Kozzy-conscious Blues left pointing fingers, shaking heads and bumping into one another as Melbourne celebrate Max Gawn’s 250th in style
Carlton games usually come with a sense of impending doom. They’ll ping the gates. They’ll crash and they’ll bang. They’ll do all the things the coach values. But their opponents know, and the Blues fans certainly know, that the key to beating Carlton is to absorb what they throw at you, to lay back on the ropes, to let them tire themselves out and to unleash.
The evidence has been there for years now – their failure to run out games, their woeful skills under fatigue, and their ongoing inability or unwillingness to adapt when the opposition gets a run on. On Sunday, in their 11.11 (77) to 15.10 (100) loss to Melbourne, you could add another factor to the mix – the presence, the power and the raw talent of Kysaiah Pickett.
Mar 28, 2026; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia Phillies starting pitcher Aaron Nola (27) throws a pitch against the Texas Rangers in the first inning at Citizens Bank Park. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Ross-Imagn Images | Kyle Ross-Imagn Images
Somewhere, at some point, Bob Uecker would have been proud of that game yesterday.
Except for that whole getting a second hit thing in the ninth inning. Thanks, Alec, for ruining my joke for today. And, you know, the rest of the team for making it a ballgame.
BALTIMORE, MD - MARCH 26: Shane Baz #34 of the Baltimore Orioles takes the floor before the game between the Minnesota Twins and the Baltimore Orioles at Oriole Park at Camden Yards on Thursday, March 26, 2026 in Baltimore, Maryland. (Photo by Hannah Foslien/MLB Photos via Getty Images) | MLB Photos via Getty Images
Hello, friends.
The Orioles just can’t let us feel good about them for long, huh? The vibes were great yesterday afternoon around the Shane Baz contract extension, with excitement for the near future of the team from the front office and from a good number of the players. If only they could have sustained those good vibes through even one more game after that. Instead, the Orioles turned in a stinker of a 4-1 loss to the Twins to fall to 1-1 on the year. Check out my recap of the game for more of the not-so-lovely totals.
Anybody who is my age or younger has been prepared for this kind of thing by a lifetime of being Orioles fans. Nothing good lasts for long and plenty of times things have come along within 24 hours to squash fun vibes. This is only the latest example. Baz has the opportunity to bring the good vibes back here this afternoon, if he can turn in a good outing in his first game in an Orioles uniform.
It’s still kind of wild for me to think about, but Baz got that contract extension before ever throwing a pitch for the team. Mike Elias really likes this guy. This is not a guarantee of success. Sometimes Elias likes guys based on thinking they’ll be better than they have been and it doesn’t work out that way. Sometimes he likes guys based on thinking they’ll be about what they have been in the past and that doesn’t work out either. The guy has a solid track record overall, but there are glaring gaps and one of those is building a quality starting rotation.
Getting Baz locked up could be the first sign of starting to bring some stability into that group. Getting way ahead of ourselves, just based on who has major league experience and will still be available to the Orioles next year, they’ve got Kyle Bradish, Baz, and Dean Kremer. That’s potentially not a bad 60% of a rotation. If one of the team’s pitching prospects can fill a spot better than the previous wave’s guys like Cade Povich and Brandon Young did, then there’s only one hole to fill. That’s a whole lot better than having to sign two guys and trade for a third guy every winter.
Of course, two games into this 2026 season, there hasn’t been too much cause for worrying about the rotation yet. It’s an offense that’s not looking like much has changed from the last season and a half worth of Orioles baseball that feels like a problem. You can make excuses for this if you want, particularly yesterday when it was the 10th-coldest game start temperature in Oriole Park at Camden Yards history. Warmer weather is coming as soon as today, so this excuse pretty much expired already. Until they do enough to change the story, it’s the same story.
Orioles stuff you might have missed
You know who wants to talk some about the Shane Baz press conference? Everybody whose job it is to cover the Orioles on a regular basis.
There really is a lot to digest about it. Yes, it’s a further sign that something different is happening now than we got accustomed to with contracts before Rubenstein took over. It shows that the Orioles might actually invest in their rotation. There is hope for extensions for any non-Boras client who the O’s deem worth it. It seems like there is excitement both in the Orioles clubhouse and front office for these things happening. That’s all cool. It would just be a lot more cool if they built on these good feelings with how they played on the field yesterday.
Joseph Dzierwa headlines the Orioles next wave of pitching prospects (Baseball America) Subscription required for this one. The pitcher had a phenomenal appearance in the Spring Breakout game and if he carries that forward into the minor league season, that’s going to get mighty interesting in a hurry.
Birthdays and Orioles anniversaries
The Orioles last won a game on this day just last year, when they beat the Blue Jays, 9-5, to improve to 2-1 for the season. Just four of the seventeen players who appeared for the Orioles that day are on the 26-man roster right now. Jordan Westburg had four hits, including a pair of homers.
One lone former Oriole was born on this day: 1989-91 infielder Juan Bell. He passed away in 2016 at the age of 48.
Is today your birthday? Happy birthday to you! Your birthday buddies for today include: 10th president John Tyler (1790), baseball Hall of Famer Cy Young (1867), actress Amy Sedaris (1961), model Elle Macpherson (1964), and actress Lucy Lawless (1968).
On this day in history…
In 1461, the two sides of England’s Wars of the Roses fought the Battle of Towton. The York contingent, led by Edward, defeated the Lancastrian force of Queen Margaret, leading to Edward being crowned as Edward IV and the wars being interrupted for nine years.
In 1847, during the Mexican-American War, American military forces captured the city of Veracruz following a siege.
In 1961, upon ratification by the state of Ohio, the Twenty-third Amendment to the Constitution, which grants electoral votes to the District of Columbia, took effect. Maryland was seventh to ratify, about two months earlier.
In 1971, Lt. William Calley was convicted of 22 counts of premeditated murder for his role in the My Lai Massacre in Vietnam three years earlier. He served three days in prison before being released to house arrest under order of President Nixon, and ultimately served three years of house arrest for these murders.
In 1984, the Mayflower vans pulled out from the Baltimore Colts facility, marking the end of the Baltimore Colts and the beginning of the Indianapolis team that bears the same name.
A random Orioles trivia question
I received a random book of Orioles trivia questions for Christmas. I’ll ask a question each time it’s my turn in this space until I run out of questions or forget. It’s probably going to be run out of questions. Since I’m skipping stupid questions, repeat questions, and questions about the St. Louis Browns (it’s not a good book of trivia), we’re already up to 77, which is this:
Who had the lowest earned run average on the 1970 Orioles staff?
I will add the hint that this is inclusive of relievers.
**
And that’s the way it is in Birdland on March 29. Have a safe Sunday. Go O’s!
Wembanyama has been a key figure for the Spurs this season [Getty Images]
The Milwaukee Bucks will miss the NBA play-offs for the first time in 10 years following a 127-95 defeat by the San Antonio Spurs.
The Bucks have lost nine of their past 11 games and were without their star Giannis Antetokounmpo for the sixth game in a row as he continues his recovery from a knee injury.
It was an eighth consecutive win for the Spurs as they remain hot on the heels of defending champions Oklahoma City Thunder for both the top seed in the Western Conference and the best record in the league.
The Spurs are two games behind the Thunder with eight games left to play.
The play-in tournament begins on 14 April, with the playoffs starting four days later.
Stephon Castle had his fourth triple-double of the season - 22 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists - and was among seven Spurs players who scored in double figures led by Victor Wembanyama, who had 23 points and 15 rebounds.
Last week, Bucks head coach Doc Rivers rejected a claim by the National Basketball Players Association that his side were keeping a healthy Antetokounmpo out of games against the wishes of the 10-time All-Star and two-time league MVP.
"He's not [healthy]," Rivers said when asked about the NBPA's assertion that the 31-year-old is healthy and not being allowed to play so the Bucks can improve their NBA Draft lottery positioning by tanking.
(Original Caption) St. Louis: Bill Walton, UCLA, shooting a foul shot during NCAA Finals against Memphis State.
The late Bill Walton occupies a unique place in basketball history. He ranks with the greatest centers – Bill Russell, Wilt Chamberlain, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, and Hakeem Olajuwon, among others – but injuries greatly limited his career.
But when he was healthy, he was indisputably great.
Boston Celtics teammate Robert Parish was speaking to former Celtic Cedric Maxwell recently and said as much. He talked about how much Walton pushed him in practice, how he made him a better player.
Keep in mind that this was quite late in his career. Walton won the title as a Portland Trail Blazer in 1977, but played in just 65 games.
He only topped 60 games three times in his NBA career, but made 80 in 1986 with Boston, where he helped the Celtics win the championship for his second ring.
In college, Walton was a massive success. He was probably the most fundamentally sound big man who ever played the game, and his best game came in the 1972 championship game against Memphis State.
In a legendary performance, Walton scored 44 points while shooting 21-22 from the floor. That’s 95.5%. He also had four shots waved off as offensive goaltending.
Toss in 13 rebounds, two assists, and a block, and it was the greatest performance in the Final Four, and it’s not particularly close.
The great shame about Walton’s career is that his bones just proved too fragile for him to play much. He had dozens of surgeries and at one point, seriously considered suicide to escape the constant pain. He found joy again and was a lively, if eccentric, presence on basketball broadcasts.
He found answers, though, and lived until 2024, passing away from colorectal cancer.
Despite becoming a March Madness fixture, the Tennessee Vols have never, in their history, made the Final Four. Despite a pedigree of modest success, including 11 regular season SEC titles and and five conference tournament championships (most recently in 2022), Tennessee has not been able to cross the threshold to college basketball's most coveted weekend.
The Barnes era marks the closest Tennessee has come, with consistency, even though its best shot arguably came before Barnes' time. The Vols' first Elite Eight trip was under Bruce Pearl in 2010, while Barnes was still roaming the Longhorns bench in Texas.
Barnes has taken Tennessee to the 2024, 2025, and 2026 Elite Eights. There's an argument to be made 2026 is his most impressive run yet, as a No. 6 seed in the Midwest bracket.
The Vols went as a No. 2 seed in both 2024 and 2025, ultimately losing to the No. 1 seeds of their respective brackets in the Elite Eight. While it could be easy to think it will be more of the same Sunday against No. 1 Michigan, Tennessee has now taken down No. 3 Virginia and No. 2 Iowa State to get to this point. So perhaps one more upset is in store.
Has Tennessee basketball ever made a Final Four?
Tennessee has not made a Final Four in its history, making it one of five SEC schools to not get to the national semifinal round.
The others are Missouri, Mississippi, Texas A&M, and Vanderbilt. Alabama basketball made its first Final Four in 2024.
Tennessee basketball Elite Eight record
The Vols are 0-4 in the Elite Eight, with losses in 2010, 2024, 2025, and 2026.
Here's a look at their full history in the fourth full round of the tournament.
2010: No. 5 Michigan State 70, No. 6 Tennessee 69
2024: No. 1 Purdue 72, No. 2 Tennessee 66
2025: No. 1 Houston 69, No. 2 Tennessee 50
2026: TBD, vs. No. 1 Michigan
Rick Barnes Elite Eight record
Barnes is not just defined by his career at Tennessee. He does have a Final Four appearance, winning his first Elite Eight game with Texas in 2003. Since then, though, he is 0-4 in the Elite Eight, with two losses at both Texas and Tennessee.
SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA - MARCH 25: José Caballero #72 of the New York Yankees embraces Austin Wells #28 and Jazz Chisholm Jr. #13 after scoring against the San Francisco Giants during the second inning on Opening Day at Oracle Park on March 25, 2026 in San Francisco, California. (Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Three games, three wins! It’s hard to do much better than that, the Yankees starting off their season with a sweep for the second year in a row. The shape of the sweep was much different this time around though, as this season’s Yankees have used phenomenal pitching to quell the Giants, while the 2025 squad absolutely pummeled the Brewers into submission. The team is in a groove, but the thing about the early season is that it can take a moment for the schedule to get rolling; the Yankees have their second off-day of the year today, and they’ll have three breathers interspersed through the first six days of the season. So rest up, before we head to Seattle for a few late nights with the Mariners.
On the site today, Peter has you handled for the Rivalry Roundup, and he also has the next entry in our Yankees Birthday series, profiling pitcher Herb McQuaid. Also, in the afternoon John spins around opening week on Yankees social media.
BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS - NOVEMBER 26: Jaylen Brown #7 of the Boston Celtics dribbles the ball to the basket against Cade Cunningham #2 of the Detroit Pistons during the second half at the TD Garden on November 26, 2025 in Boston, Massachusetts. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Brian Fluharty/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Jaylen Brown had some things to say about the NBA’s regular season awards on Wednesday.
In the wake of Cade Cunningham’s lung collapse, robbing him of consideration for All-NBA and MVP awards, Jaylen Brown reminded everyone that back when the 65-game minimum threshold was written into the current CBA—by the NBPA and the league—it was met with largely unalloyed approval from fans and players alike.
We felt that players should be expected to appear in a significant majority of their team’s game in order to qualify for season awards that are, after all, awards for performance over the entire season.
On his Twitch stream, Brown said, “You can’t have dudes playing 45-50 games and winning First-Team All-NBA. You basically came to work half the time and got rewarded for it.”
And that, friends, is the rub.
Consider a pile of sand.
Remove one grain.
Is it still a pile of sand?
Yes?
Remove another grain.
Is it still a pile of sand?
Yes?
Remove another grain.
At some point in time, your pile of sand will stop being a pile of sand.
And so it goes with this notion that there shouldn’t be any game limit for regular season awards. You can say that you don’t think there should be a limit, but common sense dictates that there is, in fact, a limit.
After all, absent any limits, you could make a case for an All-NBA nod for a guy who plays one game, scores 40 points, and then tears his ACL in his next game out. I mean, the guy has a 40 PPG average!
Obviously, no one who wants the games played limit abolished would say that a guy who plays a single game deserves consideration for All-NBA status, which means that they have a games played limit—even if they don’t admit to it.
The only thing this dictated games played limit does is put the limit out there in the open for everyone to apply. It doesn’t establish a limit, it standardizes it.
It stops voters from shading things so that they’ll give LeBron consideration for All-NBA status (played in 53 games so far), while dismissing Victor Wembanyama—who’s been subject to more obvious load management—and who’s appeared in five more games than LeBron thus far.
This way, the arbitrary rule—and it is as arbitrary as most rules of this sort are—is at least universally arbitrary.
The fact that some players are going to be ineligible due to the existence of the rule is hardly a plausible argument against the existence of that rule. The whole point of rules is to set boundaries, to establish limits. Rules define things, and definitions, by their very nature, exclude as well as include.
That some of these players received consideration in the past despite missing a significant number of games is not an argument in favor of abolishing this rule, and the fact that some players have been hampered by injuries is, to be blunt, the nature of the game.
Look, if you play in fifty games and look absolutely amazing in those 50 games, and because of you, your team wins most of those games handily, that’s great. But what are you doing for your team during the 32 games you missed? Nothing. What are you doing as far as performance against your peers in those games? Nothing.
That’s what matters in this debate—and what gets overlooked—when you’re not playing, you’re not contributing, and when you’re not contributing, you shouldn’t be accruing “points” towards regular season awards.
