Mariners' Cal Raleigh hits 34th and 35th home runs, eclipsing career high before MLB All-Star break

Mariners' Cal Raleigh hits 34th and 35th home runs, eclipsing career high before MLB All-Star break

Cal Raleighadded to his MLB home run lead, blasting his 34th and 35th of the season for theSeattle Marinersin a 6-0 win over thePittsburgh Pirateson Friday. Raleigh won the vote forthe American League's starting catcherin the MLB All-Star Game and joined the Home Run Derby field this week. And he maintained his lead over Aaron Judge, who also homered on Friday to reach 32 on the season. Perhaps most impressively, Raleigh has already matched his home run total for last season on July 4. The Mariners have eight games left to play before the All-Star break. Raleigh went deep in the first inning, reaching down and in for a 92 mphBailey Falterfastball. The homer was the hardest hit ball of Raleigh's career at 115.2 mph,according to MLB.com's Sarah Langs, and went 433 feet into T-Mobile Park's left-field seats. He followed that up in the sixth, taking Falter deep again on another fastball down and in. With his 35th homer, Raleigh matchedthe third-highest home run totalbefore the All-Star break. He also tied Mariners Hall of Famer Ken Griffey Jr. for the most in team history prior to MLB's midseason hiatus. HISTORY.With 35 home runs, Cal Raleigh ties Ken Griffey Jr. for the most in franchise history before the All-Star break.#TridentsUppic.twitter.com/1MP1E1Yx1o — Seattle Mariners (@Mariners)July 4, 2025 Only Barry Bonds (39), Chris Davis, Mark McGwire, Reggie Jackson and Luis Gonzalez (each with 37) have hit more by that point. And as mentioned, Raleigh can still add to that total in the next week. Raleigh's two home runs also gave him seven games this season in which he's hit multiple homers. Only four other players have achieved that feat before the All-Star break,according to Langs. Jackson has the most with eight. Two weeks ago, Raleigh hit his 29th homer, surpassing Johnny Bench's mark forthe most ever by a catcherbefore the All-Star break. With his 30th home run, he becamethe first switch-hitterto reach that total before the season's halfway point. Raleigh has hit 14 home runs as a right-handed batter this season, including both of Friday's blasts. He's hit 21 long balls from the left side. Raleigh's three RBI also gave him 74 for the season, tying theChicago Cubs'Seiya Suzukifor the MLB lead in that category. Additionally, his .650 slugging percentage and 1.030 OPS both rank second in MLB to Judge.

byMario Satorik

in

July 04, 2025

Mariners' Cal Raleigh hits 34th and 35th home runs, eclipsing career high before MLB All-Star break

Mariners' Cal Raleigh hits 34th and 35th home runs, eclipsing career high before MLB All-Star break Cal Raleighadded to his MLB home run...

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Hot Dog Eating Contest prize money: How much did Nathan's champs win?

Hot Dog Eating Contest prize money: How much did Nathan's champs win?

Joey Chestnutgot more than the Mustard Belt for his victory at the2025 Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest. He will pocket $10,000, as willwomen's champion Miki Sudo. For Chestnut, that worked out to be about $142 for each hot dog and bun he consumed, eating total of 70½ during the annual10-minute contestin Coney Island, New York. "It's awesome," said Chestnut, who returned to the competition after a one-year ban. "I'm really lucky. You know, competitive eating, it's not like people are buying tickets to watch it. And it's not tons and tons of advertising, so there's not the most money involved it in." Chestnut confirmed he makes exponentially from his three-year contract with Nathan's, although he has declined to reveal the terms of the deal. The competitors at Nathan's compete for a total of $40,000 in prize money, $20,000 for the men and $20,000 for the women. While $10,000 goes to each of the winners, the second-place finishers each get $5,000, the third-place finishers each get $2,500 apiece and the remaining $2,500 is split among other the fourth- and fifth-place finishers, according to George Shea, co-founder of Major League Eating and the host of the Nathan's contest. Winner: $10,000 Second place: $5,000 Third place: $2,500 Fourth place: $1,500 Fifth place: $1,000 The USA TODAY app gets you to the heart of the news — fast.Download for award-winning coverage, crosswords, audio storytelling, the eNewspaper and more. This article originally appeared on USA TODAY:Nathan's Hot Dog Contest prize money: What is purse for Joey Chestnut?

byMario Satorik

in

July 04, 2025

Hot Dog Eating Contest prize money: How much did Nathan's champs win?

Hot Dog Eating Contest prize money: How much did Nathan's champs win? Joey Chestnutgot more than the Mustard Belt for his victory at the...

