SEATTLE -- Mariners left-hander Marco Gonzales and his wife, Monica, are looking to pitch in for the growing number of families and children dealing with financial struggles during the COVID-19 pandemic by leading a virtual fundraising drive for Northwest Harvest, a statewide non-profit hunger relief agency.

The Gonzales Family Peanut Butter Drive began Friday and will run through May 31, with a goal of raising $40,000 to make 400,000 peanut butter sandwiches for families in Washington. The effort is being supported by the Mariners and Northwest Ford Dealers.

• Gonzales Family Peanut Butter Drive: tax deductible donations

All donors will be entered in a drawing for a volunteer opportunity with Marco and Monica Gonzales at a Northwest Harvest facility, as well as a surprise experience, courtesy of the Mariners, during the 2021 season.

The Gonzaleses live year-round in Seattle and were at Northwest Harvest’s SODO Community Market on Thursday, helping make 500 peanut butter sandwiches for distribution to families in need.

“This is a virtual food drive, so we’re looking for monetary donations,” Marco said. “The goal is $40,000, but I think we can get more than that. The amount of peanut butter we can get through donations and turn that into sandwiches and meals is incredible, and I think people will see they can do a lot of good with just a small donation.”

With the increasing number of people out of work and needing assistance, Northwest Harvest has needed to dramatically increase its distribution to partner food banks and meal programs. Hearing about the number of families struggling to put healthy food on their tables hit home for Monica Gonzales, a personal trainer and nutritionist.

“It is heartbreaking and scary to see how much our state is affected,” she said. “It definitely sparked action for ourselves, and we’re hoping to spark others, as well.”

The Gonzaleses will match a portion of the donations made to the peanut butter drive. Mariners Care, the team’s nonprofit foundation, also will match a portion of donations.

Marco Gonzales hopes to return to baseball soon, but he said helping with Northwest Harvest and other charities is a commitment he and his wife plan to continue long beyond his playing days. For now, that means helping those dealing with the COVID-19’s financial impact.

“We recognize this time is really difficult for a lot of people for a lot of reasons,” Monica Gonzales said. “The need to have food on the table is a completely different situation. If there’s anything we can do to help, we feel it should be our priority. The families struggling to put food on the table will be recovering from this pandemic for a lot longer than others.”

Raleigh wins Mariners Showdown video tourney
Catcher Cal Raleigh rode the powerful bat of Daniel Vogelbach to a 6-2 victory over reliever Art Warren on Friday in the championship game of the Mariners Showdown video game tournament. Raleigh earned a $5,000 donation in his name to COVID-19 relief efforts.

The competition began two weeks ago with 16 Mariners players taking on 16 fans in a bracket-style tournament. The first round wound up an 8-8 split between Mariners and fans. Two fans advanced all the way to the Elite Eight, but it was an all-Mariners finale as Raleigh and Warren battled in a nine-inning duel on MLB The Show 20.

Raleigh, 23, is the Mariners’ No. 8 prospect, per MLB Pipeline, but he’s clearly a veteran gamer. He jumped to a 6-0 lead on Warren behind a pair of home runs by Vogelbach. Both players were using Mariners lineups, so Warren had Vogelbach on his offense, too, and the burly designated hitter’s solo homer for Warren in the ninth cut the final margin to 6-2.