CINCINNATI — For this team at this stretch of the season, it would seem Cal Raleigh’s barrage of torpedo blasts have come at just the right time for the Mariners.
Except, Bryce Miller doesn’t quite see it that way.
“I told him he maybe should have waited for the (contract) extension until after he found the torpedo bat,” Miller deadpanned after Raleigh hit two more home runs in a 5-3 victory over the Reds on Wednesday. “But I’m sure the Mariners financially are happy they locked him up before he got the torpedo.”
Well, let’s just leave it at this: Everyone’s pretty darn happy with the Mariners’ recent surge, largely powered by Raleigh and his new torpedo bat.
Raleigh, the switch-hitting catcher who signed a $105 million extension three weeks ago, homered from both sides of the plate to reach 100 home runs for his career, and Miller bounced back from a bout of arm soreness to dominate the Reds over five shutout innings at Great American Ball Park on Wednesday night.
Raleigh, in his 482nd game, is the second-fastest player to reach the 100-homer milestone in Mariners history. Alex Rodriguez did it in 471 games.
“It’s special,” Raleigh said. “It’s kind of crazy to think about 100 home runs in general, much less in The Show. It’s a cool feat. Hopefully we can still be talking when we get to 200.”
Raleigh has five home runs in the past five games — four swinging left-handed with the torpedo bat — and the Mariners (9-9) have won five of six games over the past week.
In the fifth inning, Raleigh hit his first homer left-handed off Reds starter Nick Martinez, a 412-foot blast that would have been a homer in every MLB park, per Baseball Savant projections.
In the seventh, Raleigh used his regular right-handed bat — not a torpedo — to homer off Reds lefty reliever Taylor Rogers. (Raleigh has different specifications he uses for his right-handed bat, and he’s awaiting the arrival of a custom-ordered torpedo to swing right-handed.)
This was his 11th multi-homer game and fourth game with home runs from both sides of the plate.
His seven homers in 18 games are second among all MLB sluggers, behind the eight from the Athletics’ Tyler Soderstrom.
“He is a threat to go from either (side), and when he does it in one game, it’s pretty phenomenal,” manager Dan Wilson said.
Miller, meanwhile, allowed just three hits with two walks and eight strikeouts in his best start of the season so far.
He touched 97 mph and struck out the side in the first inning, a welcome sign for the Mariners after Miller talked openly about some arm soreness after his last outing.
In the days leading up to Wednesday’s start, Miller agreed to try acupuncture, rather reluctantly. He counted eight needles in his right arm.
“I don’t like doing needles, but I did,” he said. “They put some needles in me and I dealt with it and felt better, so I might have to do it again.”
Wilson opted to pull Miller after 78 pitches. Miller pushed back initially, but he said he understood that the coaches are prioritizing his long-term health.
“We wanted to give him a little bit of (a) lighter (outing) tonight,” Wilson said. “And after that fifth inning, it felt like that was the right time to do it.”
The Reds scored all three of their runs in the seventh inning off Mariners reliever Troy Taylor, who was making his season debut after being activated off the injured list Monday.
With the Mariners clinging to a 5-3 lead in the eighth, Reds star Elly De La Cruz led off with a hard-hit infield single that ate up rookie third baseman Ben Williamson, who was playing in on the grass guarding against a potential bunt.
The Mariners caught a break, though, when umpire Chris Segal called for batter interference on Austin Hays as De La Cruz stole second base. Hays, who had swung and missed on a strike-three pitch from Gabe Speier, had spun onto the edge of the plate and affected Raleigh’s high throw to second base.
Hays was out on the strikeout and Segal ruled De La Cruz out at second.
“That was a big play, no doubt,” Wilson said. “That’s a play that doesn’t get called very often, and I feel like it should get called more. It doesn’t need to have contact, it just needs to impede the throw, and it clearly did.”
Defensively, the Mariners played a crisp game too. Miller picked off De La Cruz at second base on a spin move, and right fielder Luke Raley made a perfect throw to Raleigh at the plate to gun down Jose Trevino to end the third inning.
“We played a complete game,” Raleigh said.
Williamson, after recording a hit in his first big-league plate appearance on Tuesday, picked up his first big-league RBI in his first plate appearance Wednesday when he sent a soft single to center field off Martinez.
Randy Arozarena laced a double off the top of the wall in left field in the first inning, driving in Julio Rodriguez for the Mariners’ first run in the first inning.
Dylan Moore continued his strong start to the season with two hits and a stolen base, and J.P. Crawford had two hits and a two-out RBI.
Andrés Muñoz picked up his MLB-leading seventh save in seven tries with a perfect ninth inning.
The Mariners are planning to recall right-hander Emerson Hancock from Triple-A Tacoma to start the series finale against the Reds on Thursday.
Bryan Woo has been pushed back a day and is scheduled to start the series opener in Toronto on Friday. Logan Gilbert (Saturday) and Luis Castillo (Sunday) are also scheduled to start in Toronto.
