Two outs, ninth inning, Mariners down 4-2. Randy Arozarena got an 85 mph slider and sent it 404 feet to center field. Walk-off. Seattle wins 5-4. That was home run No. 19 on the season — and it made Arozarena the first player in Mariners franchise history to hit both the leadoff home run and the walk-off in the same game.
It wasn’t just one swing. It was one of those complete nights that people who were at T-Mobile Park will be talking about for years.
How the Comeback Was Built
Seattle got off to a fast start. Arozarena led off the first inning with a home run to put the Mariners on the board early. Kade Anderson — the No. 3 pick from the 2025 Draft and the first player from his class to reach the majors — held his own through five innings, allowing three earned runs in a solid debut for a 21-year-old pitching his first big-league game.
The trouble came in the sixth. Seattle’s bullpen took over, and Alex Bregman and Michael Busch hit back-to-back home runs for Chicago to flip the lead to 4-2. With Jacob Webb on the mound — a closer who entered the game with 24.2 consecutive scoreless innings — the outlook for Seattle looked bleak.
The ninth started taking shape when Weston Wilson doubled and Leo Rivas singled to cut it to 4-3. Then Webb faced Arozarena with two outs and the season on the line. You know how it ended: slider, 404 feet, ballgame.
The Third Act Nobody Saw Coming: The Robbery
As if the walk-off weren’t enough, Arozarena also made the defensive play of the night in the third inning. With Cubs catcher Miguel Amaya about to send one over the left-field wall, Arozarena timed his jump perfectly and took it away.
Three contributions in a single game: two home runs, one robbed, and three RBI on a 3-for-4 line. That’s the kind of performance that doesn’t fit in a standard box score.
What It Means in the Standings
Saturday’s win didn’t come alone. The same night, Houston fell 4-3 to the Sacramento Athletics and Texas lost 3-0 to the Angels. The result: Seattle (62-68) pulled to within three games of first place in the AL West. Not a guaranteed playoff spot, but a very real gap in August.
This was also the second straight walk-off win for Seattle against the Cubs in the same series. On Friday, Leo Rivas had done the damage in the tenth inning for a 6-5 victory. Two games, two last-at-bat wins — the Mariners are making it clear they won’t give up ground in the AL West without a fight.
Where Arozarena Stands in 2026
Nights like this land at a meaningful point in Arozarena’s season. His .812 OPS and 20 stolen bases have him on pace for his sixth consecutive 20-20 campaign. Born in Pinar del Río, Cuba, he defected to Mexico in 2015 and obtained Mexican citizenship in 2022. He’s wearing No. 56 in Seattle on a one-year, $15.65 million deal — and hits free agency after this season. Games like Saturday only drive that price up.
- PA: 521
- HR: 19 · RBI: 57
- AVG: .271 · OPS: .812
- xwOBA: .344 (76th percentile in MLB)
- Exit velocity: 90.7 mph avg (75th percentile)
- Barrel rate: 7.3%
- Hard-hit rate: 42.7%
- Bat speed: 70.9 mph avg
- SB: 20 · Hits: 125
