SEATTLE — In a game that began with a highly anticipated pitching debut and ended with a sudden, electrifying swing, Randy Arozarena launched a walk-off, two-run homer to lift the Seattle Mariners to a 5-4 victory over the Chicago Cubs on Saturday night. Arozarena sent a 1-0 pitch from Cubs closer Jacob Webb 404 feet to straightaway center, capping a dramatic ninth-inning comeback for Seattle.
The Mariners had trailed 4-2 going into the final frame. A two-out, run-scoring single by Leo Rivas cut the deficit to one, setting the stage for Arozarena’s heroics. The blast was his second hit of the night, and it sent the home crowd into a frenzy.
Kade Anderson made his much-anticipated MLB debut on Saturday, and at just 22 years old, the left-hander showed flashes of why he is considered one of the top pitching prospects in the game. He allowed three earned runs over 5 2/3 innings, striking out six and walking two. Anderson, the third overall pick in the 2025 amateur draft, became the first player from that draft class to reach the majors.
The Cubs were the first to break through. In the fifth inning, Kevin Alcántara lifted a sacrifice fly off Anderson to score a run. Seattle had managed to grab an early lead on a leadoff home run by Arozarena in the first, and Dominic Canzone drove in another with an RBI groundout in the fifth. But Chicago answered with a three-run sixth, taking a 4-2 lead that looked like it might hold.
Mariners reliever Michael Rucker picked up the win after pitching a scoreless ninth, improving to 1-4 on the season.
The win allowed Seattle to creep closer in the playoff race. At 62-68, the Mariners trail Houston by three games in the AL West and sit two games behind the final wild-card spot. The Cubs, meanwhile, fell to 74-56 and saw their NL wild-card lead shrink to 4 1/2 games.
There was a bit of pregame drama for Seattle. Utilityman Brendan Donovan was scratched from the lineup after being hit in the head by a baseball in the batting cages before the game. Weston Wilson stepped in at third base and batted eighth.
Up next, the two teams wrap up the series on Sunday with a pitching matchup that features Seattle right-hander Bryce Miller against Chicago lefty Shota Imanaga.