Basketball in the NBA is a mass-produced commodity. In the course of the regular season almost 60,000 minutes of basketball are manufactured and consumed. When you’re playing, you’re putting something out there that can be evaluated, measured, weighed and considered in context. When you’re not, you’re not.
Yes, there’s a laundry list of name brand players who are either ineligible for these awards or are on the cusp of ineligibility this season, but the thing about these awards is that they are supposed to be about what you do, not who you are.
SAN FRANCISCO, CA - MARCH 25: Austin Wells #28 high-fives Camilo Doval #75 of the New York Yankees to celebrate a win after the game between the New York Yankees and the San Francisco Giants at Oracle Park on Wednesday, March 25, 2026 in San Francisco, California. (Photo by Kavin Mistry/MLB Photos via Getty Images) | MLB Photos via Getty Images
The Athletic | Chris Kirschner: The streak came to an end after the Giants scored in the third inning on Saturday, but the Yankees opened the season with 20 consecutive scoreless innings, including two shutouts in the first two games. Even missing some of the most important pieces through injury, Yankees’ pitching — from Max Fried and Cam Schlittler to the bullpen — made a historic start to the 2026 season.
Newsday | Erik Boland: Camilo Doval was one of a couple relievers acquired by the Yankees at the trade deadline in 2025, as they tried to remake a struggling bullpen. He was a bit of a disappointment on that front last year, but so far this year, he’s looked the pitcher the Yankees were looking to acquire.
NJ.com | Randy Miller: The Yankees’ opening series of the season against the Giants brought a reunion with the team’s former center fielder Harrison Bader. Despite a solid playoff run in 2022, Bader’s stint in the Bronx did not go as he or the team wanted, leading to them eventually waiving him in 2023. However, Bader still carries with him lessons he learned in the Bronx, specifically from captain Aaron Judge.
New York Post | Joel Sherman: Heading into the 2026 season — barring horrible injuries or unforeseen sudden dropoffs — Aaron Judge and Paul Goldschmidt seem like the only future Hall of Fame locks on the 2026 Yankees. However, Giancarlo Stanton and Gerrit Cole are knocking on the door too, and then could improve their cases with good seasons and a ring in 2026.
Test gloveman Alex Carey’s century has left the Sheffield Shield final on a knife’s edge as Victoria head into the final day at the Junction Oval needing 94 runs for the title with five wickets in hand.
Vancouver Canucks (21-43-8, in the Pacific Division) vs. Vegas Golden Knights (32-26-16, in the Pacific Division)
Paradise, Nevada; Monday, 10 p.m. EDT
BOTTOM LINE: The Vegas Golden Knights look to end a three-game slide when they play the Vancouver Canucks.
Vegas is 32-26-16 overall with a 10-5-5 record in Pacific Division games. The Golden Knights have a 31-6-10 record in games they score three or more goals.
Vancouver has gone 21-43-8 overall with a 5-12-2 record in Pacific Division play. The Canucks have a -91 scoring differential, with 180 total goals scored and 271 conceded.
Monday's game is the second time these teams match up this season. The Golden Knights won the last meeting 5-2.
TOP PERFORMERS: Mark Stone has 23 goals and 40 assists for the Golden Knights. Pavel Dorofeyev has four goals and five assists over the last 10 games.
Filip Hronek has eight goals and 32 assists for the Canucks. Marco Rossi has scored three goals with seven assists over the last 10 games.
LAST 10 GAMES: Golden Knights: 3-5-2, averaging 2.3 goals, 3.6 assists, 4.7 penalties and 11.5 penalty minutes while giving up 2.5 goals per game.
Canucks: 2-7-1, averaging 2.1 goals, 3.8 assists, 3.3 penalties and 11.2 penalty minutes while giving up 3.6 goals per game.
