Sports
Mariners jump back on piggyback in matchup with Blue Jays
Seattle Mariners pitcher Logan Gilbert unleashes a pitch against the Cleveland Guardians during a Major League Baseball game on June 27, 2026, at Progressive Field in Cleveland. The Guardians won, 4-3, despite seven innings pitched from Gilbert in the loss. The piggyback is back.
And this time, with two different Seattle Mariners pitchers.
Logan Gilbert is scheduled to start Saturday afternoon against the visiting Toronto Blue Jays, throwing approximately 65 to 75 pitches, before turning things over to fellow right-hander Emerson Hancock.
They will be opposed by veteran right-hander Shane Bieber, who will be making his third start of the season after being sidelined for the first three months due to right elbow inflammation. Bieber (0-0, 6.00 ERA) is 2-2 with a 2.30 ERA in seven career starts against Seattle.
So far this season, the Mariners’ Bryce Miller and Luis Castillo have participated in four piggyback starts, with the team going 2-2 in those contests.
Gilbert (6-5, 3.42 ERA) and Hancock (5-4, 3.47) were scheduled to pitch as a duo last weekend in Cleveland, but instead the team went back to a six-man rotation.
“It was a chance to give a couple guys an extra day here or there,” Mariners manager Dan Wilson said of altering the plan last week. “The way we had it set up, it just provided a little flexibility there, so we were able to do that. But we will go back to it in this series against Toronto.”
The Mariners’ issue is they have six quality starters for five spots in the rotation.
Hancock pitched so well while Miller missed the first six weeks of the season that he wasn’t getting displaced. The Mariners’ least effective starter has been the veteran Castillo, who is also the highest-paid member of the staff.
The team has alternated between a six-man rotation and the piggyback system in recent weeks. After a meeting with the starters, the coaching staff and members of the front office, it was agreed they would expand the piggyback system to include all of the starters at some point through the All-Star break.
In theory, that would have Bryan Woo and George Kirby piggybacking next week against Miami.
“These guys have all wanted to shoulder the load,” Wilson said. “As we go forward, we’ll make our adjustments.”
The Blue Jays won the series opener 2-0 on Friday as Dylan Cease and two relievers combined on a four-hitter. Cease allowed three hits over seven innings, with just one walk and nine strikeouts.
“I thought it was just a really good outing,” Blue Jays manager John Schneider said of Cease. “I thought his pace was a lot better … really the whole time without shaking (off) and being on the same page (as catcher Alejandro Kirk).”
The Blue Jays scored both of their runs in the third inning, on an RBI double to center field by Andres Gimenez and an RBI single to right field by Vladimir Guerrero Jr.
Guerrero is hitting just .161 (5-for-31) over the past eight games, though he reported that he is feeling better at the plate.
“But the most important thing is trying to keep doing things to help this team win some games,” Guerrero said through an interpreter.
After averaging 31.8 homers over the past five seasons, Guerrero has just four long balls more than halfway into the current campaign.
The Mariners will remain without Julio Rodriguez after he was placed on the seven-day concussion injured list on Friday. The star center fielder was hit in the back of the helmet by an errant throw while running the bases on Thursday in Seattle’s 1-0 victory against the Los Angeles Angels.
Utility man Miles Mastrobuoni was promoted from Triple-A Tacoma to fill Rodriguez’s roster spot.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Teoscar Hernandez belts grand slam as Dodgers rally past Padres
Jul 3, 2026; Los Angeles, California, USA; San Diego Padres right fielder Fernando Tatis Jr. (23) scores a run past Los Angeles Dodgers catcher Dalton Rushing (68) during the first inning at Dodger Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jon Endow-Imagn Images Teoscar Hernandez hit a go-ahead grand slam in the seventh inning as the Los Angeles Dodgers rallied for a 4-3 victory Friday while sending the visiting San Diego Padres to a season-high seventh consecutive loss.
Shohei Ohtani struck out nine over six innings, while allowing three runs on seven hits, and Kyle Hurt (3-1) picked up the win with a scoreless inning as the Dodgers won for the ninth time in their past 11 games.
Tanner Scott pitched the ninth inning for his 12th save while Los Angeles improved to 6-2 against San Diego this season.
Jackson Merrill hit a home run for the Padres and Michael King dominated over six innings before he was chased from the game in the seventh. King gave up two runs (one earned) on three hits over six innings.
San Diego’s losing streak is its longest since a seven-game slide late in the 2021 season.
The Padres were in control early, taking a 1-0 lead in the first inning against Ohtani on a Gavin Sheets single. Merrill made it 2-0 in the fourth with a home run to center field, his 10th of the season and second in the series.
A Xander Bogaerts RBI double put San Diego up 3-0 in the sixth.
King was cruising after retiring the first 11 batters he faced while not allowing a baserunner until Freddie Freeman singled in with two outs in the fourth inning. He gave up two hits through six scoreless innings.
The Dodgers’ seventh-inning rally started with a Mookie Betts walk, while Max Muncy followed with a single to right field to end King’s night. Kyle Tucker appeared to hit a double-play grounder against Adrian Morejon, but second baseman Jake Cronenworth misplayed the ball for an error that loaded the bases.
