The Seattle Mariners are visiting Canada to play the Toronto Blue Jays in the Wild Card round.
Toronto had designated Alek Manoah to start the game, and Luis Castillo got the ball for Seattle.
Manoah had been phenomenal all year, but he had a rough first inning on Friday.
First, he hit Julio Rodriguez.
After Ty France grounded out, Eugenio Suarez drove in J-Rod with a double to give Seattle a 1-0 lead.
The next batter, Cal Raleigh, went deep to make it a 3-0 game.
People at Rogers Centre couldn’t believe it as Manoah, the guy who just had a 2.24 ERA in almost 200 big league innings, allowed two extra-base hits and three runs in one frame.
Raleigh made history when the ball left the yard.
“Cal Raleigh is the first player in Mariners history to hit a home run in his first career Postseason at-bat,” Mariners PR tweeted.
Cal Raleigh is the first player in Mariners history to hit a home run in his first career Postseason at-bat.
— Mariners PR (@MarinersPR) October 7, 2022
There you go: baseball is full of firsts, especially for a team like the Mariners that hadn’t gone to the playoffs since 2001.
Raleigh Is Great At Hitting And Catching
You might remember Raleigh as the man who sent the Mariners to the playoffs with a walk-off home run.
His home run is not a coincidence.
During the regular season, he hit 27 home runs in just 119 games.
Coming from the catcher position, that power output is actually enviable.
A third-round pick in the 2018 MLB Draft, Raleigh was always full of promise.
Thankfully for the Mariners, he has reached his offensive ceiling.
To everybody’s surprise, he is not just a phenomenal hitting catcher: he is also an asset behind the plate with terrific framing and defensive skills.
Thanks to Raleigh, the Mariners are enjoying a comfy lead at the moment of writing this in the top of the fifth inning.
NEXT: Julio Rodriguez Made A Promise To All Of Seattle