INJURIES: Golden Knights: William Karlsson: out (lower body), Carter Hart: out (leg), Jonas Rondbjerg: out (lower body).
Canucks: Thatcher Demko: out for season (hip), Derek Forbort: out (undisclosed), Filip Chytil: out (face).
___
The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.
SAN FRANCISCO — Before the automated ball-strike system came into play in real games that counted, the Yankees spent plenty of mornings this spring talking about it.
“We had too many meetings about it, in my opinion,” Aaron Judge said with a grin.
Judge was at least partly joking — “It’s all good stuff,” he later added — but the early returns have been strong.
In their season-opening sweep of the Giants, the Yankees went 5-for-6 in ABS challenges, including 3-for-3 on Saturday, with each of them coming in key moments in a 3-1 win at Oracle Park.
The first came in Trent Grisham’s at-bat with one out in the third inning, when Tyler Mahle threw a 2-2 pitch that home plate umpire Chad Whitson called strike three.
But Grisham challenged the pitch and it proved to be high, turning into ball three on the way to a walk, allowing him to later score on Ben Rice’s two-out, two-run double.
“That sets up a lot right there,” manager Aaron Boone said.
Austin Wells was responsible for the other two, helping out his relievers. In the seventh inning of a 3-1 game, Jake Bird threw an 0-1 pitch to Casey Schmitt that Whitson called a ball. But Wells challenged it, turning it into a strike and one pitch later, Schmitt struck out.
Austin Wells (left) celebrates with closer David Bednar after the Yankees’ 3-1 win over the Giants at Oracle Park on March 28, 2026 in San Francisco. AP
Tim Hill then entered to face Jung Hoo Lee and threw an 0-2 pitch that Whitson deemed a ball, only for Wells to challenge it and get a called third strike that ended the frame.
“I love what I’m seeing from Austin Wells back there, overturning a couple big calls to shift the momentum onto our side,” Aaron Judge said.
Carlos Rodón is expected to make his next outing back in Tampa on Sunday or Monday, another live batting practice (or extended spring game) as he continues his buildup from October surgery to shave down a bone spur and remove loose bodies.
The left-hander threw three innings and about 40 pitches on Tuesday, so he could build to about 50 pitches in his next outing.
It seems plausible that his next start after that would be on a rehab assignment, though Boone was not yet ready to make that official on Saturday.
Gerrit Cole is also expected to throw live back in Tampa in the coming days, though he noted after his last start on Tuesday in Arizona that he expects to go through a deload period before starting his own rehab assignment.
The win marked Boone’s 700th as manager, making him the seventh Yankees manager to reach that milestone, joining Joe McCarthy, Joe Torre, Casey Stengel, Miller Huggins, Ralph Houk and Joe Girardi.
Though the Golden Knights were able to salvage a point in Saturday's 5-4 shootout loss to the Washington Capitals, defenseman Rasmus Andersson summed it in four words.
"We need two points," said Andersson, who contributed to a four-goal outburst that erased Washington's three-goal lead.
The Capitals took a 3-0 lead early in the second period, but Vegas clawed its way back with four unanswered goals to take a 4-3 lead just 31 seconds into the third period.
Former Capital Nic Dowd, Andersson, Jack Eichel and Mitch Marner scored for the Knights, who lost for the 12th time in 16 games since Feb. 27.
""It feels like we're limping along, but parts of our game are really good," Vegas coach Bruce Cassidy said. "We just got to tie it all together."
The Golden Knights are still in third place in the Pacific Division with 80 points, three behind the streaking second-place Edmonton Oilers and four in front of the Los Angeles Kings.
KEY MOMENT
After a brutal collision with Washington's Aliaksei Protas that sent both players to the locker room with a little more than one minute left in the first period, Dowd returned with stitches above his left eye and ignited Vegas with his first goal as a member of the Golden Knights.
