Mariners News
The Mariners are taking their hot streak up north today against the Toronto Blue Jays. The M’s are coming off a series win over the Cincinnati Reds, which included their biggest offensive showing of the season yesterday when they scored 11 runs in an extra-innings win. Cal Raleigh has been one of the hottest hitters in baseball after getting one of the team’s new torpedo bats, he’s launched six home runs in the last six games.
The Mariners now have a winning record for the first time since Opening Day and have won six of their last seven. They’ll look to continue their success against a Blue Jays club that’s coming off back-to-back wins over the Braves. Bryan Woo is making his return to the mound with a chance to improve to 3-0 on the season. Coverage for today’s series opener begins at 3:00 and first pitch is at 4:07 on KPUG.
Sounders/Reign News
The Sounders and Reign will both continue their seasons at Lumen Field this weekend. First up, the Reign are hosting the Portland Thorns at 7:00 tonight. Both teams are searching for their second win of the year after some early-season struggles.
After that, the Sounders are hosting Nashville SC at 4:30 tomorrow. Seattle’s coming off a 1-0 win over FC Dallas that snapped its five-match winless streak. A win tomorrow could propel them into 9th place in the Western Conference.
WWU Vikings News
And Western Washington University softball is hitting the home stretch of its regular season. The Viks dismantled Central Washington 15-2 in the first game of their doubleheader in Bellingham this afternoon. Today’s win came a week after the program’s 1998 national championship team was inducted into the Western Athletics Hall of Fame.
The 11th-nationally ranked Vikings have overcome a slow start to their season to win 17 of their last 20 games, six of them by mercy rule. They’ll conclude their second-to-last series of the regular season tomorrow against Central before hosting Simon Frasier next weekend to cap it off.
The Viks currently sit in first place in the GNAC standings ahead of the conference tournament, which starts on May 1.
NBA/NHL News
It’s the opening weekend of the playoffs for two of the country’s top professional sports. The NBA and NHL will each begin their postseasons starting tomorrow.
In the NBA, the Boston Celtics are looking to repeat as champions, but they have no shortage of challengers. The Cleveland Cavaliers are the #1 seed in the Eastern Conference and the Oklahoma City Thunder are the top seed in the West. Reigning MVP Nikola Jokic has his hands full in a first round series against the LA Clippers. Meanwhile, NBA legends LeBron James and Stephen Curry are looking for some late-career magic in their playoff journeys.
In the NHL, the Washington Capitals and Winnipeg Jets own the top seeds in the East and West, respectively. The Florida Panthers begin their journey to repeat as Stanley Cup champs against the Tampa Bay Lightning. It comes after the NHL reported that it surpassed 23 million fans for the first time this regular season. It’s the third straight year that the league has broken attendance records.
