That was a bummer. The New York Liberty hit Hollywood to face the Los Angeles Sparks on Wednesday night. They took the lead in the second half, but were essentially in the mud all game long and it led to them losing 94-88. The seafoam are still in first place, but they still have work to do to secure the top seed in the playoffs.

The opponent tonight is looking to secure homecourt advantage in the first round of the WNBA playoffs. The Seattle Storm have tried to figure things out as they begin their new era. It’s been a bit rocky, but they’re holding tough. They survived a tough challenge against the Atlanta Dream on Wednesday night and held on to win by four points.

Where to follow the game

ION is the place to be. League Pass for the out of towners. Late night affair so we getting started after 10 PM.

Injuries

Jonquel Jones missed Wednesday’s game with a non-COVID illness. She’s listed as questionable.

Jordan Horston missed Wednesday’s game with a non-COVID illness. She’s back tonight.

The game

New York won the first game. They close out the season series next week.

The Liberty say it all the time, but when they don’t move the ball side to side, bad things happen. They rush into their actions and don’t put pressure on opposing defenses when they get into those bad stretches. We saw it on full display as they turned the ball over 20 times in Los Angeles. When you’re that unorganized, you’re going to lose every single time.

Jewell Loyd has been trying to figure things out, but it’s been a struggle. She’s shooting a career low 36.2 percent from the field and perhaps most concerning, just 27.5 percent from three point range. That’s the lowest percentage she’s shot from deep since her rookie season. She still leads the team in field goal attempts and is fourth overall in FGAs. For Noelle Quinn and the Storm, they have to figure out how to put Jewell in the best position to succeed. Even as I say that, she can make you forget it all in the blink of an eye

Speaking of three point shooting, Sabrina Ionescu will try to regain her rhythm from deep. Sab hasn’t shot above 40 percent from deep since the win against the Sparks on August 15. For Ionescu, she’s been at her best when she’s driving downhill and getting into the painted area. That success getting to the basket opens up the rest of the court for herself and her teammates, which makes life so much easier for everyone.

Player to watch: Nneka Ogwumike

Quiet as it’s kept, Nneka has been one of the best players in the league this season. She’s been a source of consistency for the Storm as they try to find their identity before the playoffs start. How good has she been? My pal Nekias Duncan has more on the former MVP

For Nneka, she and Ezi Magbegor make for one of the best, most challenging frontcourt tandems to stop in the league this season. The Storm have been the second worst rebounding team in the league since the break (the Liberty have been the best), so it’s goin to take a lot of heavy lifting for the Storm tonight if they want to punch their ticket to the postseason.

If all else fails for the Liberty, Breanna Stewart will be there to save the day. Stew York was the main engine on offense Wednesday night as she was able to score 32 points while keeping the team afloat. Stewart can do everything in the world, and if JJ is out for another game, Sandy Brondello will have her play some more center minutes. The Liberty haven’t had to do it much this season, but tonight could be an opportunity for them to try it out before the stakes get high.

From the Vault

You can never go wrong with Seattle Stewie.

More reading: Swish Appeal, Chicago Sun Times, Chicago Tribune, The Strickland, The Local W, New York Daily News, New York Post, The Athletic. Fansided, Just Women’s Sports, SI All Knicks, Winsidr, Her Hoop Stats, CBS Sports, and The Next

The scoreboard-watching Seattle Mariners just suffered some brutal news on Friday.

Kansas City Royals first baseman Vinnie Pasquantino suffered a broken thumb on Thursday night and is out six-to-eight weeks.

That’s a huge deal to the Mariners, because the Royals play the Houston Astros three more times over the weekend. With Pasquantino and his 97 RBIs out for the remainder of the regular season, those games become harder for Kansas City to win – which Seattle desperately needs.

The Mariners enter play on Friday night at 68-66 on the year. They are 4.0 games behind the Astros in the American League West race and need Houston to lose at every turn imaginable if they are going to capture the West for the first time since 2001. Of course, they wouldn’t need to be scoreboard watching if they hadn’t blown a 10.0 game division lead since June 19….

Houston came back to beat Kansas City, 6-3, on Thursday night. Those two teams will play again on Friday with first pitch coming at 8:10 p.m. ET.

As for the Mariners, they’ll be back in action on Friday after a Thursday off-day. They’ll begin a 10-game road trip in Anaheim against the Los Angeles Angels. First pitch in that contest is set for 6:38 p.m. PT. The Mariners will send right-hander George Kirby to the mound against right-hander Carson Fullmer.

The M’s have lost six of their last seven games against the Angels this year, but they have won four of their last six overall. They most recently took a three-game set from the Tampa Bay Rays in Seattle.

They are 4-2 under new manager Dan Wilson.

NEW PODCAST IS OUT: The latest episode of the “Refuse to Lose” podcast is out as Brady Farkas talks about the criticism that Jerry Dipoto has received in Scott Servais’s firing, the M’s early success under Dan Wilson and the comments made by Ryan Divish recently on the “Marine Layer” podcast. Furthermore, Danny O’Neil, who wrote a tough column calling for Dipoto to be fired joins the show. CLICK HERE:

TYING A-ROD: Shohei Ohtani has tied Alex Rodriguez’s historic 1998 season. Here’s how. CLICK HERE:

SLICK VIC: Victor Robles has set a Mariners record on the bases. 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:

If the Seattle Mariners are going to make the playoffs in 2024, it’s going to be on the strength of their starting pitching. The group of Luis Castillo, Logan Gilbert, Bryce Miller, George Kirby and Bryan Woo is the best collection of starters in all of baseball, capable of giving the team length and a chance to win most times out.

How good has the M’s staff been? Check out these league-leading numbers from Mariners PR:

Seattle has 4 pitchers with 14+ quality starts and 5 with 9+: Logan Gilbert (21 QS, most in MLB), Luis Castillo (17, T-9th) ,George Kirby (16, 12th), Bryce Miller (14, T-15th) and Bryan Woo (9), making them the only starting rotation in the Majors to meet both those criteria.

Castillo almost added another quality start to his ledger on Wednesday, tossing 5.2 innings in a win over the Tampa Bay Rays. He gave up just two runs and the M’s won, 6-2.

Seattle is now 68-66 on the season and they trail the Houston Astros by 3.5 games in the American League West race. They also trail the Minnesota Twins by 4.5 games in the wild card race. However, they’d have to jump both the Boston Red Sox and Detroit Tigers to get there. All three teams have the tiebreakers over Seattle.

The M’s will be back on the field on Friday after an off-day on Thursday. They’ll take on the Los Angeles Angels at 6:38 p.m. PT down in Anaheim.

The Angels are in last place in the division.

NEW PODCAST IS OUT: The latest episode of the “Refuse to Lose” podcast is out as Brady Farkas talks about the Mariners getting closer to the Astros in the AL West race. What is his goal by September? Furthermore, we examine the recent comments by now-fired hitting coach Brant Brown, the approach at the plate from Julio Rodriguez and our takeaways from the first few games of the Dan Wilson-era. CLICK HERE:

JULIO BREAKS DROUGHT: Julio Rodriguez finally went deep again, hitting a two-run blast on Wednesday. CLICK HERE:

BLEAK TIMES AHEAD? Speaking on the “Marine Layer” podcast on Wednesday, Ryan Divish of the Seattle Times painted a dim picture for the M’s offseason ahead. 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: