Randy Arozarena bails out Kade Anderson, Dan Wilson in thrilling Mariners comeback

That dazed and confused feeling is normal under the circumstances. Yes, the Seattle Mariners really did have two outs and nobody on in the 9th inning on Saturday, with the Chicago Cubs leading 4-2. And yes, they won anyway when Randy Arozarena capped a rally with a two-run home run to center field. The Mariners got a 5-4 win, and Kade Anderson and Dan Wilson got off the hook.

This shall be known as "The Randy Arozarena Game." Because what the hell else would we call it?

We might have ended up calling Arozarena's heroics a mere footnote if the Cubs' lead had held until the 27th out was recorded, and that would have been a darn shame. The three-time All-Star secured a heck of a day for himself just in the first third of the game, swatting a leadoff homer in the first and then robbing Miguel Amaya of a homer in the third.

But then the walk-off on top of that? Chef's kiss.

After Cole Young flew out to right field for the second out of the ninth, the Cubs had a 99 percent chance of winning the game. Their odds somehow felt stronger than that, what with Weston Wilson and Leo Rivas representing Seattle's last chance before the lineup could turn back over to Arozarena. The two of them had a total of 26 hits on the season entering Saturday.

All the more reason the "Win of the Year" vibes are so strong right now. Arozarena only got to bat because Wilson doubled and Rivas chased him home with a single, apparently proving that even Arozarena on his best day still needed a village to help snatch victory from the jaws of defeat.

Mariners' incredible comeback win clears Kade Anderson and Dan Wilson from wrongdoing

All's well that ends well, but we still need to talk about Kade Anderson, Dan Wilson and how they combined to send the most anticipated Mariners debut in two decades off the rails.

Some of the blame simply must go to the 22-year-old Anderson for the last two pitches he threw in the sixth inning. Even after destroying Double-A batters for a 1.06 ERA in 18 starts, the majors always figured to be a different challenge. Anderson found that out the hard way, specifically learning that you can't hang pitches to hitters like Alex Bregman and Michael Busch.

And yet, the question remains: What the heck was Anderson doing out there in the sixth inning in the first place?

The scouting report couldn't have been clearer that he should have been done after five. The Cubs crush lefties just in general, ranking first in MLB with a .805 OPS against southpaws. And when they face a starting pitcher for a third time, they rank second with an .826 OPS.

Maybe Wilson had a hunch. Maybe he wanted the rookie to get the ultimate confidence boost. Or, maybe he simply wanted as much as Anderson could give after a hard night for the bullpen on Friday. Whatever the case, Wilson rolled the dice. The results are the results, and we're left looking at yet another datapoint that the third-year skipper has no idea how to run a pitching staff.

It's a bummer for Anderson, who largely lived up to the hype through his first five innings, allowing just one run on two hits and two walks with five strikeouts. Thankfully, it's a silver lining to know that he'll get his shots at redemption between now and the end of the regular season.

And with the Mariners now just 3.0 games behind the Houston Astros in the AL West standings, the possibility remains that more action awaits Anderson in October.

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