The Mariners have the day off today as they hit roughly the half-way point of the season.

They own a 46-37 record and hold a 4.5 game lead over the Houston Astros for first place in the AL West division.

The M’s have built their identity on toughing out tight games, they have the fourth-best record in the American League overall, but own the eighth-best run differential at +11.

Seattle holds one of the best pitching staffs in the league, boasting the most quality starts with 49 and allowing just a .219 batting average to opponents.

Still, their hitting has struggled with a .219 batting average of their own and lead the league with 838 strikeouts, over 10 a game.

Julio Rodriguez hasn’t lived up to last season’s top-five MVP finish, he has just 7 home runs and 29 RBI’s at the halfway point.

The Mariners kick off a nine-game homestand tomorrow night starting with the Minnesota Twins as Logan Gilbert takes the mound.

Coverage begins at 5:30 and first pitch is at 6:40 p.m. on KPUG.

 

The first round of the NBA draft took place yesterday.

The Atlanta Hawks selected French prospect Zaccharie Risacher with the first overall pick.

Only two college prospects went in the top six last night.

Washington State’s own Jaylen Wells went 39th overall to the Memphis Grizzlies in the second round today.

19-year-old Bronny James, son of LeBron, went 55th overall to join his father on the Los Angeles Lakers.

 

Caitlin Clark is back in Seattle.

Clark and her Indiana Fever are playing the Seattle Storm in the WNBA tonight.

Last time the Fever were in Seattle, the Storm took a dramatic 85-83 win in front of a sellout crowd of 18,000.

Since then, Clark has helped her team win four of their last five after a rough 1-8 start to the season.

She’s averaging 16 points and nearly 7 assists while making nearly three 3-pointers per game.

Meanwhile, the Storm are looking to make their way back to the top of the Western Conference, where they sit just three games behind the Minnesota Lynx for first place.

Tonight’s game tips off at 7:00.

 

And the Bellingham Bells beat the Edmonton Riverhawks 8-4 last night.

The Bells opened the games with four runs in the first and never looked back.

Three players had multi-hit games and Will Anderson threw three scoreless innings in the start.

The Bells now sit just one game behind the Riverhawks for second place in the North Division.

They’ll look to tie up their records and clinch the series tonight.

First pitch from Edmonton is at 6:05.