Cal Raleigh breaks Johnny Bench's record for homers by a catcher before All-Star break

CHICAGO (AP) — Cal Raleigh broke Hall of Famer Johnny Bench’s 1970 record for home runs by a catcher before the All-Star break, hitting his major league-leading 28th and 29th in the Seattle Mariners’ 9-4 victory over the Chicago Cubs on Friday.

Raleigh put Seattle ahead and moved past Bench in the seventh inning with No. 29, a drive to the back of the left-field bleachers off Caleb Thielbar.

“Any time you’re mentioned in even the same sentence with one of the best, if not the best ever do it is a special thing,” Raleigh said. “I’m just very grateful. He’s one heck of a player or was one heck of a player. And like I said, just very, very happy about it.”

Raleigh needed only 73 games to break the record that Bench set in 87 games. The Seattle star shattered the mark with 22 games to spare before the All-Star game. Barry Bonds holds the overall record with 39 for San Francisco in 2001.

Raleigh sent his first homer just over the basket in the first off Matthew Boyd.

The 28-year-old slugger had three hits in his sixth multi-homer game of the season. He drove in three runs to push his season total to 63.

Bench was a 14-time All-Star in his 17-season career with the Cincinnati Reds. In 1970, at age 22, he became the youngest player to win the National League MVP award. He led the NL with 45 homers and drove in 148 runs.

Seattle's Mitch Garver, a catcher by position, hit two homers and drove in five runs as a designated hitter. The duo stole the thunder from the NL-Central leading Chicago on a day when Sammy Sosa returned to Wrigley Field for the first time in over 20 years.

Raleigh and Garver are the first pair of primary catchers for a team to each homer twice since Joe Ferguson and Steve Yeager did it for the Los Angeles Dodgers in a 1979 home victory over Houston.

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Seattle Mariners' Cal Raleigh (29), right, receives the home run trident from Dylan Moore (25) after hitting a home run during the first inning of a baseball game against the Chicago Cubs, Friday, June 20, 2025, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Erin Hooley)

Seattle Mariners' Cal Raleigh (29) hits a home run during the first inning of a baseball game against the Chicago Cubs, Friday, June 20, 2025, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Erin Hooley)

Seattle Mariners' Cal Raleigh runs the bases after hitting a two-run a home run during the seventh inning of a baseball game against the Chicago Cubs, Friday, June 20, 2025, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Erin Hooley)

Seattle Mariners' Cal Raleigh hits a two-run home run during the seventh inning of a baseball game against the Chicago Cubs, Friday, June 20, 2025, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Erin Hooley)

Seattle Mariners' Cal Raleigh holds the "home run trident" after hitting a two-run a home run during the seventh inning of a baseball game against the Chicago Cubs, Friday, June 20, 2025, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Erin Hooley)

PHOENIX (AP) — Devin Booker scored 33 points, 20 in the first quarter, and the Phoenix Suns pulled away in the second half for a 129-102 victory over the struggling Sacramento Kings on Friday night.

Dillon Brooks scored 18 points and Mark Williams had 15 points and nine rebounds for the Suns, who have won five of their last six. They bounced back from Wednesday’s loss at Cleveland. Booker, Brooks and Williams all sat the entire fourth quarter.

Collin Gillespie and Oso Ighodaro each had 15 points for Phoenix. Reserve Jamaree Bouyea scored 12 for the Suns, who led by 28 points late in the game.

Booker finished 13 of 21 from the field — just 1 for 6 from 3-point range — and 6 of 7 from the free throw line in 28 minutes. He was 8 of 12 in the first quarter in scoring 20 of the Suns’ 32 points. It was Booker's highest-scoring quarter since April 2024, when he also scored 20.

The Suns led 62-56 at the half but opened it up in the third quarter, leading by as many as 18 before ending the period with a 97-83 lead.

Keegan Murray led the Kings with 23 points and 10 rebounds. Sacramento lost its fourth in a row, and sixth straight on the road to fall to 8-27.

Russell Westbrook had 17 points and six assists for the Kings, and Keon Ellis finished with 14 points.

Kings: Host Milwaukee on Sunday.

Suns: Host Oklahoma City on Sunday.

AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/nba

Sacramento Kings guard Demar Derozan (10) fouls Phoenix Suns forward Dillon Brooks (3) during the second half of an NBA basketball game, Friday, Jan. 2, 2026, in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Rick Scuteri)

Phoenix Suns forward Dillon Brooks (3) goes up to shoot over Sacramento Kings guard Dennis Schroder, right, during the second half of an NBA basketball game, Friday, Jan. 2, 2026, in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Rick Scuteri)

Phoenix Suns forward Dillon Brooks shoots over Sacramento Kings guard Nique Clifford (5) during the second half of an NBA basketball game, Friday, Jan. 2, 2026, in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Rick Scuteri)

Phoenix Suns guard Devin Booker (1) drives past Sacramento Kings forward Keegan Murray, left, during the second half of an NBA basketball game, Friday, Jan. 2, 2026, in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Rick Scuteri)