Randy Arozarena achieves rare feat in Mariners’ walkoff win

SEATTLE – All the focus was on top pitching prospect Kade Anderson as he made his MLB debut on Saturday, but it was Randy Arozarena who stole the show in the Seattle Mariners’ comeback win over the Chicago Cubs.

Arozarena led off the bottom of the first inning with a homer on the first pitch he saw, robbed a home run in left field in the third inning and then delivered the decisive blow when he crushed a two-run, walkoff home run to center field to give Seattle a comeback 5-4 win over the Cubs at T-Mobile Park.

Mariners beat Cubs 5-4 on Randy Arozarena’s walkoff HR

“Incredible day for Randy today. (He) carried us offensively,” manager Dan Wilson said.

The combination of hitting a first-pitch leadoff homer and walkoff homer in the same game put Arozarena in some rare company.

Seattle’s left fielder became just the third player in MLB history to achieve the feat, according to MLB.com’s Sarah Langs. He also became just the seventh player to hit leadoff and walkoff homers in the same game, and the first player in Mariners history to do so.

Arozarena’s first homer came on a sinker left up in the zone by Cubs starter David Peterson, which he swatted over the fence in center field for a 416-foot blast.

In the bottom of the ninth, Cubs reliever Jacob Webb decided to double up on sliders to the Mariners’ All-Star, and he responded by crushing his second homer 404 feet to center field to send the T-Mobile Park crowd into a frenzy. It was the first walkoff homer for the M’s this season.

“I think it’s my biggest game (with the Mariners),” Arozarena said with third base coach Carlos Cardoza interpreting. “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. (That was) the biggest thing for today.”

What made Arozarena’s rare accomplishment even wilder is that he did it against Pete Crow-Armstrong’s Cubs. Crow-Armstrong also hit a first-pitch leadoff home run and walkoff home run just five days prior. He was the first player to do so since Vic Power of the Kansas City Athletics in 1957.

And Arozarena never wouldn’t have had a chance to accomplish the feat if it weren’t for a freak accident before the game.

Arozarena was originally slated to bat second for the Mariners on Saturday, but about 10 minutes before game time Seattle announced a change to its lineup. Leadoff man Brendan Donovan was scratched after being struck in the head by a ball in the batting cages pregame, which bumped Arozarena up one spot in the order.

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