Latest news with #Bench
NBC Sports
an hour ago
- Sport
- NBC Sports
Cal Raleigh breaks Johnny Bench's record for homers by a catcher before All-Star break
Byron Buxton is finally healthy and playing some of the best baseball of his career, and James Schiano examines why the 31-year-old outfielder is on pace to make his first All-Star Game since 2022. CHICAGO — Cal Raleigh broke Hall of Famer Johnny Bench's 1970 record for home runs by a catcher before the All-Star break, hitting his major league-leading 28th and 29th in the Seattle Mariners' 9-4 victory over the Chicago Cubs on Friday. Raleigh put Seattle ahead and moved past Bench in the seventh inning with No. 29, a drive to the back of the left-field bleachers off Caleb Thielbar. 'Any time you're mentioned in even the same sentence with one of the best, if not the best ever do it is a special thing,' Raleigh said. 'I'm just very grateful. He's one heck of a player or was one heck of a player. And like I said, just very, very happy about it.' Raleigh needed only 73 games to break the record that Bench set in 87 games. The Seattle star shattered the mark with 22 games to spare before the All-Star game. Barry Bonds holds the overall record with 39 for San Francisco in 2001. Raleigh sent his first homer just over the basket in the first off Matthew Boyd. The 28-year-old slugger had three hits in his sixth multi-homer game of the season. He drove in three runs to push his season total to 63. Bench was a 14-time All-Star in his 17-season career with the Cincinnati Reds. In 1970, at age 22, he became the youngest player to win the National League MVP award. He led the NL with 45 homers and drove in 148 runs. Seattle's Mitch Garver, a catcher by position, hit two homers and drove in five runs as a designated hitter. The duo stole the thunder from the NL-Central leading Chicago on a day when Sammy Sosa returned to Wrigley Field for the first time in over 20 years. Raleigh and Garver are the first pair of primary catchers for a team to each homer twice since Joe Ferguson and Steve Yeager did it for the Los Angeles Dodgers in a 1979 home victory over Houston.
New Indian Express
6 hours ago
- Health
- New Indian Express
Telangana HC seeks explanation over delay in opening government hospital
HYDERABAD: The Telangana High Court on Wednesday pulled up the state government for the inordinate delay in making operational a fully constructed and equipped 100-bedded government hospital in Alampur, Jogulamba Gadwal district. The court directed the government to file its response within two weeks, explaining the reasons for not commencing regular medical services at the facility. A division bench comprising Acting Chief Justice Sujoy Paul and Justice Renuka Yara expressed serious concern over the continued inaction, questioning why the hospital - built at a cost of Rs 21 crore and completed in October 2023 - remains non-functional even 18 months after completion. During the hearing, Acting Chief Justice Sujoy Paul observed, 'A 100-bedded hospital has been constructed in Alampur, but the state government is not opening it, not providing staff, and the equipment remains unused.' The Bench directed the government counsel to obtain clear instructions from relevant departments on the reasons for the delay. The directive came in response to a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) filed by social activist and politician S Ramchandra Reddy, a resident of Ieeja in Jogulamba Gadwal district. The petitioner alleged that despite several representations to the authorities, the hospital has not been made functional, depriving the people of Alampur of basic medical services.
12 hours ago
- Sport
Cal Raleigh breaks Johnny Bench's record for homers by a catcher before All-Star break
CHICAGO -- Cal Raleigh broke Hall of Famer Johnny Bench's 1970 record for home runs by a catcher before the All-Star break, hitting his major league-leading 28th and 29th in the Seattle Mariners' 9-4 victory over the Chicago Cubs on Friday. Raleigh put Seattle ahead and moved past Bench in the seventh inning with No. 29, a drive to the back of the left-field bleachers off Caleb Thielbar. 'Any time you're mentioned in even the same sentence with one of the best, if not the best ever do it is a special thing,' Raleigh said. 'I'm just very grateful. He's one heck of a player or was one heck of a player. And like I said, just very, very happy about it.' Raleigh needed only 73 games to break the record that Bench set in 87 games. The Seattle star shattered the mark with 22 games to spare before the All-Star game. Barry Bonds holds the overall record with 39 for San Francisco in 2001. Raleigh sent his first homer just over the basket in the first off Matthew Boyd. The 28-year-old slugger had three hits in his sixth multi-homer game of the season. He drove in three runs to push his season total to 63. Bench was a 14-time All-Star in his 17-season career with the Cincinnati Reds. In 1970, at age 22, he became the youngest player to win the National League MVP award. He led the NL with 45 homers and drove in 148 runs. Seattle's Mitch Garver, a catcher by position, hit two homers and drove in five runs as a designated hitter. The duo stole the thunder from the NL-Central leading Chicago on a day when Sammy Sosa returned to Wrigley Field for the first time in over 20 years. Raleigh and Garver are the first pair of primary catchers for a team to each homer twice since Joe Ferguson and Steve Yeager did it for the Los Angeles Dodgers in a 1979 home victory over Houston.
Winnipeg Free Press
12 hours ago
- Sport
- Winnipeg Free Press
Raleigh homers twice, breaks Bench's record in the Mariners' victory over the Cubs
CHICAGO (AP) — Cal Raleigh broke Johnny Bench's record for home runs by a catcher before the All-Star break, hitting his major league-leading 28th and 29th in the Seattle Mariners' 9-4 victory over the Chicago Cubs on Friday. Raleigh broke a tie in the seventh with No. 29 to move ahead of Hall of Famer Bench's 1970 mark. Raleigh needed only 73 games to break the record that Bench set in 87 games. The Seattle star shattered the mark with 22 games to spare before the All-Star game. Raleigh had three hits in his sixth multi-homer game of the season. The 28-year-old slugger drove in three runs to push his season total to 63. Mitch Garver also homered twice and drove in five runs, putting it away with a three-run shot in the ninth. Randy Arozarena and Donovan Solano each had three hits to help Seattle win for the fifth time in seven games. RANGERS 6, PIRATES 2 PITTSBURGH (AP) — Jacob deGrom struck out seven in six strong innings, Corey Seager hit his first home run since May 10 and Texas beat Pittsburgh. DeGrom (7-2) retired the first 11 batters and allowed two runs and five hits in six innings with one walk. One day after his 37th birthday, the two-time Cy Young Award winner extended his franchise record to 12 consecutive starts of allowing two runs or fewer and five hits or fewer. After being injured for most of the past four seasons, deGrom is 3-0 with a 1.80 ERA in four June starts. Seager homered with one out in the fifth inning off rookie Mike Burrows (1-2), a drive to right field to increase the Rangers' lead to 4-2. The five-time All-Star shortstop had gone 81 plate appearances without a home run while also being on the injured list from May 11-27 with a strained right hamstring. Burrows lasted 4 2/3 innings and gave up four runs on seven hits. WHITE SOX 7, BLUE JAYS 1 TORONTO (AP) — Luis Robert Jr. hit a two-run homer in Chicago's four-run third inning and the White Sox beat Toronto to end an eight-game losing streak. Josh Rohas had a two-run double in the third for Chicago. Andrew Benintendi had a solo home run in the first and added an RBI single in the second. It was a double-bullpen game, with both teams trotting out a handful of relief pitchers with no starters available. Grant Taylor pitched a scoreless inning for the White Sox before giving way to long reliever Tyler Alexander (4-7), who worked four without giving up a run. Dan Altavilla, Wikelman Gonzalez and Tyler Gilbert also came out of the bullpen, with Gonzalez allowing a run. Spencer Turnbull (1-1) gave up four runs on five hits and two walks over two innings of work. Mason Fluharty gave up three runs on two hits and two walks, before Braydon Fisher, Nick Sandlin, Chad Green, Brendon Little and Jeff Hoffman combined for six scoreless innings. MARLINS 6, BRAVES 2 MIAMI (AP) — Agustín Ramírez hit a three-run home run, Janson Junk pitched five effective innings and Miami beat Atlanta. Ramírez made it 4-1 in the third with a drive off Braves starter Didier Fuentes (0-1) that went 436 feet to left, giving the rookie catcher a team-leading 11 home runs on the season. Junk (2-0) allowed five hits, one run and struck out five in his first Marlins start. Junk, who has made five relief appearances, did not issue a walk. Eric Wagaman boosted Miami's lead with a pinch-hit, ground-rule double in the sixth, and Ramírez drove in another run in the seventh. CARDINALS 6, REDS 1 ST. LOUIS (AP) — Andre Pallante allowed two hits in six shutout innings and St. Louis used a five-run eighth inning to beat Cincinnati. Pallante (5-3) allowed a walk and a second-inning single to Matt McLain before leaving with a 1-0 lead after a broken-bat single by Elly De La Cruz to begin the seventh. Phil Maton got three outs to end it. St. Louis scored five runs off relievers Scott Barlow, Taylor Rogers and Tony Santillan — who retired one batter each. Masyn Winn drove in the first run with a single off Rogers and Lars Nootbaar's single off Santillan capped the rally after a two-out throwing error by Gavin Lux led to two runs. Brendan Donovan reached on a fielder's choice, took third on a Winn double and scored on a sacrifice fly by Alec Burleson to give St. Louis a 1-0 lead in the third against Reds starter Brady Singer (7-5). Singer allowed one run on four hits and a walk in six innings, striking out seven and retiring his final nine batters. PHILLIES 10, METS 2 Winnipeg Jets Game Days On Winnipeg Jets game days, hockey writers Mike McIntyre and Ken Wiebe send news, notes and quotes from the morning skate, as well as injury updates and lineup decisions. Arrives a few hours prior to puck drop. PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Bryson Stott hit a bases-clearing triple in a six-run seventh inning and Philadelphia surged past slumping New York into first place in the NL East with a victory. Nick Castellanos homered for the Phillies, who opened the three-game set between division rivals with their eighth win in their last nine games. Pete Alonso and Jeff McNeil homered for New York, which has lost seven straight. Reliever Reed Garrett (2-3) started the seventh for the Mets but failed to retire any of the five batters he faced after opening the frame by giving up doubles to Brandon Marsh and Trea Turner. _____
USA Today
16 hours ago
- Sport
- USA Today
Most home runs before All-Star break: Cal Raleigh breaks Johnny Bench's catcher record
It's not every day a player is able to break a long-standing record held by a Baseball Hall of Famer. But that's just what Seattle Mariners catcher Cal Raleigh did on June 20 at Wrigley Field, breaking Hall of Famer Johnny Bench's record for most home runs by a catcher before the All-Star break. Raleigh, who is currently slated to start the Midsummer Classic for the American League based on recent voting, hit two home runs to break Bench's 1970 record in the Mariners' 9-4 win over the Chicago Cubs. The Mariners' catcher also recorded the mark in fewer games than Bench; Raleigh did it in 73 games compared to Bench's 87. Raleigh tied Bench's record in the top of the first inning with a two-out, solo home run to left center field to give the Mariners an early 1-0 lead. Then came the big shot for "Big Dumper" in the seventh inning. On a 1-1 pitch against Cubs reliever Caleb Thielbar, Raleigh sent one out of "The Friendly Confines" and onto Waveland Avenue for a go-ahead, two-run home run. It marked Raleigh's sixth multi-homer game of the season and increased his MLB-leading home run total to 29. On the afternoon, Raleigh finished 3-for-4 at the plate with three RBIs, three runs scored, two home runs and a walk. "I love watching him hit, seeing him go the other way while trying to get guys in from second and third. I love watching him throw, and unlike some guys you see, he's not afraid to throw. I love watching him call a game. I love watching him drive in runs," Bench told USA TODAY Sports' Bob Nightengale. 'I love watching everything he does, it's just so impressive." Per Raleigh is on pace for 63 homers this season, which would surpass Kansas City Royals catcher Salvador Perez's 2021 record for most home runs in a single season by a primary catcher (48). The Mariners moved to 38-36 overall on the season with their win over the Cubs. The USA TODAY app gets you to the heart of the news — fast. Download for award-winning coverage, crosswords, audio storytelling, the eNewspaper and more.
