Here Are Takeaways From Seattle Mariners Series Win Against Chicago Cubs

Emerson Hancock had the worst showing out of all the starters. He struck out five, walked three and allowed nine earned runs on six hits (four home runs).

The poor showing from the starting pitchers shouldn't be disregarded, but the conditions definitely exacerbated things to a point. It shouldn't be considered an indictment on the rotation.

Cal Raleigh strengthens MVP case

The Mariners Platinum Glove-winning catcher continued to make history over the weekend. He entered the series with 27 home runs on the season and ended the set with 31. That mark is the all-time MLB record for the most home runs by a catcher and a switch-hitter in a single season before the All-Star Break.

As of Monday. Raleigh has scored 55 runs in 75 games and has hit 14 doubles with his 31 homers and 66 RBIs. He's slashed .276/.383/.659 with a 1.042 OPS. He's on pace to hit 67 home runs, which would break the American League record for most in a single season. If he gets to 49 homers, he would set another MLB record for the most in a single season by a catcher.

It seems to be a two-person race for the AL MVP at this point between Aaron Judge and Raleigh. Judge is having an elite season in his own right, but all of the historic marks Raleigh has reached could be enough to give him the edge over the New York Yankees outfielder.

Bottom half of the order shows out

The weekend was also a good display for the players in the bottom half of Seattle's lineup. The Mariners had at least two players with two or more hits from the fifth-to-ninth spots in the order in all three games.

Mitch Garver had a two-homer day on Friday (batted fifth), Luke Raley had a three-hit day Saturday (batted sixth) and Dominic Canzone (eighth) and Miles Mastrobuoni (ninth) both had three hits Sunday. First baseman Donovan Solano, who batted sixth Friday and seventh Saturday and Sunday, had three respective hits in all three games and hit .643 (9-for-14) with two runs, two homers and eight RBIs across the series. Garver and Canzone both had two homers apiece in their respective multi-hit games.

As mentioned with the pitchers, the offense's high number of runs should be taken with a grain of salt given the conditions.

But it was a good sign of consistency from the bottom half of the order that has gone through its fair share of peaks and valleys this year. If that momentum can turn over into the rest of the road trip, it'll be a successful one for the Mariners.

Up next

Seattle will kick off a four-game series against the Minnesota Twins at 4:40 p.m. PT on Monday. Bryan Woo will start for the Mariners and Bailey Ober will start for the Twins.