Category: Baseball

San Diego Padres (43-44) at Los Angeles Dodgers (58-31), July 4, 2026, 7:10 p.m. PST

Watch: Padres.TV

Location: Dodger Stadium – Los Angeles, Calif.

Listen: 97.3 The Fan

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Texas Rangers reliever Jacob Latz has been named to the American League All Star team, it was announced today. He is the Lone Ranger representative.

Earlier this year I said I would be surprised if Latz made the All Star team, something I based more on how players are selected and the overall numbers game rather than the merits of his case. Since then, though, he’s built an even stronger case, particularly with a great June that saw him named A.L. Reliever of the Month, such that at this point I’m not surprised he got the nod.

Latz is tied for third in the American League in saves, with 18. He has a 1.71 ERA in 42 innings over 33 games.

Happy Fourth of July, folks. May you all leave this holiday, in possession of exactly the same number of fingers with which you entered it. The depth of this preview is potentially constrained by the burgers and hot dogs being ready, at which point, it will come to a rapid conclusion, as I make a beeline for the dining room. Until then, I’ll do what I can. We’ll see whether Kelly can end his losing streak, currently at five consecutive appearances. He’s the first D-back since Shelby Miller in 2017 to lose five starts in a row. Miller also did it the year before. The last to lose six in a row was the Big Unit in June/July 2008. A rare bad spell by Johnson, with a 7.94 ERA in those six starts.

The franchise record holder, however, is Edgar Gonzalez, who dropped seven consecutive L’s during the trauma that was the 2004 season. He started ten times that year, and went 0-9 with a 9.32 ERA. The tenth? Well, that was easily his best start of the year: a Game Score of 64, thirteen points more than any other start. He took a shutout into the seventh, and allowed two runs over seven, but Mike Fetters coughed up four runs immediately in relief, and the D-backs lost that as well. One more fun fact, Silvino Bracho appeared in 24 consecutive losses as a D-back, including his first 23 appearances of 2016. He only took the L in two of those.

And with that, I hear the sultry sounds of Mrs. S yelling from elsewhere in the house. So that’s my sign! See you in the thread, post-dinner.

Happy Fourth of July everyone! Anyone else ready for some fireworks tonight?

First we got a game to take care of. The A’s host the Marlins for the second of three during this holiday weekend. It’s Aaron Civale on the mound tonight for the Fourth, hoping to get the A’s back in the win column.

The A’s lineup tonight:

The Marlins meanwhile are countering Civale with former Cy Young winner Sandy Alcantara. He’s not the same pitcher he was pre-injury but he can still shut down a lineup on any given day of the week.

And the Marlins’ starting nine:

Let’s go A’s!

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The full rosters for the 2026 MLB All-Star Game were revealed on Saturday, July 4.

The 96th edition of the Midsummer Classic will be held at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia on Tuesday, July 14.

The Atlanta Braves, Los Angeles Dodgers and the host Philadelphia Phillies are sending five players apiece to the All-Star Game, tied for the most in the league.

Here are the full All-Star rosters for the American and National Leagues:

More: MLB All-Star Game rosters revealed as Bryce Harper earns 'Legend Pick' nod

ATLANTA — Kodai Senga’s failures as a starter haven’t extended into his new bullpen job. 

It’s still too early to declare the Mets right-hander a success as a reliever, but a second straight solid outing Friday at least provided doses of optimism for a struggling pitcher in need of a boost. 

“The preparation is different,” Senga said through his interpreter after allowing one earned run over 2 ²/₃ innings against the Braves. “There isn’t much rhythm going into it, but the job is the same: I try to do my best, try to put up zeroes, try to contribute to a win.” 

Senga’s previous relief appearance was last weekend against the Phillies when he allowed two earned runs over five innings.

Even with his recent success, Senga owns an 8.66 ERA this season, which says everything about his work as a starter. 

It could be a last shot for Senga, who is signed through next season, to show he still belongs in a major league uniform. 

“One thing that is different, simpler: The data aspect is not going into each line of each start thinking about what pitches I can throw, what locations I can throw to each hitter versus now being a reliever I am just given the data that the team provides and going out there and pitching, so that is different for sure,” Senga said. 

The Mets can use the bullpen as an avenue toward improving Senga, allowing him a return to the starting rotation — Sean Manaea took such a path earlier this season.

They also could decide Senga is best suited for the bullpen and leave him there. 

Senga’s quality of stuff suggests he could be used as a high-leverage reliever, not just inserted to provide coverage for multiple innings. 

“He’s throwing the ball really well,” interim manager Andy Green said. “When he comes in, the first couple of innings [Friday] it was an electric fastball. The forkball really plays — it’s been really good. I know he’s given up a couple of home runs, but I think you have to like the look of it. The way it looks he can pitch a leverage one inning. He’s got that one inning as well. If the need arises, he gave us three strong innings [Friday].” 

Last year at this time, Senga was on the injured list, nearing his return from a hamstring injury that forced him to the injured list for a month.

Senga had a 1.47 ERA and was regarded as ace material for the Mets rotation. 

But Senga struggled after his return from the IL and ultimately agreed to pitch the final month at Triple-A Syracuse. 

Senga had two solid starts this season but began to struggle in April and was placed on the IL with lumbar spine inflammation in his lower back.

He bombed in two June starts upon returning and was sent to the bullpen. 

Would Senga embrace a relief role full-time? 

“It doesn’t matter where I pitch,” he said. “If I am given the ball, I am going to go out there and pitch. I have started some games this year and haven’t operated well as a starter, so it doesn’t matter if I start in the second, third, eighth or ninth. Whatever inning it is when I am given the ball, I am going to continue to do what I can to help the club.” 

The final rosters for the 2026 MLB All-Star Game were announced on Saturday evening, and finally the Detroit Tigers got some justice. Dillon Dingler, the best catcher in baseball this season, was named to the team as a reserve behind leading vote getter Shea Langeliers. Rookie phenon Kevin McGonigle, like Dingler a top ten position player in the major leagues this season, was also named as a reserve at the shortstop behind the Kansas City Royals’ Bobby Witt Jr, while Riley Greene made the reserve squad for this third straight All-Star Game appearance.

The reserves are selected by a player ballot, with several Commissioner’s Office selections rounding out the roster for the Mid-Summer Classic to ensure that every team has a representative.

Dingler is currently 3rd in all baseball in terms of fWAR for position players. The 27-year-old backstop has already been one of the best defensive catchers in the game for two seasons, but this year the bat caught up and its been nothing but fireworks at the plate. Dingler has 19 homers on the year already after hitting 13 in all of 2025. His 133 wRC+ mark is a career best as well. He grades out as the third best blocker, and the second best pitch framer in baseball, and he’s adapted wonderfully to the ABS challenge system as well. The Tigers finally have the all-around monster catcher of their dreams. He’s the first Tigers catcher in 15 years to make the All-Star Game.

Riley Greene will be making his third straight All-Star Game appearance this year. The left fielder has played in all but one game this season and after a sluggish start in power department, now has 12 homers after a big month of June. He holds a .375 on-base percentage and a 133 wRC+ on the year.

The 21-year-old McGonigle has been a revelation this season, even to those of who have predicted eventual greatness throughout his brief minor league career. He’s improved defensively and is playing a solid shortstop while getting a bit of work at third base as well. He’s also showing off the best speed of his career. Combine all that with his elite eye and contact ability, producing a .394 on-base percentage, more walks than strikeouts, and a 135 wRC+ and you have one heck of a player. McGonigle becomes the first Tigers player since Mark Fidyrich to make the Midsummer Classic as a 21-year-old, and the only other Tiger to do that was Mr. Al Kaline. Incredible stuff from the Kid this season.

He’ll be joined by three other rookies. The Guardians’ Travis Bazzana and right-hander Parker Messick made the cut, as well as the Cincinnati Reds’ rookie first baseman, Sal Stewart.

We all know the All-Star Game can be a bit of a joke in terms of the voting process. Even so, it’s still a milestone achievement for any player, especially a rookie. The three Tigers are right among the best players in the game, and so it’s only fitting that they get to head to Philadelphia together.

Even better for McGonigle is the fact that he grew up in the area, graduating from Monsignor Bonner High School in Drexel Hill, Pennsylvania. He grew up a Phillies fan, rooting for Chase Utley and modeling his game after the great second baseman. No doubt it will be a special thrill for McGonigle to play the first of many All-Star games in his career at Citizens Bank Park.

Congratulations to all three Tigers’ All-Stars!

Randy Arozarena will likely be the Mariners lone representative at the All-Star game in 2026.

Major League Baseball announced on Saturday the initial rosters for the American and National League All-Star teams. This included each team’s starting lineup (chosen by fans) as well as their pitchers and reserves (chosen by players and the commissioner’s office).

Arozarena was the only Mariner named to the team for the AL. He was not selected by fan vote, nor did any Mariners players make it to the second phase of fan voting. But he’s a deserving All-Star nonetheless, ranking fifth among AL outfielders with 2.3 fWAR. He’s been the Mariners most valuable hitter with a 141 wRC+ (.280/.370/.436) and their most valuable base runner (19 stolen bases and 2.2 BsR). No matter what flavor of WAR you use, Arozarena is on track to have his most valuable season as a big-leaguer should current trends hold, something he credits to fully buying in to the Mariners’ approach of using the whole field.

“This year, I came with a different approach,” Arozarena said through team interpreter Freddy Llanos. “I’ve been listening a lot more to the hitting coaches, coming in with a plan and sticking to that plan, and you’ve seen teh results this season. Before, I think I would just go out there and every pitch, my mentality was, hit this ball out of the ballpark.

Now, I’ve been able to use the middle of the field, hit the ball around and make those adjustments. Now I’m going up there and thinking, where can I place this ball, and trying to use all my tools that I can to place that ball in that spot.“

Rosters were announced on Sunday at 4:30 p.m. At about 1:45 p.m., Arozarena capped his bid with a massive grand slam to push the Mariners past the Blue Jays. He also doubled earlier in the game.

It’s Arozarena’s third All-Star selection and second with the Mariners. Last year, he was named to the team after Julio Rodríguez declined to participate.

“I think this [selection] for me is the one that feels a little more special,” said Arozarena. “I see it as a mixture of all the discipline, all the hard work, everything I’ve done, but also all the teammates that have helped me, the fans, especially the fans – I use them as a motor to energize me when I’m out there, I’m able to identify with them, and they’re able to identify with me. So when you get a recognition like this, you kind of look at it in terms of all the hard work and all these little aspects that come together to make something like this happen.”

Speaking of Julio, he was not named to the team after making it in three of his first four years as a big leaguer. Neither was Cal Raleigh, who received the second most votes in the AL just last year. In fact, no other Mariners were selected, reflecting what’s been a frustrating, injury-plagued season in Seattle.

One could argue Bryan Woo deserved a nod. He leads the Mariners with 2.7 fWAR, good enough for sixth in the AL as of Saturday morning. But Woo’s 4.17 ERA (driven by severe home-road splits) likely hurt his chances. Logan Gilbert, Emerson Hancock, and George Kirby are each having better seasons by more traditional metrics, though none rank in the top 10 by ERA.

It’s possible more Mariners will eventually make the team as other players get hurt and opt out. How does that work? I defer to the MLB All-Star selection process FAQ:

Who picks the replacements for injured players or those who decline to participate?
If a fan-elected starter is unable to play, they are replaced in the starting lineup by the player on the roster who received the next most votes on the player ballot at their position. The roster replacement is then chosen by the league.

If a player-elected reserve position player must be replaced, the next in line on the player ballot becomes a reserve, unless the leaders of the player ballot have already been accounted for. If the top finishers on the player ballot are already All-Stars, then MLB can select another replacement.

If no other Mariners are selected, it will be the first time since 2021 Seattle has sent just one player (Yusei Kikuchi). Last year, they sent seven.

The All-Star Game will take place on July 14 at Citizen’s Bank Park in Philadelphia. The game will be broadcast on FOX at 5 p.m. PT.

Dodgers center fielder Andy Pages had been hearing from teammates for weeks that he would be selected as an All-Star. But he wasn’t as bullish.

