Cal Raleigh’s walk-off hit hands Yankees their first loss of 2026

SEATTLE, WASHINGTON - MARCH 30: Cal Raleigh #29 of the Seattle Mariners celebrates his walk-off single during the ninth inning against the New York Yankees at T-Mobile Park on March 30, 2026 in Seattle, Washington. (Photo by Steph Chambers/Getty Images) | Getty Images The opening salvo in this three-game battle between the Yankees and Mariners was as tight as you could have expected—and also true to expectations, pitching led the way. Neither staff so much as blinked throughout this game, but ultimately the Mariners found the big hit late as they prevailed, 2-1.

Cal Raleigh’s walk-off single against Paul Blackburn sealed the deal following a tremendous start from Luis Castillo, but Ryan Weathers showed plenty of panache in his Yankee debut, and the bullpen turned in another strong effort until the dam finally burst. The Mariners grabbed the initiative in the second inning when, following an early rally against Weathers, second baseman Cole Young grabbed a two-out ribbie on a shattered-bat single to right. It was the first time the Yankees trailed this season—the Giants had rarely threatened them in the previous series.

The Yankees failed to respond in the top of the third inning, but José Caballero showed off his umpire skills by reversing two called strikes against him. Those successful challenges produced a walk which ultimately allowed Aaron Judge and Cody Bellinger to take two-out plate appearances. Judge walked, but Bellinger punched out to end the rally.

Then in the fourth, Ben Rice, Giancarlo Stanton and Jazz Chisholm Jr. all won challenges of their own on low strike calls. This led to a rather tense dialogue between home plate ump Mike Estabrook and the Yankee dugout.