Seattle Mariners vs Chicago Cubs

Chicago jumped out fast. Pete Crow-Armstrong led off the game with his 32nd home run of the season, driving Emerson Hancock's pitch over the right-field wall. Alex Bregman followed later in the first with a two-run homer — his 17th — and the Cubs led 3-0 before the Mariners had recorded five outs.

Seattle answered in the bottom of the second. Cal Raleigh crushed a three-run homer — his 14th — to left-centre to tie the game at 3-3. Brendan Donovan followed with an RBI single to give Seattle a 4-3 lead.

Randy Arozarena made it 5-3 in the fifth with an RBI single to shallow centre, scoring Brock Rodden after a walk and a single put two on.

The Cubs chipped away. Ian Happ led off the eighth with his 21st homer, cutting the lead to 5-4. Then in the ninth, with two outs, Bregman stepped in against Mariners closer Andrés Muñoz and crushed his second homer of the night — a solo shot to centre field — tying the game 5-5.

Bregman's ninth-inning heroics swung momentum squarely to the Cubs' dugout, but Seranthony Domínguez silenced Chicago in the top of the 10th, striking out one and allowing no hits. That set the stage for the bottom half.

Randy Arozarena started the 10th on second base under the extra-innings rule. Josh Naylor moved him to third on a groundout. With two outs, Cubs reliever Ryan Zeferjahn (4-4) faced pinch-hitter Leo Rivas, who punched a single to centre field. Arozarena raced home — and the Mariners poured out of the dugout.

Alex Bregman (Cubs): 3-for-5, 2 HR, 3 RBI. Bregman's two-homer night included the game-tying blast in the ninth off Muñoz. He raised his season total to 18 homers.

Cal Raleigh (Mariners): 1-for-4, 3-run HR (14). The Mariners catcher's second-inning blast completely flipped the game's trajectory after Seattle trailed 3-0.

Seranthony Domínguez (Mariners) — Player of the Match: 1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 K. Domínguez (5-3) retired the Cubs in order in the top of the 10th, preserving the tie and earning the win.

Pete Crow-Armstrong (Cubs): 1-for-4, leadoff HR (32). His 32nd homer of the year tied him for the team lead.

The game featured 10 home runs over the two-game series in Seattle (four on Friday alone). Chicago out-hit Seattle 12-8 but couldn't overcome a 4-for-11 mark with runners in scoring position — and left 14 men on base compared to Seattle's seven. Mariners starter Emerson Hancock laboured through 5.2 innings, allowing three runs on eight hits but striking out six. Cubs starter Matthew Boyd was similarly inefficient: 6.0 IP, six hits, four earned runs, three walks, three strikeouts.

The Mariners (61-68) remain in third place in the AL West, 12.5 games back of the division lead. They return to action Saturday (4:15 PM PT) against the Cubs in the second game of this three-game set, with top pitching prospect Kade Anderson making his MLB debut for Seattle against David Peterson.

The Cubs (74-55) stay second in the NL Central but have lost three of their last five and four of their last seven. They'll look to split the series on Saturday before the finale Sunday.

This was a game of two powerful offences trading haymakers, and the last swing mattered most. Bregman's ninth-inning heroics belonged on a winning side, but Seattle's bullpen — battered by a 22-0 loss in Milwaukee three days earlier — showed resilience at the decisive moment.