SEATTLE (AP) — Seattle slugger Cal Raleigh homered in his first at-bat against the Philadelphia Phillies on Tuesday night and tied a Mariners' record with homers in four consecutive at-bats.
Raleigh led off the second inning against Philadelphia's Aaron Nola with a 362-foot shot to right field for his 18th homer of the season.
The four-homer streak matched the Seattle record set by Mike Cameron on May 2, 2002.
The homer came in Raleigh’s first at-bat after the switch-hitting catcher hit three homers in a 9-2 win against the Phillies on Monday night. Raleigh walked in his next plate appearance in the fourth inning, and the streak ended in the sixth with a strikeout against Nola.
Raleigh had struggled all season after finishing as the runner-up for the AL MVP last year with 60 home runs. He entered the series against Philadelphia with a .159 batting average and 14 homers. On Monday, he was 3 for 3 with a walk between the first and second homers.
The Mariners' team record for homers in a two-game span is five, set by Edgar Martinez on May 17-18, 1999. The last Seattle player to hit four home runs over two consecutive games was Kenji Johjima on June 24-27, 2006.
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