Vegas acquired Dowd from Washington in exchange for goaltender Jesper Vikman, a third-round pick in the 2027 NHL Entry Draft, and a second-round pick in the 2029 NHL Entry Draft on March 5.
"Just felt good to get on the board and hear the building erupt," Dowd said. "You know, feel like you're contributing. As a hockey player, you want to feel like you can contribute to the team, and in that moment, that's how it felt."
KEY STAT
1 ... After outshooting the Capitals 28-17 in regulation, including 12-6 in the first and 10-5 in the second, the Golden Knights managed just one shot on goal in overtime, while the Capitals had four. The Golden Knights are now 8-16 overall in games that have gone past regulation.
WHAT A KNIGHT
Andersson finished with a goal and an assist, giving him 40 points for the season. Andersson followed Dowd's goal to close the gap to one goal when he took a pass from Eichel at the red line, raced through two defenders and around a third before victimizing former Knight Logan Thompson with a backhand-forehand deke.
"There's reason he's a player that he is, and you know, he made a great play," Dowd said about Andersson. "(He) got us into that 3-2 spot, and then the building erupted again. And you could just feel there was energy that we were lacking early."
UP NEXT
The Golden Knights will play their third of a four-game homestand on Monday, when they'll host the Vancouver Canucks.
PHOTO CAPTION: Washington Capitals center Dylan Strome (17) scores against Vegas Golden Knights goaltender Adin Hill (33) during a shoot-out at T-Mobile Arena.
SEATTLE, WASHINGTON - MARCH 28: Bryan Woo #22 of the Seattle Mariners reacts after getting an out during the fifth inning against the Cleveland Guardians at T-Mobile Park on March 28, 2026 in Seattle, Washington. (Photo by Olivia Vanni/Getty Images) | Getty Images
The Mariners picked up their first singles of the season but couldn’t get much action until too late.
The Mariners entered the ninth inning Saturday with six hits and six walks and just two runs to show for it. They trailed the Guardians 3-2 when Cole Young leadoff the inning by plopping a a soft liner down the left field line for a double. Ryan Bliss tried to bunt him over for some reason but couldn’t get it down and struck out. Cal Raleigh struck out behind him.
That brought Julio Rodríguez to the plate. He fell behind 1-2 against dominant Guardians’ closer Cade Smith. Then he got a fastball up and in and laced his first hit of the season back up the middle to tie the game.
The Mariners would go on to lose 6-5.
Dan Wilson turned to Andrés Muñoz in the 10th to preserve the new tie. Steven Kwan laid down a sacrifice bunt up the third base line; Brendan Donovan charged, scooped, and threw the ball into right field, scoring the Manfred Man from second and allowing Kwan to replace him there. Rookie Chase DeLauter stepped to the plate and crushed his fourth homer of the year the other way, giving the Guardians a 6-3 lead.
Luke Raley answered in the bottom of the inning. With the Manfred Man on and one out, he got a fastball up and away and pulled it into the right-center stands for his third home run of the year, cutting the lead to 6-5.
Leo Rivas and Young each struck out to end the game.
The Mariners lineup entered the day having yet to hit a single — the only team in MLB history without a single through their first two games. That changed Saturday, picking up six singles, two doubles, and the Raley homer to go with seven walks. It was a solid performance overall, but they couldn’t quite string their hits together to capitalize.
In the second, Randy Arozarena struck out looking with a full count. He immediately challenged and began taking off his gear as the T-Mobile Park video board flashed the ABS decision: Ball four. Donovan quickly replaced him at first with a fielder’s choice. Victor Robles, in his first plate appearance of the season, yanked a double down the left field line, scoring Donovan all the way from first. That was all they’d get in the inning.
It was a good sign from Donovan — both beating out the fielder’s choice and coming around to score — as he’d whacked his knees against the left field stands making a spectacular over-the-shoulder catch in the first inning. He appeared to be OK.
