MLB: Mariners Walk-Off Cubs Twice to Steal Series Win

8/23/26

(Seattle, WA) Finally back home after a long nine-game road trip, the Seattle Mariners were hoping to find a new source of energy as they continue to grind through a very tough August schedule. A 4-5 trip was not the worst result in the world but the Mariners need to start making up some ground rather than just hover around four games back in the AL West. A call-up of top prospect Kade Anderson was a move to commit the team to winning games and making a push for the playoffs over the next month of the season. Fans also found a new source of energy with the excitement surrounding the highly anticipated debut of Anderson.

With the renewed energy, the Chicago Cubs would not be an easy foe for the M’s to capitalize on the morale boost. One of the best lineups in baseball and an MVP candidate in Pete Crow-Armstrong, Chicago has quickly become one of the top teams in the National League despite sitting in second place behind Milwaukee in the NL Central. One vulnerability of the Cubs has been their starting pitching but the rotation set-up nicely for the Cubs with three lefties in this series which have given Seattle major problems all season long.

Mariners 6, Cubs 5 (10 Innings) (Game One, August 21st)

Opening Day of Players Weekend was Friday night and also marked the opener of the three-game set between Seattle and Chicago. Emerson Hancock was coming off a gutsy performance in Houston and would hope to take down another playoff contender on Friday night. For the Cubs, they would throw Seattle native and former Mariner reliever Matthew Boyd, in the southpaw’s return home.

Emerson Hancock had to battle from the very beginning of the game on Friday as NL MVP candidate Pete Crow-Armstrong battled in a nine-pitch at-bat to start the game. PCA won it as he launched the ninth pitch to right center for his 32nd home run to give Chicago an early lead. Two batters later, Michael Busch recorded his 21st double of the year and the extra base hit parade continued for the Cubs as Alex Bregman sent his 17th home run to left. Chicago got another extra base hit on a double by Ian Happ, but he was left stranded. Despite that, it was another bad 1st inning for Hancock as the Cubs tagged him for three runs early.

Matthew Boyd was sharp in the 1st and Emerson Hancock bounced back in the 2nd. The Chicago lefty then found himself in some early trouble as well. In the bottom of the 2nd, Josh Naylor recorded Seattle’s first hit with a one-out single followed by a walk to Taylor Ward. Cal Raleigh came to the plate using a special fish bat for Players Weekend and it had some 2025 magic in it. Raleigh jumped all over a first pitch fastball and crushed it to left center for his 14th homer of the season. In the blink of an eye, this game was tied up. Seattle wasn’t done in the inning either as Cole Young singled and moved to second on a groundout by Brock Rodden. Brendan Donovan stayed hot at the plate with a two-out RBI single to put the Mariners in front 4-3.

Some defensive issues by the Mariners gave the Cubs a chance to get those runs back in the 3rd after errors by Brock Rodden and Brendan Donovan. Fortunately, Emerson Hancock pitched around the trouble to preserve the one-run lead. That seemed to be a common theme for the Cubs in this one, especially against Hancock. Chicago had consistent traffic on base but were abysmal hitting with runners on. Chicago was 1-16 with runners in scoring position for the game which allowed Hancock to pitch into the 6th in another gutsy outing.

Seattle would find a little additional run support in the 5th after an error by Nico Hoerner put Brock Rodden on and the rookie then moved up on a balk by Matthew Boyd. Randy Arozarena dunked in a bloop base hit into center to bring home Rodden and make it 5-3. After the inning Chicago manager Craig Counsell was ejected for arguing the balk call as things really began to break the Mariners way.

Chicago cut the Mariners lead to one after an 8th inning home run by Ian Happ for his 21st of the season as Eduard Bazardo continues to struggle with the long ball. He would get out of a bases loaded jam later that inning and passed the baton to Andrés Muñoz to protect the one-run lead in the 9th. Muñoz made quick work of Michael Busch with a strikeout and then got ahead of Alex Bregman 0-2. Things then went awry. Muñoz hung a slider that he wanted well off the plate and Bregman made him pay. The former Astro crushed his second homer of the game and 18th of the season to tie the game in the 9th. That was the only mistake Muñoz made and Jacob Webb only allowed a single in the bottom of the 9th so this game was headed for extras, tied 5-5.

