Arozarena's stellar night delivered the Mariners a series win and a victory in top pitching prospect Kade Anderson's debut.
SEATTLE — On Saturday, the second game in a row in front of a sold-out home crowd at T-Mobile Park (45,681 people), the Seattle Mariners sent their fans home happy.
With two outs and a runner on first base, Mariners left fielder Randy Arozarena hit a two-run home run to center field, resulting in a 5-4 comeback win against the Chicago Cubs.
The walk-off blast capped a solid night for Arozarena, who led the game off with a solo home run that gave Seattle a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first. The Mariners' lone All-Star from this season finished the game 3-for-4 with two runs, a walk and two homers. He also robbed a potential home run from Cubs catcher Miguel Amaya in the top of the third inning.
"I think it's my biggest game (as a Mariner)," Arozarena said after the game via third base coach/interpreter Carlos Cardoza. "I didn't expect to come into the game and hit two home runs and rob one. But, yes, it was a special day for me. Special performance for myself. But most importantly, this moment in time for the team and being able to help the team win, is the biggest thing for today."
Arozarena's stellar night coincided with the major league debut of one of the top pitching prospects in baseball, left-hander Kade Anderson (No. 5 MLB Pipeline top 100).
Anderson was able to get through four inning of work without surrendering a score to Chicago, which boasts one of the top offenses in baseball.
In the top of the fifth, Anderson let up the first blemish in his major league career after Cubs right fielder Tyrone Taylor scored on an RBI sacrifice fly hit by left fielder Kevin Alcantara.
The tie didn't last long and Seattle retook the lead, 2-1, in the bottom of the fifth after M's third baseman Weston Wilson scored on a fielder's choice hit by right fielder Dominic Canzone.
Anderson came out for the sixth having thrown 72 pitches, just shy of the 80-pitch cap he's had in the minor leagues with the Double-A Arkansas Travelers.
The former third-overall pick in the draft surrendered a lead-off double to National League MVP candidate and Chicago center fielder Pete Crow-Armstrong, which was promptly erased after designated hitter Seiya Suzuki hit into a 5-3-4 double play.
One out away from a quality start in his first major league outing, Anderson surrendered game-tying and go-ahead solo home runs on back-to-back pitches to third baseman Alex Bregman and first baseman Michael Busch, respectively.
Those pair of blasts gave the Cubs a 3-2 lead.
Busch's homer ended Anderson's day. The southpaw finished with five strikeouts, two walks and three earned runs allowed on five hits (two homers) in 5.2 innings pitched. Anderson threw 81 pitches, just around his minor league limit.
"I think the Mariners pick the right people," Anderson said in a postgame interview Saturday. "When you come in a locker room and all the guys smile like that, it's warming. Just to come in here and know that they have the best interest in me is really special. Hopefully we'll continue to bond for a long time."
Even with Anderson off the mound, Chicago had one more score left in the sixth. Facing Mariners right-handed reliever Carlos Vargas, who made his season debut Friday after spending all of the year to that point on the injured list, shortstop Nico Hoerner and Taylor hit back-to-back doubles. The latter of the two brought home the former and bolstered the Cubs lead to 4-2.
Seattle had one runner reach base in the bottom of the sixth, seventh and eighth innings, respectively and looked unable to cut into Chicago's two-run lead.
Then the bottom of the ninth arrived. With two outs, Wilson hit a double and was subsequently brought home on an RBI single hit by Leo Rivas, which cut the Cubs' lead to 4-3
Rivas was responsible for the team's walk-off single the night before in a 6-5, extra-innings win against Chicago.
Arozarena came up to the plate after Rivas' hit and looked at one slider in the bottom of the zone before launching the second pitch of the at-bat (another bottom-rung slider) 404 feet for the victory.
Arozarena's blast gave the Mariners the series win and a precious game in the American League West standings. Both American League West rivals ahead of Seattle in the division, the Houston Astros and Texas Rangers, lost Saturday, putting the Mariners three games out of first place.
Seattle was two games out of the final wild card spot in the American League following the victory.
"We're playing tough teams," Mariners manager Dan Wilson said after the game. "It's gonna go back-and-forth, that's baseball. I was proud of the way we got the lead, they tied it up, and we came right back and got the lead right back. ... To be able to take the ball game was huge. As we've talked about before, there's a lot of fight (in the clubhouse). They continued to show it today. We get a lot of energy from this crowd here."
Seattle will look to make it a sweep in the series finale against the Cubs at 1:10 p.m. PT on Sunday at T-Mobile Park. Bryce Miller will start for the Mariners and Shota Imanaga will start for Chicago.
