Raleigh hits 23rd homer, Arozarena gets winning hit in ninth to lift Mariners over Twins

SEATTLE (AP) — Cal Raleigh hit his major league-leading 23rd homer and Randy Arozarena singled home the winning run in the ninth inning to give the Seattle Mariners a 2-1 victory over the Minnesota Twins on Sunday.

Arozarena grounded a base hit up the middle with one out to score Julio Rodriguez, who singled against Griffin Jax (1-3) leading off the ninth. Rodriguez stole second and advanced to third on a throwing error by catcher Ryan Jeffers.

Raleigh walloped a curveball in the seventh from Twins starter Chris Paddack, who was otherwise brilliant for eight innings. He struck out 10, walked one and limited the Mariners to four hits.

Paddack threw 75 of his 110 pitches for strikes.

Luis Castillo pitched six shutout innings for Seattle, but the Twins tied it against closer Andrés Muñoz (2-0) in the ninth on Harrison Bader's sacrifice fly.

Key moment

As dominant as Castillo was, the Twins nearly broke through against him when they put runners at the corners in the third with two outs. Mariners third baseman Ben Williamson did an excellent job charging in on a chopper from Carlos Correa to end the inning.

Key stat

Raleigh was the first Mariners player with at least 10 home runs (10 in March/April, 12 in May) in multiple months since Nelson Cruz in 2016. The catcher became the first Seattle player to do it in back-to-back months since Alex Rodriguez in 1999.

Up next

Twins right-hander Joe Ryan (5-2, 2.57 ERA) starts Monday night on the road against the Athletics.

Following an off day, Mariners RHP George Kirby (0-2, 11.42) gets the ball Tuesday to begin a three-game series against Baltimore.

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AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/MLB