Author: SPNW Staff

Willie Bloomquist doesn’t get many at-bats. But one he had Sunday in the third inning at Minute Maid Park sparked a four-run splurge at the expense of Collin McHugh and sent the Mariners on their way to another fingernail-chewing victory over the Houston Astros, the worst team in the major leagues when they don’t play

Six-foot-four defender Chad Marshall rolled into the scrum in front of the goal, leaped up and headed in his first score of the season off a corner kick from Marco Pappa to give Sounders FC a 2-1 win over the Philadelphia Union Saturday night in front of a drenched sellout crowd at the Clink.

At Houston’s Minute Maid Park, starting pitcher Hisashi Iwakuma finally made his 2014 debut Saturday and came away with a victory, but how he achieved it had everything to do with what unfolded in the seventh inning, and how Seattle nearly squandered a series of Astros gifts before prevailing, shakily, 9-8.

Invited to help start Seattle’s boating season Saturday, Great Britain’s national team provided the proper jolt — beating the University of Washington in the men’s eight, while the Huskies women’s eight prevailed over the visitors on a breezy day of showers at the 28th annual Windermere Cup on the Montlake Cut.

Great Britain’s crews dominated the 2012 Summer Olympics in London and will present a formidable challenge for Washington in Saturday’s Windermere Cup.

A third consecutive start by Felix Hernandez came to naught, the Astros putting the first four batters of the 11th inning on base against reliever Charlie Furbush, and oozed across the winner in a 5-4 triumph over the Mariners Friday night in Houston.

Had Wednesday’s game not been washed out by rain, Felix Hernandez would have faced the Yankees Thursday night. But the postponement pushed Hernandez’s next start to Friday in Houston, leaving rookie Roenis Elias to do what he could do with the AL East leaders. Even at his dominating best, Hernandez couldn’t have improved much on

The Mariners get Hisashi Iwakuma, third in last year’s Cy Young vote, back into their rotation Saturday in Game 2 of a three-game set in Houston.

The court at Alaska Airlines Arena on the UW campus will have a new look for the 2014-15 season, notably a silhouette of the Seattle skyline and Space Needle.