Seattle Mariners starting pitcher George Kirby (68) talks with catcher Cal Raleigh (29). Joe Nicholson-Imagn Images

How Mariners have earned their first-place tie in AL West

By Joe Rutland | Last updated Aug 13, 2025 10:58 AM ET

The Seattle Mariners have been on a roll in the American League West.

Seattle is in the midst of an eight-game winning streak and is 9-1 in its last 10 games. This has allowed them to make up ground on the scuffling Houston Astros (67-53), who are 5-5 in their previous 10 contests.

Behind catcher Cal Raleigh's record-setting season and right-hander George Kirby's second-half surge on the mound, the Mariners have worked hard to earn a first-place tie with the Astros, who have won the division seven times in the last eight seasons.

How impactful has Raleigh's season been for Seattle? With a MLB-leading 45 home runs and 98 RBI, the "Big Dumper" has been the Mariners' offense's driving force.

As of Wednesday, Raleigh is slashing .245/.351/.587, along with 69 walks and 78 runs scored, per StatMuse.

Meanwhile, Kirby threw seven innings of three-hit ball in a 1-0 win against the Baltimore Orioles on Tuesday. Overall, he is 8-5 on the season with a 3.71 ERA across 85 innings, including 90 strikeouts and a 1.07 WHIP.

George Kirby's 5th and 6th Ks pic.twitter.com/i4VX07hecj
— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) August 13, 2025

Kirby's win over Baltimore marked his fourth straight quality start, and he's pretty happy with the results.

“I think my offspeed has just been really, really good, especially to lefties,” Kirby said, via MLB.com. “Just hammering that pitch and trying to get ahead."

While Raleigh and Kirby have been the catalysts for the Mariners' recent success, Seattle picked up reinforcements at the MLB trade deadline. They acquired third baseman Eugenio Suarez and first baseman Josh Naylor from the Arizona Diamondbacks, with Naylor driving in the lone run in Tuesday's victory.

Don't expect the Mariners to pump the brakes right now. They are on a quest for not only a playoff berth, but perhaps an AL West division title.

Joe Rutland

Joe Rutland has contributed articles on sports, entertainment, and business to digital platforms like Athlon Sports, The Sporting News, Entrepreneur, The Huffington Post, The Good Men Project, and others. He's spent four decades in the communications industry as a journalist, editor, writer, and columnist. His sports areas of focus include MLB, NBA, college football, and WNBA

More must-reads: