The A’s came into Seattle on Monday evening and used some late-game offense to take the first of this three-game set. Back in the win column, and back atop the AL West with sole possession of the division lead.
Seattle, WA
Athletics Beat Mariners in Seattle 6-4
Ginn struggles early, settles in
On the mound tonight starting for the A’s was right-hander J.T. Ginn. He came into tonight on a mini roll, having put up two quality outings since getting inserted into the starting rotation.
Facing the Mariners for the very first time, Seattle greeted Ginn with two runs in the first, a solo homer off the bat of Cal Raleigh and an RBI double from first baseman Josh Naylor. They’d get Ginn for one more run in the second as well off another homer, this one coming courtesy of Dominic Canzone.
Those early-game struggles weren’t great, but Ginn was sent out for the third and finally had a shutdown inning, collecting three strikeouts in the third. The 26-year-old would go on to pitch all the way into the sixth without allowing another run and leaving with one out in the inning. He ended his night on a high note as well, getting Randy Arozarena to strike out swinging for his sixth K of the night.
- J.T. Ginn: 5 1/3 IP, 6 H, 3 ER, 1 BB, 6 K, 2 HR, 92 pitches
Well it was a little dicey in the first two frames but Ginn did good to buckle himself down and provide his team with some extra innings. Mark Kotsay made a good call letting Ginn work his way back into this one, and his offense would pick him up later tonight.
Offense struggles early, comes on strong late
On the other side of the ball, the A’s lineup was facing M’s righty Emerson Hancock. For the first few innings the A’s did have much of an answer for the former top prospect, collecting just a pair of singles the first time through the order.
The second time through the order the A’s batters were able to start getting a better read on Hancock. Leading off the top of the fourth, tonight’s DH Carlos Cortes connected on a fastball high and in and drove it over the wall in right field to get the A’s on the board for the first time tonight:
That was #2 on the year for Cortes, who came through with a massive night while hitting in the #3 spot of the order. Mark Kotsay was right again tonight about batting him in such a big spot in the lineup.
The A’s were starting to make better contact but it took a couple more innings for the big ones to come. Now into the sixth and with the top of the lineup at the plate this was about as good an opportunity as the team could hope for. Well first baseman Nick Kurtz strode to the plate and connected on a fastball right down the middle for another solo shot to cut the lead to one:
The A’s didn’t have to wait long for that next run either. Shea Langeliers came up right behind Kurtz and blasted his own solo shot, swatting another hanging fastball down the pipe and depositing it over the wall in center:
Tie game. That was his 7th of the year. The A’s had Hancock’s number and the Mariners knew it. That third homer of the night chased Hancock from this contest. The Athletics kept up the pressure against the bullpen, loading the bases that very same frame but weren’t able to cash in and take the lead. And with Ginn soon departing as well, it was going to be down to the bullpens to determine who would win tonight.
Left-hander Hogan Harris relieved Ginn in the sixth and not only finished the frame but handled the seventh as well. It was a perfect outing for Harris; no hits, no walks, plus a pair of punchouts to boot. Tonight was his team-leading 13th appearance and he’s been everything the A’s could have hoped for in the early going.
Now into the eighth, the A’s finally broke through in a big way. A double, single, and walk loaded the bases with no outs and the team was cooking. Third baseman Max Muncy made sure to drive in at least one with a productive sac fly that gave the A’s their first lead of the night.
After that it was Lawrence Butler’s turn at the plate and he came through with the biggest hit of the game, a two-run single to push the A’s lead to three runs:
Now with a lead and some extra breathing room A’s fans could relax and enjoy the rest of the game. Or so we thought. The Mariners did not go down quietly in this one. Mark Leiter Jr. took over for the eighth and gave up a pair of hits with both reaching scoring position and just one out. He managed to pull a Houdini with a massive strikeout of Arozarena and a flyout to end the threat, but that was a close one.
Then it was Joel Kuhnel on for the ninth for his fourth save opportunity. The right-hander, who did not start the season with the big league club, got the first out but then a single and RBI double cut into the lead and woke us all back up. Now with the tying run at the plate Kuhnel needed to be nails. And he was, getting J.P. Crawford to pop out and Raleigh to fly out to end the game.
A’s win! A solid performance all around. The bats took some time to get going but they came through in a big way late. Three homers. Four players getting multiple hits. Carlos Cortes going 4-for-4. Then Ginn had some early struggles but did a good job of not letting it snowball and get out of hand. He really saved the bullpen by being able to pitch into the sixth. Speaking of the ‘pen, the three arms combined pitched nearly four innings, and while it got a little dicey at times they bent but didn’t break. Kuhnel is now 4-for-4 in save opportunities which leads the team. Do we finally have our closer? And who would have seen this coming?
We’re back in first place and we’ll have an opportunity to add to that lead tomorrow evening when these teams meet back up for the second game of the series. For the A’s they’ll send left-hander Jacob Lopez to the bump. It hasn’t been a smooth start to the season for the lefty and he’ll need to show more than he has up to this point if he wants to keep ahold of his spot in the rotation. Walks especially have been a major problem for him so far as he has 17 in 18 innings of work. Overall he’ll bring a 6.38 ERA into tomorrow’s contest.
As for Seattle, they’ll have veteran Luis Castillo getting the ball for them for the middle game. The 33-year-old right-hander has had a so-so start to his year. He had a disaster performance a couple starts ago, when he got shelled for seven runs. Before that he pitched six shutout innings in his first appearance, 3 2/3 with three runs allowed in his second, the blowup game, and most recently he tossed 5 1/3 with just one run allowed against the Padres. Hard to know which version of Castillo will show up tomorrow but the A’s will be ready. In his career against the Athletics he has a nice 3.02 ERA in nine starts, so we’ll be hoping to boost that number a bit tomorrow night.
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Seattle, WA
Seattle Hotel Workers Are on the Verge of Striking Ahead of the World Cup – The Stranger
Call it labor unrest summer? Unionized journalists across the Northwest at McClatchy Media went on a one-day strike over AI policy, union employees at acclaimed restaurant the Walrus and the Carpenter are willing to strike, and today unionized hotel workers at the Hilton’s Embassy Suites in Pioneer Square are voting to authorize a strike. The union is collecting votes until 6 p.m. this evening.
The contract between management and the 113 unionized Embassy Suites employees expired on May 31. Today, workers—represented by Unite Here Local 8, a hospitality union—are expected to vote to authorize a work stoppage, and give leadership the ability to call a strike at any time. Seattle’s World Cup games kick off at Lumen Field in less than two weeks, steps away from Embassy Suites.
The main issues at play are health insurance, pay—Hilton’s current offer amounts to a less than $1 per hour raise on average over the next five years—and a proposal, so far rejected by Hilton, that management tell employees when ICE or DHS is on the property.
“As a brown woman, I know ICE does not care whether you are a US citizen,” Dom Kaur, a front desk agent, said in a press release. “What they are doing goes against my core moral beliefs. My dad needed asylum and as a lawyer now helps others. It is wrong for our bosses to sit there and say they cannot do anything about it.”
ICE concerns are heightened because the agency may be on hand at Lumen during the World Cup. A majority of the staff are people of color or immigrants, says Victoria Davidson, a public area attendant at Embassy Suites. “ICE will have a presence because of FIFA, and it’s not OK for people to be afraid to come to work,” Davidson says.
Hilton did not respond before press time. An automatic email from the US press office said that it was “currently closed” on Friday afternoon.
If the union strikes, Davidson anticipates that managers would initially do the jobs of unionized workers, and then Hilton would turn to temp staffing agencies to recruit scabs. Even though the hotel would remain open, the union believes that a strike during the World Cup would cause enough problems for hotel operations that workers have a lot of leverage at this moment.
“This is not going to happen again for at least 25 to 30 years,” Davidson says of the World Cup matches, “and we’re the only hotel that’s right here.”
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Seattle, WA
Your Seattle-area weekend events guide: Pride, pinball, and car shows! – MyNorthwest.com
June is here, and with these long summer days, that means plenty of daylight to soak up the sun and get out and have some fun!
There are plenty of Seattle-area weekend events to start your summer.
Pride month is here
June is Pride month, and it is the first weekend of celebrations, including Pride in the Park on Capitol Hill. This annual kickoff event will have everything you need, including live music and performances, over 80 booths of vendors and non-profits, food trucks, and a nonstop dance floor going throughout the day. Pride in the Park is Saturday from 12 p.m. to 7 p.m. at Volunteer Park and is free to attend.
