A Grip on Sports: Back and forth we went, as Kraken and Mariners entertain on a midweek night

A GRIP ON SPORTS • Been there, haven’t you? The final day before a long overdue vacation. Stuck at work. A few more things to finish before you can check out. But, mentally, the check-out process began, oh, about a week earlier. Fun awaits. Still, everyone is counting on you to finish your tasks so theirs will be easier. We get it.

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• The Kraken won Tuesday night. We watched, off and on. The Mariners won Tuesday night. We watched, off and on. Two reasons for that.

We’re headed to the Eastern time zone, which means the M’s and Kraken will be playing well past our bedtime for the next 10 days or so. Makes it tough to stay invested.

But the most important reason for last night’s channel switching is simpler. The game started at nearly the same time.

Nice planning professional sports czars.

OK, we’ll give the hockey folks a little break. How were they to know Tuesday night’s expected yawner between Seattle and Double-A Oakland – before a high school baseball sized crowd of 2,583 – would actually hold more drama than most regular season games? How were they to know the Miller non-brothers, Mason and Bryce, would face off in a nearly perfect pitching duel? And that A.J. Pollock, of all people, would come off the bench to hit a no-hit destroying home run?

Those circumstances are as rare, as hard to predict, as a University of Alabama baseball game, so no one would have bet on it happening. Not in Ohio or at the NHL offices.

Putting the Kraken game up against this Mariners’ one seemed a good bet. It wasn’t.

The Mariners’ Miller didn’t throw seven no-hit innings, as the A’s Miller did, but he was pretty darn dominant for a first major league start. He struck out 10, a team record for a major league debut, and didn’t give up a baserunner until the sixth. He left after that inning, having yielded two hits and a single run on 81 pitches.

If you are keeping score at home, that’s two starting pitching debuts in a week, and two excellent, future-heartening outings. Let’s hope Miller will avoid the same fate as his predecessor, Easton McGee, whose outstanding spot start was followed by a stint on the injured list.

The lesson, however, is the kids in the minor leagues, at least the pitching ones, may just be alright.

We know the Kraken are alright, don’t we? Even if they gave up a hard-earned 4-2 lead against Dallas in the opener of their seven-game series. It’s not easy to hold a lead in a road playoff game, even for experienced, veteran teams.

Seattle is learning. And the best lesson is simple: keep the pressure on. The Kraken did midway through the first period after falling behind 2-1. That pressure led to three goals in less than a minute and built a just-big-enough lead.

Well, almost. Joe Pavelski was having none of this losing stuff. The Stars’ star, who missed part of the playoff’s first round with a concussion, was clearly healthy, scoring the final two of his quartet of goals in the final 10:10 of regulation.

It was a spectacular performance for a guy who was not expected to play.

And it was also not enough.

Yanni Gourde made sure of that, though his game-winning goal was so hard to follow, even many of the Stars didn’t know the game was over. Once again, unrelenting pressure paid off for Seattle and pushed them into a 1-0 series lead.

That we saw. The M’s had rallied for their win, our daily chores were done and we could enjoy – if watching overtime in a playoff hockey game can really carry that word – the last minutes of a special contest.

If it’s the final game of the series we see live, so be it. The nerves could use a break. Besides, who is to say we can’t actually stay up just a bit later while away? It is vacation time, after all.

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WSU: Around the Pac-12 and the nation, which players from the conference will highlight next year’s NFL draft? Jon Wilner looks ahead in the Mercury News. … Sav’ell Smalls, who was one of Washington’s top recruits not too long ago, will be in Colorado next season. Two other Huskies entered the portal as well. … This is something to watch everywhere. Oregon football’s APR was the lowest it’s been in a decade. … The Ducks finished spring ball with some high hopes for the youngsters. … Speaking of APR, some schools like Arizona State and Arizona, had great years. … The Bay Area women’s basketball coaches can’t understand why there is no WNBA franchise in the region.

EWU and Idaho: The Eagles announced yesterday a junior college transfer is heading to Cheney for next basketball season. Dan Thompson took the opportunity to summarize Eastern’s roster situation and that of Idaho and Montana State. … Elsewhere in the Big Sky, Matt Logie has filled out his Montana State basketball staff. … Northern Colorado has attracted new players for football and women’s basketball.

Preps: Dave Nichols has a roundup of Tuesday’s action. One thing we’ve noticed in this year’s GSL fastpitch results? Either the offenses are explosive or the pitching level is not what it’s been in the past. Yesterday, in five 4A/3A games, six teams scored in double digits and two scored more than 25 runs.

Indians: Eugene has the best record in the Northwest League and showed why Tuesday night. The host Emeralds roughed up Gabriel Hughes in the fifth and went on to an 11-6 win. Dave has more in this story.

Hoopfest: Yes, Spokane is a basketball town. And soon there will be more evidence of it. Luke Pickett has this story on Luke Hristou and his Web series, “Real Rat.”

Golf: Do you play left-handed? Then Jim Meehan has the column for you. Nope, no putting tips or swing suggestions. An event. Just for left-handed golfers.

Kraken: Seattle has played away from home five times in the postseason. The Kraken have won four of those games. … The first period was semi-nuts. … The full schedule was finally figured out. Pesky concerts in hockey arenas.

Mariners: Losing to the A’s, no matter the score, is embarrassing this season. Not as embarrassing as playing in Oakland right now, however. There is no way there were 2,583 people in the stands. When we played in a college all-star summer game at Anaheim Stadium almost 50 years ago, more people showed up. Telling everyone you are moving to Las Vegas will do that. … OK, there is bad news with Julio Rodriguez. His back is still sore. He missed another game. Not good.

Seahawks: The Hawks, like all teams, filled out their roster with undrafted free agents. Now the battles begin for regular season roster spots. … Poona Ford is not coming back. He signed with the Bills.

Sounders: How are the injured players doing?

Storm: A rookie may just lead Seattle. At least defensively.

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• Make us a promise, will you? Don’t forget about us. In the more than 11 years we’ve been doing this column – thanks Joe and Ralph for the opportunity – we don’t believe we’ve ever missed two consecutive days. It’s not Cal Ripken-like, but it is a streak in which we have a lot of pride. There is one thing we’re sure of, however. We will be back here before McGee makes another start for the M’s, which is good for us and sad for him. We are shooting for May 13. Not sure about McGee. Until later …