Cal Raleigh entered the weekend series against Texas riding high in the American League MVP race, leading the majors in home runs. But when faced with the Rangers’ top-tier rotation, he failed to rise to the occasion.
After belting a solo homer in Thursday’s opener, Raleigh struggled mightily the rest of the weekend, striking out nine times over the final three games. Jack Leiter, Merrill Kelly, and Jacob deGrom combined to make Raleigh’s weekend a nightmare.
The most eye-catching moment came on Saturday, when Raleigh struck out five times in one game—a feat baseball fans call the “Platinum Sombrero.” He became just the eighth player in Mariners history to suffer that fate.
“Cal Raleigh has struck out 5 times today.
Only the 8th player in M’s history to K five times in a game.
Julio and Arozarena both had a 5 strikeout game last season.”
— Tim Booth (@ByTimBooth), August 2, 2025
It was a statement performance by Texas’ newly bolstered pitching staff. Despite Raleigh’s MVP-level campaign, a strange home-road split continues to linger—he’s now batting just .231 at home, though his power numbers remain strong.
That odd trend played right into the Rangers’ hands this weekend. Even though Seattle still found ways to win, Texas’ pitchers clearly keyed in on neutralizing Raleigh and forcing others to deliver—something that unfortunately happened.
Another statistical quirk: Raleigh has struggled against the Rangers throughout his career, hitting only .224 against them. But even with the low average, he’s managed to do damage with 12 homers against Texas pitching.
The good news for the Rangers? They’re done facing the Mariners this season. As the Wild Card race heats up, those head-to-head matchups are now in the rearview mirror.
