Seattle Mariners Help Playoff Hopes, Fight for Crucial, “October-Like” Win Over the Chicago Cubs in Extra Innings

With the American League Wild Card race entering a critical stretch, the Seattle Mariners edged the Chicago Cubs 6-5 in extra innings Friday night as Leo Rivas delivered a walk-off single with two outs in the bottom of the 10th inning.

The win keeps Seattle within striking distance of the final playoff spot in the AL, trailing the Texas Rangers by three games entering play Saturday. It also comes at a crucial “make-or-break” point in the schedule, as the Mariners face a string of National League contenders before head-to-head matchups with other Wild Card hopefuls and AL West rivals.

“It really doesn’t matter who’s on the other side,” Seattle catcher Cal Raleigh said after the win. “[We’re] Trying to just play good baseball, focus on ourselves, and not try to focus on what’s going on around us or the standings or stuff like that. Just trying to focus on playing good baseball and winning baseball games, and we were able to do that tonight. It’s a good start to the series. Still got two more with them left, so we’ll try to keep the focus on that.”

Raleigh’s offensive production has diminished substantially this season after he finished as the runner-up for AL MVP in 2025. However, he provided a spark for the Mariners on Friday, blasting a three-run home run to tie the game in the second inning.

“I feel like I’ve been seeing them and just been a tick under, and I was able to stay level with that one and get on top of it,” Raleigh said. “The results haven’t been there, but I feel like I’ve been seeing the ball well, and I’ve been putting good swings on balls. Nice to see one get squared up.”

Seattle’s bullpen responded with a scoreless 10th, and the Mariners used small ball to manufacture the winning run in the bottom half. With two outs, Rivas delivered the final blow to give Seattle the 6-5 victory.

“We don’t give up,” Rivas added. “It could be 6-0, 10-0. We’ve just got to keep fighting — every at-bat, every inning. We just try to compete every inning, and that’s the mentality for us right now.”

The Mariners-Cubs series continues Saturday and Sunday in Seattle. Top MLB pitching prospect Kade Anderson is scheduled to make his debut for the Mariners in Saturday’s meeting.