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Seattle Storm spoil Diana Taurasi’s night, beat Mercury 89-70

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Seattle Storm spoil Diana Taurasi’s night, beat Mercury 89-70


PHOENIX (AP) — Nneka Ogwumike scored 17 points and the Seattle Storm spoiled what could be the final home game of Diana Taurasi’s 20-year career with an 89-70 win over the Phoenix Mercury on Thursday night.

Seattle Storm 89, Phoenix Mercury 70: Box score

Taurasi had nine points on 3-of-9 shooting in 18 minutes, returning after the crowd started a chant of “We want DT!” in the closing minutes. She returned less than a minute later to another chant – “One more year!” – and addressed the crowd following a tribute video.

Brittney Griner led the Mercury with 11 points.

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The Storm (25-15) were already locked in the WNBA’s No. 5 playoff seed and will open the first round Sunday at the Las Vegas Aces in a best-of-three series.

Phoenix (19-21) has locked up the No. 7 seed and will play No. 2 Minnesota in a best-of-three first round series starting Sunday, but there’s no certainty Taurasi will be back for another game in the desert. The Lynx could end Taurasi’s career – if this indeed is it – by sweeping the first two games.

Mercury players honored Taurasi before the game, wearing her jersey with a goat – Greatest Of All Time – in the No. 3 during player introductions. The 42-year-old Taurasi has not said whether she will retire after this season, but has hinted this might be it.

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Taurasi’s place as one of the greatest women’s basketball players of all-time is unquestioned, a resume that includes multiple championships and records.

The Storm were intent on spoiling Taurasi’s night, scoring the game’s first 10 points. Taurasi – of course – ended the run with a 3-pointer, but it didn’t stop the Storm’s push.

Seattle shot 15 of 22 in the first quarter to lead 35-14 while the Mercury struggled to get into an offensive flow. Phoenix had nearly as many turnovers (five) as field goals (six) and looked disjointed through most of the quarter.

The Mercury were better in the second quarter, opening the second quarter with a 7-0 run while cutting the lead to 43-31 by halftime. Ogwumike had 14 points.

The Storm surged again in the third quarter while the Mercury foundered again, stretching the lead to 68-49. Phoenix tried to mount a rally in the fourth quarter, but Seattle pushed back every time, running away with a road victory in possibly the final home game of Taurasi’s career.

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Seattle Storm first-round playoff schedule

The No. 5 seed Storm open the WNBA playoffs with a best-of-three series against the No. 4 seed Las Vegas Aces. The winner advances to face either the No. 1 seed New York Liberty or the No. 8 seed Atlanta Dream in the WNBA semifinals.

No. 5 Seattle Storm (25-15) vs. No. 4 Las Vegas Aces (27-13)

Game 1: at Las Vegas – Sunday, Sept. 22, 7 p.m. (ESPN)

Game 2: at Las Vegas – Tuesday, Sept. 24, 6:30 p.m. (ESPN)

Game 3 (if necessary): at Seattle – Thursday, Sept. 26, time TBD (ESPN2)

SeattleSports.com added the above playoff information to this story.

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WNBA awards expansion team to Portland that will play in ’26

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Seattle, WA

Seattle Weather: Drippy and Cool End to the Weekend

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Seattle Weather: Drippy and Cool End to the Weekend


A busy weekend around Puget Sound with Kendrick Lamar and Sza also taking the stage Saturday night at Lumen Field.  Rain is forecast at times during the concert with cool temperatures dropping into the 40s. 

Tonight's forecast for the Seattle area.

Chance of rain continues through the night.

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A convergence zone will settle in tonight around the King and Snohomish County area.  Rain may be heavy at times with some thunder possible.  Another weak disturbance will swing through tomorrow with scattered showers.  

Scattered showers continue on Sunday.

Another weak disturbance swings through on Sunday with additional scattered showers. 

Onshore flow will keep our temperatures cooler than average through the weekend, but a warm-up is expected by next weekend as we celebrate Memorial Day. 

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Another cool day on Sunday.

Onshore flow continues on Sunday with afternoon temperatures still cooler than normal. 

Along with the cooler-than-normal weather in Seattle this week, there’s an almost daily chance of showers as well.  We are still looking drier, though in time for Memorial Day weekend next weekend. 

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The extended forecast for the Seattle metro area.

Along with the cooler-than-normal weather in Seattle this week, there’s an almost daily chance of showers as well.

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Seattle Mariners power past Padres 5-1 in Vedder Cup opener

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Seattle Mariners power past Padres 5-1 in Vedder Cup opener


SAN DIEGO (AP) — J.P. Crawford homered on Stephen Kolek’s first pitch and Rowdy Tellez and Cal Raleigh each added a two-run shot for the Seattle Mariners, who beat the San Diego Padres 5-1 Friday night in the opening game of the inaugural Vedder Cup.

Seattle Mariners 5, San Diego Padres 1: Box score

Rookie Logan Evans (2-1) pitched six strong innings for the Mariners, who took a 1 1/2-game lead over the Texas Rangers in the AL West. The Padres came in trailing the Los Angeles Dodgers by one game in the NL West.

J.P. Crawford launches 1st-pitch leadoff HR in return to lineup

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The annual interleague series between the teams that share a spring training complex was informally known since 2011 as the Vedder Cup, a reference to Pearl Jam frontman Eddie Vedder. Vedder, who is actually a Chicago Cubs fan, spent some formative years in San Diego before moving to Seattle and joining the fledgling band in 1990. The two teams formalized the competition in March, with the winner getting a trophy featuring a guitar provided by Vedder. Pearl Jam was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2017.

