Randy Arozarena didn’t just beat the Cubs on Saturday night. He carved out a tiny, bizarre corner of baseball history while doing it.
The Mariners outfielder opened the game with a first-pitch, leadoff home run against Chicago, then ended it eight innings later with a walk-off blast that delivered a 5-4 Seattle win. One game.
Two homers. Same swing pattern at the start and the finish.
And a place in a club so exclusive it had only one previous member before this week.
According to MLB, shared on social media from Sarah Langs, Arozarena’s performance was only the third time in Major League Baseball history that a player has hit a first-pitch leadoff homer and a walk-off homer in the same game. The other player to do it this week was Pete Crow-Armstrong.
“Only 3 players in MLB HISTORY have hit a first-pitch leadoff homer and a walk-off homer in the same game. Two of them did it THIS WEEK,” MLB shared on social media.
That’s the kind of stat that makes baseball feel almost unreal. A feat that sat untouched for decades suddenly shows up twice in six days.
Before this week, only Vic Power had done it, back in 1957. Now Arozarena and Crow-Armstrong have joined him in the record book in back-to-back fashion.
The twist, of course, is that Arozarena pulled it off against Crow-Armstrong and the Cubs. Chicago fans got the full experience from both sides: first the early punch, then the final blow. It was a wild piece of overlap in a sport that still finds ways to surprise you.
Arozarena’s night was even louder than the headline suggests. Along with the leadoff and walk-off homers, he also had a home-run robbery, making it one of the strangest and most memorable single-game lines MLB has seen in a long time.
In Other News...
Cubs Broadcast Still Has One Problem Fans Keep Feeling
The Cubs have one of the more recognizable broadcast duos in baseball with Boog Sciambi and Jim Deshaies, and when they are together on Marquee Sports Network, the booth usually gives fans the easy rhythm and sharp banter they want. The chemistry is a real strength, and it has helped make the telecasts feel established even as the club continues to build its identity on the air.
Still, the broadcast experience has been less steady than many viewers would like because the two primary voices are not always there, leaving a revolving cast to fill the third chair and, at times, breaking the flow fans have come to expect. Alex Cohen has emerged as a well-liked option and a possible future lead announcer, which gives the Cubs a path forward, but for now the bigger issue remains the same: consistency in the booth has been harder to find than the talent suggests it should be. [Read more 🡒]
Cubs Just Ended Up On The Wrong Side Of A Bizarre MLB First
Randy Arozarena put together one of those nights that can turn a game, and maybe a little bit of baseball history, into a spectacle. He opened against the Cubs with a first-pitch leadoff home run, then kept stacking impact moments from there, finishing 3 for 4 with a walk and even helping preserve Seattles chance with a key home run robbery in the field.
The bizarre ending made the Cubs the answer to a trivia question they probably would have preferred to avoid. Arozarena capped the Mariners 5-4 win with a walk-off home run, becoming just the third player in MLB history to pair a first-pitch leadoff homer and a walk-off homer in the same game, a rare feat that left Chicago on the wrong side of a night packed with swing, glove and late drama. [Read more 🡒]
Cubs Suddenly Have A Real Jaxon Wiggins Roster Decision
Jaxon Wiggins path through the Cubs system has taken an interesting turn at Triple-A Iowa, where the organization has shifted him to the bullpen and he has responded with three scoreless innings, five strikeouts and no hits allowed. It fits with the broader plan Chicago has for him right now: manage the innings, see how his stuff plays in shorter bursts, and keep a close eye on whether his performance can help push him into the conversation for a September call-up.
The more immediate wrinkle is what this means for the rest of the offseason picture. Wiggins is Rule 5 eligible this winter, so the Cubs will have to decide whether his recent work in relief makes him worthy of a 40-man roster spot. If the bullpen look keeps going well, Chicago could have a real decision on its hands long before the winter meetings arrive. [Read more 🡒]