Julio Rodriguez pens 'the tiger' nickname for $105,000,000 Mariners star

MLB: Athletics at Seattle Mariners - Source: Imagn — Julio Rodriguez pens 'the tiger' nickname for $105,000,000 Mariners star - Source: Imagn

The Seattle Mariners made it four wins in four with a 3-1 victory against the Texas Rangers on Sunday, sweeping the division rivals in the process. Mariners catcher Cal Raleigh capped off the series with a two-run homer, his third consecutive game with a homer in the series.

Raleigh's two-run homer took him to a franchise-leading five homers for the season. His home run in Friday's game also made him the most prolific catcher in Mariners history.

Following Raleigh's home run and a series sweep against the division rivals, Mariners All-Star Julio Rodriguez shouted out his teammate on Instagram. He shared Raleigh's celebration, writing:

"So spicy the tiger."

This is the third time Cal Raleigh has homered in three consecutive games for the Mariners, the two previous times coming last season. Last year, Raleigh also set the record for most home runs by a Mariners catcher in a season by smashing a career-best 34 home runs. Following his stellar year, the Mariners signed him on a six-year, $105 million contract extension in March.

Cal Raleigh reflects on series sweep against Mariners' division rivals

While Cal Raleigh has gone deep in three consecutive games before in his career, the Mariners catcher felt this time was special as it contributed to successive wins against a division rival.

“It always means a little more in the division,” Raleigh said. “All games are important, don’t get me wrong. But teams that have won the division and gone on to do big things it’s always good to get W’s against those guys head-to-head and gives you a little more confidence going forward.”

A interesting fact about Cal Raleigh's three home runs against the Rangers is that it came with the Mariners catcher using the much talked about custom 'torpedo' bats. Raleigh reportedly received the bat ahead of Friday's series opener against the Rangers and went deep in the first game with the custom bat.

“Whatever works. Whatever kind of bat,” Raleigh said after the series sweep.

The three game sweep took the Mariners to 8-8 for the season, half a game behind the Rangers (9-7) in second place in the American League West with the Los Angeles Angels (9-6) leading the division.

About the author

Chaitanya Prakash is an editor who covers US Sports at Sportskeeda. His first brush with sportswriting was in 2012 when the greatest football manager of all time, Sir Alex Ferguson, bid farewell to the beautiful game.

Although having started out professionally as a cricket writer in 2022, Chaitanya's curiosity and indiscriminate interest in all sports in general eventually introduced him to America's favorite pastime.

While Chaitanya's favorite player from the current crop is the dynamic Venezuelan Ronald Acuna Jr., his all-time favorite, however, is Pedro Martinez, for his self-belief and consistency. He also rates Jose Bautista's iconic bat flip in 2015 as his favorite moment in baseball history.

Chaitanya specializes in reporting on technical aspects of the game or analyzing patterns behind specific plays. He also likes pondering over players' self-assessments following the conclusion of a game as it helps him get an idea of how they think about the sport in general.

When not cheering for his favorites across sports, Chaitanya likes being transported to the past through a good war documentary or a historical documentary in general.

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Edited by Chaitanya Prakash