Mariners Shove Second Straight Shutout of Blue Jays, Win Second Straight Series
How quickly things can turn around, how fleeting streaks of play can be.
That is both a consolation and a warning for the Mariners, who finished off a 5-1 homestand on Sunday with a 4-0 win over the Toronto Blue Jays. Just a week prior, they were reeling from one of the worst losses of the season, out of first with a losing record. They are now in first place by a game and a half and three games above .500.
It’s a good start, but the team still needs to build upon it with as many series wins as possible over the rest of the season. No team is as good as they look when they win nor as bad as they look when they lose, but every time the M’s look like the best versions of themselves, they inspire a little bit more confidence in others and in their own hearts.
Emerson Hancock had one of his best starts of the season, shoving seven scoreless.
With the piggyback permanently on hold, Emerson Hancock had the runway for a full start on Sunday. Going into his outing, however there were questions as to whether he could deal as well as he had earlier in the season.
Despite a career-best 3.47 ERA, 3.77 FIP, and 1.048 WHIP this year, Hancock’s last four starts had seen him give up 13 earned runs in 20 innings, an average of five frames per start. He had struggled to locate his sweeper during these outings, a fact that left him vulnerable to teams willing to ambush the fastball. These teams additionally benefited from some luck that his opponents hadn’t seen as much during his first couple months of work.
Mid-Season Check-in: Can Storm Still Make Playoff Push in Second Half?
The Seattle Storm are midway through their first rebuilding season after a mass exodus of talent. That major roster turnover also led to talent acquisition, but the lineup is filled with young, rising players who are still finding their footing in the WNBA.
At 5-17 overall, the Storm are exactly where many thought they would be in 2026. Sure, they have an emerging Dominique Malonga in her second season and exciting pieces around her, but there’s currently too much weight on the 20-year-old’s shoulders for Seattle to find consistent success.
Injuries haven’t helped. Malonga missed eight games from mid-May to early June, Ezi Magbegor has only recently returned and played the last two games, and Jordan Horston has missed five total games.
Expectations were low heading into the season, but hopes for the future were high. That continues to be the sentiment at this point in the campaign. But is there any chance the Storm could make a late-season run and push for a playoff berth?
Washington State, Rebuilt Pac-12 Welcome New Opponent in Gonzaga
With the rebuilt Pac-12 officially launching on July 1, the Washington State Cougars have a new conference home. While membership varies by sport, the Cougars no longer will have to piece together schedules as they have since the Pac-12 began to dissolve in 2023.
Now that league has kicked off operations, Emerald City Spectrum will be taking a look at each of Washington State's new conference opponents in football and men's basketball. First up on the docket is a school located just over an hour north of Pullman and the closest Pac-12 opponent to the Cougars as the Gonzaga Bulldogs enter the conference.
Gonzaga will join the Pac-12 in every varsity sport it sponsors, including men's and women's basketball. Because the university does not have a football program and has no intentions of changing that anytime soon, men's basketball serves as the flagship athletic program and the department's biggest revenue generator.
Mariners Blast Blue Jays on Independence Day, Still Need Consistency
About the only similarity between the Mariners’ game on July 3 and their game on July 4 was the general state of the Toronto Blue Jays offense. Even there, the degree of futility varied from day to day; the Jays had a generally mediocre offensive day on Friday and a horrific one on Saturday. The latter performance was largely due to the Mariner starter Logan Gilbert’s excellence.
Other than that, the games could not have been any more different. In one, the Mariners fell 2-0 as their offense failed to show up. In the other, Seattle torched the Blue Jays so badly that Myles Straw was pitching in the bottom of the eighth despite not being a pitcher. The 11-0 victory that the M’s put together was tremendously cathartic for a team that had been tied for fifth-lowest in run production during the month. The most catharsis of all was reserved for one Randy Arozarena, as despite his largely consistent career-year production, he had been the biggest standout in his team’s ugly batting performance the day prior: he lost both his team’s ABS challenges with nobody on in the first inning, neither in a conducive count for challenging.
