Seattle’s LGBTQ community members say they hope that this Friday’s World Cup “Pride Match” between Egypt and Iran, two countries where homosexuality is criminalized, can be an opportunity to change minds.
Seattle, WA
Seattle Mariners Breakdown: Storylines after 4th straight series loss
After a rough East Coast road trip, the first-place Seattle Mariners were hoping a return to the friendly confines of T-Mobile Park would help them get back on track.
It didn’t work out that way.
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The Mariners dropped two of three to the Minnesota Twins this weekend and lost a series at home for the first time since mid-April. It ended a streak of nine consecutive series wins at T-Mobile Park, which was the second-longest such streak in franchise history.
Seattle benefited from some chaos ball in the series opener, rallying for a 3-2 walkoff win in 10 innings on Friday night. But the Mariners dropped the final two games, losing 5-1 on Saturday and 5-3 on Sunday.
Seattle (47-39) has now lost four consecutive series overall. The Mariners are 3-8 since rattling off a 17-5 stretch earlier this month.
Standings update
Less than two weeks ago, the Mariners held a commanding 10-game lead atop the AL West. It’s a much different story now.
Seattle’s lead has dwindled to just 3.5 games over the second-place Houston Astros (42-41), who have surged back into contention with nine wins in their past 10 games. One piece of good news: The Mariners are still 8.5 games ahead of the third-place Texas Rangers (37-46), who have lost six straight.
Hitting struggles continue
The Mariners’ hitting woes this season have been well-documented. They continued with another rough series at the plate this weekend, as Seattle mustered a total of just seven runs in the three-game set.
In some ways, the Mariners were fortunate even to scratch across that many runs. Their game-tying run on Friday night came on an error. Their game-winning run later that night came in extra innings, with the benefit of an automatic runner starting the frame at second base. And on Sunday, one of their runs came one batter after Minnesota center fielder Byron Buxton lost a fly ball in the sun.
Seattle’s offense continues to sit at or near the bottom of the majors in nearly every key statistical category. Through Saturday, the Mariners ranked 27th in runs per game (3.87), dead-last in batting average (.218), 25th in on-base percentage (.298), 26th in slugging percentage (.366) and 26th in OPS (.664). They also have the highest strikeout rate in the majors at 27.9%, which is 1.6% higher than the next-closest team.
Bullpen gives up game-changing homers
With the Mariners playing in so many low-scoring games, their bullpen consistently finds itself in high-stress situations. That pressure has only been amplified by a slew of injuries that have tested the group’s depth. So, it’s not surprising that the bullpen has been showing more and more cracks of late.
Seattle relievers combined for four scoreless innings in Friday’s extra-inning victory, but they surrendered game-changing homers the next two days. In the sixth inning on Saturday, right-hander Trent Thornton left a center-cut fastball over the plate that Buxton belted for a three-run homer, which stretched the Twins’ lead to 5-1. And in the eighth inning on Sunday, right-hander Ryne Stanek threw a splitter that caught too much of the plate. Trevor Larnach made him pay, hitting a tiebreaking two-run shot that proved to be the difference in the series.
Thornton has been great this season, posting a 0.97 WHIP that ranks among in the top 20 among AL relievers. Stanek entered Sunday with a 10-game scoreless streak. But overall, ever since a dominant first month of the season, Seattle’s bullpen has been trending downward. Since May 1, the Mariners’ ‘pen ranks 23rd in the majors in ERA (4.59) and 15th in WHIP (1.25).
Gilbert wraps up dominant June
After tossing eight scoreless innings in each of his previous two starts, Logan Gilbert took a shutout into the sixth inning Friday night to extend his scoreless streak to 21 frames. The streak ended on a two-run homer by Carlos Correa, but that was the lone blemish in another strong outing for Gilbert. The 27-year-old right-hander limited the Twins to just two runs over six innings, giving him his MLB-best 14th quality start.
It capped a dominant June for Gilbert, who posted a 1.51 ERA and a 0.62 WHIP in five starts this month, along with 31 strikeouts and only one walk. Gilbert leads the majors with a 0.88 WHIP this season and ranks fifth in opponents’ batting average (.195) and ninth in ERA (2.72). He has allowed one earned run or fewer in nine of his 17 starts and has surrendered more than four runs only once all season.
