Sports
Mariners see reasons for optimism heading into series against Giants
Seattle Mariners center fielder Julio Rodriguez talks to manager Dan Wilson after being hit by a pitch during a Major League Baseball game against the Cleveland Guardians on June 27, 2026, at Progressive Field in Cleveland. The Guardians won, 4-3. Leave it to Jerry Dipoto to look on the bright side.
“If the season ended today, somehow, magically, we’re in the playoffs,” said Dipoto, the Seattle Mariners’ president of baseball operations.
For as much hand-wringing there has been in the Pacific Northwest about the Mariners’ dreary season, Dipoto is correct.
The defending American League West champions return to play after the All-Star break with a three-game interleague series against the visiting San Francisco Giants beginning Friday.
The underperforming Mariners (48-49) open the unofficial second half of the season 1 1/2 games behind Texas in the division and tied with Minnesota for the league’s third and final wild-card berth.
“In general, I think the pitching staff continues to do the things that are required to play into the postseason, and that makes us feel really confident that eventually we will figure ourselves out,” Dipoto said. “But you know the rest of our group — our decision-making, our roster composition, it all needs to be better than it’s been. And that’s for me, that’s for the staff, that’s for the players to figure out.
“I don’t think there’s a single one of us who doesn’t share in the responsibility of finding the answers to how we got here.”
The Mariners snapped a five-game losing streak on the eve of the break, beating host Tampa Bay 8-2 on Sunday.
“It was a tough road trip from beginning to end, but a good way to end it,” Mariners manager Dan Wilson said. “Our guys continued to push, and they understood how important it was to continue to fight. … They executed, they took good at-bats and drove in the runs when we needed to drive them in. That’s something that we haven’t been able to do.”
The Mariners could get a boost Friday from the return of center fielder Julio Rodriguez, who has been out since July 3 because of a concussion he sustained when hit by a thrown ball in the back of the helmet while sliding into second base.
Despite winning their final two games before the break against visiting Colorado, the Giants (41-55) are 19 1/2 games behind in the National League West and 10 1/2 back in the NL wild-card race.
“A learning experience, for sure,” rookie Giants manager Tony Vitello said of the first half. “You look at the personnel, it doesn’t make sense. You look at the way we played some days, it doesn’t make sense, but it’s baseball. We haven’t found that winning formula day in and day out.”
The Giants’ erratic offense is tied for 24th in MLB in runs scored (395) and the pitching staff’s 4.46 ERA ranks 22nd.
“We haven’t put ourselves in a good position,” All-Star right-hander Logan Webb said. “That’s pretty truthful, right? It’s not like we’ve played very well. I think we all just have to take a step back, look in the mirror and say, ‘What do we want to be? What do we want to be as a team? How do we want teams to view us when we come to town or they come to town?'”
The series opener is set to feature a pair of right-handers in the Giants’ Landen Roupp (6-8, 4.27 ERA) against the Mariners’ Bryce Miller (4-3, 2.18).
Roupp is coming off the longest start of his career as he beat visiting Toronto 10-1 on July 6 when he allowed one run on three hits over eight innings, with five strikeouts. He’s 0-0 with a 0.00 ERA in one career appearance against Seattle, pitching one inning on Aug. 23, 2024.
Miller had his worst start of the season July 9 in Miami when he gave up six runs (four earned) over five innings of an 8-4 defeat. He’d allowed as many as three earned runs in only one of his previous nine appearances this season. Miller is 0-1 with a 6.75 ERA in one previous start against San Francisco in April 2025.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Twins, Cubs enter series hoping All-Star break didn't cool them off
Jul 1, 2026; Chicago, Illinois, USA; Chicago Cubs pitcher Colin Rea (53) delivers the ball during the first inning against the San Diego Padres at Wrigley Field. Mandatory Credit: Matt Marton-Imagn Images The Chicago Cubs entered the All-Star break on a red-hot streak.
After a few days off, they will hit the play button and try to pick up from where they paused the action.
The Cubs will welcome the Minnesota Twins to open a three-game interleague series beginning Friday night at Wrigley Field. Chicago was 34-34 on June 10 but finished the final month before the break on a 20-8 run to jump 12 games above .500.
Now comes the more intense part of the season as the Cubs eye a postseason run.
“We’re OK with where we’re at,” outfielder Michael Conforto said. “We’re still hungry to play better. … We feel like we haven’t played up to our potential yet.”
Chicago sits five games behind the first-place Milwaukee Brewers in the National League Central. The Cubs are counting on a big second half to reach the playoffs for the second consecutive year.
“The way I look at it is we’re in such a good place and I feel like we haven’t played that well yet,” shortstop Dansby Swanson said. “There’s been a lot of guys, offensively, underperforming from what they’re used to. You could even say that about the pitching side.
“There’s so much room for this team to continue to grow and get better and play better, and it’ll be a fun second half.”
Minnesota will look to spoil the Cubs’ fun this weekend.
The Twins also entered the All-Star break on a high note after winning nine of their final 13. They won back-to-back games against the Los Angeles Angels just before the break to climb within one game of .500. Minnesota sits three games back of the American League Central lead and is in the thick of the AL wild-card chase.
