Seattle hit five home runs, including Cal Raleigh’s 53rd, and starter Luis Castillo broke a string of four poor outings to help the visiting Mariners overpower the Atlanta Braves 18-2 on Sunday in the rubber game of their three-game series.
The Mariners (75-68), who won 10-2 on Saturday, sent 12 men to the plate and scored eight runs in the third inning to take command. They batted around again in the ninth and scored seven more times. Seattle scored a season-high for runs.
The Mariners got back-to-back homers for the ninth time this season. Jorge Polanco, with his 24th, and Josh Naylor, with his 18th, accomplished the feat in the third inning. Eugenio Suarez added two homers, the last one off position player Vidal Brujan, his 44th and 45th.
Raleigh hit a three-run homer that carried 426 feet in the ninth inning. It pulled him with one homer from tying Mickey Mantle for the most by a switch hitter in a single season. Mantle hit 54 for the New York Yankees in 1961.
Seattle had a season-high 20 hits with nine players getting a pair: Randy Arozarena, Raleigh, Julio Rodriguez, Suarez, Naylor, Mitch Garver, J.P. Crawford, Victor Robles and Luke Raley.
Castillo (9-8) showed his grit after being struck in the right wrist by a 100-mph liner off the bat of Matt Olson in the fourth inning. Castillo remained in the game and pitched six innings, allowing one run on four hits and six strikeouts. He gave up one homer, a solo shot to Jurickson Profar, his 13th. It was nice turnaround for the right-hander, who had gone 0-2 with a 10.06 ERA over his four previous starts.
Atlanta (64-79) saw its starter Joey Wentz (5-6) work 2 1/3 innings and allow eight runs on eight hits, one walk and two strikeouts. Wentz had been scheduled to start on Monday, but the club opted to move him up a day in order to give struggling starter Spencer Strider an additional bullpen session between outings.
Rodriguez opened the floodgates in the third with an RBI double that scored two. After the back-to-back homers, Arozarena plated two more runs with a single to left, giving Seattle a 9-0 lead.