Up next
After an off day Monday, the Mariners continue their nine-game homestand with a three-game set against the AL East-leading Baltimore Orioles. Baltimore (53-30) recently had a season-long five-game losing streak, but has since responded with four straight wins.
The Orioles’ heavy-hitting lineup averages an MLB-leading 5.25 runs per game and leads the majors in slugging percentage (.464), OPS (.781) and home runs (139). Baltimore has blasted a whopping 60 homers in June, which is 18 more than any other team. Power-hitting shortstop Gunnar Henderson is tied for second in the majors with 26 homers and outfielder Anthony Santander ranks fifth with 22 long balls, including an MLB-best 12 this month. Baltimore also has one of the top pitching staffs in baseball, ranking third in ERA (3.36) and fourth in WHIP (1.16).
The Mariners lost two of three to the Orioles at Camden Yards in mid-May. Henderson homered in all three games.
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SEATTLE — Seattle police are investigating a shooting that left a 17-year-old boy injured early Thursday morning in the High Point neighborhood.
At about 12:48 a.m., dispatchers received multiple reports of rapid gunfire near Sylvan Way Southwest and Southwest Morgan Street.
Officers arrived and found a 17-year-old boy suffering from a gunshot wound to the hip area. Medics transported the teen to Harborview Medical Center in serious but stable condition.
Before officers located the victim, they found a car that had crashed and become disabled near Sylvan Way Southwest and Delridge Way Southwest. Police said multiple suspects were seen running from the vehicle through a nearby Home Depot parking lot.
Officers cordoned off the area and searched for the suspects with assistance from the K-9 Unit, but were unable to locate them. Police recovered the vehicle and impounded it for processing.
During the incident, gunfire struck at least three vehicles and two buildings. No other injuries were reported.
Officers processed multiple nearby scenes and recovered evidence before clearing the area. Detectives with the Gun Violence Reduction Unit will lead the investigation.
Seattle, WA
Council eyes street barricades in fight against violence, sex trafficking in north Seattle
SEATTLE — The Seattle City Council is expected to vote next week on a plan that would give the Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT) the authority to close off street access for public safety reasons.
The proposal comes after months of outcry from residents in north Seattle who say sex traffickers and sex buyers are looping through the streets surrounding Aurora Avenue North.
The street-closure proposal passed the council’s Public Safety Committee on Tuesday and is expected to be voted on by the full council next week.
“I don’t think it’s hyperbole to say the crime has gotten much worse, much more violent, and much more predator,” said District 5 councilmember Debora Juarez. “I think that we do have the authority to shut down a street for bullets flying and endangering the lives of those who live there.”
Frustrated neighbors have installed their own homemade barricades after a spate of gun violence between sex traffickers in May.
RELATED | SDOT removes street barricades near Aurora Ave; neighbors doubtful of temporary measures
Councilmember Bob Kettle says street closures will help tamp down sex buying in certain areas, but he emphasizes it must be accompanied by an increase in outreach and enforcement.
“We have to have a sustained effort,” Kettle told KOMO News. “My concern is for every action, there’s a reaction. We need to take this flex and then really attack it … because if we do just a bit and our attention wanders, we could have this conversation three months from now and we’re talking about the same thing.”
A 15-year-old boy was shot near 95th Street and Aurora Avenue North around 10:45 p.m. last night. The teen initially claimed he had been shot while walking down the street, but investigators now say he was shot by a passenger in his car.
RELATED | Seattle police say ‘drive-by’ on Aurora Ave. was actually passenger shooting teen driver
Kettle credited the city’s Real Time Crime Center cameras with helping investigators quickly piece together the events of the shooting.
“Just as important to finding out what happened, the cameras help police determine what did not happen,” Kettle said.
According to Seattle police data, reports of shootings and shots fired in the north precinct area are at their lowest levels since 2021.
Through the end of May, there were 48 total reports of shootings or shots fired, with one fatal shooting and seven nonfatal injury shootings.
That’s down from 63 total reports of shootings and shots fired – one fatal and seven injuries – in 2025; and 64 shootings or shots fired reports – one fatal and 17 injuries – in 2024.
At Tuesday’s committee meeting, councilmembers pointed out residents are calling for a new police precinct to be built on Aurora Avenue.