“I wanted to participate, but that wasn’t in my control. I didn’t want to put it out there until I knew it was for sure,” Pages said in Spanish.

On Saturday it became official. Pages was selected as an All-Star for the first time. After coming so close in 2025, he’s set to start for the National League.

“It’s exciting to be able to participate in my first one,” Pages said. “I’m really proud of the work that I’ve been doing and to have the opportunity.”

Read more:How Dodgers' Max Muncy, vying for his third All-Star selection, continues to evolve

Pages is one of five Dodgers on the National League squad. Third baseman Max Muncy (third All-Star selection), first baseman Freddie Freeman (10th) and Yoshinobu Yamamoto (second) were named to the NL roster Saturday. Shohei Ohtani (sixth) was named an All-Star on June 25 after leading the majors in Phase 1 voting.

It marks the first time since 1980 that the Dodgers have had four All-Star starters. Their five All-Star selections ties the Atlanta Braves and Philadelphia Phillies for the most in the majors.

Muncy is set to be the first Dodger to start the All-Star Game at third base since Ron Cey in 1977.

Though Dodgers pitcher Justin Wrobleski (10-2, 2.80 ERA) was not named an All-Star, he could play as a possible injury replacement.

The All-Star Game will be played July 14 at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia.

Ohtani feeling better

Ohtani was feeling “considerably better” Saturday, after leaving Friday’s game in the seventh inning with tight right biceps.

“If things trend the way we would expect, then he’ll be in there [Sunday],” manager Dave Roberts said.

Ohtani wasn’t in the starting lineup against the Padres on Saturday, but Roberts left open the possibility that he could be available off the bench depending on “how the day goes.” Roberts didn’t expect the biceps problem to affect Ohtani’s throwing schedule between pitching starts, especially because he aggravated it on a swing.

The Dodgers, however, could still decide to have Ohtani skip his last pitching start before the All-Star break.

“The first step is how he feels tomorrow, and then the days forthcoming,” Roberts said. “So we don’t need to make that decision today, tomorrow, the next day. So we have time. And I think for us it’s just more of reading and reacting on how he feels.”

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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.

The Milwaukee Brewers’ prominent battery, Jacob Misiorowski and William Contreras, has been named to the National League All-Star Team.

Misiorowski famously made last year’s All-Star Game (as a way-down-the-line injury replacement, it should be said) having made just five major-league appearances. If there were questions over whether he’d earned that last year, there obviously are not this year. Miz leads the majors in ERA (1.47), strikeouts (156), FIP (1.97), WHIP (0.779), and hits per nine (4.7). He is one of the top contenders for National League Cy Young, and his selection was a no-brainer.

Contreras has been selected to his third All-Star Game. He previously made it with the Braves in 2022 and the Brewers in 2024. Contreras got off to a bit of a slow start offensively but he’s hitting for a high average, and has added some pop lately. He’s also one of a trio of Brewers with over 50 RBI; he and Brice Turang have 51 each, just behind team leader Jake Bauers (52).

At least before the usual cavalcade of injury replacements come down the line, the Brewers have just two All-Stars despite holding the second-best record in baseball. The other two teams atop the National League, the Braves and Dodgers, both have five All-Star selections, as do the hometown Phillies (who are six games back of the Brewers); other teams in the NL who have two include the Nationals, Giants, Reds, Marlins, and Diamondbacks.

Players we can count as snubs include second baseman Brice Turang, first baseman Jake Bauers, starting pitcher Kyle Harrison, and reliever Trevor Megill. The fan voting played at least some role, here; the inclusion of Ozzie Albies as the NL’s starting second baseman created a numbers crunch that hurt Turang, who had a far more deserving case than Albies did. He’s probably the most egregious omission, but a case could’ve been made for any of these other guys, and maybe even for Jackson Chourio, even though he missed six weeks.

Harrison, at least, should make the team as a replacement, given how many pitchers tend to drop out these days. There will probably be some national dialogue about how the Brewers are underrepresented, so I wouldn’t be surprised if several Brewers will be near the top of Rob Manfred’s list of players to add as injury replacements.