The teams play again in Seattle Aug. 25-27.

The Padres and Mariners will support EB Research Partnership, a charity co-founded by Eddie and Jill Vedder dedicated to funding research to discover treatments and cures for Epidermolysis Bullosa.

Crawford’s homer was his fourth. Tellez also connected to right with two outs in the fourth, with Raleigh aboard on a walk. It was his seventh. Raleigh homered to left, his 14th, after Julio Rodriguez singled leading off the sixth.

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Evans, whose ERA was lowered by six runs on Thursday due to a scoring decision change, held the Padres to seven hits while striking out three and walking one. Only four Padres reached scoring position.

Kolek (2-1) was coming off his first career complete game in a 21-0 win at Colorado last Saturday. He allowed five runs and eight hits in five innings, with four strikeouts and one walk.

Key moment

Crawford set the tone with his 357-foot homer over the home run porch in the right field corner.

Key Stat

Crawford’s 14 leadoff homers are second in Mariners history behind Ichiro Suzuki’s 37.

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Up next

Mariners RHP Emerson Hancock (1-2, 6.91 ERA) and Padres RHP Nick Pivetta (5-2, 3.05) are scheduled to start Saturday night.

Seattle Mariners news and analysis

• How concerning are Seattle Mariners’ pitching injuries? Expert weighs in
• Cal Raleigh shares the impact made by Seattle Mariners hitting coaches
• Why Seattle Mariners are a ‘more compelling’ team this season
• Seattle Mariners’ Dylan Moore shares key factors to career-best start
• Could Seattle Mariners swing an early trade? Morosi weighs in



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TEREN’S TAKE: It Will be Tough, But Seattle Mariners Can Right The Ship

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TEREN’S TAKE: It Will be Tough, But Seattle Mariners Can Right The Ship


Coming off a 1-5 homestand, the Seattle Mariners are set to embark on their most difficult stretch of season thus far.

After being swept by the Toronto Blue Jays and losing a three-game series against the New York Yankees, Seattle will play 10 straight road games from Friday through May 25. That road trip starts at 6:40 p.m. PT on Friday in Game 1 of a three-game set against the San Diego Padres at Petco Park. The Mariners will follow that with a three-game series against the Chicago White Sox from May 19-21 at Rate Field, and will conclude the trip with a four-game series against the Houston Astros from May 22-25 at Minute Maid Park.

Entering Friday, the Mariners are 23-19 and have a half-game lead over the Texas Rangers in the American League West. During their 1-5 home stretch, they were outscored 36-16 and scored more than three runs just once.

On top of that, pitcher Bryce Miller joined fellow starters Logan Gilbert and George Kirby on the 15-day injured list with right elbow inflammation.

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It’s hard to have an optimistic outlook on Seattle, especially with the daunting road trip. But it’s not time to hit the panic button yet.

Firstly, the Mariners have already been here this season. They started the season 3-7 after splitting a series against the Athletics, losing a series to the Detroit Tigers and getting swept by the San Francisco Giants. Seattle ended up winning nine consecutive series for the first time since 2001 in the immediate aftermath.

“We already have experience feeling this way, kind of like nothing’s really going your way,” Julio Rodriguez said after a 3-2 loss to the Yankees on Wednesday. “But I think that this group does really well that. Just kind of finding a way, even if it’s hard. We’ve been here, we just got to continue to put one foot in front of the other and see what happens next game.”

Even if the Mariners offense doesn’t consistently return to the form they had during their series win streak, there’s hope the starting rotation can get back to the level it’s been accustomed to.

Kirby could be activated off the injured list during the road trip, and there’s optimism Miller’s stint on the IL will be minimal after he received a cortisone shot and an MRI revealed no structural damage.

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Gilbert likely won’t be too far behind Kirby and Gilbert.

If the offense can weather the storm until the three make their return, then Seattle could be in a good position to go on a run for the rest of the first half. At that point, Luke Raley will likely be back in the mix from his strained oblique, and Victor Robles could be back around the All-Star break.

In the latest episode of “The Cal Raleigh Show” With Shannon Drayer, Raleigh reaffirmed the team’s mindset even with their recent struggles.

“We just got to keep hammering it home. … It’s not about reinventing the wheel, it’s not about trying to do more or trying to do something different. It’s just continuing to lean on what we’ve talked about and the identity of who we are and just trying to always, consistently be that. Especially when things aren’t going your way, or you start wavering a little bit, just always trying to go back to that identity.”

All the Mariners have to do is not fall apart. The AL West has been extremely competitive in the first quarter of the season. Every team, with the exception of the fifth-place Los Angeles Angels, has had solid stretches. A 4-6 or 5-5 road trip would be a success for Seattle. Anything else would be a bonus.

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We’ll see how they respond beginning Friday. After all, they’ve been here before.

FORMER MARINERS BROADCASTER HIGHLIGHTS FORMER COLLEAGUES: Former Mariners and current New York Yankees broadcaster Dave Sims posted photos on “X” with his former co-workers after a series between the two teams. CLICK HERE

PITCHING MATCHUPS FOR SERIES BETWEEN MARINERS, PADRES: The two sides will play the first part of the Eddie Vedder Cup and the Mariners will have tough pitching matchups in front of them. CLICK HERE

J.P. CRAWFORD DAY-TO-DAY AFTER MISSING SERIES FINALE: The Mariners longest-tenured position player missed the team’s series finale against the New York Yankees on Wednesday with shoulder tightness. 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 @RefuseToLosePod. You can subscribe to the “Refuse to Lose” podcast by clicking HERE.

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