Arozarena, as it turned out, was actually on the bad side of a 2-0 strike call in the bottom of the first with nobody on. This time, he didn’t challenge. The issues with his challenges in the first had been related to inning, yes, but challenging in the first inning isn’t bad if it’s a full count or there are men on base; but both of Arozarena’s challenges on Friday came with nobody on and without three balls. In any event, the Mariners left fielder whacked a double off the right field wall. Neither Dominic Canzone nor Cal Raleigh knocked him in, but perhaps it set a more favorable tone than the day prior, when the M’s were a few hairs away from being no-hit.
Randy Arozarena capped off a monster second inning with a grand slam.
Two men fell quickly to Jays starter Shane Bieber to begin the second, but the third out is no guarantee against any MLB offense. Cole Young lined a double into the right center gap and Victor Robles shot a liner of his own into left to log Seattle’s first run, but the real damage came a few minutes later as a single and a walk loaded the bases for the aforementioned Arozarena.
Reign Collapse Late, Drop First Game Back vs. Courage
If the Seattle Reign drew up their picture-perfect return to play after over a month away from playing, it certainly wouldn't have played out like Saturday night's 3-1 loss to the North Carolina Courage.
While the Reign (4-6-2, 11th in NWSL) got off to a solid start thanks to an impressive run from striker Mia Fishel leading to a Sally Menti goal, three questionable concessions left Seattle deflated by the end of the night.
North Carolina winger Ashley Sanchez continued her nine-goal campaign with a brace, scoring in the 22nd and 71st to bookend a feel-good home outing for the Courage (6-3-3, 7th). Riley Jackson buried a penalty kick in the 64th to give the Courage the lead in an opportunity conceded by a mishandled Madison Curry tackle.
On a blistering and humid 95-degree night in Cary, head coach Laura Harvey simply saw her team run out of the juice that had propelled it to scoring first — something her struggling offense has done rarely in 2026.
"We got a little bit tired and we got a little bit stretched and ended up chasing the game," Harvey said. “It wasn’t like they had loads and loads of chances… it was just those slight little moments.”
Instant Takeaways: Storm Post Worst Offensive Game of 2026 in Loss to Fire
A few games removed from a potential resurgence, the Seattle Storm dropped back into being one game out of last place in the entire WNBA following a 77-72 loss to the Portland Fire on Saturday, July 4, at Climate Pledge Arena.
Seattle (5-17), after getting two wins against top teams last week, has fallen back into the low-efficiency scoring and poor defense that made them one of the worst teams in the league this season. The spark is flickering out after it once began to burn brighter than ever before.
Portland (9-12) snapped a three-game skid with the win. Their last win before Saturday was against the Storm on June 17 — highlighting how, like against the Mercury, the Storm just matchup horribly against specific squads.
Regardless, the Storm are 0-2 in their four total matchups against the Fire, with two yet to be played. If they can get back on track, Seattle could split the series later in the campaign.
WATCH: How Can Seahawks Unleash Rashid Shaheed in Brian Fleury’s Offense?
While Rashid Shaheed thrived as a game-changing return weapon amid the Seahawks run to a Super Bowl title with three special teams touchdowns to his name, he struggled to find a groove on offense catching passes from Sam Darnold after coming over in a midseason trade from New Orleans.
Emerald City Spectrum reporter Corbin Smith explores what held Shaheed back in his first partial season in Seattle, including limited opportunities to use his speed as an after the catch maestro, and discusses areas where new offensive coordinator Brian Fleury can maximize on that talent with the veteran wideout now having more chemistry with Darnold following a full offseason of additional reps together.
WATCH: Tyon Grant-Foster, Ex-Gonzaga Stars Aim to Impress in NBA Summer League
Though the Gonzaga Bulldogs did not have any players drafted into the NBA for a second straight year, a trio of players will suit up for the summer league seeking an opportunity to an extended audition in training camp in October.