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Trump says there could be a Gaza deal next week

Trump says there could be a Gaza deal next week

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -President Donald Trump said on Friday it was good that Hamas said it had responded in "a positive spirit" to a U.S.-brokered Gaza ceasefire proposal. He told reporters aboard Air Force One there could be a deal on a Gaza ceasefire by next week but that he had not been briefed on the current state of negotiations. (Reporting by Trevor Hunnicutt and Andrea Shalal; Editing by Tom Hogue)

byMario Satorik

in

July 04, 2025

Trump says there could be a Gaza deal next week

Trump says there could be a Gaza deal next week WASHINGTON (Reuters) -President Donald Trump said on Friday it was good that Hamas said it h...

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Trump says US will start talks with China on TikTok deal this week

Trump says US will start talks with China on TikTok deal this week

ABOARD AIR FORCE ONE (Reuters) -U.S. President Donald Trump said on Friday he will start talking to China on Monday or Tuesday about a possible TikTok deal. He said the United States "pretty much" has a deal on the sale of the TikTok short-video app. "I think we're gonna start Monday or Tuesday...talking to China, perhaps President Xi or one of his representatives, but we would we pretty much have a deal," Trump told reporters on Air Force One. Last month, Trump extended to September 17 a deadline for China-based ByteDance to divest the U.S. assets of TikTok. A deal had been in the works this spring to spin off TikTok's U.S. operations into a new U.S.-based firm, majority-owned and operated by U.S. investors, but it was put on hold after China indicated it would not approve it following Trump's announcements of steep tariffs on Chinese goods. Trump said the United States will probably have to get a deal approved by China. When asked how confident he was that China would agree to a deal, he said, "I'm not confident, but I think so. President Xi and I have a great relationship, and I think it's good for them. I think the deal is good for China and it's good for us." (Reporting by Jasper Ward and Andrea Shalal; Editing by Tom Hogue and Shri Navaratnam)

byMario Satorik

in

July 04, 2025

Trump says US will start talks with China on TikTok deal this week

Trump says US will start talks with China on TikTok deal this week ABOARD AIR FORCE ONE (Reuters) -U.S. President Donald Trump said on Frida...

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NASCAR's Shane van Gisbergen is hoping for another successful weekend in downtown Chicago

NASCAR's Shane van Gisbergen is hoping for another successful weekend in downtown Chicago

CHICAGO (AP) — The first time Shane van Gisbergen raced in Chicago, he was largely unknown in NASCAR. The second time, he was one of the favorites on the downtown street course. The third time is a different situation for van Gisbergen once again. This time, he has a second Cup Series victory in his back pocket — providing some flexibility for the 36-year-old New Zealand native as he prepares for the playoffs. "We're in a nice position now having won a race," van Gisbergen said Friday. "And it may change our strategy. If we're in a position to get a playoff point, we'll probably try and get that, but that'll put us deep in the field for the next stage. So yeah, there's a bit of a toss-up there what we're going to do, but it's a nice position to be in." Sure is. Just two years ago, van Gisbergen — a three-time champion in Australia's Supercars — put on a dazzling show in a rainy first edition ofNASCAR's downtown Chicago experiment. Making the most of his extensive street racing experience, he became the first driver to win hisCup Series debutsince Johnny Rutherford in the second qualifying race at Daytona in 1963. He wonChicago's Xfinity Series stoplast year and the first stage in the Cup race before he was knocked out by a crash. "You know, I have great memories here," van Gisbergen said. "This place has changed my life, so I'm going to have special memories of this place forever." Van Gisbergen's success in Chicago led toa full-time Cup ridewith Trackhouse Racing. But the driver of the No. 88 Chevrolet is learning his way around NASCAR and he got off to a slow start this season. While oval tracks remain a challenge, he certainly hasn't forgotten his roots on street and road courses. He postedhis second Cup winlast month at Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez in Mexico City. Van Gisbergen is scheduled to compete in both Chicago races this weekend. Next up for NASCAR is another road course at Sonoma Raceway, providing an opportunity to move up from No. 32 in the Cup standings and build up some momentum. "Road courses are just a bonus for us," he said. "We know we're going to be good and we can just focus on trying to get results there." Even after two years, the downtown Chicago street course remains a tricky proposition. The 12-turn, 2.2-mile track is narrow and bumpy in spots — to go along with manhole covers, and transitions from concrete to asphalt and back — and there is little room for error in some areas. Rain affected the action in each of the first two weekends, and there could be more showers on Sunday. Patience is sometimes the best approach, but that only goes so far in NASCAR. "It's easy to say that until Shane is out there a second faster than you and you have to go put yourself in some uncomfortable situations," said Joey Logano, the reigning Cup Series champion. When it comes to van Gisbergen on road courses, Logano said the rest of the Cup Series is "in a way, playing catch-up." Van Gisbergen said he feels the same way about ovals. "These guys have been doing left-handers since they were 10 years old," van Gisbergen said. "You know, they're two completely different sports, and although there has been road racing in NASCAR forever, it's not that much. So yeah, just the experience levels are different in what we do. And I feel like, yes, they've definitely gotten a lot better since the first one on this track, for sure." ___ AP auto racing:https://apnews.com/hub/auto-racing

byMario Satorik

in

July 04, 2025

NASCAR's Shane van Gisbergen is hoping for another successful weekend in downtown Chicago

NASCAR's Shane van Gisbergen is hoping for another successful weekend in downtown Chicago CHICAGO (AP) — The first time Shane van Gisber...