Saturday in Bellevue is the Paws and Pride Dog Walk, which is a one-mile walk for people and pups to celebrate the start of Pride. Make sure you and your dog come dressed to impress during the RuPaw’s Dog costume contest with awards for creativity, best in show, and matching looks. After the walk, you can enjoy food trucks and booths from local vendors, a beer and mimosa garden for those of age, and live entertainment. Paws and Pride is Saturday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Bellevue Downtown Park.
It is one of my favorite weekends of the year in Tacoma, something I have done just about every year that I have lived here in Washington. It is the Northwest Pinball and Arcade show, and it is a weekend full of high-stakes pinball action and hundreds of other games that are all free to play with your ticket. The Northwest Pinball and Arcade show is not only a great event for you and the family, but also acts as an interactive museum that ranges from original wooden pinball machines to the latest and greatest in the world of pinball. There are also workshops, panel discussions, tournaments, and lots more. The Northwest Pinball and Arcade show runs Friday through Sunday at the Greater Tacoma Convention Center. Kids under 12 get in free, but will still need to check in for a ticket.
Seattle-area weekend events include dance, festivals
The Seattle International Dance Festival begins this weekend, bringing dance companies from around the world, including Africa, Asia, and North America, to the Broadway Performance Hall on Capitol Hill. According to the event’s website, this is a rare opportunity to see the scope of contemporary dance and the impact the art form has across the globe. The Seattle International Dance Festival begins Saturday and runs through the weekend.
The Festál series continues at the Seattle Center Armory this weekend with the Pagdiriwang Philippine Festival. Learn about the culture, people, food, fashion, and plenty more during this free event on Saturday and Sunday. There will also be a variety of performances highlighting the music, dances, and culture of the Philippines to enjoy throughout the weekend. The fun starts at 11 a.m. on Saturday.
Fishing, hiking, and car shows round out the weekend
If you want to get out on the water this weekend to try to hook the big one, it is Free Fishing Weekend. That means fishing licenses are not required to fish for many fish species in Washington. You will still need a license to fish for salmon, steelhead, sturgeon, halibut, and all shellfish, but the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife said it will be a great weekend to fish for Rainbow trout, largemouth and smallmouth bass, yellow perch, and plenty more. Get more details from the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife. In addition to free fishing, it is also a Discovery Pass free weekend, meaning you will not need a Discovery Pass to get out this weekend.
As you might have heard on “Seattle’s Morning News” on KIRO Newsradio, Friday night at Pacific Raceways in Kent is the All High School Drags and Car Show. There will be a variety of races, ranging from student races to alumni and instructors, giving you a chance to experience what we were told is one of the best family-friendly entertainment options around. According to the event’s website, all you need is a car that makes it from the starting line to the finish line. There will also be a chance to race the King County Sheriffs on the track and plenty of classic cars on display during the car show. The 55th Annual Green River College High School Drags and Car Show is tonight at Pacific Raceways, with gates opening at 4 p.m.
What’s on your summer to-do list? Let me know at paulh@kiroradio.com.
On this day 52 years ago, the Pacific Northwest’s upper-left city of Seattle was granted an NFL Franchise. NFL Commissioner Pete Rozelle announced the news that they would join the league as an expansion franchise in 1976 and would be the league’s 28th, alongside the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The name “Seahawks” was chosen from a survey with over 20,365 entries. This tweet from @HawkMania shows an article from the now-online and former print local newspaper, the Seattle Post-Intelligencer. They were known for the big globe with an eagle on top that resided on top of their building in downtown Seattle, and as it says on their front page here, a staple in the community since 1863.
The article mentions Seattle drafting Archie Griffin as a possibility, who was the two-time Heisman Trophy winner for Ohio State and the massive hotshot prospect back then. It mentions the Nordstrom family, represented by Lloyd Nordstrom, as the majority owners, and Herman Sarkowsky as the chief operating officer. Sarkowsky says he thinks the team will pick high in 1976 before they play their inaugural season, and they did, taking defensive tackle Steve Niehaus 2nd overall (Griffin ended up going 24th to the Cincinnati Bengals). Ironically, the article mentions the Portland TrailBlazers as well and their ability to draft Bill Walton early on, the NBA franchise which the Seahawks’ most prominent owner Paul Allen also owned.
It’s great to look back on the history of the franchise, and the sport overall. In 2026, it’s one of the few institutions that preserves memories well enough to stay in touch with its roots. Seattle and the Seahawks have grown up together as an American sports city and franchise, and 52 years ago today was one of their most important turning points.
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