Randy Arozarena's Mariners walk-off may have broken Cubs closer Jacob Webb

This season has arguably been the best of Jacob Webb's seven years in the majors. Certainly it's been his most consistent and since late June he had been simply sublime, as an immovable object of sorts. However, he then had the misfortune to run into the irresistible force known as Randy Arozarena, and it might have just destroyed his flow and confidence.

The Mariners' game last Saturday versus the Cubs is one that we're still in disbelief over. Truthfully, the M's had no right to win and yet that's exactly what happened when Arozarena hit a two-run bomb to clinch the game in walk-off style. Everyone on the Cubs team was stunned including Webb, who had entered the evening with a 24-game scoreless run:

The thing is, even when pitchers are in absolute zone, it still only takes one moment -- or more to the point, one hit -- to give up a run. Plus, with Webb on his aforementioned 24-game scoreless streak, he was almost due to have something go wrong. All you can do is shake it off and then get back on the horse and start a new streak.

A horrible case of Déjà Vu for Jacob Webb

Except that's not what happened, with a similar outcome the next time Webb pitched, on Tuesday in Arizona versus the Diamondbacks. In fact the parallels with Saturday were eerie, as the righty gave up another two-run walk-off homer on a slider than caught too much zone. After suffering just two blown leads in his first 57 appearances of the season, he doubled this in his last two outings:

There is now some debate about whether Webb should lose the closer role, but this seems unfair given everything he has achieved this season. You don't give up on a guy who's been lights out for so long, just because he's had a couple of bad appearances. In addition, it can't be ignored that what ended his scoreless streak, was coming up against a player who no one is safe from in 2026.

Randy Arozarena leaving a trail of devastation behind him in his quest for a lucrative payday

We wrote on Wednesday about how Arozarena has been on a tear all season. As a result he's trending towards finally adding a Silver Slugger Award, to what's already an impressive array of individual accolades. He is the very definition of an all-around offensive threat, capable of beating you no matter what obstacles he faces.

For example, the three-time All-Star is highly productive regardless of what type of pitcher he faces, with a .805 OPS against starters and .868 OPS versus relievers. And it doesn't matter if they're a righty or a southpaw, with a .825 OPS versus right-handed pitching and .843 OPS against lefties. Heck, he even gets the job done no matter what's being thrown at him, with him hitting at least .260 against fastballs, breaking and offspeed.

As alluded to with Arozarena's walk-off hit versus Webb, this is a player who's just built for the bright lights of high-pressure moments. It's why he was named the 2020 ALCS MVP and holds the Major League record for most home runs in a single postseason. And he only gets better the more clutch a situation becomes, with a .886 OPS with men on base and then a .923 OPS with runners in scoring position.

Perhaps the most notable or impressive thing about all of this though is just how consistent Arozarena has been this season, with at least a 128 wRC+ in every month so far. (A 143 wRC+ on the year.) All in all, the Mariners are seeing the best version of this mercurial talent, who has already equalled his career-high of a 4.2 bWAR with still more than a month of the regular season to go.

Webb may or may not now be broken, but he won't be Arozarena's last victim in 2026.

Add us as a preferred source on Google

Follow