Mariners News

The Mariners are currently wrapping up their series in Miami as they look to avoid getting swept.

The M’s got shut out by the Marlins 2-0 last night.

George Kirby gave them six solid innings of two-run ball and rookie reliever Nick Davila followed with two perfect innings. But the Mariners’ batters only managed five hits and were never able to get within striking distance of the Marline, who have won five straight.

Seattle now sits just a game above .500 and is clinging to a half-game lead over the Texas Rangers for first place in the American League West. They’ll aim to hold on to their slim division lead tonight in their final game against Miami with Bryce Miller on the mound.

First pitch is at 3:40 on KPUG.

Bells News

The Bells are wrapping up their stretch of games against non-league opponents tonight. They’re hosting Baum Bat Northwest in their final match before returning to West Coast League play.

Bellingham edged the Everett Merchants 3-2 last night after trailing early on. Gavin Hasche started them off with two scoreless innings on the mound and All-Star outfielder Jaden Jackson scored all three of their runs to lead the win.

The game was tied 2-2 entering the bottom of the eighth inning, when Matt Churchill singled to score Jackson for the winning run.

The Bells will look to win their third straight tonight. 

First pitch is at 6:35 at Joe Martin Field. It’s “Jennifer and Michael Night” at the ballpark, where the Bells are giving free tickets to anyone named Michael or Jennifer.

World Cup News

The World Cup quarterfinals kicked off earlier today.

France beat Morocco 2-0 in Foxborough to advance to the semifinals. The match was tied at halftime, but second-half goals by Kylian Mbappe and Ousmane Dembele were the difference for France.

Mbappe now sits just a single goal behind Lionel Messi for the most in World Cup history after scoring the 20th of his career.

France will play the winner of tomorrow’s match between Spain and Belgium for a spot in the World Cup final. Spain and Belgium play their match at noon tomorrow in Los Angeles.

 

Meanwhile, we’re learning more about the status of one of the United States’ top players after their exit.

U.S. Soccer announced today that star striker Christian Pulisic suffered a bone bruise and microfracture in his lower leg during their loss to Belgium last week.

It was one of several injuries Pulisic suffered during the tournament, after he injured his calf in practice two days before their opener against Paraguay, then left the match at halftime after aggravating it.

He’s expected to sit out four to six weeks before returning to train with AC Milan in August.

HS Baseball News

One of Whatcom County’s top baseball teams seeing a change in leadership.

The Lynden Tribune reports that Hunter Anderson is stepping in as the new head coach at Lynden Christian.

Anderson has spent his past three seasons as skipper of Blaine’s baseball team. He’s now taking over for Noah Rawls, who stepped down as head coach at LC after leading them to a 17-8 record and a quarterfinals appearance at the 1A state tournament.