Ten years ago, a new North Precinct building was slated to be built at 130th Avenue and Aurora Avenue North to replace the existing precinct building, which was decades old and did not have enough space for the department’s needs.
Led by former councilmember Kshama Sawant, the “Block the Bunker” movement successfully got the North Precinct replacement project killed in city council.
Kettle said the city’s current financial issues make it essentially impossible to bring back a project similar to the one the previous council defeated.
“We have to connect the dots back,” Kettle said. “If we want to know why we are where we are today, we have to look at decisions made over the last two councils.”
Seattle, WA
Iran and Egypt to play in Seattle ‘Pride Match’ despite earlier complaints | The Jerusalem Post
Seattle revels in its reputation as a welcoming place and Pride flags are visible all over the city, all year round. Its June Pride weekend is one of the biggest in the United States.
So, ahead of December’s World Cup draw, it was only natural that local organizers designated the June 26 match to be held in the city as a “Pride Match.”
Then the draw happened — and the two teams scheduled to play the game were Egypt and Iran.
Egypt’s Football Association urged global soccer governing body FIFA to prevent any Pride-related activities, arguing such events clashed with the Muslim-majority country’s cultural and religious values. The governing body in Iran, where same-sex relations can carry the death penalty, filed an objection with FIFA.
Some in Seattle have doubts over the teams in the ‘Pride Match’
But in Seattle, there is no question that the Pride Match will go ahead as planned.
“The World Cup is going to come and go in three weeks,” Hedda McLendon, from Seattle’s local World Cup organizing committee, told Reuters. “The Pride celebration … has happened on this weekend for 50-plus years.
“It is going to happen this weekend, it is going to happen long after the World Cup.”
Some in the city’s LGBTQ community had mixed feelings given the participants, said Jon Cairns, 49, manager of local LGBTQ+ club Kremwerk.
Cairns, however, said his own view was that it provided a platform to promote acceptance that only the world’s biggest sporting event could offer.
“My reaction is let’s have them,” he told Reuters. “International sports is one of the biggest brokers historically of social change and individual rights and freedoms worldwide, including in the U.S.”
He cited black U.S. sprinter Jesse Owens’ four gold medals at the 1936 Olympic Games in Nazi Germany and Tommie Smith and John Carlos’ raised-fist protest in 1968 as moments where “only international sports could reach that big of an audience.”
“They’re not going to turn off the World Cup on state television in Iran or Egypt to block out a Pride flag in the audience,” Cairns said.
The Pride Match is “a host city initiative” and separate of FIFA, a spokesperson for soccer’s governing body told Reuters.
Seattle’s LGBTQ community sees an opportunity
Egypt and Iran’s involvement in the Pride Match is not the first time the World Cup has grappled with stark differences in attitudes between hosts and visitors.
In 2022 World Cup host Qatar, the emir said visitors should “respect our culture” when asked about gay people attending the tournament.
FIFA threatened yellow cards for captains wearing the “OneLove” armband, citing its rules against political slogans. Teams including England and the Netherlands that had been planning to wear the armbands to protest Qatar’s laws against same-sex relationships abandoned the plan.
For Ryan Webster, a 40-year-old lifestyle manager who was at Kremwerk the weekend before Pride, Seattle’s “Pride Match” was an opportunity to show solidarity with people in countries where their sexuality was outlawed.
“I’m choosing to believe that this is our moment to allow the members of the LGBTQ community that come from those countries to have the opportunity to celebrate themselves in totality that they might not have otherwise,” he said outside the club, which will host a watch party for Friday’s game.
Inside, ‘Venus Fengz’ lip-synced to Cher’s “Believe” before introducing fellow drag performers to the stage, clapped and cheered by a raucous crowd.
Fengz, who only wanted to provide their stage name, said Pride coinciding with the World Cup would bring increased visibility, anticipating perhaps some new audience members.
“I think it’s always great for us to be able to share space and share places with people who don’t have the same experiences as us,” they told Reuters.
“Sometimes you just have to be the bigger person and show grace where you can and know that everyone is a human learning (from) different experiences, but also it can get hard — because you’re on the shorter end of the stick, always trying to have to explain yourself around people who don’t grow up with the same worldview.”
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