Cal Raleigh breaks Johnny Bench’s record for homers by a catcher before All-Star break

CHICAGO (AP) – 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.

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.