Kyle Schwarber’s homer in the 8th lifts Cubs to 6-5 win over Mariners

SEATTLE — Two-run homers and just enough pitching Tuesday night in Seattle carried the Cubs to a 6-5 victory over the Mariners – the Cubs’ third consecutive win and 12^th in their last 16 games.

Kyle Schwarber’s two-out, two-run homer into the upper deck in right field at T-Mobile Park provided the game-winning margin in the eighth inning in the back-and-forth game.

“Those are the moments baseball players live for,” said Schwarber, who has broken out of a slump with a 5-for-10 surge the past three games that includes three extra-base hits and two walks.

A crowd that seemed to be at least split between Cubs and Mariners fans, gave Schwarber a rousing enough and long enough ovation after the home run, that he acknowledged them on his way to left field for the bottom of the eighth.

“That was cool,” he said. “A little bit of a resemblance of being back home.”

His homer came a half inning after Edwin Encarnacion homered off Cubs’ reliever Brandon Kintzler to break a 4-4 tie.

Two days after surviving 15 innings to beat the Diamondbacks in Phoenix, this one included more final-out drama as Steve Cishek stumbled and face-planted trying to field a slow comebacker from Domingo Santana leading off the ninth, then sent him to second on a wild pitch and walked the next man.

But Cishek came back to get a double play and struck out Jay Bruce looking at a 3-2 pitch to strand the potential tying run at third — sending Cishek into a fit of uncharacteristic emotion on the mound that “I kind of blacked out with all the fist pumps and stuff.”

Teammates took turns giving him grief after the game for both the stumbling, falling shot-put play on the first play, as well as the wild display of excitement on the final out.

“I think he channeled his inner Pedro Strop,” Schwarber said. “Maybe we should have had a little of the hat turned to the left there.”

Cishek looked at locker neighbor Strop when Schwarber’s comments were relayed to him.

“He’s my inspiration. I want to be a beast like Stropy.”

Anthony Rizzo’s sixth homer in the fifth, a two-run shot off Felix Hernandez that followed a Kris Bryant double, had given the Cubs a 4-3 lead.

With the win, the Cubs are assured of extending their undefeated streak to seven series.

The two-game set concludes Wednesday before the Cubs take a day off just ahead of their weekend showdown with the Cardinals at Wrigley Field.

Cubs starter Cole Hamels pitched into the sixth inning, but walks and sloppy infield play in a three-run fourth cost him a chance to win – and possibly go deeper into the game.

After Hamels issued a leadoff walk to Encarnacion, followed by a Tim Beckham double, Jay Bruce drove in a run with a grounder to second.

One out later, Hamels walked Omar Narvaez, and Braden Bishop followed with a grounder to third that David Bote muffed for an error as another run scored.

An infield single by Dee Gordon then turned into another run when shortstop Javy Baez threw wildly to first for another error.

Five of the Cubs’ runs scored on homers, including Daniel Descalo’s shot to right-center on the second pitch of the game – his first career leadoff homer.