Regardless of whether or not we should care, this certainly won’t help to dispute the notion that the Brewers are overlooked and under-appreciated. Pat Murphy will certainly find a way to use it as fuel.

The All-Star Game is on Tuesday, July 14th in Philadelphia.

The San Francisco Giants and Colorado Rockies were scheduled to have first pitch at 6:10pm MT.

However, the game has been delayed due to lightning with fans being instructed to clear the upper deck, Rockpile, and Rooftop.

Follow along here for details as they become available!

UPDATE: 6:06 pm

No word yet, but the grounds crew is going for the tarp, and it’s raining.

UPDATE: 6:16 pm

The tarp is coming up as the crowd cheers.

UPDATE: 6:21 pm

First pitch will be at 6:55 pm.

Please keep in mind our Purple Row Community Guidelines when you’re commenting. Thanks!

Juan Soto is an All-Star for the first time as a Met.

Selected by the fans, the Mets' 27-year-old outfielder was named to his fifth career All-Star Game and will make his second Midsummer Classic start.

"It's great," Soto said of joining the National League for the July 14 game at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia. "This is a great feeling. It's really fun to be in the summer with so many talented players in the All-Star Game. It's going to be fun."

Soto entered Saturday's game at the Atlanta Braves leading the NL with a .971 OPS and .406 on-base percentage.

"I mean, it's always a new day," he said of his focus level despite the Mets' 2026 season not going according to plan. "It's always a new day. Forget about what is going on, what happened for the past month and focus on today. That's one of the things that's helped me most to stay consistent. Come every day to win a ballgame. It doesn't matter if you win or lose last night. We focus on what we can do today."

Before the Mets faced the Braves, Soto ranked second in the NL in slugging (.565), eighth in batting average (.297) and tied for ninth in home runs (18).

"I think that's what makes him really special," interim manager Andy Green said of Soto. "Certainly, everybody's numbers tend to be better when your team is performing well. I think that's contagious. I think everybody feeds off one another. I think we help each other by playing really well and doing our jobs well. He hasn't had that and he's still leading the National League in OPS right now, so not much more you can ask of a guy like that. It's been special."

This is Soto's first All-Star nod since 2024 when he was with the Yankees.

"I mean, it's always a lot of gratitude for me," Soto said. "But I would say it's the same. I just fell short last year. Definitely, it just kind of motivated me. I've got to be better, I've got to be better to be with the best of the best in the league. And, definitely, this year, I came in with a different mentality and thank God I made it."

Soto, who was previously an All-Star from 2021-23 with the Washington Nationals, added that he has "been thinking about" the July 13 Home Run Derby but "will see."

"I don't know," Soto said. "I've definitely been thinking about it. We're still thinking. Philadelphia, it seems like it's going to be fun. I will see. I will see."

What will go into his decision?

"I mean, I've got to check where my body's at, how much I need to recover and be ready for the second half and definitely, we've got to think on everything," he said. "We've got to think on every situation and we go from there."

Soto is slashing .297/.406/.565 with 18 home runs and 41 RBI through 69 games.

"He loves baseball," Green said. "He's set out to be one of the best players in the history of the game, and the best players in the game are at the All-Star Game every year. So, it's a place he deserves to be. It's a place he belongs, and I don't have the depth of a personal relationship at this point in time to say this but I certainly believe he relishes the opportunity to be around other great players."

The Yankees had four players selected to the 2026 MLB All-Star Game: Aaron Judge, Ben Rice, Cody Bellinger and Cam Schlittler.

"I'm really excited about it," Rice said about his first career All-Star nod. "I can't wait to enjoy the weekend."

This is Bellinger's third career All-Star selection, and his first as a Yankee.

When asked whether he hopes to pitch in the game, Schlittler replied "We'll see. ... The team comes first. If it lines up, it lines up, but if not, that's fine as well. ... I've got bigger things to worry about here."

Meanwhile, Bellinger reflected that it has "been a while" since he appeared in an All-Star game, and he is "gonna enjoy it."

"Last time, I didn't have kids ... I'm excited to have them on the field, that's what it's all about," Bellinger said.

