Mariners News

The Mariners are looking to keep their momentum going against the Red Sox tonight after getting a much-needed sweep over the weekend. The M’s won all three of their games against the Cleveland Guardians, culminating in a 6-0 win on Father’s Day.

Emerson Hancock tossed seven scoreless innings and J.P. Crawford hit a grand slam to complete the series sweep. It came a day after Jorge Polanco hit a walkoff single in Game 2 on Saturday.

The Mariners remain 4.5 games behind the first-place Astros in a red-hot AL West that’s seen Houston win five straight and Texas win four straight. The good news is that All-Star Logan Gilbert is set to make his return to the mound tonight in his first start since April 25. But it will be a tall task against a Red Sox club that’s searching for its sixth-straight win.

Coverage begins at 5:30 and first pitch is at 6:40 on KGMI.

A pair of Mariners got some love after the first All-Star ballot update was released today. Cal Raleigh led all American League catchers as the current home run leader in the majors. Cal had more than double the votes of the next highest catcher. Julio Rodriguez received the ninth-most votes of outfielders in the American League.  Pitchers are not voted on by fans.

MLB News

There was plenty more big news around the MLB over the weekend. The Red Sox sent shockwaves across the league by sending three-time All-Star Rafael Devers to San Francisco. In exchange, the Giants shipped off a pair of pitchers and prospects.

Devers and the Red Sox had a strained relationship after the team moved him from third base following the signing of former Astro Alex Bregman. Devers is batting .272 with 15 homers and 58 RBIs in 73 games this season. 

Meanwhile, Shohei Ohtani is making his long-awaited return to the mound against the Padres tonight. The Dodgers announced that he’ll start his first game as a pitcher since the 2023 season. The 3x MVP also placed fourth in Cy Young award voting in 2022.

Bells News

The Bells picked up a pair of wins over the weekend to secure their fifth-straight series. They dropped their series-opener against the Victoria HarbourCats on Friday, but bounced back to win the next two games by a combined score of 22-5. Left fielder Andrew Lamb hit the team’s first home runs of the season with a pair of homers on Saturday and another one yesterday.

The Bells still have yet to lose a series this season. They’re currently tied with Wenatchee for first place in the North Division with an 11-4 record. They’ll continue their road trip tomorrow in the start of a three-game series in Edmonton before returning home on Friday.

Sounders/Reign News

The Sounders kicked off the FIFA Club World Cup yesterday. They fell to Botafogo 2-1 in the opening match of group stage play at Lumen Field. Paul Rothrock scored the Sounders’ sole goal of the game, but Botafogo took an early 2-0 lead and never looked back.

Seattle will now have to try to win points off the perceived titans of Group B, Atlético Madrid and Paris Saint-Germain to avoid elimination in the group stage. Their next game against Atletico Madrid takes place in Seattle on Thursday.

Meanwhile, in the National Women’s Soccer League, the Reign played the Chicago Stars to a 2-2 draw on Saturday. The Reign are in Utah for their next match against the league-worst Royals next weekend.

Storm News

It was a rough outing for the Storm on Saturday. Seattle fell to the Golden State Valkyries 76-70 to halt their three-game win streak. Skylar Diggins scored 21 points and Alysha Clark added 11 off the bench, but the Storm fumbled a fourth quarter lead in their first-ever meeting with the Valkyries.

The Storm now sit at 6-5 on the season, good for third place in the Western Conference. They’ll continue their road trip tomorrow night against the LA Sparks.

NBA News

The Thunder and Pacers are each trying to get a leg up tonight as the NBA Finals returns to OKC for a pivotal Game 5. Oklahoma City will look to build on its fourth-quarter comeback win in Game 4 that evened the series at two games apiece. But Indiana hasn’t lost back-to-back games since mid-March.

Teams that win Game 5 of a 2-2 series go on to win the championship about 75% of the time. Coverage begins at 4:30 and tipoff is at 5:30 on KPUG.