The Mariners picked up their first single of 2026 in the third inning. Cal Raleigh, the three true outcome king himself, dunked a soft liner up the middle. He was 0-for-8 on the season with eight strikeouts (and a walk) entering the at bat, and he flashed a big grin after getting to first base. He immediately stole second, and Julio Rodríguez walked behind him, but the Mariners couldn’t cash in.
In the fourth, Arozarena lead off with a single on a dribbler down the third base line that catcher David Fry should have let roll foul but didn’t. Donovan followed with a single to put runners on first and second. Robles advanced Arozarena to third with a fly out to deep right. Leo Rivas worked a long at bat before watching ball four sail to the backstop, allowing Arozarena to trot home. But after chasing Guardians’ starting pitcher Joey Cantillo in the fourth inning at 91 pitches, they couldn’t push across any more.
In the sixth, Donovan and Robles each picked up one-out singles and then advanced on a double steal. But Rivas grounded out to short with the infield drawn in and Donovan was nailed at the plate. In the seventh, they got two on with a pair of walks but couldn’t tie the game. They got another walk in the eighth but again couldn’t tie the game again.
Despite the bizarre sequencing to start to the season, the Mariners have a 126 wRC+ in three games — sixth best in the majors.
The Mariners were in the game to the end because Bryan Woo picked up right where he left off in his first start of 2026. He gave up two runs and four hits over six innings while striking out nine. He pumped his signature four-seam fastball over and over and over and the Guardians struggled to make solid contact, whiffing 11 times on 37 swings against the fastball. He cruised through the first five innings, as the Mariners held a 2-0 lead.
But he struggled in the sixth. His fastball velocity was down a touch, and his command was just off. He issued a leadoff walk, then after getting two quick outs, appeared to issue another walk to José Ramírez. The Mariners, however, challenged the call. When they were proven correct, Ramírez returned to the box and laced his 400th career double to score the Guardians’ first run. Kyle Manzardo followed with a single to the tie game at two.
Eduard Bazardo allowed the Guardians to break the tie in the seventh with a pair of two-out walks and an RBI single to Kwan to make the game 3-2. Gabe Speier came in to get the final out of the inning and preserve the narrow deficit. Wilson after the game defended his decision to stick with Bazardo against the lefty Kwan even after the two walks.
“Zardo is a guy we really trust, and Kwan was just able to flip that ball into left field and get the big hit. So you’re hoping you can get him through there, and then Gabe has got the next inning. But it was just one of those tough ones tonight.”
Woo was hard on himself after the game, in a way that, if you don’t mind a bit of editorializing, wasn’t quite fair given how well he pitched most of the night.
“I think…just…undisciplined, is the best way I can put it,” he said of his mini-blowup in the sixth. “I have to be better about coming out, especially as you get later into games. You’ve got to up your focus even more, and that just can’t happen.
“Even though a lot of things took place, I still feel like this game was on me. I feel like if I do my job and limit the damage, even if I just give up one in that inning, just to get out of it with a lead…when a team is, when you get them down like that, you’ve got to keep them down. You can’t give them anything, especially a scrappy team like that. You give them any breath of life, they’ll take it and run with it. So I’ve got to do a better job of keeping teams down when they’re down.”
The Guardians were aggressive against Woo, swinging at more than half his pitches. Woo was aggressive right back, pumping heaters in the zone all six innings. He said he doesn’t change his approach between or within games. It’s just a matter of committing to his game plan.
“Teams have come out with different strategies against me, whether it’s being patient and trying to work counts or coming out swinging, it doesn’t really change my plan of attack. I still want to get ahead, I still want to be aggressive. I’m still trying to attack the zone early and stick to my game plan. Worked out in my favor for the majority of the game, but didn’t change what I was doing.”
Woo entered the day with 392 career strikeouts. With his strikeout of DeLauter in the sixth, he picked up career K number 400.
“Hopefully I’ll find the ball somewhere, maybe put it on my wall,” he said, “and then on to 500.”
