SEATTLE, WA – APRIL 12: Starter Bryce Miller #50 of the Seattle Mariners delivers a pitch during the first inning against the Chicago Cubs at T-Mobile Park on April 12, 2024 in Seattle, Washington. (Stephen Brashear / Getty Images)
SEATTLE – Julio Rodríguez delivered a pair of RBIs, Bryce Miller pitched into the seventh inning without allowing an earned run, and the Seattle Mariners beat the Chicago Cubs 4-2 on Friday night.
It’s the second straight start by Miller without allowing an earned run as he pitched seven scoreless innings against the Milwaukee Brewers last week. Miller allowed three hits and three walks with four strikeouts in his outing against the Cubs.
“Bryce Miller’s on a roll,” manager Scott Servais said. “The addition of the split-finger and some other things he’s added to his repertoire has really paid off and it’s been fun to watch.”
Last season, Miller relied almost entirely on the strength of his fastball. Miller used his four-seam fastball on nearly 60 percent of his pitches last season with a slider as he primary off-speed option. Miller added the splitter this offseason, and it has already become a go-to pitch for Miller.
“Last year if I was getting hit early, it’s like ‘I don’t really know where to go’ and right now I feel like I have options,” Miller said. “If they’re adjusting, I can adjust as well. So like I said it’s been big and it helps the confidence in getting the lineup through the third time and just knowing that more than likely I still have pitches that they haven’t seen yet and I can throw any pitch in any counts so they’re not just sitting heater.”
Miller now has a 1.96 ERA with 17 strikeouts in 18 ⅓ innings pitched this season for Seattle.
While Miller shined, the Mariners took advantage of control issues by Jordan Wicks as walks came back to burn the Chicago starter. Wicks allowed four runs on five hits and four walks along with a wild pitch. Wicks walked the bases loaded in the fourth inning before Rodríguez delivered the biggest hit of the night for Seattle.
“Big thing for me tonight is we took the walks,” Servais said. “Something we have not been doing. We got to get better at that and it paid off tonight.”
Mitch Haniger and Jorge Polanco each singled, and Mitch Garver walked to set the table for the bottom half of the lineup. But after a Cal Raleigh strikeout and Dylan Moore flyout, it took Luis Urías being hit by a pitch to ultimately drive across a run.
Raleigh ultimately struck out four times in the game for the Mariners.
Wicks then walked three batters in the fourth inning to provide the Mariners another prime opportunity to break the game open. And this time, Rodríguez obliged.
Rodríguez’s liner to center field dropped just in front of Cody Bellinger as Garver and Moore scored to give Seattle a 3-0 lead.
“I expect myself to come up to the plate and deliver in those situations for the team,” Rodríguez said. “That’s what I prepare for and I feel like every time that happens it’s something that I expect for myself.”
Ty France followed with a single to right field as J.P. Crawford scored for a four-run lead.
Miller left the game after walking Nico Hoerner on his 100th pitch of the night with one out in the seventh inning.
Hoerner advanced to second on an errant pick-off throw to first base by reliever Trent Thornton. That extra base then allowed Hoerner to score when Urías’ throw to first off a groundball to third base ran into the baseline with France dropping the ball as Yan Gomes clipped his glove. The ball got away and Hoerner sped home to get the Cubs on the board with an unearned run.
On a chilly and breezy night at T-Mobile Park, there were only two extra base hits by either team in the game both coming via Cubs first baseman Michael Busch. Busch had a two-out double into the right field corner in the top of the fourth inning that Miller kept off the board. Busch then homered off Ryne Stanek in the ninth inning for the line earned run of the night for Chicago in the loss.
Stanek picked up his second save of the season for Seattle.
Soccer fans in Seattle have one more chance to catch a World Cup group stage match before the knockout rounds begin next week. And the game is moving forward on the same weekend as Seattle’s Pride festivities despite objections from both teams.
Egypt vs. Iran takes place tonight at 8 p.m. PT. Both teams are trying to advance out of Group G.
Egypt is likely moving on after tying with Belgium in Seattle’s opening World Cup Match and defeating New Zealand 3-1 in their second group stage match. A win could clinch the group for Egypt.
Iran has played two draws against Belgium and New Zealand, and the team needs at least a tie tonight to move on. A win over Egypt would confirm their place in the Round of 32.
Tickets for tonight’s World Cup match start at $521.
Zachary Fletcher is a trending news reporter with USA TODAY Network’s Washington state team. Keep up with him on X (@zdfletch), BlueSky (@zfletcher.bsky.social) or reach him at zfletcher@usatodayco.com.
When Seattle announced it would host a Pride Match during the 2026 World Cup, it was long before the draw had even been made.
The match at Lumen Field on June 26 (4am on June 27 in the UK) – one of six the city is hosting – falls on the same date as Seattle’s annual Pride weekend, setting the stage for a festival of celebrations outside the stadium.
