Mariners counting on Emerson Hancock to quash Nationals

Right-hander Emerson Hancock will look to continue his stellar 2026 when the visiting Seattle Mariners conclude their three-game series against the Washington Nationals on Sunday.

The teams have split the first two games with Seattle winning 10-2 on Friday night and Washington taking an 8-3 decision Saturday.

Hancock (5-2, 2.74 ERA) will be making his 14th start of the season. He has allowed three earned runs or fewer in 12 of the first 13 and has pitched at least five innings in each start. Last time out he allowed a run on three hits over five innings in a 6-3 win against the Baltimore Orioles on Monday.

"I thought he threw the ball extremely well," manager Dan Wilson said after that game. "Everything on display against them. Some heaters, some sliders, a couple changeups. He was able to use his stuff well. He was finding the zone with it."

Hancock allowed two runs in 5 1/3 innings in his only previous appearance against the Nationals. He didn't figure into the decision of that 10-inning, 9-3 loss on May 29, 2025.

Left-hander PJ Poulin (3-0, 3.20) has been the opener in seven of 26 appearances and will fill that role again Sunday for the Nationals. He will give way to right-hander Miles Mikolas (1-5, 5.90).

Mikolas has worked behind an opener in each of his past five appearances, going 0-2 with a 4.32 ERA over that stretch to bring his ERA under 6.00 for the first time this season. In his most recent appearance, he pitched 4 2/3 scoreless innings on June 8 against the San Francisco Giants. He gave up three hits and did not walk a batter in the 4-3 win, but did not get a decision.

Mikolas is 1-1 with a 4.87 ERA in four career starts against the Mariners. His only win against Seattle came in 2014 when he was a member of the Texas Rangers.

On Saturday, Washington surrendered a 3-0 lead in the fifth inning but Luis Garcia Jr.'s two-run shot in the bottom half put the Nationals ahead to stay as they scored five unanswered runs to secure the win.

"They've got a good team over there, so we're doing our job here on the mound and with the bats," said Dylan Crews, who singled and has reached base in 19 of 21 games since being recalled from Triple-A Rochester on May 19. "Let's just keep it going. This is fun."

The Nationals (382 runs) continue to compete with the Los Angeles Dodgers for the MLB lead in runs scored, with the teams tied entering play on Sunday.

CJ Abrams had three hits and scored twice on Saturday. He also drove in two runs, and his 53 RBIs put him in the top five in MLB.

Colt Emerson has homered in each of the first two games for Seattle, which has lost three of four. The 20-year-old rookie has six home runs in 22 games and now ranks third in Mariners' history for the most homers before turning 21, trailing Ken Griffey Jr. (38) and Alex Rodriguez (26). Emerson turns 21 on July 20.

"We knew he was a special player, but to see the power come this quickly like that is impressive," Wilson said.

Cole Young was 2-for-5 and has now hit safely in 15 of his past 16 games.

Randy Arozarena was not in the lineup and is day-to-day after leaving Friday's game with a left hamstring strain, Wilson said.

--Field Level Media