"I just want that feeling of being grounded in the box” - Cal Raleigh's dedication pays off in Mariners' extra batting practice

Seattle Mariners catcher Cal Raleigh sharpened hitting before entering Saturday's game against the Colorado Rockies and it seems to have paid off.

Raleigh had a perfect game, going 4-4 with a home run, a walk and two RBIs. This marked his first four-hit game, and he also joined former Seattle catcher Dan Wilson to have reached five bases for the first time in a single game since 1996.

After Friday's game was postponed to Sunday, Raleigh and a few others used the off day to work their swings in the Rockies indoor batting cages with offensive coordinator Brant Brown and hitting coaches Tommy Joseph and Jarret DeHart.

“I just want that feeling of being grounded in the box,” Raleigh said. “I was kind of falling toward the ball or diving toward the ball. I was just trying to get that feeling back in my legs and feel a little more powerful."

“He’s found some things,” Mariners manager Scott Servais said. “He got a lot of good work done. He made a little adjustment and it paid off right away. You could see it in his first few swings.”

Cal Raleigh smashes his fifth homer of the season in Sunday's doubleheader

While in Game 1 of the doubleheader, Cal Raleigh went hitless (0-5) but turned it around in the second game of the day, smashing a three-run home run in the sixth, helping his team claim a 10-2 victory in the series finale.

“It’s real both ways,” Cal Raleigh said. “When guys aren’t hitting well, it seems to drag down the lineup, and then when guys are hitting well, it seems to track up and down the lineup.

"We just got off to one of those bad starts. We don’t want to do that, but that’s how it went. We were able to right the ship and we’ve just gotta keep it going.”

With the win, the Mariners improved to 11-11, placing them second in the AL West. They will now head to Globe Life Field to play against the defending champions, the Texas Rangers.