Mariners Walk Off White Sox Behind Arozarena’s Power Surge

The Seattle Mariners figured out how to win a sloppy, tension-filled affair against the Chicago White Sox on Wednesday night, escaping a fourth-inning pitching nightmare and riding two-run ball into the win column. Final score: 5-4 Mariners, and honestly, both sides probably felt like they left wins on the table.

Let’s start with the elephant in the room: Sean Newcomb‘s catastrophic start. The White Sox left-hander lasted exactly two innings, surrendering two runs on two hits. Two hits. In two innings. That’s not a pitching line, that’s a cry for help. Sure, he escaped a bases-loaded jam in the second inning, but the damage was already done. When your starter can’t get out of the second frame in May, you’re telling your team that you have no margin for error. The White Sox needed perfection from their bullpen, and baseball rarely delivers perfection.

But here’s where things get interesting: the White Sox nearly pulled it off anyway. Chicago’s offense kept chipping away, staying in a game they had no business staying in. Andrew Benintendi’s line drive single in the third, Munetaka Murakami’s ground ball knock in the fifth, these weren’t flashy moments, but they kept the White Sox breathing. Then, when all hope seemed lost, Randal Grichuk launched a solo shot in the ninth inning to make it 5-4. In another universe, that’s the beginning of a comeback story.

Instead, it was merely a postscript to Seattle’s dominant seventh inning display. That’s when the Mariners put this game away with two swings of thunderous consequence. Jhonny Pereda, a bench player getting a rare at-bat, ripped his first career home run into left field. One pitch later, Randy Arozarena cranked a two-run bomb to left-center, essentially ending the discussion. Arozarena finished 1-for-2 with two RBIs and a home run, the kind of efficient, destructive performance that wins ballgames.

## Bullpen Theater

Both teams sent a parade of relievers to the mound on Wednesday night, and the results ranged from catastrophic to competent. Matt Brash got the win despite pitching just one inning, a testament to how thoroughly the Mariners took control in the seventh. Jose A. Ferrer closed it out with a save, striking out three batters in one inning of work. The ABS (Automated Ball-Strike) system apparently made an appearance too, with multiple challenges overturning or confirming strike calls. Baseball in 2026 continues to be a hybrid of human judgment and algorithmic intervention, and your mileage may vary on whether that’s progress.

## Verdict

The White Sox proved they can hang around, but they also proved they can’t sustain a competitive effort when their starter implodes. Newcomb’s early exit placed an unfair burden on teammates who, frankly, weren’t talented enough to overcome it. The Mariners, meanwhile, showed the kind of power baseball games are won with. They didn’t need perfection. They just needed Arozarena’s swing to find the seats twice, and a rookie’s nerves to settle just long enough to drive in a run. That’s enough to win in May. Whether it’s enough in October remains to be seen.