Mariners' Cal Raleigh Had Worst Performance Of His Career In ALCS Game 6

Coming into Game 6 of the American League Championship Series, Cal Raleigh was on top of the world.

The Seattle Mariners' superstar catcher is a top candidate for Most Valuable Player honors, leading the majors with 60 home runs in the regular season, and he'd just had the moment of his career so far, hitting a game-tying home run on Friday night in Game 5 to put the Mariners within a win of their first-ever World Series appearance.

Unfortunately, when they had the opportunity to lockdown that World Series appearance, Raleigh just may have had his worst game ever.

Stats, anecdotes on Raleigh's rough night

Oct 19, 2025; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Seattle Mariners catcher Cal Raleigh (29) reacts after striking out in the sixth inning against the Toronto Blue Jays during game six of the ALCS round for the 2025 MLB playoffs at Rogers Centre. Mandatory Credit: Nick Turchiaro-Imagn Images | Nick Turchiaro-Imagn Images

Raleigh struck out in the first inning, then grounded into a bases-loaded double play in the third that ended what would be the Mariners' best threat to tie the game or take the lead. In the sixth and eighth innings, he struck out twice more.

According to Tyler Kepner of The Athletic, Sunday night was the first game in Raleigh's career with at least three strikeouts, a double play, and an error. It's only one game, but there's a case to be made it was the worst all-around game of his career.

Adding to that narrative, Raleigh's championship win probability added on Sunday night was negative-5.13%, according to Baseball Reference. On Friday, when he hit one of the biggest home runs in franchise history, it was positive-7.98%.

“Just one of those days: a couple inches away here or there, and maybe we’re talking about a different ballgame," Raleigh said, per Kepner. "So you take that side of it. You don’t take the wrong side. You take the good stuff and you apply that tomorrow, and you just keep going. It’s what you have to do.”

The beauty of baseball is that one great game usually outweighs one terrible one. But as memorable as all those heroic late-game moments for the Mariners were on Friday night, Sunday partially canceled them out.

Now, it's on Raleigh and his teammates to rise to the occasion one more time. Superstars are made by showing up when their teams need them the most, and after his best and worst moments of the season, Raleigh has a chance to define his legacy with one more big game.

More MLB: Mariners Reveal Pitching Strategy For ALCS Rubber Match Vs. Blue Jays