Richie Palacio, Victor Mesa Jr. lead the Rays past the Mariners, 3-2

SEATTLE (AP) — Richie Palacios hit a two-run single in the sixth inning, Victor Mesa Jr. homered and the Tampa Bay Rays' bullpen held on for a 3-2 victory over the Seattle Mariners on Saturday night.

Griffin Jax was set to start for the Rays, but was removed hours before first pitch because of discomfort in his right elbow. Tampa Bay used seven arms out of the bullpen, with Casey Legumina getting the start.

The AL East leading Rays (70-46) have won six of seven and are the first AL team to reach 70 wins. The Mariners have dropped four of their last five and trail the final AL wild-card spot by 3 1/2 games.

Steven Matz (5-4) pitched two innings for the victory. Bryan Baker closed out the ninth for his AL-leading 34th save.

Josh Naylor hit two solo homers for Seattle, which were his first since June 12. He hit one off Cam Booser in the second, and another in the seventh off Garrett Cleavinger.

Palacios hit the two-out, two-run single in the sixth off Michael Rucker (0-2) to put the Rays up 3-1.

Mesa tied it at 1 with a 412-foot homer into right field in the fourth.

George Kirby allowed one run on four hits, but exited after five innings with 99 pitches.

Seattle manager Dan Wilson was ejected for the second time over the past four games. Julio Rodríguez was not granted a challenge after a strike three call by home plate umpire Emil Jimenez because Rodríguez took too long. The following inning, Jonathan Aranda also challenged and it was granted. Boos from the Seattle crowd continued into the next frames.

Rays LHP Ian Seymour (8-3, 4.27 ERA) was set to face Mariners RHP Emerson Hancock (6-6, 3.33) on Sunday.

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Tampa Bay Rays' Richie Palacios hits a two-run single during the sixth inning of a baseball game against the Seattle Mariners, Saturday, Aug. 8, 2026, in Seattle. (AP Photo/Stephen Brashear)

Seattle Mariners manager Dan Wilson, center, is held back by bench coach Manny Acta, right, while arguing with home plate umpire Emil Jimenez after getting thrown out of a baseball game against the Tampa Bay Rays in the sixth inning, Saturday, Aug. 8, 2026, in Seattle. (AP Photo/Stephen Brashear)

Seattle Mariners' Josh Naylor, right, is congratulated by Brendan Donovan after hitting a solo home run during the seventh inning of a baseball game against the Tampa Bay Rays, Saturday, Aug. 8, 2026, in Seattle. (AP Photo/Stephen Brashear)

Tampa Bay Rays relief pitcher Bryan Baker delivers a pitch during the ninth inning of a baseball game against the Seattle Mariners, Saturday, Aug. 8, 2026, in Seattle. (AP Photo/Stephen Brashear)

Tampa Bay Rays relief pitcher Bryan Baker, right, and catcher Liam Hicks celebrate after a baseball game against the Seattle Mariners, Saturday, Aug. 8, 2026, in Seattle. (AP Photo/Stephen Brashear)

EPIDAURUS, Greece (AP) — As Christopher Nolan’s “The Odyssey” renews global fascination with Homer, a cast of disabled and non-disabled performers in Greece is staging the war’s other story.

It’s not about the triumph of returning heroes, but the suffering they left behind.

“The Trojan Women,” with a cast of 22, was staged at Epidaurus, the ancient open-air stone arena in southern Greece. It marked what organizers called the first fully accessible performance in the ancient theater’s 2,300-year history.

While Homer followed warriors sailing home from Troy, the playwright Euripides — writing some three centuries later — turned to the city’s ruins and its women, forced into exile and enslavement.

The ancient theater offered a full range of accessibility services for the Aug. 2 performance. Blind audience members received Braille programs, tactile models and live audio description, while deaf spectators followed overhead titles. Physical adaptations also improved access throughout the site.

“It’s the first time a performance at Ancient Epidaurus has been made accessible to everyone,” said Greg Polychronidis, a Paralympic gold medalist who attended the event. “Today was a celebration of equality and it should serve as an example for everyone, forever.”

For many of the performers, standing on the ancient stage was itself part of the message: a voice for those often overlooked. Eirini Kourouvani, a 58-year-old cast member who uses a wheelchair, had never set foot inside the theater before.

“It is just grand,” she said. “I feel my heart opening up as wide as this theater is.”

Ioanna-Maria Gertsou, a blind psychologist, attended with Babu, her guide dog.

“We too have the right to attend performances on an equal footing,” she said, relieved that her dog remained quiet during the play.

The National Theater of Greece produced the performance, and accessibility services were designed by the nonprofit Liminal with financial support from Greece’s Alpha Bank.

Argyro Chioti, the National Theater’s artistic director, said the production should become the norm rather than the exception.

“This was complex, not simple. It required months of planning. It cost money. And it required very specific organizational expertise,” she said. “But that’s the standard and venues we need to reach — the major stages and the major theaters.”

—— Gatopoulos reported from Athens

A visually impaired theatergoer and his companion make their way to their seats before a performance of Euripides' tragedy The Trojan Women, staged by the National Theatre of Greece at the Ancient Theater of Epidaurus on Sunday, Aug. 2, 2026. (AP Photo/Petros Giannakouris)

Cast members with and without disabilities acknowledge the audience with a curtain call after a performance of Euripides' tragedy The Trojan Women, staged by the National Theatre of Greece at the Ancient Theater of Epidaurus, Greece, on Sunday, Aug. 2, 2026. (AP Photo/Petros Giannakouris)

Audience members watch a performance of Euripides' tragedy The Trojan Women, staged by the National Theatre of Greece at the Ancient Theater of Epidaurus, Greece, on Sunday, Aug. 2, 2026. (AP Photo/Petros Giannakouris)

Oltjana Zoupas, an artist who uses a wheelchair, leaves the Ancient Theater of Epidaurus after attending a performance of Euripides' tragedy The Trojan Women, staged by the National Theatre of Greece, in Epidaurus, Greece, on Sunday, Aug. 2, 2026. (AP Photo/Petros Giannakouris)

From left to right, Eirini Kourouvani, a wheelchair dancer, Evi Saoulidou and Lydia Fotopoulou perform during a dress rehearsal of Euripides' tragedy The Trojan Women, staged by the National Theatre of Greece, at the Ancient Theater of Epidaurus, Greece, on Thursday, July 30, 2026. (AP Photo/Petros Giannakouris)