Cal Raleigh Delivers Crushing Blow as Rays Fall to Mariners

The Tampa Bay Rays maintained control against the Seattle Mariners all night. Then, with four outs to go until a series opening victory, they had to face All-Star catcher Cal Raleigh.

Tampa Bay Rays relief pitcher Griffin Jax (22) pitches to the Seattle Mariners during the eighth inning at T-Mobile Park. | Steven Bisig-Imagn Images

Any Tampa Bay Rays fans who chose to start the weekend by watching the late-night series opener against the Seattle Mariners were met with a heartbreaking outcome.

Things were clicking for Tampa Bay most of the game. Brandon Lowe notched his 21st home run of the season in the first inning to give the Rays a 1-0 lead, and starting pitcher Drew Rasmussen dazzled in his return to his home state of Washington with a shutout performance over six innings of work. 

Their efforts were complemented by All-Star third baseman Junior Caminero, who crushed his 31st home run of the year in the top of the sixth inning to give the Rays a 2-0 lead.

Then, Mariners All-Star catcher Cal Raleigh spoiled the fun.

Raleigh Ruins the Night

After an epic outing on Wednesday against the Los Angeles Angels, newly acquired Rays reliever Griffin Jax had to face baseball’s home run leader with two outs in the bottom of the eighth inning. 

Jax fell behind 2-0 in the count before leaving an 87-mile-per-hour sweeper in the bottom of the zone, where Raleigh made him pay with a three-run shot to center field to give the Mariners a 3-2 lead. It was his 43rd home run of the season. Seattle carried Raleigh’s blast to the end and finished off the Rays behind three straight strikeouts from closer Matt Brash.

“Probably the wrong guy came up to the plate in Cal Raleigh,” Rays manager Kevin Cash said after the loss. “He’s putting together a really special season, and we’ve seen it from afar for the first half, and he got us tonight.” 

"There’s a reason he’s having a really good year,” Jax told MLB.com’s Daniel Kramer. “He’s a really good hitter. I’ve had a couple of at-bats against him this year that have gone my way, so he’s seen me now three or four times. When I put myself in a hole 2-0, good hitters do that."

Griffin Jax on Cal Raleigh:

"There’s a reason he’s having a really good year. He’s a really good hitter. I’ve had a couple at-bats against him this year that have gone my way, so he’s seen me now three or four times. When I put myself in a hole 2-0, good hitters do that."

— Daniel Kramer (@DKramer_) August 9, 2025

Before Friday night, Jax had only allowed four home runs in 53 appearances this season. With his latest losing decision, Jax falls to 1-6 on the year.

Pressure Mounting

With 45 games remaining, Tampa Bay falls to 57-60 and sits 4.5 games out of the final American League wild card spot. With the Cleveland Guardians, Texas Rangers and Kansas City Royals all ahead of the Rays, the margin for error continues to shrink.

The Rays look to even the series against the Mariners on Saturday at 9:40 p.m. ET. when Tampa Bay right-hander Joe Boyle faces Mariners righty Logan Evans.