Raleigh hits 6th career grand slam and Kirby tosses 6 strong innings as Mariners blank Reds 8-0

SEATTLE (AP) — Cal Raleigh hit his sixth career grand slam, George Kirby and three relievers combined for a three-hitter and the Seattle Mariners beat the Cincinnati Reds 8-0 on Monday night.

The Mariners (51-50) are above .500 for the first time in nearly two weeks and moved a half-game ahead of Texas (50-50) atop the AL West.

In the seventh inning, Reds lefty Caleb Ferguson intentionally walked Dominic Canzone to load the bases for Raleigh, last year’s AL MVP runner-up. On the first pitch of the at-bat, Raleigh turned on a hanging breaking ball, sending it 408 feet into the left-field bleachers to make it 7-0.

It was the 10th home run this season for Raleigh, who is batting .163 after hitting 60 homers in 2025. He also knocked in a run with a groundout in the eighth to finish with five RBIs.

Kirby (8-8), who struck out six and walked one, needed only 80 pitches to get through six innings in his sixth straight quality start. Edwin Arroyo was the lone Reds hitter to advance past second base, and he was thrown out at home with ease by Mariners right fielder Victor Robles on a shallow flyball in the third.

Julio Rodríguez drove in a run with an infield single off Cincinnati starter Andrew Abbott (5-6) to make it 1-0 in the fifth. Rodríguez hit a chopper to shortstop Elly De La Cruz, and his throw to first base was off line. Robles scored from third and Rodríguez reached safely, but he soon exited the game as a precaution.

Robles moved from right field to center after Rodríguez was removed. Weston Wilson, who entered for Rodríguez, made it 3-0 with an RBI single in the seventh.

Nick Davila, Cole Wilcox and Michael Rucker each pitched a hitless inning of relief for Seattle.

Mariners shortstop J.P. Crawford was a late scratch due to wrist soreness. Colt Emerson replaced him and hit a sacrifice fly in the seventh to increase Seattle’s lead to 2-0.

Reds designated hitter Eugenio Suárez, who played parts of three seasons for the Mariners, was greeted with a standing ovation when he led off the second.

RHP Luis Castillo (3-8, 4.93 ERA) pitches Tuesday for Seattle in the middle game of the series against RHP Chase Burns (11-1, 2.54).

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Seattle Mariners' Weston Wilson hits an RBI double to score Luke Raley against the Cincinnati Reds during the seventh inning of a baseball game, Monday, July 20, 2026, in Seattle. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)

Seattle Mariners starting pitcher George Kirby throws against the Cincinnati Reds during the first inning of a baseball game, Monday, July 20, 2026, in Seattle. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)

Seattle Mariners' Cal Raleigh celebrates in the dugout after hitting a grand slam against the Cincinnati Reds during the seventh inning of a baseball game, Monday, July 20, 2026, in Seattle. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)

Seattle Mariners' Cal Raleigh hits a grand slam against the Cincinnati Reds during the seventh inning of a baseball game, Monday, July 20, 2026, in Seattle. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)

Seattle Mariners' Cal Raleigh jogs the bases after hitting a grand slam as Cincinnati Reds second baseman Edwin Arroyo (2) looks on during the seventh inning of a baseball game, Monday, July 20, 2026, in Seattle. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)

HAVANA (AP) — The Spanish hotel chain Meliá said Tuesday it will completely shutter its operations in Cuba, dealing a blow to the tourism industry on the Caribbean island grappling with strict sanctions and an energy blockade imposed by the United States.

A statement from the company said the decision, which will go into effect on Friday, was sue to “the significant operational, legal, economic and financial difficulties that have persistently affected, and continue to affect, the environment" in Cuba.

Cuba's tourism industry was formerly an engine of the country's economy. Meliá's decision follows new sanctions announced by the U.S. on July 13 blacklisting Cuba’s Ministry of Tourism, the business partner of more than a dozen hotels that the hotel chain still operated on the island.

The chain had previously suspended management of 15 hotels it operated through an agreement with a tourism agency run by GAESA, a Cuban military-business conglomerate that was sanctioned by the U.S. in May. The company has now completely withdrawn its business from Cuba.

Meliá once owned 34 five-star hotels in Cuba, primarily in Havana, the country's capital, and idyllic locations such as the Varadero resort and the main keys. It was also a highly symbolic chain for the island, following the opening of tourism in the Caribbean nation after the collapse of the Soviet Union more than 35 years ago.

U.S. measures against companies operating in Cuba include freezing their assets and seizing their accounts in the U.S. — meaning they can no longer operate in the U.S. financial market — and also travel bans for their shareholders, investors and employees.

The U.S. ramped up pressure on the island following the capture of Venezuela's then-President Nicolás Maduro in January, seeking the fall of the Cuban government and changes to its political and economic model. It also implemented an energy embargo that has exacerbated a pre-existing crisis.

The result has been daily blackouts lasting more than 20 hours, medicine shortages pushing the healthcare system to the brink, a collapsed water supply and paralyzed transportation.

Meliá’s departure demonstrates the resounding impact of U.S. President Donald Trump’s policies, which are “methodically and systematically closing every source of foreign currency for the Cuban government,” Paolo Spadoni, an associate professor in the Department of Social Sciences at Augusta University in Georgia, told The Associated Press.

Tourism has plummeted with the withdrawal of major chains — such as the Spanish Iberostar and the Canadian Royalton — as well as the cancellation of flights to Cuba by airlines like World2Fly, Air France and Iberia.

This year, tourism arrivals in Cuba are down 48% compared to the same period in 2015, totaling just 298,000.

Follow AP’s Latin America coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/latin-america

An antique car drives past the Melia Habana Hotel in Havana, Cuba, Tuesday, July 21, 2026. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)

An antique car passes the Melia Habana Hotel in Havana, Cuba, Tuesday, July 21, 2026. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)