That might not seem like a big deal for some teams, but it’s great news for Minnesota, which entered the season with low expectations. A strong resumption of the season after the All-Star break could help management decide to be a buyer at the trade deadline instead of trading away veterans as it did a season ago.
For the moment, general manager Jeremy Zoll is watching and waiting.
“There’s still a lot of games left to unfold and teams aren’t really making those declarations (about who is available) until the last possible minute,” Zoll said. “And in turn, you need the full market to develop to be able to have things happen.
“So we’re continuing to evaluate things. The team is on a nice run here. … So we’re really excited about that to continue to progress and hopefully have a good showing … and go from there.”
Cubs right-hander Colin Rea (7-5, 4.75 ERA) will take the mound to start the series. He is 5 1/3 innings shy of reaching the 100-inning milestone for the fourth straight year.
In two career starts against Minnesota, Rea is 1-1 with a 3.75 ERA.
The Twins will counter with right-hander Bailey Ober (6-3, 4.40), who will make his second start since returning from the injured list. He allowed one run on three hits in five innings of a 5-2 loss against the Cleveland Guardians on July 9.
Ober, who was on the IL with right elbow inflammation and a mild flexor strain, has never faced the Cubs in his career.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Whitecaps-Fire match postponed due to air quality conditions
Jul 16, 2026; Chicago, Illinois, USA; Soldier Field and the Chicago skyline are obscured by wildfire smoke. A planned soccer match between the Chicago Fire and Vancouver Whitecaps FC was rescheduled due to poor air quality conditions in the Chicago area. Mandatory Credit: Talia Sprague-Imagn Images Thursday’s match between the Vancouver Whitecaps and host Chicago Fire was postponed until Oct. 6. The local air quality was deemed to be too dangerous for players and fans to attend the outdoor event at Soldier Field, as Chicago and much of the Great Lakes area has been impacted by wildfire smoke.
The match is the only scheduled meeting between the Whitecaps and Fire this season. The rescheduled Oct. 6 date sits between a bye week for the two clubs, as Vancouver and Chicago each weren’t slated to play between Sept. 26 and Oct. 10.
“We share our fans’ disappointment, especially given the excitement surrounding our first match back following the FIFA World Cup break and the anticipation of welcoming more than 40,000 fans to Soldier Field,” said Chicago president of business operations Dave Baldwin.
“While we know this decision is disappointing, health and safety must come first,” Baldwin added. “We appreciate our fans’ understanding and look forward to welcoming them back soon.”
The delay means that MLS hiatus for the World Cup will extend a bit longer for the two clubs. The Whitecaps and Fire each had their last regular-season match on May 23. Vancouver will now return to action on July 22 in a road match with FC Cincinnati, while the Fire visit Inter Miami on the same day.
–Field Level Media
Sports
MLS-leading Nashville out to extend Atlanta United's struggles
May 17, 2026; Nashville, Tennessee, USA; Nashville SC midfielder Hany Mukhtar (10) celebrates with forward Warren Madrigal (41), midfielder Bryan Acosta (6) and midfielder Ahmed Qasem (37) after scoring a goal against Los Angeles Football Club during the second half at Geodis Park. Mandatory Credit: Alan Poizner-Imagn Images With the best record in MLS as the season resumes, Nashville SC is in go-for-it mode.
Ahead of its home match Friday night against Atlanta United, Nashville has added to an already formidable roster by signing Tunisian winger Elias Saad and 21-year-old midfielder Famara Camara of Senegal.
Already stocked with four All-Star selections — the most of any team — Nashville (10-1-3, 33 points) beefed up its attacking arsenal by acquiring Saad from FC Augsburg of the German Bundesliga.
Nashville owns a plus-20 goal differential, second only to Vancouver (22), and is top five in MLS in goals scored (31), fewest goals against (11) and possession (55%).
“We are an exciting team,” coach BJ Callaghan said. “We are a team that wants to attack. We play exciting games.”
Hany Mukhtar (six goals, five assists), Sam Surridge (nine goals), Andy Najar (five assists) and goalkeeper Brian Schwake (35 saves, six clean sheets) are the team’s All-Stars. It’s the fifth selection for Mukhtar, the second apiece for Surridge and Najar and the first for Schwake.
While Nashville is riding high into the second half, Atlanta (3-9-2, 11 points) is stuck in 14th in the East, seven points out of the final playoff spot. There’s time for Atlanta to make a push but not a lot to indicate that it can.
Its 14 goals are tied for last in the 30-team league and goalkeeper Lucas Hoyos has conceded 23 goals while making 34 saves. Outside of Aleksey Miranchuk’s five goals, no one else has tallied more than two.
Like Nashville, Atlanta has added to its roster after the break. Chilean defender Paulo Diaz and Paraguayan defender Junior Alonso figure to shore up weaknesses on the backline. Alonso helped his country shock Germany in the round of 32 at the World Cup.
Atlanta chief soccer officer and sporting director Chris Henderson said Alonso is a hard-working defender.
“He’ll add solidarity and stability to our backline,” Henderson said. “He’s a natural leader.”
–Field Level Media
Twins, Cubs enter series hoping All-Star break didn't cool them off
Whitecaps-Fire match postponed due to air quality conditions
