Mariners get much-needed win over White Sox to help alleviate recent frustration

A homestand that started off with the bad kind of a sweep, ended with a series win.

The Mariners, a team with glaring weaknesses and inconsistent performances over the first 50 games of the season, assuaged the growing discontent among the fanbase and building frustration within their clubhouse with a 5-4 victory over the White Sox on Wednesday afternoon at T-Mobile Park.

The contrast of being swept by the Padres and then taking two of three from the Chicago White Sox, something more difficult than people realize, was typical of the Mariners' season.

Seattle improved to 24-27 on the season and headed out on a six-game road trip that includes a day off on Thursday in Kansas City followed by a three-game series vs. the Royals, starting Friday evening.

Call it consistency or traction, the Mariners haven't been able to find it beyond a week's worth of games. So far this season, they haven't lost more than two series in a row and haven't won more than two series in a row.

Since going 5-1 on a road trip against the Cardinals and Twins in late April, they've alternated between a losing series and a winning series over their last six. Still, managing to hover around the .500 mark through that inconsistency has kept them within reach of the lead in the American League West along with A's and Rangers.

Really big series win for us," manager Dan Wilson said. "It was just a good game all around."

It wasn't an easy win, though few are, for the Mariners.

After allowing a solo homer to pinch-hitter Randal Grichuk on his first pitch of the ninth that cut the Mariners' lead to one run, Jose A. Ferrer, who was working for a third consecutive day, came back to strike out the next three hitters he faced - Munetaka Murakami, Derek Hill and Colson Montgomery - in dominant fashion to close out the win and notch his third save.

"He came in and did an incredible job," Wilson said. "Not an easy inning by any stretch. Grichuk has done that to us before, and did it again today. I didn't think that ball was going out, but it did. After that, it was just one after another for (Ferrer). I thought he pounded the zone. That's someone stepping it up right there and getting us a save in a really big game."

The Mariners broke open a 2-2 game in the seventh inning against lefty reliever Sean Newcomb. Jhonny Pereda gave them lead, smacking his first MLB homer - a solo blast to left field - and Randy Arozarena added a two-run homer that proved to be needed for a victory.

Pereda, who was called up when Cal Raleigh was placed on the injured list with an oblique strain, has hit several balls hard to left field. Most have been caught for outs. But there was no catching his 392-foot blast on an 0-1 breaking ball.

"That's the goal every time," he said with a smile. "That was so special. As soon as I hit the ball, I was like, 'Oh my god, my first homer!' I couldn't believe it."

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The Mariners acquired Pereda from the Twins in the offseason after he was designated for assignment. Seattle sent cash considerations to Minnesota to complete the deal. With the Mariners searching for a possible backup for Raleigh, they added Pereda for some depth to go with Andrew Knizner, who was signed to a one-year MLB deal.

Pereda, who turned 30 in April, made his MLB debut on April 17, 2024, with the Marlins. He played in 20 games for Miami that season. In 2025, he saw big-league time with the A's (17 games) and Twins (11 games). His first MLB homer came in his 136th plate appearance.

Pereda had always been a productive hitter at the minor-league level, including a .298/.394/.419 slash line in 279 games at the Triple-A level. He was also a solid defensive catcher with a plus throwing arm. He played well in spring training, but lost the battle to Mitch Garver, who signed a minor-league deal a few weeks into spring training.

"I wasn't expecting that homer," he said. "I was focused on getting a good hit and it happened. As soon as I hit the ball, I could see the angle that it was perfect."

With Julio Rodríguez on second, Arozarena capped off an outstanding day by sending a sweeper from reliever Jordan Hicks into the Mariners' bullpen. It was his fifth homer of the season. Arozarena scored three runs on the day. He was highly irritated when White Sox starter Sean Burke hit him in the elbow with a fastball to start the second inning. Arozarena promptly stole second and later scored on Dom Canzone's double to right field. Arozarena led off with a walk in the fourth inning, stole second and scored on Patrick Wisdom's double to left off Burke.

Arozarena leads Seattle in batting average (.302), hits (55), on-base percentage (.394) doubles (13), stolen bases (14) and runs scored (36).

"There was a little bit of fire there after Randy got hit," Wilson said. "That's what we see from Randy every day."

Emerson Hancock provided an effective, if not dominant, start. The right-hander battled some command issues and pitched with constant traffic on the bases, but still worked five innings. He allowed two runs on five hits with three walks and four strikeouts.

After a 1-2-3 first inning, Hancock put himself in a difficult situation walking the first three batters he faced. He came back to strike out Christian Peters swinging and coaxed Drew Romo into hitting into an inning-ending double play.

"It felt really similar to the one inning in Chicago, where you just kind of lose it a little bit," he said. "In that moment again, you're just trying to slow it down, realize you're a couple good pitches away. It was a big, big moment for sure.

Hancock gave up a run in the third and another in the fifth inning, but limited the damage in both frames to keep the Mariners in it.

Seattle got scoreless innings from Cooper Criswell in the sixth, aided by Pereda picking off Chase Meidroth at third after a missed safety squeeze bunt attempt by Peters. Matt Brash worked a scoreless seventh while Eduard Bazardo allowed one run in the eighth.

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This story was originally published May 20, 2026 at 5:08 PM.