ANAHEIM -- The first had a sense of “oof.” The second had a dose of diabolical. And the third might go down as the catch of the year.
The Mariners were on the wrong side of a game that virtually everyone at Angel Stadium and across the sport on Saturday said they’d never seen before -- three home run robberies, all by the same outfielder.
And making Halos right fielder Jo Adell’s heroics even more spectacular was that each was essentially a game-saving play in the 1-0 decision.
Had at least two cleared the fence, we might be having a much different conversation -- and especially across the airwaves in Seattle, given who fell victim to Adell’s insane night.
Cal Raleigh’s long fly ball found Adell’s leather in the first inning, taking away what would have been his first homer since his historic 60 last season. Josh Naylor sent one to the fence in the eighth that was a near-carbon copy of Raleigh’s drive, and erased what would’ve been his first extra-base hit in 2026.
But J.P. Crawford’s in the ninth might’ve been the most gut-punching, given how Adell completely left his feet, crashed into the stands and somehow corralled it after falling out of view.
The last one was close enough that the Mariners challenged, but to no avail.
And per Statcast -- independent of an amazing defensive effort -- all three would’ve been homers at T-Mobile Park.
"You just tip the cap,” Raleigh said. “I don't think I've ever seen a guy rob two homers in a game, much less three. So it's just one of those things where baseball can amaze you night in and night out. You can see something you’ve never seen before. The game, it's amazing. I've never seen that."
Raleigh, Naylor and Crawford are each off to a slow start in 2026, and a homer could’ve turned their fortunes for at least one night.
On the heels of his historic season, Raleigh has now gone nine games without a homer since Opening Day, eclipsing the longest drought he had all of last season (eight games from May 3-11).
Naylor did drive in two insurance runs in the 10th inning of Friday’s tense win, but they were his first of the year. Overall, he’s 4-for-35, and with each of his hits being singles, his batting average matches his slugging percentage (.114).
Crawford was playing in just his second game after missing the Opening Week homestand on the injured list with right shoulder inflammation. He also feels like he has much to prove -- to the organization (which just signed his heir apparent to a $95 million contract extension) and the rest of the league (given that he’ll be a free agent at season’s end).
“Three great catches, no question,” Mariners manager Dan Wilson said. “And it's frustrating when you feel like you put a good swing on a ball like that and drive it, like our guys did, and you don't end up with anything to show for it. But I think that the positive there is that guys are starting to swing the bat and it's starting to come around."
Wilson isn’t wrong, although it might not be what most want to hear on a night in which the Mariners stranded nine baserunners and went 0-for-7 with runners in scoring position.
Those shortcomings masked another brilliant pitching effort, this one from Emerson Hancock, whose lone blemish was a solo homer to Zach Neto in the first. He then went on to finish 6 2/3 innings with only five other hits. Neto’s homer is the lone earned run that the Mariners have surrendered this weekend.
"Obviously, yeah, you look at the three balls that [Adell] caught,” Raleigh said. “But at the same time, we've got to do a better job of the little things -- of getting guys over, executing with runners in scoring position."
This offense has enough of a supporting cast that it doesn’t have to run through Raleigh. Yet, his struggles have been more magnified given that the rest of Seattle’s primary run producers are also trying to get going. We haven’t mentioned Julio Rodríguez, who wasn’t robbed by Adell on Saturday but who’s also seeking his first extra-base hit.
It’s getting there, albeit marginally, but Adell had other plans on Saturday.
“In general, I felt a lot better tonight,” Raleigh said. “I thought I took some good swings, took some good at-bats. I've just got to stay a little more disciplined in those 3-2 counts. But overall, I thought, the guys took some great swings tonight."