KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Cal Raleigh broke Mickey Mantle’s record for homers by a switch-hitter and tied the Mariners record set by Ken Griffey Jr. when the Seattle star hit his 55th and 56th of the season in consecutive at-bats in a 12-5 win over the Royals on Tuesday night.

Raleigh doubled in his first at-bat on a hot, humid night in Kansas City. He came up again in the third inning and, batting left-handed against Michael Wacha, fouled off a changeup and took a sinker for a ball before Raleigh sent a hanging curveball 419 feet over the right-field fence for his 55th home run of the season.

That broke the switch-hitter mark set by the Yankees star in 1961, which Raleigh had tied against the Angels on Sunday.

BIG DUMPER TWO HOME RUN NIGHT!

Cal Raleigh ties Ken Griffey Jr. for the most home runs in a single season in franchise history 😳

(via @MLB) pic.twitter.com/Wpz7lk7W4n

— ESPN (@espn) September 17, 2025

The All-Star catcher was back up in the fourth inning Tuesday night. This time, batting right-handed against left-hander Daniel Lynch IV, Raleigh sent the first pitch he saw 425 feet to straightaway center for his 56th homer.

Griffey set the Mariners record when he hit 56 homers during the 1997 season and matched the mark the following year.

After both home runs, Raleigh got a standing ovation from a small group of Mariners fans behind the visiting dugout at Kauffman Stadium. Many Royals fans, who had turned out to watch a club fading from playoff contention, also applauded the home runs. It was Raleigh’s 20th career multihomer game and his 10th this season, the most in a single season by a catcher in MLB history.

There have only been nine 60-homer seasons in the majors. Aaron Judge had the last when he hit 62 for the Yankees in 2022, an American League record. Raleigh would need to hit six more home runs over the next 11 games to tie Judge’s record.

The Associated Press and ESPN Research contributed to this report.

MINNEAPOLIS — Anthony Volpe returned to the New York Yankees‘ starting lineup on Tuesday, making his first start since getting a cortisone shot in his left shoulder.

Volpe entered the game against Minnesota hitting .206 with 19 homers in 142 games this season, playing through a small tear in his labrum for more than four months. He had a cortisone shot last week, his second this season, and returned to action as a defensive replacement in the eighth inning of New York’s 7-0 loss Monday. He did not have a plate appearance and was in Tuesday’s lineup at shortstop and batting eighth.

“I feel like he’s in a good place physically,” New York manager Aaron Boone said. “With that being said, that’s been the case most of the year. So, he’s just got to focus on what he does up at the plate and put himself in position to make good swing decisions, and hopefully click for him right away.”

Volpe aggravated the injury on Sept. 7 when he made a diving stop in a game against AL East-leading Toronto. He originally injured the shoulder in May and had a cortisone shot during the All-Star break.

Astros slugger Yordan Alvarez has a “pretty significant” left ankle sprain and will be out of the lineup indefinitely as Houston battles for a division title and an American League playoff spot as the season winds down, manager Joe Espada said Tuesday.

Espada would not give a timetable for the return of Alvarez, who continues to be on the active roster.

“This is going to keep him out for a while,” Espada said. “Let’s not get into days, weeks, any of that. We are going to take one day at a time, but this is going to take some time to heal.”

Alvarez, who underwent an MRI on Tuesday, suffered the injury while crossing home plate during Monday’s victory against the Texas Rangers. He was seen leaving the Astros clubhouse on a crutch and with a boot on his left foot.

The three-time All-Star appeared to slip as he crossed the plate in the first inning, scoring from first base on a throwing error by Rangers pitcher Jack Leiter on Carlos Correa‘s infield single. Alvarez was tended to by an athletic trainer outside the Astros’ dugout and then helped down the steps.

Espada refused to say if the team planned to place Alvarez on the injured list.

“One day at a time,” Espada said. “I’m not going to give you days, weeks, what we’re going to do next. You’re just going to have to sit down and wait.”

Alvarez is batting .273 with six home runs and 27 RBIs but has been limited to 48 games because of a fractured right hand that forced him to sit out 101 games.

Entering Tuesday, Houston is a half-game behind the Seattle Mariners in the AL West. The Astros are three games ahead of Cleveland Guardians and Texas for the final AL wild-card spot.

“We need him in there, but those are the things that we can’t control,” Espada said of Alvarez. “It’s a freak accident that happens on a baseball field and that’s not what we need right now. But we do have guys here that understand the situation that we’re in. We’ve got talent. We’ve got guys that want it. We’ve got guys that can fight and get us through this stretch.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.