Mariners 12, White Sox 8: Raley’s Slam and Three-Run Shot Anchor a Shootout

The lead

May 8, 2026 - Chicago - The Seattle Mariners won the kind of night where pitching coaches grimace and hitting coaches text their families. Luke Raley drove in a career-high seven runs— grand slam and three-run homer—Josh Naylor launched a three-run shot, Julio Rodríguez led off the fifth with a go-ahead homer, and Seattle held off the Chicago White Sox 12-8, per the Associated Press recap on ESPN.

It matched Seattle’s highest-scoring game of the season in the wire story—traffic everywhere, answers after every counterpunch.

How the game turned

Munetaka Murakami led off the scoring with a solo homer for Chicago—the first player in major-league history to homer in the opener of eight straight series, per AP, tying him with Aaron Judge at 15 long balls on the season.

Raley’s slam off Sean Burke (2-3) in the third made it 5-1 after Cole Young had already forced in a run via HBP with the bases juiced. Colson Montgomery’s three-run double capped a four-run third that tied it 5-5 before Rodríguez tilted it back Seattle’s way.

Raley struck again in the seventh with two on—his eighth homer of the year—before Naylor buried a three-run blast in the eighth. Chicago still landed late blows: Randal Grichuk homered in the ninth off Josh Simpson.

Pitching and matchup notes

Emerson Hancock (3-1) survived five runs over six innings—the kind of line that only works when your offense drops a dozen. Burke was charged with six runs and six hits in 4 1/3 frames as the White Sox bullpen kept chasing leverage.

Bats that changed the board

Naylor and Randy Arozarena each finished with three hits amid Seattle’s parade; Cal Raleigh went 0-for-5 as a cold snap reached 25 hitless at-bats dating to April 27, per ESPN’s sidebar.

AthX Engine fantasy angle

Seattle ranked second on May 8 at 19 AthX Engine team FP. Raley’s 15 hitting FP topped the slate while Naylor’s 12 and Rodríguez’s 8 filled the leaderboard behind him—classic proof that slugfests juice multiple hitter lines at once. AthX Engine is separate from dynamic pricing.

What comes next

Luis Castillo and Anthony Kay were slated for Saturday in the AP lookahead—a chance for both rotations to reset after Friday’s fireworks.

*Sources: MLB.com schedule, ESPN recap, Associated Press via ESPN, and AthX Engine scoring. Information only; not financial advice.*