‘Good vibes only’: Raleigh, Kirby emerge in spotless week for M’s

Cal Raleigh couldn’t finish his postgame interview outside Progressive Field’s visiting dugout without interruption from Mariners manager Scott Servais, water bottle in hand.

Raleigh didn’t smack a walk-off hit, or toss a no-hitter, like most Gatorade-bath-like celebrations would require. But his performance Friday was certainly worthy of one. Seattle’s 25-year-old catcher annihilated two home runs, first a low-flying solo laser in the second inning and another three-run blast later in the sixth.

In total, Raleigh plated four runs, and again took the lead for most home runs in baseball among catchers with 21. Behind the plate, he caught six shutout innings by new ace Luis Castillo and helped push Seattle’s win streak to five games in a 6-1 win, Seattle’s third such streak of the season.

Servais was without a cooler, but approached his 24-year-old catcher with a smirk before dousing him with water and completing the moment with a hug.

“Wow, Cal Raleigh,” Servais began later, at his postgame press conference. “Whoo! 21 homers. Some kind of season he’s put together.

“If you look at where the season started for him and where he’s at right now, I don’t think anybody could have predicted this. … But it was in (him). You just don’t know when it’s going to come out.”

Raleigh, with 21 homers, became the third catcher in Mariners history to swat 20 homers in a season, joining Mike Zunino (three times) and Omar Narvaez (2019). It was his second career multi-homer game (Aug. 17 at LAA).

“We demand a lot of our catchers,” Servais said. “And he is up for the challenge.”

Seattle pitchers love the 25-year-old Raleigh, and they listen to him, despite his sophomore status. And Servais, an 11-year veteran backstop, holds confidence in his flourishing young catcher, regardless of age.

But Raleigh’s road to major league success wasn’t always this smooth – in April, for instance, he was 2-for-24 at the plate. Seattle optioned Raleigh to Triple-A Tacoma on April 28 where he shortened his swing to hunt fastballs, going “back to the basics.”

In seven games with the Rainiers, Raleigh was 8-for-28 (.286) with four RBI.

“I think it starts with the fastball,” he said. “If you’re on time with the fastball, you can always adjust to the other stuff. If you’re sitting off-speed, or kind of in between, that’s when you really get into trouble.

“Anything you can see pop out of (the pitcher’s) hand, you adjust to it. I think that’s what most of the good hitters do, and that’s what I try to model it after.”

What pops out to former-catcher Servais is Raleigh’s unwavering dedication to the pitching staff, which he deems a top priority. Amid the earlier stint with Triple-A Tacoma, manager Tim Federowicz, also a longtime veteran catcher, was impressed with Raleigh’s ability to call games and assist pitchers, some younger than him.

“You’re not going to go out and hit two home runs, or even a hit every day,” Raleigh said. “That’s the game. But you can always go back there and try to control the other hitters, trying to game plan against them.

“I take pride in taking care of my pitcher out there. That’s number one.”

Reigning AL Cy Young winner Robbie Ray followed Castillo’s impressive outing Friday with six scoreless innings Saturday, fueling the Mariners to a 4-0 win. Raleigh was 1-for-3 with a walk, plating Jesse Winker on a fifth-inning single.

Ty France homered, and the Mariners plated another pair of runs on walks. It was the 17th consecutive start of five or more innings with two or less walks for Seattle’s rotation – setting a franchise record.

George Kirby set out to extend that streak Sunday, until a rain delay halted his outing in the fourth inning and sidelined the contest for four hours and 33 minutes. Julio Rodriguez helped extend Seattle’s lead with his 23rd homer shortly before umpires suspended play, but Cleveland rallied upon resumption to push the game to extras.

Not many of the original 17,809 were in attendance to see it, but Raleigh used the 11th inning to break open Sunday’s finale and launch a mammoth homer to right field, padding Seattle’s lead to 6-3. Chris Flexen worked around Cleveland’s free base runner, securing both a save and series sweep.

The Mariners (76-68) lead Tampa Bay (74-58) by a full game for the top AL wild card allocation. Baltimore (71-62), the first team out, remains four and a half games behind.

The vibes are good, and the odds that Seattle snaps the two-decade-long playoff drought are rising — up to 98.2 percent, says Baseball Reference.

Throughout their six-game road trip, the Mariners were a perfect 6-0. They’ve won seven straight, and they’re 18-2 this season when Raleigh homers.

