Los Angeles Angels outfielder Jo Adell prevented Cal Raleigh from hitting his first home run of the season.
Raleigh, who hit 60 homers last season, was denied by Adell in the first inning of Saturday’s game against the Seattle Mariners.
Adell’s Defensive Impact
Raleigh clubbed a ball 104.7 mph and 370 feet to right field while facing Angels starter Jack Kochanowicz. It was looking like a home run, but the 6-foot-2 Adell snagged it.
Six innings later, Adell robbed Mariners first baseman Josh Naylor. This kept the score at 1-0 for the Angels. That’s what we call making a defensive impact.
Raleigh’s Slow Start
Raleigh entered Saturday slashing .138/.242/.172. He had registered only four hits while striking out an AL-high 16 times in 33 plate appearances.
He also went 0-for-14 at the plate for Team USA at the 2026 World Baseball Classic in March.
Last year, Raleigh was hitting 125/.250/.250 in seven games. He did have a homer by then, but disappointing numbers in early April are very easy to erase. Raleigh went on to finish second in AL MVP voting and become only the seventh player (or fourth, if you remove players with steroid allegations) in MLB history to reach 60 homers.