Emerald City Spectrum reporter Howard Woodard dives into the upcoming summer league debuts for former Gonzaga stars Graham Ike, Jalen Warley, and Tyon Grant-Foster, discussing what to watch from the trio and what they each need to show this summer to improve their chances of earning a roster spot for the start of the 2026-27 season.
Sounders Notebook: Intrasquad Scrimmage Ends 1-1 as Portland Looms
The excitement of the FIFA World Cup has Seattle buzzing about soccer.
Belgium's round of 32 game against Senegal on Wednesday featured a wild comeback that saw the Red Devils pull it out 3-2 in extra time at Lumen Field, or Seattle Stadium, until Monday night. The local Seattle Sounders (7-3-3, 6th in MLS Western Conference) have been sharing a facility with Belgium for the last month, and many were witnesses to the high-level play associated with a World Cup knockout match, as even the Sounders equipment staff got to attend the game, according to head coach Brian Schmetzer.
“They’re excited to be around this whole occasion of the World Cup,” Schmetzer said. “Whether that lifts their play or whether that has a little added pressure, I’d say it’s probably the first… they’re excited.”
The Sounders didn't wait long to put that excitement toward their own development, as the Rave Green held an intrasquad scrimmage on Thursday afternoon that ended in a physical 1-1 draw. It’s all part of the buildup to Seattle’s largest grudge match of every season: A July 16 home game against the Portland Timbers (4-8-2, 13th in west).
Big Game Hunting: Huskies Eye Four Five-Star Recruits in 2028 Class
Most recently adding a pair of offensive linemen to the collection, the Washington Huskies currently are putting the finishing touches on what should be a top 20 recruiting class in 2027. Building off that success, Jedd Fisch and company have already turned their sights to the 2028 class by delivering dozens of offers to high schoolers around the country.
The Huskies have offered about 15 five-star recruits the chance to don the purple and gold. Not all of these elite recruits will be winnable recruiting battles, but for the first time in program history, UW has a real chance to reel in multiple five-star prospects.
247Sports composite rankings shows that Washington has only received commitments from seven five-star players in the program’s history. Can UW add to these numbers?
Can Seahawks Offense Replicate Last Season’s Fireworks?
As America celebrates its 250th birthday, the Seattle Seahawks are spending the summer scheming ways to defend their Super Bowl title. While the nation indulges on hot dogs, potato salad, and rocket pops, the reigning champions will dive into preparing for a new season with a new offensive coordinator in Brian Fleury.
The magic that previous offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak and quarterback Sam Darnold created together will be tough to match. It seemed like the offense was a weekly firework show of sorts. Seattle ranked third in scoring and fourth in yards per play in 2025. Of that firework show, the biggest mortars set off were downfield shots to Offensive Player of the Year Jaxon Smith-Njigba.
Can Darnold and his top receiver recreate that magic with a new scheme and new voice in the headset for 2026?
Bryce Miller Gem Gives M’s Sweep of Halos Despite Absent Offense
The last time the M’s and Angels faced each other, it was one of many disappointing series for the Mariners during the first half of the season. Seattle won the first game of the set, but as they would do several times in the following weeks and months, they dropped the final two and lost the series as their offense died and the pitching got ambushed.
Seattle’s bats may have fallen incredibly silent on Thursday evening as the two squads finished their three-game series the day after both took a rest due to a 2026 World Cup game a block away, but Bryce Miller beared down once again as he utterly stymied the Angels’ hitters inning after inning on his way to seven frames of brilliance. That, more than anything, was the bedrock of the team’s 1-0 win.
Bryce Miller didn’t give up a hit in the first six innings as his excellent year continued.
Even with his innings being limited with the piggybacks, Miller had been one of the Mariners’ most fearsome pitchers since returning from the injured list. His expert mixture of a four-seamer, slider, splitter throughout his starts produced tough scenes for opposing hitters.