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Wimbledon: No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka holds off home favorite Emma Raducanu at Centre Court

Wimbledon: No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka holds off home favorite Emma Raducanu at Centre Court

LONDON (AP) — Top-ranked Aryna Sabalenka staved off an upset bid by resurgent Emma Raducanu atWimbledonby beating the home favorite 7-6 (6), 6-4 in the third-round at a raucous Centre Court on Friday night. Sabalenka, a two-time semifinalist at the All England Club, fought back in both sets against the the 2021 U.S. Open champion, who had been playing some of her best tennis since her title run at Flushing Meadows as a qualifier at age 18. In a 74-minute first set, Sabalenka converted her eighth set point, which came 30 minutes after the first. Raducanu went up 4-2, only to see Sabalenka reel off 11 of 12 points during one stretch while moving out front by a 5-4 score. Then arrived an epic game, lasting 13 minutes and containing 22 points, eight deuces, and seven set points for Sabalenka — all ending with Raducanu holding serve. Then, Raducanu had a set point while leading 6-5 in the tiebreaker, but Sabalenka saved it with a drop-shot winner and took the last three points of the set — ending it with a volley winner. The fans provided extra energy for the British player, cheering wildly when Raducanu fired winners and exhaling "aww!" when she missed. Sabalenka, a three-time Grand Slam champion, said she pretended the cheers were for her. "Guys wow — what an atmosphere. My ears are still hurting. It was super loud," she said in an on-court interview. In the second set, Raducanu broke to 3-1 and led 4-1 at the 1-hour, 35-minute mark, but Sabalenka reeled off the last five games. Raducanu, ranked No. 40, had defeated 2023 Wimbledon champion Marketa Vondrousova in the previous round. "She pushed me really hard to get this win. I'm happy to see her healthy and back on track," Sabalenka said. "I'm pretty sure that soon she's going to be back in the top 10." Sabalenka reached the final at each of the past three Grand Slam tournaments, winning the U.S. Open last September and finishing as the runner-up to Madison Keys at the Australian Open in January and to Coco Gauff at the French Open in June. ___ More AP tennis:https://apnews.com/hub/tennis

byMario Satorik

in

July 04, 2025

Wimbledon: No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka holds off home favorite Emma Raducanu at Centre Court

Wimbledon: No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka holds off home favorite Emma Raducanu at Centre Court LONDON (AP) — Top-ranked Aryna Sabalenka staved off a...

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Protests against surge mass-tourism in Mexico City end in vandalism, harassment of tourists

Protests against surge mass-tourism in Mexico City end in vandalism, harassment of tourists

MEXICO CITY (AP) — A protest by hundreds against gentrification and mass tourism that began peacefully Friday in Mexico City neighborhoods popular with tourists turned violent when a small number of people began smashing storefronts and harassing foreigners. Masked protesters smashed through the windows and looted high-end businesses in the touristic areas of Condesa and Roma, and screamed at tourists in the area. Marchers then continued on to protest outside the U.S. Embassy. Graffiti on glass shattered glass being smashed through with rocks read: "get out of Mexico." Police reinforcements gathered outside the Embassy building as police sirens rung out in the city center Friday evening. It marked a violent end to a more peaceful march throughout the day calling out against masses of American tourists who have flooded into Mexico's capital in recent years. Tension had been mounting in the city since American "digital nomads" flocked to Mexico City in 2020, many to escape coronavirus lockdowns in the U.S. Since, rents have soared and locals have increasingly gotten pushed out of their neighborhoods, particularly areas like Condesa and Roma, lush areas packed with coffee shops and restaurants. The Mexico City protest comes at the same time other European cities like Barcelona, Madrid, Paris, Rome and more are also facing mounting protests railing against mass-tourism.

byMario Satorik

in

July 04, 2025

Protests against surge mass-tourism in Mexico City end in vandalism, harassment of tourists

Protests against surge mass-tourism in Mexico City end in vandalism, harassment of tourists MEXICO CITY (AP) — A protest by hundreds against...

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