Raleigh ties M's record with 35 HRs before break

SEATTLE -- Cal Raleigh hit his 34th and 35th home runs to set a career high and match Ken Griffey Jr.'s Seattle record for homers before the All-Star break, helping the Mariners beat the Pittsburgh Pirates 6-0 on Friday.

Raleigh, the major league leader in home runs, turned on a fastball from Bailey Falter (6-4) in the first inning and walloped it well past the wall in left. The exit velocity on the two-run shot was logged at 115.2 mph, per Statcast, the hardest-hit ball of his career.

Raleigh topped his previous career high, set last season, in the sixth with a solo shot that chased Falter. The Mariners mustered only one other hit off the left-hander, but it was also a home run courtesy of Randy Arozarena in the fourth inning.

Raleigh's 35 homers are tied for the fifth most in the MLB history before the All-Star break (since 1933), matching Griffey Jr. in 1998 and Luis Gonzalez in 2001. Barry Bonds holds the record with 39 at the break in 2001.

A switch-hitter, Raleigh has more home runs as a left-handed hitter and as a right-handed hitter than anyone else on the Mariners: He has 21 from the left side and 14 from the right; Arozarena ranks second on Seattle with 13 homers this season.

Raleigh is on pace to hit 65 home runs this season, which would break New York Yankees star Aaron Judge's American League record of 62, set in 2022.

The Mariners play eight more games before the All-Star break.

The Associated Press and ESPN Research contributed to this report.