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
England's Reece James (hamstring) doubtful against Mexico
June 6, 2026; Tampa, Florida, U.S.; England’s Reece James celebrates after the match. Mandatory Credit: Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images England defender Reece James has a lingering hamstring injury and is doubtful to play in the Three Lions’ round of 16 match against Mexico on Sunday in Mexico City.
Manager Thomas Tuchel said on Saturday that James would have to get medical clearance to possibly be a substitute for the match after not training fully with the team since the injury in the scoreless draw with Ghana on June 23.
The Chelsea defender, 26, missed the 2-0 group-stage win over Panama on June 27 and the 2-1 victory over the Democratic Republic of the Congo last Wednesday in the round of 32. James was the only player absent from Saturday’s training session in Mexico City, according to a BBC report.
England’s Jarell Quansah, 23, played right-back against Panama before exiting with an ankle injury. The Bayer Leverkusen defender missed the last match against DR Congo but is available to play Sunday, Tuchel said.
“You saw that Jarell trained, Jarell trained fully, is fully available,” Tuchel said. “Reece can maybe make it onto the bench. He needs a last assessment from the doctors and medical opinion if this makes sense.”
Arsenal midfielder Declan Rice, 27, has been dealing with a hamstring issue but is expected to start for England against Mexico, per reports.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Braves' Martin Perez looks to maintain perfect record against Mets
Jun 30, 2026; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; Atlanta Braves starting pitcher Martin Perez (33) throws against the St. Louis Cardinals in the first inning at Truist Park. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-Imagn Images
Veteran Atlanta Braves left-hander Martin Perez will try to maintain his perfect record against the visiting New York Mets on Sunday afternoon when the teams play the third game of their wraparound four-game series.
The Braves have rediscovered their offense. Atlanta hit four homers in Friday’s 5-3 series opener and launched five home runs in Saturday’s 14-3 win.
Perez is 5-0 with a 2.94 ERA in 11 career appearances (seven starts) against the Mets. He beat them in New York on June 13, allowing one run in 5 1/3 innings.
New York right-hander Nolan McLean (5-5, 3.78 ERA) will be matched against Perez (6-5, 3.27).
Perez took a loss in his last start, a 5-3 home setback to St. Louis on Tuesday. He allowed four runs in five innings, all of them coming in one inning when he surrendered a pair of home runs, one of them a three-run shot.
“It was one pitch, really one pitch was three runs,” Atlanta manager Walt Weiss said. “Other that, like he always does, he kept us in the game and worked around some things.”
Since rejoining the starting rotation on May 19, Perez had made eight starts and gone 4-3 with a 4.17 ERA. He has allowed three or fewer runs in six of those appearances.
“It’s obviously a long season and there’s going to be highs and lows,” Perez said. “One of the things this team can focus on is trying to get that momentum swung back this way.”
McLean is coming off a six-inning scoreless effort at Toronto on Tuesday, when he allowed five hits and two walks while striking out seven. It was a nice rebound from his previous start against the Chicago Cubs, when he was tagged for six runs in six innings.
“That’s who he is,” interim Mets manager Andy Green said on Tuesday. “It’s been fun seeing him kind of bounce back from a tougher stretch. I know last game, a little bit was made out of like a couple of home runs that skewed the line, but (today) he was just mixing his pitches incredibly well.”
McLean has made two career starts against Atlanta, going 1-0 with a 3.27 ERA. He started against the Braves on June 12 in New York and did not receive a decision, allowing two runs in four innings.
“He’s got different ways to end at-bats,” Green said. “He was competitive the whole day, he was in the zone the whole day and that was, start to finish, as just clean and dominant as he’s been all year, so it was awesome.”
The Atlanta offense has come to life and scored at least five runs in each of the last four games, three of them wins. Austin Riley hit a three-run homer on Saturday to end a 36-game homerless streak; his last homer had been May 20 at Miami.
A bright spot for the Mets continues to be Carson Benge. He singled on Saturday and has hit safely in nine straight and reached base safely in 16 consecutive games. Shortstop Francisco Lindor was back in the leadoff spot and had two hits.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Nats' Cade Cavalli takes mound vs. Pirates as he awaits suspension appeal
Jun 25, 2026; Washington, District of Columbia, USA; Washington Nationals pitcher Cade Cavalli (24) throws to the Philadelphia Phillies during the first inning at Nationals Park. Mandatory Credit: Brad Mills-Imagn Images The Pittsburgh Pirates will look to keep manufacturing runs as they go for a series win on the road against the Washington Nationals on Sunday.
In Saturday’s 7-1 win, the Pirates did all their damage without an extra-base hit. Pittsburgh had 11 singles — four of which didn’t leave the infield — and stole four bases.
The ability to generate offense by stringing together hits, taking extra bases and swiping bags is a trait Pirates manager Don Kelly said has become a strength.
“We have a lot of resilience,” Kelly said. “We’ve talked about how we’ve shown the ability to bounce back.”
The Pirates shook up their bullpen prior to Saturday’s game. Evan Sisk (left elbow inflammation) was placed on the 15-day injured list, and Hunter Stratton was recalled from Triple-A Indianapolis. The right-handed reliever developed a two-seam fastball while in the minors.
“(It’s) something that goes arm-side,” Stratton said. “I think it’s really going to help me moving forward.”
The Pirates selected Stratton in the 16th round of the 2017 MLB Draft and he appeared in 47 games between 2023 and 2025. He was reacquired in a trade with the Braves on June 18 and is looking forward to helping stabilize the Pirates’ bullpen.
“Everybody has been great,” Stratton said. “They’ve welcomed me. I’m just happy to be back. I can go out there, have quick innings and fill up the zone. Just help in any way I can.”
Bubba Chandler (3-8, 4.62 ERA) is scheduled to start for Pittsburgh. The right-hander’s last outing was in an 8-0 road loss to the Philadelphia Phillies on Monday. Chandler allowed five earned runs — his most since April 23 — on seven hits over 6 1/3 innings.
He’s made one career start against the Nationals and is 0-0 with a 1.50 ERA. He has walked none and struck out seven. Chandler has lasted at least five innings in his last eight starts.
The Nationals are set to give the ball to right-hander Cade Cavalli (5-4, 3.69), who tossed a gem in his last outing. Cavalli held the Boston Red Sox to one run on one hit with no walks and 13 strikeouts in an 8-1 win on Tuesday.
Cavalli is making the start as he appeals a seven-game suspension issued after a bench-clearing incident against the Red Sox which resulted from him taunting Willson Contreras after striking him out.
Cavalli has two career starts against the Pirates and is 0-1 with a 9.95 ERA. His last appearance against Pittsburgh was on April 13 where he was tagged with the loss, lasting 1 1/3 innings and giving up four runs on three hits with three walks and two strikeouts.
After James Wood crushed a first-pitch fastball to deep right field in the first inning on Saturday, the Nationals’ bats went quiet. Wood’s 23rd homer accounted for the lone extra-base hit of the six hits Washington managed.
Nationals manager Blake Butera said he wants the club’s leadoff hitter to get as many at-bats as possible.
“Woody is a really good hitter,” Butera said. “When we get him up to the plate as many times as possible, we like our chances.”
After piling up 12 hits in the 9-5 series-opening win, Wood said the Washington hitters have to wisely choose the pitches they want to drive.
“We need to take the same approach,” Wood said. “Be disciplined and get a good pitch to hit.”
–Field Level Media
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England's Reece James (hamstring) doubtful against Mexico
