Seattle Seahawks quarterback Sam Howell continues to make an impression on his new team, and his confidence in offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb’s offense appears to be growing.

Howell left a mark in the team’s preseason contest against the Tennessee Titans. Despite the 16-15 loss, Howell inched closer to earning consideration as a starter someday.

“He ran Seattle’s offense efficiently in the preseason opener, though, and was even better against the Tennessee Titans on Saturday,” Bleacher Report writes. “The Seahawks gave Howell four series, and he helped lead them to 10 points. He finished 11-of-14 for 153 yards and a touchdown while flashing the type of arm talent that meshes perfectly with new coordinator Ryan Grubb’s offense. Howell isn’t likely to spark a quarterback controversy at this point in the preseason, but he could be a threat to do so if Smith doesn’t quickly return to his 2022 form.”

Make no mistake about it: There is no quarterback controversy in Seattle. Geno Smith will start the team’s Week 1 match against the Denver Broncos on Sept. 8. However, Howell was acquired via trade for a reason. Eventually, he will get an opportunity.

It remains to be seen when that chance will come, but Howell could step in as the team’s top quarterback if Smith gets injured this season or if he underperforms. The chances of Howell stepping in are far greater in 2025 when the Seahawks can get out of Smith’s contract without much penalty and Howell will enter the final year of his rookie deal.

Howell and the Seahawks will play in the preseason finale on Saturday against the Cleveland Browns. Kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. PT.

At this point it feels like the same rerun of a bad show.

The Seattle Mariners lost to the Los Angeles Dodgers 3-0 on Monday in the first of a three-game series — the final one in what’s turned to be a disastrous nine-game road trip for the Mariners.

Seattle fell to 64-62 with the loss and dropped to five games behind the Houston Astros in the American League West standings. The Mariners have gone 20-31 and have given up 15 games of ground in the division since their 10-game lead on June 19.

In Seattle’s most recent losses — it’s failed to bring runners in scoring position home despite numerous opportunities to do so. The Mariners couldn’t even make it that far on Monday.

Dodgers starter Gavin Stone had a career night on the bump. He pitched seven scoreless innings and struck out 10 batters. He allowed two hits and walked another two.

Seattle starter Bryan Woo put up a solid effort of his own to match Stone’s. He shut out the Dodgers through six innings and struck out five batters while letting up just one hit.

“Outstanding pitching tonight — both sides, obviously,” Seattle manager Scott Servais said in a postgame interview Monday. “Our guy Bryan Woo I thought was fantastic. Can’t throw the ball much better. … I thought Bryan really couldn’t have done a better job than what he did.”

It was the seventh inning where things started to spiral.

Gavin Lux hit a solo-shot home run off Woo in the bottom of the seventh for the first run of the game and to put Los Angeles up 1-0.

Woo hit Will Smith with a pitch and was subsequently pulled soon after. Yimi Garcia entered the game for Woo. It was Woo’s fourth consecutive quality start of more than six innings pitched.

In his first batter faced — Garcia let up a two-run homer to right field to Max Muncy to give the Dodgers the eventual final of 3-0.

The Mariners had just four runners reach base on Monday. Only one of those runners (Randy Arozarena) got to scoring position.

There’s 36 games left in the season. That’s how many games the Mariners have to turn their season around. They’re 6.5 games out of the third AL Wild Card spot.

At this point Seattle’s best hope lies in winning the division. And the numbers aren’t in the Mariners’ favor. Neither is time. And Seattle is running out of it.

MARINERS’ TURNER REUNITES WITH OLD TEAMMATES: Seattle Mariners first baseman Justin Turner greeted some old Los Angeles Dodgers teammates on Monday; Turner won the World Series with the Dodgers in 2020. CLICK HERE

MARINERS BATS COME ALIVE AGAINST PIRATES: The Seattle Mariners put up the best offensive performance of its current road trip with a 10-3 win against the Pittsburgh Pirates on Sunday. CLICK HERE

MARINERS OFFENSE GOES QUIET AGAINST PIRATES: The Seattle Mariners went 1-for-8 with runners in scoring position, left 10 runners on base, lost their fifth-straight game and lost the series to the Pittsburgh Pirates with a 7-2 on Saturday. 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

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: