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Mariners right-hander Logan Gilbert will start Monday against Red Sox

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Mariners right-hander Logan Gilbert will start Monday against Red Sox
Sport

Sport

Mariners right-hander Logan Gilbert will start Monday against Red Sox

2025-06-16 03:38 Last Updated At:03:51

SEATTLE (AP) — Right-hander Logan Gilbert will be activated from the 15-day injured list and start for the Seattle Mariners on Monday against the Boston Red Sox, manager Dan Wilson told reporters Sunday morning.

Gilbert, 28, has been on the IL since April 26 because of a right elbow flexor strain. He has made three appearances for Triple-A Tacoma as part of a rehab assignment, going 0-0 with a 2.79 ERA and 11 strikeouts in 9 ⅔ innings.

This season, Gilbert is 1-1 with a 2.37 ERA in six starts for the Mariners, striking out 44 and walking six in 30 1/3 innings.

Gilbert was sixth in AL Cy Young Award voting last year, when he went 9-12 with a 3.23 ERA. He has made at least 32 starts each of the past three seasons, and is 42-31 with a 3.55 ERA in five major league seasons.

Gilbert’s return should aid a Seattle rotation that has struggled while dealing with injuries this season. Mariners starters have a 4.09 ERA this season, which is tied for 18th-best in the majors. Last year, Seattle’s rotation had the lowest ERA in the league.

AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/MLB

FILE - Seattle Mariners starting pitcher Logan Gilbert throws against the Texas Rangers during the second inning of a baseball game, April 13, 2025, in Seattle. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson, File)

FILE - Seattle Mariners starting pitcher Logan Gilbert throws against the Texas Rangers during the second inning of a baseball game, April 13, 2025, in Seattle. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson, File)

MIAMI (AP) — The Florida Panthers arrived in Ferraris, cigars lit, dressed in all-white “Miami Vice” attire — and, in true South Florida fashion, fashionably late.

The New York Rangers followed suit, stepping into loanDepot Park in their own whites and sunglasses.

With that, the 2026 Winter Classic was underway in warm, humid Miami.

At loanDepot Park, home of Major League Baseball's Miami Marlins, an expected sold-out crowd — with celebrity attendees that included former Super Bowl-winning quarterback Tom Brady — had already begun filling the streets hours before the defending Stanley Cup champion Panthers were set to host the Rangers in the first outdoor game to take place in Florida.

The retractable roof on the ballpark — which had been shut while air conditioning was piped in to help ice builders create a playing surface suitable for hockey — opened just before puck drop, revealing a clear dark sky with the Miami skyline hovering behind the ballpark. Artificial snow cascaded into the stands, accompanied by pyrotechnics and a performance by Puerto Rican artist Luis Fonsi.

“They said it couldn't be done,” the public address announcer shouted in front of a roaring crowd. “They said it shouldn't be done. But tonight, history and modern science meet here in the Sunshine State.”

After a ceremonial puck drop by Hall of Famer Roberto Luongo, the game was on.

“I would have never thought that I would play in a Winter Classic in Miami and be a part of this cool experience," said Florida center Anton Lundell, wearing a baby pink shirt and pastel blue handkerchief to accent his all-white suit. “Obviously we still have the game left, but everything building up to this game has been awesome. It's been very unique and an experience we're all going to remember for the rest of our lives.”

Though nowhere near as chilly as Winter Classics of years past, temperatures in Miami hovered around 60 degrees Fahrenheit just an hour before puck drop, and lows were expected to be in the low 40s overnight.

For the Rangers, forward Will Cuylie said the plan was for a day-at-the-beach look, but bathing suits were a non-starter. Not professional enough, he added.

“We thought the all-white was a good solution for that,” he said.

Florida coach Paul Maurice arrived in what he jokingly deemed an “appropriate” mode of transportation.

“I was happily on the bus,” Maurice said ahead of Friday's game.

But on his ride into the arena, Maurice took in his surroundings: the palm tree monikers lining the outside of the ballpark and the thousands of fans clad in Rangers and Panthers gear. In past decades, it would have been hard to imagine such a scene in South Florida, where the success of the back-to-back defending champion Panthers has helped exponentially grow the popularity of hockey.

