Cal Raleigh homers twice as Mariners pummel Angels in series opener

Raleigh homers twice as team scores season-high 11 runs

ANAHEIM, Calif. – Sure, the impressive offensive production came against a pair of inexperienced pitchers that likely wouldn’t be pitching for many teams in MLB.

But given the Mariners’ endless search to find sustainable success on offense and their propensity for striking out and struggling against pitchers like the ones they faced on Thursday night at Angel Stadium, any sort of positive results will be happily accepted and embraced.

And, well, it’s never bad trouncing a division opponent at their home stadium.

The Mariners delivered perhaps their most dominant overall performance of the season in their 11-0 win over the Los Angeles Angels.

Seattle has opened its road trip with three consecutive victories.

For the second time in three games, Cal Raleigh hit homers from both sides of the plate and J.P. Crawford added three hits, including a two-run homer, to lead the Mariners to a season-high in runs. Meanwhile, Luis Castillo delivered a second straight quality start as the Mariners held the Angels scoreless.

The Mariners made the major league debut of Angels prospect Jack Kochanowicz a miserable experience, beating him up for five runs in three innings, including four in the first inning.

Staked to a 4-0 lead before he’d even thrown a pitch, Castillo delivered a strong outing, pitching six scoreless. He allowed only four hits with two walks and five strikeouts to pick up wins in back-to-back starts and improve to 8-9 on the season while lowering his ERA to 3.53.

After giving up a one-out single to Mickey Moniak and a double Zach Neto to put runners on second and third in the second inning, Castillo came back to strike out Luis Guillorme and get Anthony Rendon to fly out to center. It was the start of a stretch during which Castillo retired 13 of the next 15 batters he faced.