As Cal Raleigh strode to the plate to guide off the tenth inning in a tie ballgame, Toronto Blue Jays followers needed to really feel uneasy.
The Seattle Mariners backstop has emerged as an authorized Jays killer over his four-year MLB profession and solely added to his legacy in Toronto on Wednesday afternoon.
Batting right-handed in opposition to southpaw Tim Mayza, the switch-hitting Raleigh deposited a first-pitch sinker into the Mariners’ bullpen in proper discipline, offering the spark for what turned a game-clinching five-run tenth.
It marked the ninth time the 27-year-old has gone deep in opposition to the Blue Jays within the common season, and the tenth time whole in the event you embody the two-run shot he hit within the first inning of Recreation 1 within the 2022 AL wild-card sequence.
Raleigh entered Wednesday with a profession 1.043 OPS in opposition to Toronto, and his eight residence runs have been essentially the most he’d hit in opposition to any crew within the majors.
Raleigh upset with feedback from final 12 months
Final season, after a two-homer sport in opposition to the Blue Jays in April, supervisor John Schneider was requested about Raleigh’s prowess on the plate in opposition to his crew, saying “He’s not very powerful to pitch to if you execute.”
Requested about these feedback after the sport on Wednesday, Raleigh referred to as out the Jays bench boss.
“I do know numerous guys have beef with him on this league. So his feedback aren’t stunning,” Raleigh stated in response to Seattle Times reporter Ryan Divish. “I don’t have a lot to say. For those who don’t have something good to say, don’t say it in any respect in the event you don’t need it to come back again on you.”
Since making his MLB debut on July 11, 2021, solely Aaron Choose (14) and Anthony Santander (11) have left the yard extra usually in opposition to the Blue Jays than Raleigh.
His extra-inning blast was additionally the twenty fourth residence run Toronto pitchers have allowed this season, tying the franchise document for many dingers allowed by way of the crew’s first 13 video games, matching the 1978 Blue Jays.
This 12 months’s crew is off to a barely higher begin than these Blue Jays, who began 4-9 and ended the season 59-102.
Nonetheless, it’s not debated that the 2024 Blue Jays can be higher off stopping the lengthy ball going ahead—in opposition to Raleigh and the remainder of MLB.
