And in his team’s 86th game, Cal Raleigh rested.
The Seattle Mariners’ catcher, who was named the American League’s All-Star starter earlier in the afternoon, took just his second night of the season off Wednesday.
Teammate Randy Arozarena supplied the power in Raleigh’s absence, going deep for the fourth time in three days, as the Mariners defeated the visiting Kansas City Royals 3-2.
Raleigh almost undoubtedly will be back in the lineup Thursday night when the four-game series wraps up.
“He’s really pushed himself. He’s learned a ton. He’s taken his experience that he’s had and he’s put it to work in his game and he’s done all the things you hope players do,” Mariners manager Dan Wilson, a former catcher, said of Raleigh’s breakout campaign. “He has really been able to blossom during that first half of the season — and I don’t expect the second half to be any different.”
Raleigh leads the major leagues with 33 home runs and is second to the Chicago Cubs’ Seiya Suzuki with 71 RBIs. Raleigh won a Platinum Glove last season as the best fielder in the American League.
Yet he was almost apologetic during a news conference Wednesday in which it was announced he’d be the first Mariner to start an All-Star Game since designated hitter Nelson Cruz in 2015.
“Sorry for all this nonsense the last couple days,” he said of the national media attention he’s received. “I’m just glad it’s over, too. Seeing your face everywhere was a little uncomfortable.”
Plus, of course, answering questions about how he got his “Big Dumper” nickname. For the record, that came from former teammate Jarred Kelenic and refers to Raleigh’s prodigious posterior.
“That’s just Cal. That’s who he is … A big part of what he’s been able to do this first half is, he’s done it with a lot of humility,” Wilson said. “He’s a class act from beginning to end.”
With the Mariners in a stretch of 17 games in as many days, Wilson figured it was as good a time as any to get Raleigh off his feet.
That’s also why the Mariners announced they are calling up rookie right-hander Logan Evans (3-2, 3.38 ERA) from Triple-A Tacoma to pitch Thursday’s series finale. It will be Evans’ first career start against Kansas City and his eighth overall — the first since a 10-3 loss June 10 at Arizona.
The Royals, who have lost nine of their past 11 games, are set to counter with right-hander Seth Lugo (5-5, 2.74).
Lugo was 2-0 with a sterling 1.26 ERA in five June starts, pitching 5 2/3 scoreless innings and allowing four hits and five walks while striking out eight in what turned out to be a wild 9-5 victory against the visiting Los Angeles Dodgers on Saturday.
Lugo is 0-1 with an 11.12 ERA in two previous appearances against the Mariners.
The Royals’ offensive struggles continue — they have only 13 runs over their past nine losses, with Bobby Witt Jr. getting on base and Salvador Perez driving him in to produce both runs in Wednesday’s loss.
“They battled in those at-bats, there were a lot of foul balls and deep counts … there were quality at-bats there, but we didn’t square a whole bunch up,” Royals manager Matt Quatraro said. “These guys have an elite bullpen, they have elite pitching. We know it’s going to be tough.”
–Field Level Media