Miller had a bit of a tougher time in his previous outing against the Pirates, however. His three earned runs in 5 ⅔ innings were perhaps downstream of the fact that the slider was conspicuously absent from his workhorse usage, with the hurler reliant on just his four-seamer and splitter for 59% of his offerings.
And yet Miller did much the same against the Angels on Thursday to clearly better results. Halo hitters went down one after another as they couldn’t effectively differentiate between his two go-to offerings. The visitors had 10 whiffs and five strikeouts during the first three innings, with Miller at 35 pitches through those frames. A big part of this was the fact that he could control his splitter effectively once his (already minimal) opening jitters were over.
Instant Takeaways: Magbegor’s Return Spoiled By Physical Mercury
Ezi Magbegor’s first game of the season was spoiled by the Phoenix Mercury in a 90-67 loss for the Seattle Storm on Thursday, July 2, at the Mortgage Matchup Center.
Seattle (5-16) had its two-game win streak snapped after not playing for five days. Magbegor came off the bench in her first game action in nearly five months. Phoenix (8-13) earned a clean sweep of the season series against the Storm and won its third-straight game.
Nothing went right for the Storm right out of the gate. They couldn’t outmuscle a physical Mercury team once again, and they were dominated in almost every phase of the game.
Film Breakdown: How Nick Emmanwori Allows Seahawks to Break the Rules
Over the past several decades, as offenses have evolved into more complex, pass-oriented attacks, NFL defenses have been in survival mode trying to adapt on the opposite side of the football.
Thanks to Tom Brady, Peyton Manning, and others orchestrating record-setting aerial assaults, thus making the ground-and-pound run games of earlier eras obsolete, teams have undergone dramatic personnel shifts since the turn of the century. Once 250-plus pound heavy hitters, linebackers have continued to get lighter and faster in an effort to counter the proliferation of running backs and tight ends being deployed as pass catching weapons. Many of the big-bodied defensive ends who once dominated the sport have been fazed out in favor of speedier EDGE defenders who can pin their ears back and hunt quarterbacks.
Even with those changes, most defensive coordinators have to still mix and match personnel groupings over the course of a game. In obvious passing situations, an extra defensive back or two - or in some cases three - sub in for nickel, dime, and bandit sub-packages, sending a defensive lineman and/or a linebacker off the field to maximize coverage capabilities. In short yardage, however, teams still have to have the brutes to be able to rotate in against heavier offensive sets, substitutions that can be difficult to execute, especially against offenses that utilize no huddle tempo on a regular basis.
In other words, at least for most of the NFL, clear limitations remain for how often they can employ nickel and dime packages. Smart offenses can dictate the personnel they see through their own schematics and formation usage, giving them the upper hand.
But for the defending Super Bowl champion Seattle Seahawks, that’s no longer the case thanks to the arrival of Nick Emmanwori. The do-it-all hybrid slot safety unicorn who moonlights as an EDGE rusher as well as an inside linebacker while possessing 4.3 speed provides coach Mike Macdonald with the ultimate cheat code, stealing that long-held advantage away from opposing quarterbacks and the offense.
Redhawks Cap Off Offseason Landing Former WCC-All Freshman Selection Tomas Thrastarson
Keeping a talented guard in the state of Washington, the Seattle U Redhawks men's basketball team announced the addition of junior Tómas Thrastarson on Monday.
Thrastarson comes to Seattle after spending his first two seasons across the state with Washington State in Pullman. A 6-foot-7 shooting guard, he thrives getting to the basket as a driver. His scoring upside comes from his long frame that allows him to draw and play through contact as he gets into the paint.
“Tómas is a versatile guard with great size and experience competing at a high level,” said head coach Chris Victor. “His success in the WCC, combined with his international experience representing Iceland, gives him a strong foundation to make an immediate impact in our program. He has the ability to affect the game in a variety of ways and we're excited to welcome him to Seattle.”