Seranthony Domínguez was called into duty for the 10th with Nico Hoerner as the automatic runner. He would get Pedro Ramírez to pop out to start the inning. A strikeout of Michael Conforto came next, but it was bittersweet as Hoerner swiped third to put the go-ahead run 90-feet away with two outs. Carson Kelly couldn’t clutch up either for Chicago as a harmless fly out to center was handled by Julio Rodríguez to keep the game tied going into the bottom of the 10th.

Needing just one run to walk it off, Seattle would have Randy Arozarena as the automatic runner with Victor Robles leading off. Robles was almost hit in the face while trying to bunt, but the ball hit the bat instead resulting in a foul ball. Robles would then get the bunt down to move Arozarena to third with one out. A soft tapper by Julio was right back to pitcher Ryan Zeferjahn so Arozarena stayed at third with two outs. Chicago intentionally walked Josh Naylor which brought Leo Rivas to the plate with two outs. A late season hero last year, Rivas would come through again with a base hit right back up the middle to score Arozarena and give the M’s a walk-off win. It wasn’t exactly how Seattle drew it up but at this point in the season every win is crucial, including the M’s 6-5 win in extras on Friday night.

Notable Performances

Cubs

Mariners

• Cal Raleigh- 1-4, HR, 3 RBI, R
• Leo Rivas- 1-1, RBI, Walk-Off Single
• Emerson Hancock (ND)- 5.2 IP, 8 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 0 BB, 6 SO

Mariners 5, Cubs 4 (Game Two, August 22nd)

After a dramatic win on Friday night, the Seattle Mariners had way more eyeballs on them on their nationally televised game two on Saturday on Fox. It was appointment television as everyone wanted to see the debut of the top pitching prospect in the sport in left-hander Kade Anderson. The #3 overall pick in 2025 dominated in the minor leagues this season and with the M’s needing to make a push was called up to take a spot in an overworked rotation. Anderson would square off against another left as Seattle was facing their third southpaw in a row in David Peterson.

Kade Anderson was sharp early with a 1-2-3 top of the 1st that included his first MLB strikeout of Alex Bregman. It took no time for his first punchout and also didn’t have to wait long for his first bit of run support. The first pitch thrown by David Peterson was turned into a souvenir by Randy Arozarena for his 18th home run of the season. The solo shot had T-Mobile Park roaring early as the Mariners had an immediate 1-0 lead.

The debuting Anderson allowed a walk in the 2nd but had to sweat out the 3rd a bit more. Miguel Amaya got his bat to a fastball in off the plate and drove it way out to deep left field. Randy Arozarena would continue to drift back and timed his leap perfectly, bringing back the home run and drawing a big smile from Anderson on the mound. It was a flash of the 2020 playoffs version of Arozarena as he was doing it all to keep the M’s in front 1-0.

As the Cubs made their way through the order for the second time against Kade Anderson, the at-bats started to get better and the contact started to be more consistent. In the top of the 5th, Tyrone Taylor turned a leadoff walk into a double with his second stolen base of the year. Pedro Ramírez then singled to left to put runners on the corners with nobody out. Anderson was not able to wiggle out of trouble as a sacrifice fly off the bat of Kevin Alcántara tied the game up. A double play ball would help Anderson minimize the damage as he prevented Chicago from taking the lead.

Seattle netted a run in the bottom of the 5th on an RBI groundout by Dominic Canzone but Seattle’s bases loaded, nobody out threat only plated that single run. In a stunning move, Dan Wilson sent Kade Anderson back out for the 6th despite him not throwing more than 80 pitches in a single outing this year. At 73 pitches, Anderson was simply out of gas. A baserunning mistake by PCA erased his double but back-to-back homers by Alex Bregman and Michael Busch still flipped the script. Carlos Vargas was not able to stop the bleeding right away as back-to-back doubles by Nico Hoerner and Tyrone Taylor just extended the Cubs lead to 4-2.

While it didn’t end the way he had hoped, Kade Anderson still showed plenty of positives in his big league debut. The lefty does not overpower hitters, but has incredible deception and pinpoint precision and displayed that on Saturday. Adrenaline from the big moment did have some sort of effect as he walked two batters which is extremely rare for the control freak. Anderson’s final line was 5 2/3 innings with three runs allowed on five hits with two walks and five strikeouts. It wasn’t an easy draw for his debut, but Anderson gave fans plenty to be excited about in his first start of his big league career.

David Peterson really settled in after some early bumps but the Chicago bullpen did not have many bumps at all. He would pass the ball to Trent Thornton who stranded a double by Leo Rivas and Ryan Rolison pitched a 1-2-3 8th. It was a 4-2 deficit late for the Mariners as Chicago looked to spoil Kade Anderson’s debut.

It was Jacob Webb on for the bottom of the 9th for the second night in a row for the Cubs, this time looking for the save. He was in control early with two quick outs as Cal Raleigh and Cole Young were both retired. Things seemed very bleak for the M’s but Weston Wilson would keep the game alive. He shot his fourth double to right center to extend the game for Leo Rivas. A little dunk shot by Rivas sat down in right field for an RBI single to make it 4-3. Randy Arozarena then stepped to the plate and went down and got a slider and drove it out to center. PCA made a leaping attempt but it was just out of reach and T-Mobile Park erupted. A walk-off two-run shot for his second of the game and 19th of the season had Randy Arozarena jacked up as in the span of seven pitches turned a 4-2 deficit into a 5-4 Mariners win.

Notable Performances

Cubs

Mariners

• Randy Arozarena- 3-4, 2 HR, 3 RBI, 2 R, BB, Robbed Home Run, Walk-Off Home Run
• Kade Anderson (ND)- 5.2 IP, 5 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 2 BB, 5 SO
• Leo Rivas- 2-3, 2B, RBI, R

Cubs 19, Mariners 2 (Game Three, August 23rd)

For two games, the Seattle Mariners found a way to make the Chicago Cubs pay late.

On Sunday, the Cubs made sure there would be no third comeback.

Chicago erupted for 19 runs on 17 hits, including grand slams from Ian Happ and Pedro Ramírez, as the Cubs demolished the Mariners 19-2 at T-Mobile Park. The loss prevented Seattle from completing a three-game sweep after the Mariners won the first two games of the series in dramatic fashion.

The Mariners actually got off to a promising start.

Randy Arozarena opened the bottom of the first inning with a solo home run, his second consecutive game with a leadoff homer. The blast gave Seattle an early 1-0 advantage and continued what had been an outstanding weekend for Arozarena.

Seattle added another run in the second when Victor Robles walked, stole second and third, and eventually came around to score on a throwing error.

At that point, the Mariners appeared to be in control.

Then everything changed.

Chicago finally got to Seattle starter Bryce Miller in the third inning.

Michael Conforto led off the inning with a home run to cut the deficit to 2-1. After Miller issued three consecutive two-out walks, Ian Happ stepped to the plate with the bases loaded. The Cubs outfielder launched a two-strike pitch over the wall for a grand slam, turning a 2-1 Seattle lead into a 6-2 Chicago advantage.

Miller’s afternoon ended after 4 1/3 innings. Despite allowing only two hits, he surrendered six runs while walking seven batters, putting himself in trouble repeatedly with free passes.

Chicago continued to add on from there.

Pete Crow-Armstrong homered, while Pedro Ramírez delivered another grand slam as the Cubs’ offense continued to pour it on. Chicago eventually scored nine times in the eighth inning, turning what was already a blowout into an absolute rout.

The Mariners were forced to turn to position players on the mound late in the afternoon as the deficit became insurmountable.

Instead of another late comeback, Seattle watched Chicago put the game away early and then continue piling on.

For Arozarena, however, it was another memorable afternoon. His first-inning blast gave him three home runs over the final two games of the series. He also became just the fifth player in MLB history to record six consecutive seasons with at least 20 home runs and 20 stolen bases.

Unfortunately for Seattle, his production was one of the few positives in an otherwise forgettable afternoon. Chicago handed Seattle their second worst loss of the week in a 19-2 blowout, making Bryce Miller the first pitcher since 1890 to lose two consecutive starts by at least 17 runs.

Notable Performances

Cubs

Mariners

• Randy Arozarena- 1-4, HR, RBI, R, BB
• Victor Robles- 1-3, R, 2 SB
• Bryce Miller (L, 4-8)- 4.1 IP, 2 H, 6 R, 6 ER, 7 BB, 5 SO

What’s Next

The AL West continues to be an absolute mess as the Seattle Mariners (62-69) once again gained ground in the race this weekend. Houston shockingly lost two out of three to the Athletics while Texas took two out of three from the Los Angeles Angels despite a serious lack of offense. With those results, the Rangers and Astros are tied for the division lead, but the Astros have already clinched the tiebreaker over Texas. Seattle now sits just three back with all five teams in the division under .500. Seattle also sits three out of the Wild Card race after passing Detroit over the weekend. Houston has a tough series this week as they visit the New York Yankees while Texas visits the AL Central leading Chicago White Sox.

Seattle can see the light at the end of the tunnel for the brutal month of August but will still have quite the task this week when they host the Philadelphia Phillies. Philadelphia is holding a Wild Card spot with a four-game cushion but just trail Atlanta by three games in the NL East. With that being said, the Phillies are red hot and enter Seattle riding a nine-game winning streak after a dramatic walk-off win to comeback and beat St. Louis on Sunday. Their rotation is fully healthy and starting to fire on all cylinders and the lineup is deep with Kyle Schwarber and Bryce Harper plus Alec Bohm breaking out as well.

Kyle Schwarber is a big problem for the Mariners and they must figure out a way to keep him at bay this week. The most dangerous leadoff bat in the sport, Schwarber has piled up 39 homers and 78 runs batted in this season and has done so pretty quietly as Ohtani and PCA grab the spotlight. Mr. Reliable for the Phillies has five homers and 21 RBI in just 19 career games against the M’s but his last trip to T-Mobile Park was quiet. Schwarber went 5-13 in that series but three of those hits came in the lone Phillies win in that series. Keep him from doing damage and Philadelphia can struggle to find offense against the stacked Seattle rotation.

• Game One, Monday 6:40pm- Zack Wheeler (10-4, 2.92 ERA) vs. Logan Gilbert (10-7, 3.35 ERA)
• Game Two, Tuesday 6:40pm- Aaron Nola (5-9, 5.12 ERA) vs. George Kirby (8-10, 4.18 ERA)
• Game Three, Wednesday 1:10pm- Jesus Luzardo (11-5, 3.35 ERA) vs. TBD

Mariners Minor League Update

This will be a new segment each week to update what is going on in the Seattle minor league system. We will continuously give scores for each team but will also highlight some of the key players that have had strong series.

Tacoma Rainiers (Split Series @ Sacramento River Cats, L 9-5, L 9-6, L 2-1, W 6-5, W 15-11, W 3-1)

Hitter of the Series

Ryan Bliss, 2B- 7-25, 2 2B, 2 HR, 5 RBI, 6 R, 4 BB, SB

Pitcher of the Series

Houston Roth, RHP- 6 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 7 SO

Arkansas Travelers (Swept vs. Springfield Cardinals, L 4-3, L 12-2, L 3-2, L 5-3, L 4-2, L 11-4)

Hitter of the Series

Hunter Fitz-Gerald, 3B- 5-25, 2 2B, 2 RBI

Pitcher of the Series

Ryan Sloan, RHP- 5 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 11 SO

Everett AquaSox (Lost Series @ Tri-Cities Dust Devils, L 12-9, L 4-3, W 11-5, L 5-4, W 8-6, L 8-3)

Hitter of the Series

Carlos Jimenez, OF- 7-23, 2B, 4 HR, 6 RBI, 6 R, 3 BB, 2 SB

Pitcher of the Series

Evan Truitt, RHP- 5 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 9 SO

Inland Empire 66ers (Lost Series @ Ontario Tower Buzzers, W 10-7, L 7-3, W 12-5, L 6-1, L 4-3, L 11-1)

Hitter of the Series

Jake Brown, OF- 7-21, 2 2B, 4 RBI, R, 2 BB, SB

Pitcher of the Series

Danny Macchiarola, RHP- 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 4 SO

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