Cal Raleigh belted his 10th home run to tie for the major league lead, and Logan Evans won his MLB debut as the Seattle Mariners edged the Miami Marlins 7-6 on Sunday afternoon. The victory capped another series win for Seattle, who have now taken six consecutive series and 12 of their last 16 games.
Raleigh’s solo blast tied him with Arizona’s Eugenio Suárez atop the home run leaderboard, helping power a Seattle offense that built a 7-2 lead before Miami mounted a late charge. J.P. Crawford also homered, Jorge Polanco added three hits — including two doubles — and drove in two runs, and Julio Rodríguez delivered a key two-run single to spark the Mariners’ early offensive surge.
Evans (1-0), a 22-year-old right-hander, got the spot start after All-Star Logan Gilbert was placed on the 15-day injured list Saturday with a right elbow flexor strain. Evans navigated some early nerves to allow two runs on two hits over four-plus innings, striking out three and walking three. His most crucial moment came in the fifth inning when, with runners on second and third and no outs, Evans limited the damage to a single run and ended his outing by striking out Jesús Sánchez.
Seattle built a five-run cushion by the seventh, but the Marlins made it interesting late. Rookie Connor Norby, who had a big day at the plate with three hits and three RBI, crushed a three-run homer in the eighth inning to cut the deficit to one. Andrés Muñoz, however, calmly retired the Marlins in order in the ninth for his 10th save, tying San Diego’s Robert Suarez for most in the majors. The game ended with Miami rookie Agustín Ramírez — who had already homered twice — grounding out.
Ramírez, playing just his fifth major league game, continues to shine, hitting .474 with seven extra-base hits, including three homers, in just 19 at-bats. His impressive start wasn’t enough to pull the Marlins back, though, as Miami dropped another close one.
Max Meyer (2-3) took the loss for Miami, allowing five runs over four innings. The Marlins also missed a golden opportunity in the fifth inning against Evans and Seattle’s bullpen when they had runners on second and third with no outs but came away with just one run.
Meanwhile, Mariners outfielder Randy Arozarena quietly extended his on-base streak to 23 games, the second-longest active run in MLB behind Philadelphia’s Kyle Schwarber (32).
Seattle had to shuffle their lineup just before first pitch, as third baseman Ben Williamson — batting .310 since his debut — was scratched with back spasms, missing his first game since April 15.
In the fifth inning, with Miami threatening and trailing just 5-2, Evans struck out Jesús Sánchez to escape a second-and-third, no-out jam with minimal damage, preserving a crucial cushion.
Five games into his big-league career, Agustín Ramírez is batting .474 with three home runs and seven extra-base hits in just 19 at-bats.
The Marlins head west to face the Dodgers in Los Angeles, sending Edward Cabrera (0-1, 6.14 ERA) to the mound against Dustin May (1-1, 3.68 ERA) on Monday. The Mariners return home to host the Angels on Tuesday, with Bryce Miller (1-3, 4.21 ERA) starting against Jack Kochanowicz (1-3, 5.47 ERA).
