Fastball

Texas Rangers' Reliever Chris Martin on the Wrong Side of Wild History in Loss to Mariners

Martin, 38, surrendered a historic home run to M's catcher Cal Raleigh, which also put him in the crosshairs of some fascinating history as well.

Brady Farkas

Texas Rangers pitcher Chris Martin (55) reacts after getting the final out of the game against the Boston Red Sox at Globe Life Field in 2025.
Texas Rangers pitcher Chris Martin (55) reacts after getting the final out of the game against the Boston Red Sox at Globe Life Field in 2025. / Raymond Carlin III-Imagn Images
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The Texas Rangers lost to the Seattle Mariners 5-3 on Friday night at T-Mobile Park in Seattle. Trailing 3-1, the Rangers tied the game at 3-3 thanks to a Josh Jung home run in the sixth, but they lost the game on a two-run homer by Cal Raleigh in the bottom of the eighth inning.

With the home run, Raleigh became the all-time home run leader among Mariners' catchers. He passed Mike Zunino with the blast, the 96th of his career.

The home run was also historic for Rangers' reliever Chris Martin, according to @MarinersPR:

4/11/25: Cal Raleigh passes Mike Zunino for most HR by a @Mariners catcher: 5-3 win over Rangers; Chris Martin pitches 8th for TEX.

8/6/18: Mike Zunino passes Dan Wilson for most HR by a @Mariners catcher: 4-3 win over Rangers; Chris Martin pitches 8th for TEX.

#TheMayerGWS

That feels like the kind of thing that can only happen in baseball.

The 38-year-old Martin is in the 10th year of his career with the Colorado Rockies, New York Yankees, Rangers, Atlanta Braves, Chicago Cubs, Los Angeles Dodgers and Boston Red Sox. He won a World Series with the Braves in 2021 and signed back with Texas this offseason. He's 16-20 for his career with a 3.35 ERA. He's appeared in eight games this season, leading the American League. Those were the first two earned runs he's allowed. His ERA is 2.25.

The Rangers and Mariners will be back at it again on Saturday night with first pitch at 9;40 p.m. ET.

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Brady Farkas
BRADY FARKAS

Brady Farkas is a baseball writer for Fastball on Sports Illustrated/FanNation and the host of 'The Payoff Pitch' podcast which can be found on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Videos on baseball also posted to YouTube. Brady has spent nearly a decade in sports talk radio and is a graduate of Oswego State University. You can follow him on Twitter @WDEVRadioBrady. 

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