julio Rodríguez also connected for a two-run homer in the victory. Seeing the Mariners perform well at Comerica Park in Detroit pleased manager Dan Wilson.
“Up and down the line, there’s not a guy who didn’t have something today that they were able to contribute,” Wilson said. “… It was just a huge win all around. A big one for us.”
The Mariners have two more games left in Detroit before taking the All-Star break. Raleigh might not want the break to happen right now. Look for him to keep on hitting dingers out of MLB ballparks when the second half starts back up later next week.
This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jul 12, 2025, where it first appeared.