An epic 12-pitch battle vs. deGrom ends with Dumper's 1st HR of '26
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ARLINGTON -- Mariners slugger Cal Raleigh’s season-opening home run drought finally ended Monday in a memorable battle with Rangers ace Jacob deGrom.
After leading the Majors with 60 homers last season, Raleigh needed 11 games -- and 12 pitches in an epic first-inning at-bat against deGrom -- to collect his first round-tripper. He smacked a 99.1 mph fastball a Statcast-projected 418 feet to right, a no-doubter that gave the Mariners a 1-0 lead.
Raleigh quickly fell behind in the count 0-2, but fouled off five balls before going deep. It marked the third time in Raleigh’s career that he had homered in an at-bat of 10 or more pitches, a Mariners record. It also happened to be the most pitches deGrom had ever thrown in an at-bat ending in a hit.
Raleigh entered Monday batting only .132 (5-for-38), with a paltry .417 OPS, in 11 games this season.