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

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

Arozarena took Cubs closer Jacob Webb (6-3) 404 feet to straightaway center to secure the 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 Major League debut, yielding three earned runs across 5 ⅔ innings. The 22-year-old Anderson entered the evening 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 Major League debut on Saturday.

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

Seattle (62-68) improved to 3.5 games behind Houston in the AL West and two games back for the final wild-card spot. The Cubs (74-56) dropped to a 4.5-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.

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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