Hernandez’s grand slam came on the first pitch from Morejon (6-2) and was his eighth home run of the season and first since returning Monday from a month away because of a hamstring injury.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Dylan Cease, Blue Jays shut out Mariners to begin ALCS rematch
Jul 3, 2026; Seattle, Washington, USA; Toronto Blue Jays shortstop Andres Gimenez (0), left, turns a double play after forcing out Seattle Mariners centerfielder Victor Robles (10) at second base during the third inning at T-Mobile Park. Mandatory Credit: Stephen Brashear-Imagn Images Dylan Cease pitched seven sharp innings as the Toronto Blue Jays defeated the host Seattle Mariners 2-0 on Friday in the opener of a three-game series between the teams that met in the 2025 American League Championship Series.
It was the third victory in the past four games for the Blue Jays following a six-game skid.
The Mariners saw their three-game winning streak end, and they fell out of a first-place tie with the idle Texas Rangers in the AL West.
Cease (5-4) allowed only three hits — singles by Cole Young and Victor Robles to open the bottom of the third and a one-out double by J.P. Crawford in the sixth. The right-hander walked one and struck out nine.
Blue Jays reliever Jeff Hoffman fanned two in a hitless eighth. Closer Louis Varland worked around a one-out single by Dominic Canzone in the ninth to log his 18th save in as many chances this season.
The Blue Jays scored both of their runs in the third against Mariners starter Luis Castillo (3-7). Rookie Sean Keys led off by grounding a single to center, and he came home on Andres Gimenez’s double to left-center. Nathan Lukes laid down a sacrifice bunt to move Gimenez to third, and Vladimir Guerrero lined a single to right to make it 2-0.
The Mariners threatened in the bottom of the inning following the two singles, but Cease got rookie Colt Emerson to ground into a double play. After issuing his lone walk to Crawford, putting runners at the corners, Cease induced Randy Arozarena to ground out to second.
Castillo went six innings and allowed two runs on five hits. The right-hander walked one and struck out four.
The Mariners were without standout center fielder Julio Rodriguez, who was placed on the seven-day concussion injured list earlier in the day. Rodriguez was hit in the back of the helmet by an errant throw while running the bases Thursday in Seattle’s 1-0 victory against the Los Angeles Angels.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Six-run first propels Marlins to runaway defeat of A's
Jul 3, 2026; West Sacramento, California, USA; Miami Marlins first baseman Kyle Stowers (28) acknowledges the dugout while running the bases after hitting a two-run home run against the Athletics during the eighth inning at Sutter Health Park. Mandatory Credit: Dennis Lee-Imagn Images Heriberto Hernandez hit a three-run homer and Jakob Marsee added a solo shot during a six-run first inning to help the Miami Marlins post a 12-5 victory over the Athletics on Friday night at West Sacramento, Calif.
Kyle Stowers went 4-for-5 with two homers, three RBIs and three runs for the Marlins, who halted a two-game slide. Owen Caissie added a solo shot as Miami matched its season high with five homers.
Major league batting leader Otto Lopez had two hits to raise his average to .337 and Liam Hicks scored three times for the Marlins.
Nick Kurtz hit a two-run homer and Jeff McNeil had a three-run double for the Athletics, who lost for the ninth time in 12 games.
The Athletics’ Jack Perkins (2-4) was torched for seven runs and seven hits in 3 2/3 innings. He matched his career high of eight strikeouts and walked four.
Lake Bachar (1-0) retired six straight batters over the seventh and eighth innings and was credited with the victory for the Marlins. He was one of five relievers who combined to allow just two hits over 5 2/3 innings.
Miami starter Tyler Phillips gave up five runs and seven hits over 3 1/3 innings. He struck out two and walked two.
Hicks, Stowers and Lopez opened the game with singles off Perkins and Xavier Edwards walked to force in the first run. Stowers then scored on a passed ball by A’s catcher Shea Langeliers to make it 2-0.
Hernandez then swatted a three-run blast to center to make it 5-0. Perkins retired the next two batters before Marsee drilled a homer to right to cap the six-run explosion.
Miami tacked on another run in the second on a sacrifice fly by Edwards.
The Athletics displayed life in the bottom of the third as Alika Williams doubled and Kurtz slugged a mammoth 457-foot, two-run homer to center, his 20th of the season.
The A’s loaded the bases in the fourth on singles by Joshua Kuroda-Grauer and Carlos Cortes and a walk to Henry Bolte. McNeil followed with a bases-clearing two-bagger into the gap in left-center to pull the Athletics within 7-5.
Stowers led off the sixth with his first homer, a shot to right off Justin Sterner. In the eighth, Hicks drew a one-out walk before Stowers hit a two-run blast to right-center off Mason Barnett to give the Marlins a 10-5 lead.
Hernandez singled to lead off the ninth against Barnett. One out later, Caissie hit a two-run homer to left-center to make it a seven-run margin.
–Field Media Level
Teoscar Hernandez belts grand slam as Dodgers rally past Padres
Dylan Cease, Blue Jays shut out Mariners to begin ALCS rematch