“I took about 10 minutes just to think about that idea,” Maurice said. "How much different the game was 30 years ago, 20 years ago that you’re in Miami, you've got your whole team getting in the Ferraris. I didn't really think there would be that many fans outside. It was like a version of our parade.

“It is an awesome spectacle. The game itself — not just in Florida — but the pure hockey game, for me, is better than it’s ever been.”

For Panthers general manager and hockey operations president Bill Zito, the game — one that’s filled with “wonderment,” he said — represented a full-circle moment. His career path started in baseball, and on Friday, his team was playing on a baseball field.

Zito was a batboy for the Milwaukee Brewers in the early 1980s and still credits general manager Harry Dalton for what became the start of a career that saw him become an agent and then one of the top executives in the game.

“The lessons I learned from that experience impact me, and really then via me, our organization on a daily basis,” Zito said. “I’m not here today if I hadn’t had that good fortune.”

That said, his baseball ways were long ago. When he first arrived at loanDepot Park to see the setup, he asked where the locker rooms were. Baseball doesn’t use that term.

“I forgot,” Zito said. “It’s a clubhouse.”

AP Sports Writer Tim Reynolds contributed.

AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/nhl

New York Rangers, including left wing Brett Berard, center, warm up with a soccer ball ahead of the start of the NHL Winter Classic outdoor hockey game at loanDepot Park, Friday, Jan. 2, 2026, in Miami. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)

New York Rangers, including left wing Brett Berard, center, warm up with a soccer ball ahead of the start of the NHL Winter Classic outdoor hockey game at loanDepot Park, Friday, Jan. 2, 2026, in Miami. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)

Fans watch as Florida Panthers players arrive before the NHL Winter Classic outdoor hockey game between the Florida Panthers and the New York Rangers, Friday, Jan. 2, 2026, in Miami. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)

Fans watch as Florida Panthers players arrive before the NHL Winter Classic outdoor hockey game between the Florida Panthers and the New York Rangers, Friday, Jan. 2, 2026, in Miami. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)

Florida Panthers left wing Matthew Tkachuk arrives for the NHL Winter Classic outdoor hockey game between the Florida Panthers and the New York Rangers at loanDepot Park, Friday, Jan. 2, 2026, in Miami. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)

Florida Panthers left wing Matthew Tkachuk arrives for the NHL Winter Classic outdoor hockey game between the Florida Panthers and the New York Rangers at loanDepot Park, Friday, Jan. 2, 2026, in Miami. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)

Fans watch as Florida Panthers players arrive before the NHL Winter Classic outdoor hockey game between the Florida Panthers and the New York Rangers, Friday, Jan. 2, 2026, in Miami. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)

Fans watch as Florida Panthers players arrive before the NHL Winter Classic outdoor hockey game between the Florida Panthers and the New York Rangers, Friday, Jan. 2, 2026, in Miami. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)

Florida Panthers defenseman Gustav Forsling arrives for the NHL Winter Classic outdoor hockey game between the Florida Panthers and the New York Rangers, Friday, Jan. 2, 2026, in Miami. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)

Florida Panthers defenseman Gustav Forsling arrives for the NHL Winter Classic outdoor hockey game between the Florida Panthers and the New York Rangers, Friday, Jan. 2, 2026, in Miami. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)

New York Rangers Taylor Raddysh enjoys family skate time after practice for the NHL Winter Classic outdoor hockey game, Thursday, Jan. 1, 2026, in Miami. (AP Photo/Michael Laughlin)

New York Rangers Taylor Raddysh enjoys family skate time after practice for the NHL Winter Classic outdoor hockey game, Thursday, Jan. 1, 2026, in Miami. (AP Photo/Michael Laughlin)

New York Rangers players gather for a team picture during practice for the NHL Winter Classic outdoor hockey game, Thursday, Jan. 1, 2026, in Miami. (AP Photo/Michael Laughlin)

New York Rangers players gather for a team picture during practice for the NHL Winter Classic outdoor hockey game, Thursday, Jan. 1, 2026, in Miami. (AP Photo/Michael Laughlin)

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