News

Northwest Sports Headlines: Mariners Opening Day, ABS challenge system begins in MLB, WWU softball begins GNAC schedule and more

AP Photo/Charlie Riedel


Mariners News

Mariners Opening Day is finally upon us.

The M’s are opening their season at home tonight against the Cleveland Guardians. Logan Gilbert will be on the mound as the Mariners look to improve on a season that brought them within several outs of their first-ever World Series appearance.

They open up the 2026 season with the third-best odds to win the title in many sportsbooks.

Tonight’s game will be a reunion between Seattle first baseman Josh Naylor and his brother Bo, who played together on Team Canada in the World Baseball Classic.

Coverage begins at 6:00 and first pitch is at 7:10 on KGMI.

MLB News

With the new season getting underway, you’ll want to be up to date on a major rule change coming to the big leagues.

The MLB is implementing the Automated Ball-Strike Challenge System, or ABS, for the first time this year. The system monitors the exact location of each pitch relative to the specific batter’s zone and gives each team the power to appeal the umpire’s call.

Only the batter, pitcher and catcher can challenge the call, and they can do so by tapping their cap or helmet. Each team will start the game with two challenges apiece and they’ll only lose their challenge if it fails and the umpire’s initial call is confirmed.

ABS has been tested in the minor leagues since 2022 and in MLB spring training last year.

Kraken News

The Kraken are trying to snap their skid tonight to make it back into the playoff picture.

They’re facing the Tampa Bay Lightning in the fourth leg of their six-game road trip out east.

The struggling Kraken have dropped four straight and eight of their last 10. It was this Tampa team that kickstarted their current losing streak just last week in Seattle.

A win tonight would go a long way, as the Kraken still sit five points behind Nashville for the final playoff spot in the Western Conference with 12 games to go in the regular season.

Coverage begins at 3:30 and puck drops at 4 on KBAI.

WWU Vikings News

Western softball is making its way into conference play this week.

The Vikings are hosting Central Washington for a doubleheader tomorrow in their first two matches of the GNAC schedule.

Western enters this stretch of the season with a 14-11 record, boasting a mercy-rule win over Cal State East Bay, which was ranked No. 2 in the country at the time. Senior shortstop Hailey Rath has sparked the team, leading the GNAC with 10 home runs and 36 RBI.

The Viks play doubleheaders against Central tomorrow and Saturday. Tomorrow’s pair of games start at noon and 2:30 pm from Viking Field in Bellingham.

Recent Headlines

1 day ago in Entertainment

Book bans and attempted bans remain at record highs, with ‘Sold’ topping the list

Book bans and attempted bans remain at record highs, according to the American Library Association. And efforts to have titles removed have never been more coordinated or politicized.

1 day ago in Entertainment

South Korean police seek to arrest K-pop mogul behind BTS

South Korean police said Tuesday they are seeking to arrest music mogul Bang Si-Hyuk, chairman of the agency behind K-pop supergroup BTS, as they expand an investigation into allegations that he illegally gained more than $100 million in an investor fraud scheme.

1 day ago in Trending, World

Late Queen Elizabeth II’s legacy still looms over British monarchy 100 years after her birth

Queen Elizabeth II lives on at the Cool Britannia gift shop across the road from Buckingham Palace. Four years after the queen's death, the shop is doing a brisk business in mugs, tea towels and key rings bearing the likeness of Britain's longest-reigning monarch as the nation marks the centenary of her birth on Tuesday.

2 days ago in Sports, Trending

Defending champion John Korir breaks Boston Marathon record and Sharon Lokedi also repeats

John Korir outran the strongest field in Boston Marathon history and still had enough energy left to bounce around Boylston Street after learning he had blistered the course record, too.

2 days ago in Entertainment, Trending

Singer D4vd charged with murder of 14-year-old Celeste Rivas Hernandez, found dismembered in his car

Singer D4vd has been charged with murder in the death of a 14-year-old girl who was last known to be alive nearly a year ago and whose dismembered and decomposed body was found in September in his apparently abandoned Tesla, prosecutors said Monday.