Kraken Lock Up Mackie Samoskevich, Take Low-Risk Bet on Top-Six Upside
After sending a 2027 first round pick to the Florida Panthers on June 21 to acquire the talented forward, the Seattle Kraken signed Mackie Samoskevich to a three-year, $11.55-million deal on Wednesday, securing the restricted free agent through the 2028-29 season.
When the contract expires in the Summer of 2029, Samoskevich will still be a restricted free agent, giving Seattle additional club control. While the 24th overall pick in 2021 hasn’t popped as a star in the NHL yet, signing him for three years at a reasonable cap hit is a good bet on a player of this quality who has contributed for a Stanley Cup champion.
Serving as a key role player for Florida in his first three seasons, Samoskevich should flourish with a greater opportunity with the Kraken next season and might earn a top-six forward role with consistent power play minutes.
Ranking Seahawks: Intriguing Rookie Michael Dansby Looks to Surprise, Headlines No. 70-66
With the calendar quickly heading towards July and offseason workouts wrapped up league-wide for the summer, the defending Super Bowl champion Seattle Seahawks will soon descend upon the Virginia Mason Athletic Center for the start of training camp, kicking off a much-anticipated 2026 season.
To celebrate the new incoming season, I will be ranking every member of the Seahawks 90-man roster over the next several weeks leading up to report day, providing detailed profiles, exploring best and worst case scenarios, and breaking down what to expect from each player entering the 2026 campaign.
Breaking down No. 70-66 on my annual rankings, two practice squad veterans will look to break through to the 53-man roster and Seattle’s final draft pick from April has sights set on standing out in a deep defensive backfield.
Reign Notebook: Offense Looking to Find Itself, Jess Fishlock Back to Training
As the men's FIFA World Cup rages on, the top women's soccer league is nearly back from its June hiatus. The NWSL returns this weekend, with the struggling Seattle Reign (4-5-2, 10th) set to take on the North Carolina Courage (5-3-3, 8th) in Raleigh on Saturday.
The Reign have been back to training since last week, but started prepping in full for North Carolina this week. The Reign worked in multiple small-sided sessions and a full scrimmage on Tuesday, as their offense took center stage at times.
That unit has been a pain point for Seattle in 2026, as the Reign are among just four NWSL sides to average less than a goal per game through 11 fixtures.
Second-year winger Maddie Dahlien says the timing of the NWSL break is helping fuel her and her teammates to push through the final 19 games.
"I felt like it came at a really good time,” Dahlien said. “We've had a lot of vulnerable conversations, and coming back, like we met as a team and really just regrouped.”
Huskies Receive Commitments from Pair of Coveted Offensive Linemen
The scales are officially tipped.
Washington added the biggest missing pieces to its 2027 class on Wednesday with the commitments of offensive linemen Gecova Doyal and Tye Kennedy.
Jedd Fisch’s strong recruiting class had been light on offensive linemen prior to Wednesday, when Doyal, a four-star interior lineman out of Puyallup and Tye Kennedy, son of former UW All-American Lincoln Kennedy, became the second and third o-linemen to commit to Washington’s 2027 group.
Washington State and Colville Tribes Announce Partnership
Washington State Athletics announced a historic new partnership with the Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation that marks the largest sponsorship agreement in school history, providing a jolt for the athletic department entering a new era of the rebuilt Pac-12 conference.
The five-year deal, announced on June 30, is valued at approximately $8.4 million and includes a $250,000 donation to the Cougar Athletic Excellence Fund during the first year. Beginning with the 2026-27 athletic season, every Washington State athletic team will wear the Colville Tribes logo on their uniforms. The agreement is one of the most expansive uniform sponsorships in college athletics and the first of its kind in the new Pac-12.
"This is a historic partnership rooted in Eastern Washington," Washington State athletic director Jon Haarlow said. "It brings together two tradition-rich communities as we chart an exciting new path forward as leaders in the Pacific Northwest and the new Pac-12."
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