Bregman homers twice, but Cubs fall in extras

SEATTLE -- Alex Bregman heard plenty of boos from the Mariners’ crowd on Friday night, and they only became louder with each of the two home runs he launched for the Cubs. The second surely had Seattle fans thinking back to the 2022 American League Division Series.

Bregman launched a game-tying homer off Mariners closer Andrés Muñoz in the ninth inning on Friday at T-Mobile Park -- reminiscent of the postseason blast he had for the Astros off the hard-throwing righty in Game 1 of that ALDS four years ago. Even with Bregman’s heroics, the Cubs could not avoid a 6-5, 10-inning loss.

“Bottom line is they have a closer in the game and Alex takes a great swing to tie it up,” Cubs manager Craig Counsell said. “And we had opportunities. We had opportunities to win the game. That’s what you kind of look back on.”

The North Siders were unable to push a run across in the top of the 10th, ending the night 1-for-16 with runners in scoring position and giving the Mariners the opening they needed. With two outs, Cubs righty Ryan Zeferjahn allowed a walk-off single to Leo Rivas, dropping the Cubs six games back of the National League Central-leading Brewers.

Here are three takeaways from Friday’s defeat for the Cubs, who lead the NL Wild Card field:

1. Leading things off

At the pace that Cubs center fielder Pete Crow-Armstrong is going, he has a chance to chase down the club record for leadoff homers in a single season.

In the first inning on Friday, Crow-Armstrong worked a nine-pitch at-bat against Mariners righty Emerson Hancock to get things going. The final pitch in the sequence was an elevated four-seamer that tailed away -- right into Crow-Armstrong’s barrel. He launched it to right field for his career-best 32nd homer of the season.

“They’re just high-quality at-bats,” Bregman said. “Every time he’s up there, I feel like he’s looking for a pitch he can drive. And if he can’t drive it and hit an extra-base hit, he’s taking it. When he gets down in the count, there’s no panic. It’s still battling the pitcher up.”

The shot marked the seventh leadoff homer of the year for Crow-Armstrong, moving him into a tie with Dexter Fowler (2016) for the third-most leadoff shots in one year by a Cubs batter. Alfonso Soriano boasts the record with 12 such blasts in 2007, followed by Rick Monday, who had eight in 1976 for Chicago.

Crow-Armstrong’s homer also sparked a three-run opening frame for the Cubs, who saw Bregman belt a two-run home run to cap off the scoring. It marked the 17th homer of the year for the Cubs third baseman, who headed into the night with a .536 slugging percentage and .907 OPS since the All-Star break.

2. Boyd’s tough second

Matthew Boyd found himself in a jam in the second inning after allowing a one-out single to Josh Naylor and then issuing a walk to Taylor Ward. That set the stage for Cal Raleigh, who has struggled this season, but is still a dangerous power threat.

The Cubs lefty went with a first-pitch fastball up in the zone. Raleigh was ready, and launched the offering out to left for a three-run homer to pull the game even, 3-3. Boyd surrendered two more hits within the next three batters, including an RBI single to Brendan Donovan that put the Cubs behind, 4-3.

“I went to go attack Cal,” Boyd said. “He jumped on the heater. Heaters up in the zone tend to be good this year off of him. He had a game plan; hats off to him. Hate saying that again. Hindsight, maybe I should’ve gone with a different pitch. We knew he was going to be aggressive.”

Boyd settled in over the next two innings, but some defensive issues -- including a balk call that ultimately led to manager Craig Counsell being ejected for arguing -- helped the Mariners to an insurance run in the fifth. Overall, Boyd was charged with five runs (four earned) in six innings for the North Siders.

3. Palencia returns to bullpen

The Cubs activated hard-throwing righty Daniel Palencia from the 60-day injured list prior to Friday’s game, and are hoping he can regain his form as a trusted high-leverage weapon over the season’s final five weeks.

After Boyd’s exit, Palencia took over in the seventh inning for his first appearance for the Cubs since June 15, when a right elbow issue sent him to the shelf. Palencia generated one groundout (Donovan) and then struck out two (Randy Arozarena and Dominic Canzone) in a clean, 10-pitch outing.

Palencia certainly looked like his typical self, averaging 98.9 mph with his fastball, per Statcast. The righty maxed out at 99.4 mph. Before the game, Counsell said the plan called for getting Palencia regular work again to help him find his footing after two months on the shelf.