Entering play on Monday night, the Seattle Mariners are 4.0 games back of the Houston Astros in the American League West. The Astros, who have been besieged by injuries, are looking to advance to the ALCS or greater for the eighth straight year.

Though Mariners fans don’t want to admit it, it’s rather amazing what the Astros have been able to accomplish this year. They have played long stretches (and continue to) without Kyle Tucker and Justin Verlander. Furthermore, they’ve lost Lance McCullers Jr., Luis Garcia, Jose Urquidy, JP France from their pitching depth. Garcia is now out for the rest of the season and won’t be an option as the ‘Stros try to close out the division.

Per Astros reporter Chandler Rome of ‘The Athletic:’

Luis Garcia will not pitch for the Astros this season, Joe Espada said. Garcia will resume playing catch this weekend, but that is targeted toward getting him ready for 2025.

The 27-year-old from Venezuela would have been a big part of the Astros plans if he had been able to come back, but he evidently is not ready after having Tommy John surgery a year ago.

Lifetime, he’s 28-19 with a 3.61 ERA. He also shut the Mariners down in relief for a large stretch of the 2022 ALDS Game 3 that went 18-innings and saw the Astros win 1-0.

The Mariners will take on the Los Angeles Dodgers on Monday night with first pitch at 7:10 p.m. PT. The Astros are hosting the Boston Red Sox at 5:10 p.m. PT.

NEW PODCAST IS OUT: The latest episode of the “Refuse to Lose” podcast is out as Brady Farkas talks about the M’s getting swept by the Tigers, why this is all so frustrating and much more. Furthermore, we talk about the Julio Rodriguez-ankle issue, Colt Emerson’s big day, prospect rankings and the M’s potentially big financial blow. Furthermore, ESPN MLB Insider Buster Olney joins the show to talk about the M’s on “Sunday Night Baseball.” CLICK HERE:

M’s HEADED to WILLIAMSPORT: The Seattle Mariners will play in the Little League Classic in 2025. CLICK HERE:

HISTORY FOR CAL: Cal Raleigh brought in two runs on Sunday in a win over the Pirates, moving him past Alex Rodriguez on this great list in team history. CLICK HERE:

Continue to follow our Inside the Mariners coverage on social media by liking us on Facebook and by following Teren Kowatsch and Brady Farkas on “X” @Teren_Kowatsch and @wdevradiobrady. You can subscribe to the “Refuse to Lose” podcast by clicking HERE:

On Sunday night, it was announced that the Seattle Mariners will take on the New York Mets in the 2025 version of the Little League Classic in Williamsport, Penn.

One of baseball’s biggest days on the calendar, it’s a day where the major leagues meets the little leagues for fun, camaraderie and memories. The 2024 version between the New York Yankees and Detroit Tigers was a great success for everyone involved.

For the M’s, this will represent multiple great things. First, it will give them another nationally-televised game and a chance for national exposure as a brand. Second, it will allow the nation to see what we already know: That guys like JP Crawford and Victor Robles and Julio Rodriguez and Randy Arozarena have great personalities that deserve to be shown off. And third, it will help break up the monotony of the calendar and could help the M’s stay invigorated for what we hope is a playoff push in 2025.

Unfortunately though, you won’t be able to watch the signature event in person. There are no tickets sold to the general public, according to Little League’s website:

Unfortunately, tickets to the MLB Little League® Classic are unavailable to the general public, due to the very small size of the stadium and providing seats for all of our World Series teams, families, and volunteers. Major League Baseball typically holds a ticket lottery for residents of Lycoming County (which is the home of Williamsport, Pennsylvania), for the limited amount of tickets to distribute to residents in our area. More information on that lottery can be found at MLB.com/LLClassic.

The game is played at Historic Bowman Field, which is a minor league stadium that lacks the capacity of major league facilities. And as stated above, the limited seats are taken up by all the 20 Little League teams, their families and event volunteers.

The game will be played on Aug 17., 2025 and will be shown on ESPN.

NEW PODCAST IS OUT: The latest episode of the “Refuse to Lose” podcast is out as Brady Farkas talks about the M’s getting swept by the Tigers, why this is all so frustrating and much more. Furthermore, we talk about the Julio Rodriguez-ankle issue, Colt Emerson’s big day, prospect rankings and the M’s potentially big financial blow. Furthermore, ESPN MLB Insider Buster Olney joins the show to talk about the M’s on “Sunday Night Baseball.” CLICK HERE:

M’s HEADED to WILLIAMSPORT: The Seattle Mariners will play in the Little League Classic in 2025. CLICK HERE:

DOWN ON THE FARM: The Mariners may be struggling at the big-league level, but there was good news this week down on the farm with regards to top prospect Laz Montes. CLICK HERE:

Continue to follow our Inside the Mariners coverage on social media by liking us on Facebook and by following Teren Kowatsch and Brady Farkas on “X” @Teren_Kowatsch and @wdevradiobrady. You can subscribe to the “Refuse to Lose” podcast by clicking HERE:

Associated Press

Seattle Storm (17-10, 8-6 Western Conference) at Washington Mystics (6-21, 3-10 Eastern Conference)

Washington; Tuesday, 7 p.m. EDT

BOTTOM LINE: Washington Mystics takes on the Seattle Storm after Stefanie Dolson scored 23 points in the Washington Mystics’ 99-83 loss to the Minnesota Lynx.

The Mystics have gone 3-10 in home games. Washington is 2-4 in games decided by less than 4 points.

The Storm are 6-7 on the road. Seattle has a 1-1 record in one-possession games.

Washington averages 9.6 made 3-pointers per game, 2.8 more made shots than the 6.8 per game Seattle gives up. Seattle averages 6.0 made 3-pointers per game this season, 2.4 fewer made shots on average than the 8.4 per game Washington allows.

The two teams play for the third time this season. The Storm defeated the Mystics 101-69 in their last matchup on May 26. Nneka Ogwumike led the Storm with 19 points, and Karlie Samuelson led the Mystics with 16 points.

TOP PERFORMERS: Ariel Atkins is averaging 15.5 points, 3.6 assists and 1.5 steals for the Mystics.

Jewell Loyd is averaging 20.4 points and four assists for the Storm.

LAST 10 GAMES: Mystics: 2-8, averaging 79.8 points, 30.4 rebounds, 23.1 assists, 6.6 steals and 3.0 blocks per game while shooting 44.0% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 88.1 points per game.

Storm: 6-4, averaging 85.6 points, 33.9 rebounds, 21.7 assists, 8.5 steals and 5.0 blocks per game while shooting 43.8% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 78.1 points.

INJURIES: Mystics: None listed.

Storm: MacKenzie Holmes: out for season (knee).

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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.