 This is Judge's eighth career All-Star selection, but he will not participate at All-Star Weekend in Philadelphia as he continues to recover from a fractured rib.

Late this afternoon, Major League Baseball announced the rosters for the 2026 All-Star Game in Philadelphia. This year, catcher Hunter Goodman will be representing in Colorado Rockies in what will be a repeat performance after he awarded the accolade in 2025.

It is an award the catcher has earned, a case Sam Bradfield made earlier this week: “In 2026, it’s quite possible he will break his own records from 2025 (if he hasn’t already), and he could be the Rockies’ first back-to-back All-Star since Nolan Arenado, Charlie Blackmon and Trevor Story all went in 2018 and 2019.”

As it turns out, Goodman has joined an elite corps of Rockies alumni. Goodman and Elias Díaz are the only Rockies catchers that have attended the All-Star Game.

Goodman’s 27 home runs on the season are tied for the second-most in the Majors and tied with Larry Walker (2001) for the most home runs by a Rockies player before the All-Star break. He is also the third primary catcher to log at least 27 homers pre-All-Star break (since 1933), alongside Cal Raleigh (38, 2025), and Johnny Bench (28, 1970). Fittingly, both of those catchers played in that year’s All-Star Game.

His 11.59 AB/HR is the second-best in the Majors among qualified hitters behind Kyle Schwarber’s 10.53 AB/HR.

For those ready to cry “COORS!” 18 of Goodman’s 27 long balls have been on the road, the most road homers pre-All-Star in franchise history (previous high: Larry Walker, 16 in 1997). He is tied for the ninth-most road home runs by a Rockie in a single season, one shy of tying Vinny Castilla (19, 1997) for eighth.

In June, Goodman’s 13 home runs were the most in the Majors. Moreover, he is the second player in franchise history to have at least 13 home runs in a single month along with Troy Tulowitzki (15 HR, Sept. 2010). He became the fourth career primary catcher with at least 13 home runs in a calendar month, joining Atlanta’s Ozzie Virgil (13 HR, May 1987), New York Mets’ Gary Carter (13 HR, Sept. 1985), and New York Giants’ Walker Cooper (13 HR, June 1947).

TLDR: Goodman earned this accolade.

Now fans will wait to see if Goodman is selected for the Home Run Derby, a challenge Goodman has indicated he would like to try.

Over the last two days, he has been spotted taking batting practice from his father, Robert.

Purple Row readers have been clear on this subject: Hunter Goodman should absolutely be in the Home Run Derby.

But regardless, congrats to Hunter on being selected to his second All-Star Game!

On his last start on the Fourth of July, against the Giants in 2023, Logan Gilbert pitched a complete-game shutout, holding the Giants to just five hits with seven strikeouts and no walks. Gilbert wouldn’t quite match that mark today – he couldn’t quite go the distance, but still collected seven strikeouts while not issuing a walk over 7.1 innings of work, and held the Blue Jays to just one (fake) hit – but it was nonetheless another star performance from Gilbert, who seems to have fully turned the corner from his early-season struggles.

Logan Gilbert came into today’s game needing nine strikeouts to reach a career mark of 1,000, and fell just two short of doing it in front of the home crowd. Strikeout Number 992 came in the first inning, on a three-pitch dismantling of Vladimir Guerrero Jr. with a fastball-fastball-slider sequence. Classic. Elegant. Number 993 came right on its heels, again on the slider, with Gilbert staying stubborn to the pitch despite missing on it the pitch before and getting Kazuma Okamoto to eventually swing over it.

994 was his lone strikeout in the second inning, freezing Yohendrick Piñango with a perfectly-spotted 97.1 mph four-seamer after Piñango had declined to swing at the splitter and slider the pitch before. Similarly, 995 was his only strikeout in the third, again after going splitter-slider to Blue Jays catcher Brandon Valenzuela; once again, Gilbert froze him on 97, this time right in the middle of the plate. 996 came in the fourth and was Guerrero again, a near carbon-copy of the first at-bat except this time ending on a strikeout on the curveball.

