The Seattle Mariners secured a 6-4 win over the Texas Rangers on Sunday, but they have still lost two of three games in the series heading into Monday afternoon’s finale.
George Kirby will take the mound for Seattle, while Kumar Rocker gets the start for Texas.
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Mariners catcher Cal Raleigh started the first three games of the series, but the team made a change ahead of Monday’s matchup.
Mariners Announce Cal Raleigh News
Raleigh is 2-for-10 at the plate in the series, and the Mariners have decided to give him the day off Monday by removing him from the starting lineup and putting Mitch Garver behind the plate.
Raleigh has occasionally started at designated hitter, but the Mariners will instead place Julio Rodríguez in that role Monday while batting him second in the lineup.
The outfield will feature Dominic Canzone in right field, Luke Raley in center field, and Randy Arozarena in left field.
Raleigh’s 2026 Struggles
It’s safe to say that after an historic 2025 season with the Mariners, Raleigh has not lived up to expectations this year, and sometimes that’s simply the harsh reality of baseball.
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Last season, he finished runner-up in the American League MVP race while leading the league in home runs with 60 and RBIs with 125.
He won the Home Run Derby, earned his first All-Star selection, and received the honor of representing Team USA in the World Baseball Classic this offseason. Some have speculated that the additional commitments may have played a role in his struggles by disrupting his usual offseason routine.
However, Raleigh has not made any excuses for his disappointing season, which currently has him batting .165 with just 10 home runs and 35 RBIs.
“I’m not one to make excuses,” Raleigh said over the weekend. “I don’t regret going to play for Team USA… I would still do it over again just because you don’t get that opportunity every day. At the end of the day, was it harder to get at-bats? Yes. Did it maybe throw my timing off a little? Maybe. But I’m not here to speculate and make excuses.”
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