Clutch homers from Raley, Crawford spark dramatic comeback win

SEATTLE -- Talk about completely flipping the script, and maybe in the win of the season so far for the Mariners.

Overpowered and overwhelmed for much of Monday night against a Braves team with MLB’s best record, Seattle responded with a seismic sixth inning.

Two massive homers from Luke Raley and J.P. Crawford erased a four-run deficit, reinvigorated the T-Mobile Park crowd and turned into a 5-4 lead that would hold through the finish line.

“We push the envelope,” Mariners manager Dan Wilson said. “We get guys on base, and tonight, we were able to convert those into runs and just some really strong team at-bats there.”

The homers were the headlining moments, but just as vital were the walks that preceded them.

When Raley stepped to the plate, he did so after free passes to Randy Arozarena and Dominic Canzone to lead off the frame. Then, later in the inning after Braves starter JR Ritchie -- a native of nearby Bainbridge Island who grew up a Mariners fan -- was relieved by right-hander Tyler Kinley, Mitch Garver drew ball four with two outs as a layup to Crawford.

This was precisely the type of production that the Mariners have lacked more than they’ve delivered on in 2026. That includes separate sequences on Monday, when they stranded the bases loaded in the fifth and seventh. Seattle’s .672 OPS with runners in scoring position entering play on Monday was fourth-lowest in MLB.

Cashing in on more of these opportunities would go a long way for the club, which is now 17-19, in its fight to climb back over .500 for the first time since it was 3-2 on March 30.

“It takes passing the baton,” Crawford said, “having good at-bats, just getting people on base and then a big hit and we're right back in it.”

Doing so can also overcome pitching hiccups that are becoming more occasional.

Logan Gilbert didn’t necessarily turn in a clunker, but he was hit hard and often on Monday night, ambushed by Atlanta for four homers. And they weren’t cheapies, either, as the Braves’ big boppers Drake Baldwin (426 feet), Ozzie Albies (414 feet), Matt Olson (428 feet) and Austin Riley (427 feet) each went deep to create what looked like would be a comfortable lead.

Then, the script was flipped.

Raley had been in a 1-for-24 skid over his past 12 games, after emerging as the team’s home run leader through the season’s first three weeks. He worked into a 1-1 count vs. Ritchie then did not miss on a hanging curveball.

“I was kind of 50/50 getting in the box if I wanted to see a strike or how I wanted to go about it,” Raley said. “ But when you’ve got guys in scoring position, it's hard to just tell yourself to just see a strike. You've got to kind of be more aggressive in those kinds of situations. So yeah, I just picked my spot.”

As his skid reached more than two weeks, Raley sought out Mariners director of hitting strategy Edgar Martinez for guidance on getting through it. Martinez had encouraged Raley to add the toe tap to his setup over the offseason to great success, which led to their most recent discussion.

“Essentially, I just flattened my bat out a little bit in my stance,” Raley said, “which we're hoping it's going to help me get to the high fastball.”

After Raley made it a one-run game, Crawford then grinded into a full count vs. Kinley and yanked a low-and-in slider for a sky-high shot that hung for 6.0 seconds.

There was some catharsis to it, too, given that Crawford entered play with a .233 batting average on balls in play that had correlated to a .203 overall clip. Meanwhile, he’s been worth 103 wRC+ (league average is 100) -- suggesting that he’s been productive but the victim of some bad luck.

“There's definitely a lot of times where I'm pissed off,” Crawford said. “But, I mean, after it happened so many times, all I could do is laugh about it, at least for me. And just keep telling yourself they're going to fall, just stay right where you are, and I'm in a good spot mentally.”

Seattle’s bullpen -- sans Matt Brash and Gabe Speier, who are each on the injured list -- locked things down with three scoreless innings the rest of the way, including a bounceback from Andrés Muñoz, who blew his second save of the year his last time out.