Randy Arozarena's First Home Run Breaks the Seal on Seattle's Worst Offense in Baseball

Randy Arozarena held his follow-through. Bat still pointed high in the air. He wasn't moving until that towering blast landed in the upper deck of left-center field at T-Mobile Park, sending 44,468 fans into pandemonium like they'd been waiting an eternity for this exact moment.

They kind of had been. The Mariners' bats have been silent. But Friday night, they woke up.

Finally, Some Offense to Build On

This wasn't supposed to be close. The worst offense in all of MLB was facing one of the worst pitching staffs in baseball, and for one inning, Seattle showed why that matchup could go sideways fast for Houston.

Coming into the series, the Mariners had scored three runs total across their last three games. They were sitting at a .184 batting average with a .280 on-base percentage and a .301 slugging percentage. All the lowest marks in the 30 MLB teams. Not great. Not great at all.

The Astros weren't exactly healthy either. They'd just placed Cristian Javier on the injured list after he pitched only one inning Wednesday. Their pitching staff carried a 6.05 ERA, had walked 70 batters, and surrendered 20 home runs. They were planning to use a bullpen starter somewhere in this four-game series.

Tatsuya Imai took the mound for Houston having walked seven batters in just 8 1/3 innings pitched this season. The Mariners were patient. Really patient.

Three Runs Without the Ball Leaving the Infield

J.P. Crawford and Cal Raleigh drew walks. Julio Rodríguez loaded the bases with an infield single. Crawford scored on a wild pitch for 1-0. Imai hit Arozarena with a slider for another run. Luke Raley's groundout to second brought in a third. Cole Young's walk off Imai loaded the bases again and ended his night after facing seven batters, walking four, hitting one, and throwing 37 pitches.

Three runs. The ball never left the infield.

"Making the pitcher earn it," manager Dan Wilson said. "That's something we talk about a lot. Tonight, we were able to do that and do it effectively. We didn't go outside the zone. We stayed where we wanted to stay."

Steven Okert came in and struck out the next two batters to end the inning. The Mariners would need that early lead. Starter Emerson Hancock loaded the bases in the second and gave up a bases-clearing double to Christian Vázquez on a 2-2 fastball.

Seattle (5-9) held on anyway. Final score: 9-6 over Houston. The five-game losing streak was over.

"A great ball game tonight," Wilson said. "Getting back home here, getting back into our own ballpark, feeling the energy from the fans tonight, just awesome. It was a ball game we can build on."

This article was created with AI assistance and reviewed by Seattle On Tap editorial staff. Always verify information with official team sources.