Mere days after Pete Crow-Armstrong of the Cubs became the second player to hit a first-pitch home run and a walk-off home run in the same game, Randy Arozarena of the Mariners became the third – coincidentally, at the expense of PCA's Cubs. 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 🤯(h/t @SlangsOnSports) pic.twitter.com/kwpZIcO659 Arozarena on Saturday hit the opening pitch of the bottom of the first – a sinker from David Peterson – 416 feet to center for a 1-0 Seattle lead and his 18th home run of the season. Much later, in the bottom of the ninth, Arozarena came up with two on, two out and the Mariners down by a pair of runs.
Arozarena delivered in the hugest way with a game-winning blast off a Jacob Webb slider that, even more coincidentally, soared over the glove of PCA out in center and gave the hosts a crucial 5-4 win. This is to say nothing of Arozerena's home run robbery earlier in the game, which means his entire evening on the job merits a look: In all, Arozarena was 3 for 4 with a walk and those pair of homers, and all of it was essential to Seattle's thrilling win. The 31-year-old three-time All-Star is now slashing .275/.369/.463 on the season, which is good for an OPS+ of 139.
Arozarena also leads the Mariners in WAR with a figure of 4.3. "I think it's my biggest game," Arozarena said after the game through an interpreter (via MLB.com). "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, a special performance for myself. But most importantly, this moment in time for the team and being able to help the team win is the biggest thing for today." For his bit of history, Arozarena is now just the seventh player since 1900 to hit a leadoff home run and a walk-off home run in the same game: That he hit that leadoff home run on the first pitch puts him in even more exclusive company. As noted above, just PCA and Vic Power in 1957 had achieved that feat before Arozarena joined them on Saturday night in Seattle.
Arozarena's heroics improved the Mariners to 62-68 on the season. While that's a disappointing record for the club that made it to the ALCS last year, they're also just three games behind the Astros in the AL West. They also remain in the chase for the third and final wild-card spot in the AL.
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