“I guess I need to homer more, then,” he said Friday, chuckling. “I need to do (this) more often.”

KIRBY WINS AL ROOKIE OF THE MONTH

Seattle’s catchers “love” George Kirby’s two-seam fastball. When opposing hitters are inevitably fooled by the 24-year-old’s new-and-improved offering, pitching coaches smirk among themselves.

Kirby’s venture to introduce and sharpen a two-seamer alongside fellow starter Robbie Ray paid handsome dividends last month, far and away the best five-week stretch of Kirby’s rookie season. He’s the youngest fixture in a stacked Seattle rotation, and on Friday, took home American League Rookie of the Month honors for August.

The right-hander went 4-0 with a 2.15 earned run average with 34 strikeouts across five August starts. He led league rookies in WAR (1.4) and WHIP (1.13), walking only three of 120 total batters faced.

Kirby is the third Mariners pitcher to win the award, joining Rafael Soriano (Aug. 2003) and Michael Pineda (April 2011).

“It’s been fun for the last month throwing that new two-seam and changing up my slider a little bit,” Kirby told reporters. “I’ve got more work to do, too. So I’m just looking to always add something or fix something, just to make it a little better.”

Before Kirby could conclude his interview, fellow rookie and All-Star outfielder Julio Rodriguez interjected: “That’s my teammate!”

Kirby rarely walks anyone – his walk rate falls in the 98th percentile of all MLB pitchers. He credits the success to executing better with two strikes, backed by a steadily-rising strikeout rate which currently falls in the 64th percentile, per Baseball Savant.

He’s learning how to heighten the whiff rate by encouraging hitters to chase out of the strike zone, an admitted challenge for the 2019 first-rounder.

“I’m learning that. That’s definitely been a challenge for me, because I do like to throw all of my pitches for strikes,” he said. “I’ve got to adjust to that, but I think it’s been coming along pretty (well).

Kirby tossed three innings of one-run ball Sunday, striking out two and walking none before the rain delay.

“A lot of guys throw two-seam fastballs, but not many throw the way he does,” Servais said. “Certainly (not) with the velocity and the movement, and how he’s able to command certain parts of the strike zone.

“It’s been a nice weapon, certainly something that the other team has to prepare for as they’re going through their meetings.”

ROSTER MOVES

– Seattle recalled OF Taylor Trammell from Triple-A Tacoma and reinstated LHP Matthew Boyd from the 60-day injured list on Thursday when MLB rosters expanded from 26 players to 28.

Boyd, a Mercer Island native, grew up a Mariners fan and attended Eastside Catholic High School in Sammamish. He was traded to Seattle hours before an Aug. 2 trade deadline, sending the 31-year-old to his hometown team amid what could become the club’s first postseason appearance since 2001.

“This is just unreal,” Boyd said Tuesday. “I dreamed about putting on this uniform. I’m getting chills thinking about it.”

– Seattle placed INF Dylan Moore on the 10-day injured list with a right oblique strain on Wednesday, retroactive to Aug. 29. In a corresponding move, INF Abraham Toro was recalled from Triple-A Tacoma.

SHORT HOPS

Two of Cleveland’s three scheduled starters for a weekend series with Seattle were placed on the injured list hours before Friday’s opener, perhaps damaging their odds against a surging Mariners team and intensifying an already down-to-the-wire pennant race in the AL Central.

Aaron Civale, Cleveland’s 27-year-old right-hander, was placed on the injured list with forearm inflammation. But it was revealed that Zach Plesac, nursing a fractured fifth right finger, may have inflicted his injury upon himself at T-Mobile Park last weekend.

After surrendering a home run to Mariners infielder Jake Lamb on Aug. 27, Plesac turned to watch the homer carry well into the right field seats before punching the grass at the base of the mound, in front of his feet.

“They’re assuming that’s what caused the fracture,” Mandy Bell of MLB.com wrote.

ON DECK

Seattle returns to T-Mobile Park on Monday for a three-game series with the Chicago White Sox, the first leg of an eight-game homestand that spans 10 days. Southpaw starter Marco Gonzales takes the mound for a 3:40 p.m. PT first pitch.

After three with Chicago, Seattle hosts a pair of interleague matchups, first with Atlanta from Sept. 9-11. The Mariners welcome the San Diego Padres on Aug. 13-14 before departing for a 10-game road trip, their last of the regular season.