It is a game that could determine who makes it through to the knockout stage – and it is a game that will feature two countries with some of the strictest anti-gay laws in the world: Egypt and Iran.
In Iran, same-sex relationships are illegal and gay men have been executed on sodomy charges, making their laws some of the most oppressive against the LGBTQ community in the world.
Egypt has previously arrested LGBTQ people on indecency laws and has cracked down in recent years on the outward expression of Pride and the waving of rainbow flags.
Both countries have called on FIFA and Seattle to cancel the Pride celebrations.
Iran Football Federation president Mehdi Taj described the Pride branding for the match as “inappropriate” and “an irrational move”.
A statement from the Egyptian Football Association read: “Egypt categorically rejects holding any activities related to supporting (homosexuality) during the match. Such initiatives conflict with the cultural, religious and social values in the region, especially in Arab and Islamic societies.”
FIFA, which has no official involvement in the plans, has resisted calls from Iran and Egypt to cancel or move the match.
Seattle’s local organising committee says they will go ahead as planned, saying: “Soccer has a unique power to unite people across borders, cultures, and beliefs. We are honoured to host a Pride Match and to celebrate Pride as part of a global football community. This match reflects our ongoing commitment to respect, dignity and unity for all.”
Both sides will be looking to secure qualification to the round of 32, with Egypt top of group G on four points and Iran in second with two points.
Iran will also have to travel to Seattle from their base in Mexico on the day of the match due to restrictions not allowing the team to stay overnight in the United States.
Eric Wahl, who fell in love with football while living in Seattle, is a member of the Seattle Pride Match Advisory Committee and has been helping to organise the game.
He is also the brother of journalist Grant Wahl, who passed away at the Qatar World Cup in 2022 after suffering an aortic aneurysm. Wahl had a month earlier been briefly detained by security staff for wearing a rainbow football shirt.
Despite some initial apprehension when the draw was made, Eric Wahl believes the Pride Match will be an opportunity for the world to see how welcoming Seattle is.
“We had a sole mission of wanting to highlight LGBTQ organisations and businesses in Seattle and to unite that with the shared love of soccer as a world sport,” he said.
With hundreds of thousands of visitors and millions of viewers tuning into Seattle during Pride Weekend, we are presented with a unique opportunity to make a lasting impact. This moment allows us to educate the world, inspire our LGBTQ+ community, and uplift LGBTQ+ businesses and cultural organisations.
“This is actually a really positive thing.
“We want people from Egypt and Iran to know that, regardless of their personal identities, they would be welcome in Seattle, and we would be happy to have them.
“I really hope that there will be soccer fans in Iran and Egypt who will be able to watch this match for the match itself, but also with the halo of equality around it.”
Footballers in Qatar four years ago were caught up in a controversial U-turn over the ‘OneLove’ rainbow armband but Wahl does not expect the Iran or Egypt players to comment on anything except the football itself.
“I think it is par for the course [there will be questions of them] but also slightly unfair to the players on both of those national teams who have unquestionably been put into a position they didn’t ask for.
“To ask any of them to comment on these situations puts them in an unfair position.
“Whether they are for or against gay rights in general doesn’t matter to me, because they have to think about the oppressive regimes that they come from and that to me is a much greater concern.”
While FIFA is not in charge of organising the Pride Match, it has been liaising with the Seattle local organising committee and the Pride advisory committee.
The match will be treated the same as any game in the World Cup, with a FIFA spokesperson telling Sky Sports News: “The FIFA World Cup 2026 is an inclusive event that welcomes people from all backgrounds. Fans of all sexual orientations and gender identities are welcome at matches and events.”
FIFA’s branding will be limited to its regular ‘No Discrimination’ campaign material but rainbow flags will be allowed inside the stadium.
“General statements of human rights, including rainbow flags and other flags representing sexual orientation and gender identity, are permitted under the FIFA World Cup 2026 Stadium Code of Conduct and may be displayed inside stadiums provided they are used in a manner consistent with the code.”
The governing body remains adamant it will not stand for discrimination of any kind at the World Cup and that anyone can report any abuse they face at FIFA events via its app.
Any discrimination in the stadium would follow the FIFA three-step procedure in place for all matches.
First the match would be stopped when an incident occurs, with an annoucement urging spectators to cease the offensive behaviour. If it continues after the restart, the match could be suspended and even abandoned as a last resort.
Seattle hopes that instead it will be a joyous, inclusive occasion celebrating the LGBTQ community.
Wahl is expecting to see a sea of colour at kick-off in a match that also marks an opportunity to honour his late brother.
“I will be wearing a version of the rainbow soccer ball shirt that Grant was detained for in Qatar,” Wahl said.
“I think it’s going to be amazing. I just can’t wait to share that experience, and I can feel Grant smiling about it too.”
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