The strikeouts dried up some after that, with the Blue Jays making some quick weak-contact outs in the fifth, and annoyingly one hit from Piñango that fell, breaking up Gilbert’s perfect game. Logan looked pretty annoyed about this little 70something bloop hit finding grass:

997 came in the sixth inning, this time victimizing Andrés Giménez, the contact-forward infielder. Gilbert put him away with a changeup, a wrinkle he introduced in the back half of his outing. But while the strikeout pace slowed, Gilbert continued to get outs: he was at 71 pitches at the end of the sixth, and although the seventh inning cost him another 17 pitches, he did collect strikeout 998, getting former Mariner Jonatan Clase swinging after a four-seamer at 97.

“The velo on the fastball – it didn’t seem like he lost it at all,” said manager Dan Wilson postgame. “He just kept locating it and commanding it where he wanted.”

Gilbert wasn’t the only one chasing a personal milestone today. In the second, the Mariners got their first run scored on a hit in 22 innings when Victor Robles collected his 500th career hit, a sharp single into left field that scored Cole Young, who had hit a line-drive double to the gap in a full count – a lovely little piece of hitting from the youngster. Speaking of nice hits from youngsters, Colt Emerson broke a rough stretch with a line drive single up the middle to keep the inning going with two outs. J.P. Crawford walked to load the bases, taking advantage of some shaky command from Blue Jays starter Shane Bieber, making just his third start after missing the first part of the season with elbow inflammation. That brought up Randy Arozarena – the Mariners’ lone All-Star in 2026, at least for now – who already had a double on the day on a four-seamer that was a foot off the plate. This time, Bieber tried to sneak a slider past Randy, who emphatically Did Not Miss It:

Despite an inflated pitch count, Bieber hung in until the fifth, when he issued a leadoff walk to Randy – at that point, understandable – but then left a cutter dead read for Dominic Canzone, who absolutely obliterated it to right-center for a no-doubt home run that Canzone knew was gone the instant it came off the bat.

The Mariners continued to add on even after Bieber departed the game, touching up former Mariner farmhand Adam Macko for a run: Colt Emerson reached on a bunt base hit, and Randy pushed him to third on the rare infield single/throwing error combo. Canzone then picked up his third RBI of the day on a tidy ground ball single to make it 8-0 Mariners. That was enough for Jays manager and current holder of the Mike Scioscia Memorial Trophy for Reddest Man in Baseball, John Schneider, who lifted Macko for Tommy Nance, and the Mariners quickly made Nancemeat out of him: Cal Raleigh joined the hit parade with a deep blast to right to push this game squarely into “laugher” territory.

“That’s what our offense does. We can wear you down, and then we get a big hit and things go our way,” said Wilson postgame. They certainly went the Mariners’ way today.

After that the only question was whether Gilbert could reach the 1000 K mark here at home. Wilson gave Gilbert the start of the eighth, when he retired Ernie Clement on a lineout on a curveball, but lifted him after that so he could enjoy an ovation at home.

“Every pitch he threw today had serious conviction behind it. He just made good pitches all day long, and never really gave them a chance to settle in…I think he deserved quite an ovation today, and he got a chance to go out there and face the crowd and let them show their appreciation. A great moment for him,” said Wilson.

Cole Wilcox took over for Gilbert to close the eighth and got the next two outs; after the Jays sent out a sacrificial Myles Straw as the position player to pitch the bottom of the eighth (scoreless!), he had a soft landing in the ninth with the 11-run cushion, but was still able to spin a 1-2-3 inning to keep the shutout intact and close out the Mariners’ biggest win by margin of victory – their previous high was eight runs, a number they’ve matched four times – this season. It also felt like the Mariners’ largest margin of victory spiritually, spurred by a Logan Gilbert who seems to have finally found his groove, a redemptive homer from a struggling Cal Raleigh, and contributions from up and down the lineup – every starter but Luke Raley had a hit or at least a walk (J.P.) – even while Julio Rodríguez misses time with a concussion. Lucy has pulled the football away far too many times this season for Mariners fans to feel like this team has turned a corner, but on today of all days, we can enjoy the offensive fireworks no matter how long they burn.