Arozarena's walk-off homer gives Mariners 5-4 win over Cubs in Anderson’s MLB debut

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Seattle Mariners' Randy Arozarena reacts after hitting a single against the Chicago Cubs during the fifth inning of a baseball game, Saturday, Aug. 22, 2026, in Seattle. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)

Seattle Mariners starting pitcher Kade Anderson tips his cap to left fielder Randy Arozarena after he caught a long fly ball over the wall off the bat of Chicago Cubs' Miguel Amaya during the third inning of a baseball game, Saturday, Aug. 22, 2026, in Seattle. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson) — Seattle Mariners' Randy Arozarena reacts after hitting a single against the Chicago Cubs during the fifth inning of a baseball game, Saturday, Aug. 22, 2026, in Seattle. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)

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9:12 PM on Saturday, August 22

By ANDREW DESTIN

SEATTLE (AP) — Randy Arozarena hit a walk-off, two-run home run as the Seattle Mariners beat the Chicago Cubs 5-4 on Saturday night.

Arozarena took Cubs closer Jacob Webb (6-3) 404 feet to straightaway center to seal the come-from-behind victory for Seattle. The Mariners trailed 4-2 entering the ninth inning, and pulled within one run on a two-out, RBI single by Leo Rivas.

Kade Anderson made his much-anticipated MLB debut, yielding three earned runs across 5 2/3 innings. The 22-year-old Anderson entered the game as one of the top pitching prospects in baseball. Anderson, the third overall pick in 2025, became the first player from his draft class to make his big league debut on Saturday.

Mariners reliever Michael Rucker (1-4) earned his first win of the season.

Seattle (62-68) moved three games behind Houston in the AL West and two games back for the final wild-card spot. The Cubs (74-56) dropped to a 4 1/2 -game lead in the NL wild card.

Chicago struck first against Anderson in the fifth inning on a sacrifice fly by Kevin Alcántara. Seattle led twice before the Cubs’ three-run sixth inning, first taking a 1-0 advantage on a leadoff home run by Arozarena and then on an RBI groundout by Dominic Canzone in the fifth inning.

Mariners utilityman Brendan Donovan was a late scratch because he was hit in the head by a baseball in the batting cages before Saturday’s game. Weston Wilson started in his place at third base and batted eighth.

Up next

Mariners RHP Bryce Miller (4-7, 3.71) will start opposite Cubs LHP Shota Imanaga (8-9, 3.77) in Sunday’s series finale.

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