Mariners News

The Mariners finished their series in Houston on a high note this afternoon.

The M’s routed the Astros 8-3 to win their third match of the four-game series. Luke Raley hit his team-leading 10th home run of the season and Mitch Garver added his first, while Brendan Donovan picked up three hits.

Luis Castillo earned his first win of the season after striking out six and giving up three runs over five and two-thirds innings.

The Mariners had their nine-game win streak over the Astros snapped in last night’s extra-innings loss, but they’ve pulled to five games ahead of Houston in the division standings after today’s win. They sit just a game and a half behind the Athletics for first place.

The M’s will now return home for a three-game weekend series against the Padres. Coverage for tomorrow’s series opener begins at 5:30 and first pitch is at 6:40 on KPUG with Emerson Hancock on the mound.

 

Meanwhile, one of the Mariners’ top players is hitting the injured list.

The team announced this morning that it placed Cal Raleigh on the 10-day IL with a right oblique strain. It’s the first time Big Dumper has found himself on the IL.

It comes after he snapped the longest hitless streak of his career with a pair of singles in Tuesday’s win over the Astros.

The M’s called up catcher Jhonny Pereda from Triple-A Tacoma to take his spot, while Mitch Garver is expected to get extra reps in Cal’s absence.

Seahawks News

We may have an idea of the Seahawks’ Week 1 opponent ahead of the official schedule reveal.

NFL insider Jordan Schultz reported today that the Seahawks are set to host the Patriots in a Super Bowl rematch to open the NFL season on Wednesday night, Sept. 9. It’s just the second time in league history that the season will open on a Wednesday.

There’s also a report from KJR’s Dave “Softy” Mahler that the Hawks will host the Rams on a Friday Christmas game.

The rest of the Seahawks’ schedule is set to be officially released at 5:00 today.

WWU Vikings News

Western’s softball team opened the national tournament with a bang this afternoon.

The 7th-seeded Vikings upset 2nd-seeded Cal State East Bay 3-2 in the opening round of the NCAA D-II West Regional.

East Bay scored two runs in the first to take an early lead, but Western responded later in the game to tie it going into the top of the seventh. Hailey Rath went on to hit a sacrifice fly to score Rachel Traxler for the winning run.

Freshman Alanna Wirtala tossed a complete game to help the Viks advance.

They’ll now face the winner of Concordia Irvine vs. Biola at 10 am tomorrow with a spot in the regional championship on the line.

The tournament is double-elimination, so the Viks could see Cal State East Bay again later on.

Sounders News

The Sounders kept their unbeaten streak up last night.

They edged the San Jose Earthquakes 3-2 at Lumen Field. Osaze De Rosario scored the game-winner in the 89th minute as the Sounders pushed their unbeaten streak to nine in MLS play.

Next up, they’ll host the LA Galaxy on Saturday.

Storm News

The Storm fell to the Toronto Tempo 86-73 last night.

Toronto’s Brittney Sykes scored 18 in her first game against Seattle since leaving in free agency.

Dominique Malonga led the Storm with 21 points, but it wasn’t enough as they fell to 1-2 on the young season.

Next up, the Storm will wrap up their first road trip of the season on Sunday by taking on Caitlin Clark and the Indiana Fever.

Prep Sports News

Lynden has earned its first district baseball championship in 10 years.

The Lions mercy-ruled Sehome 10-0 last night to win the 2A district title. Both teams are still headed to the state tournament, which starts next Saturday at Joe Martin Field as the host site.

Lynden will try to bring home some more hardware tonight, when the Lions play Squalicum in the 2A district boys soccer championship. But it won’t be easy, as the Storm have yet to lose a game this season and are ranked second in the state by RPI.

Tonight’s title game starts at 7:00 from Civic Stadium and both teams are already state-bound.

But first, Bellingham and Sehome are playing at 5:00 in a loser-out match, with a spot in the district crossover on the line.