Mariners topple Tigers twice in early weekend play

DETROIT (AP) — After a frustrating set of games against the New York Yankees last week, the Mariners went on the offensive in matches against the Detroit Tigers Friday and Saturday, winning 12-3 in Friday play and again Saturday with 15 runs to the Tigers’ seven.  

Friday play 

Cal Raleigh hit his 37th and 38th home runs to move within one of Barry Bonds’ 2001 record for homers before the All-Star break, and the Seattle Mariners beat Detroit 12-3 on Friday night to end Tarik Skubal’s three-month unbeaten streak. 

Raleigh — in the lineup as designated hitter — made it 5-3 on a solo shot in the eighth inning, then hit a grand slam in a seven-run ninth. He broke the American League record for homers before the break of 37 set by Reggie Jackson in 1969 and matched by Chris Davis in 2013. 

Skubal (10-3) was 10-0 with a 1.62 ERA in 16 starts since losing 3-2 to the Mariners in Seattle on April 2. He allowed four runs on four hits and two walks in five innings, striking out five. 

Luis Castillo (6-5) got the win, giving up three runs in five innings. 

Seattle took a 1-0 lead in the third when center fielder Parker Meadows dove for Donovan Solano's sinking liner and missed. It rolled to the wall for an RBI triple. ach McKinstry tied it with a fourth-inning single. 

J.P. Crawford's two-out RBI single made it 2-1 in the fifth, and Rodríguez followed with a two-run homer over the Seattle bullpen in left-center field. 

Riley Greene's RBI triple got the major league-leading Tigers to 4-2 in the sixth, and Spencer Torkelson followed with a sacrifice fly. 

Nine of Seattle's first 10 batters reached base in the ninth inning Friday, leading manager A.J. Hinch to insert catcher Jake Rogers for his third career pitching appearance. He retired two of the three batters he faced to escape the inning. 

Saturday play  

Randy Arozarena homered and scored four times as the Seattle Mariners defeated the Detroit Tigers 15-7 on Saturday. 

Arozarena singled and scored in the second, was hit by a pitch and scored on Luke Raley's homer in the third, and singled and scored in the seventh before hitting a two-run homer in the eighth. 

Tigers All-Star Casey Mize (9-3) allowed six runs in three innings, one day after the Mariners beat Detroit's other All-Star starter, Tarik Skubal. 

The Tigers took a 1-0 lead on Riley Greene's first-inning sacrifice fly, but Mize couldn't hold it. 

Dominic Canzone tied it with an RBI single in the second before the Mariners scored five runs in the third. 

Cole Young led off with a double and scored on J.P. Crawford's single. Julio Rodríguez hit into a force at second, stole second and took third on catcher Jake Rogers' throwing error. Cal Raleigh's sacrifice fly made it 3-1. 

After Mize hit Arozarena, Jorge Polanco doubled before Raley's fourth homer of the season made it 6-1. 

Mariners starter George Kirby (4-4) earned the win after allowing four runs on five hits over five innings. He struck out six and walked three. 

The start of the game was delayed 1:39 by rain. 

After Zach McKinstry's two-run homer in the eighth Saturday, the Tigers loaded the bases with one out. Matt Brash came out of the bullpen to retire Gleyber Torres and Wenceel Pérez to keep the margin at four runs. 

Torres doubled in the first inning Saturday to extend his on-base streak to a career-high 24 games. He matched Kerry Carpenter's 24-game streak in 2023 for the longest streak by a Tiger since Jeimer Candelario had a 29-game run in 2021. 

The Mariners were set to finish the three-game series Sunday afternoon in Detroit. Results were not available for that game by press time, but will be published in Tuesday’s edition. 

    Seattle Mariners' Cal Raleigh rounds first base after hitting a grand slam against the Detroit Tigers in the ninth inning during a baseball game, Friday, July 11, 2025, in Detroit.