Parker Meadows robs Cal Raleigh of go-ahead home run to send Mariners to loss

SEATTLE – Cal Raleigh didn’t flip his bat because, well, he knows that T-Mobile Park can be a cruel home in the evening.

But as his towering fly ball headed toward center field Wednesday evening, it was fair to believe that he had just put the Mariners ahead with his second two-run homer of the game and set them up for a much-needed victory.

But Tigers center fielder Parker Meadows, whose nickname is “the baby giraffe” due to his lanky 6-foot-6 frame that’s mostly legs and arms, never assumed that the ball was gone.

He tracked the ball toward the wall and leapt high into the air like a “baby kangaroo,” extending his arm and ripping victory out of the air.

Instead of a one-run lead and Andres Munoz coming in to pitch the top of the ninth to shut the door, the Mariners trailed by a run and went to recently acquired right-hander Jonathan Hernandez, who was claimed off waivers and had been designated for assignment … for a reason.

It didn’t go well.

Hernandez walked the first two batters he faced and gave up a single. He was replaced by Trent Thornton, who wasn’t much better.

When the top of the ninth was done, the Tigers had scored three runs and the Mariners weren’t coming back from that, losing 6-2.

The loss dropped Seattle to one-half behind the Astros in the American League West standings.

The pitching duel between lefty Tarik Skubal and right-hander George Kirby was a little one-sided.

With a vocal contingent of friends and former teammates from Seattle University in attendance, Skubal delivered a solid outing to add to his American League Cy Young resume. He tossed seven innings, allowing two runs on three hits with two walks and nine strikeouts.

Skubal retired the first 10 Mariners he faced as his teammates build a 3-0 lead. But with one out in the fourth, he allowed an infield single to Randy Arozarena for his first baserunner. Two pitches later, Raleigh was circling the bases for a two-run homer, having hit a misplaced sinker at a high rate of speed. It was Raleigh’s 24th homer of the season.

The Mariners had a handful of chances to tie the game off a Skubal. Mitch Garver doubled with two outs in the fifth but was stranded on second when Leo Rivas struck out swinging.

In the sixth inning, Arozarena worked a one-out walk and Justin Turner later walked with two outs to put runners on first and second. But Skubal got Jorge Polanco to hit a soft groundball in front of the mound and made an athletic play to field the swinging bunt and throw him out at first base.

Kirby never seemed to find a rhythm or consistent command in his outing. His pitches had plenty of life and movement, but several refused to go to their intended locations.

Tigers hitters showed an aggressive approach at the plate and hunted fastballs at the top of the strike zone, knowing that Kirby liked to use that location to his advantage.

It started with the first batter he faced on the night – Wencel Perez.

Down 1-2 in the count, Perez fouled off a 98-mph fastball above the zone that normally gets a swinging strike three.

Instead, he prolonged the at-bat and later slammed a 98-mph fastball on the inside edge of the plate into the right-field seats.

Kirby’s final line: five innings pitched, three runs allowed on seven hits, a walk and seven strikeouts.

It was a frustrating start to a lengthy first inning that saw Kirby throw 28 pitches. It iddn’t get much better over the next four innings. Kirby allowed a baserunner in each of his five innings of work. The Tigers pushed the lead to 2-0 in the third inning. Matt Vierling led off with a single and then was able to score when Mitch Haniger mishandled Bligh Madris’ double to right field.

The Tigers made it 3-0 in the fourth inning when No. 9 hitter Jake Rogers was able to get on top of a 2-2 fastball, clocked at 95 mph and roughly three inches above the strike zone, sending a solo blast to deep left.

Kirby’s final line: five innings pitched, three runs allowed on seven hits with a walk and seven strikeouts. It was the second straight outing where Kirby failed to pitch six complete innings due to an elevated pitch count.