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Before Wednesday’s game between the Mets and Texas Rangers, manager Andy Green was asked what is the biggest area in Nolan McLean’s game that he can take a step forward in to reach that next level that the skipper always talks about.

Green mentioned the right-hander throwing strikes consistently and limiting his walks, but was quick to say, “and that’s not by diminishing stuff, it’s by using the stuff you have and understanding how to get ahead and to finish.”

It was one of the many times this season that Green spoke about his young players in a way that seemed to challenge them – even when they’ve played great – because he knows they’re capable of more.

Shortly thereafter, McLean took the mound and, heeding his manager’s advice, looked amazing through four perfect innings. Things went awry for the rookie in the fifth inning, however, when the Rangers tagged him for two runs after McLean allowed three hits and a walk in the inning.

Just a few hours before that, Green practically predicted it.

“I actually think he does that really well for a pretty good portion of each game and then there’s usually one inning where it’s like here for a little, kinda lost it, now I found it again, now I compete, now I get out of it,” the skipper said. “The less and less he does that, and look he’s not gonna be perfect, but the more he drives that down and the less and less he does that he’s gonna get himself out of more jams by not getting into them.”

The foreshadowing by Green was uncanny, though it shouldn’t come as a surprise considering he’s known most of these young players since they joined the organization as the Senior Vice President for Player Development.

After that difficult fifth inning, McLean went right back to being dominant and retired the next six batters in order on just 13 pitches to complete his final outing of the season. Even in the fifth inning, the right-hander had the bases loaded with one out and managed to exit with just one run scoring.

“Those guys were aggressive so any time a team’s aggressive like that and you’re filling up the strike zone, you’re relying a lot on your defense and sometimes they just don’t hit it at guys and in the fifth inning they hit a few balls away from people and that’s part of it,” McLean said. “So I was just kind of trusting my stuff that they were eventually gonna hit it at people to try to minimize and if I get to two strikes I’ll execute a pitch and punch him out. 

“And then going back out in the sixth, making sure to keep that same game plan and not necessarily getting tentative just because they put a few balls in play [earlier].”

McLean ended his rookie campaign by going 12-10 with a 3.16 ERA, eighth-lowest in the NL, in 31 starts. He’s also the only Mets starter this season who didn’t miss a single start, impressive for a 25-year-old rookie whose season started at the World Baseball Classic pitching for Team USA.

“I try to take pride in going out there and competing every single time, whether I have my stuff or not and that’s what matters most to me, just going out there and making each start,” McLean said.

Meanwhile, Green, for all his challenges that he gives his players, was impressed with McLean’s body of work and knows the right-hander will get back to work soon enough after he enjoys this one just a little while longer.

“I don’t think that was like his vintage stuff and it still found a way to be really, really good,” Green said about McLean’s outing on Wednesday. “Velocity was a little bit down today. Last outing of a long season that started at the WBC and felt that he competed incredibly well today.

“He’s just kind of the person he’s been, just figure out a way to get it done even if it doesn’t feel your best. So [I’m] proud of him, proud of the season he’s had. He’s got a lot to hang his hat on right now and I know it won’t take long for him to get back to work and get going.”

As for whether or not McLean did enough to take home the NL Rookie of the Year honors in what has become a solid class that includes teammate Carson Benge, Green isn’t so sure his right-hander will be in the conversation.

Nevertheless, it doesn’t take hardware to know what kind of pitcher McLean is.

“He’s the best rookie pitcher in the National League and I think that’s pretty obvious to everybody,” Green said.

In a season where the Yankees have missed their two most established power hitters for months at a time, Ben Rice has provided a powerful presence in their stead. 

The lefty slugger crushed his 40th and 41st home runs of the season Wednesday in a 9-2 win over the Rays, joining Aaron Judge and Joe DiMaggio as the only Yankees in franchise history to hit at least 40 homers within their first three major league seasons. 

“It’s a cool milestone,” Rice said. “It’s not something you go into the season aiming for. You don’t really know how it’s going to go, but as I was approaching that number, it was definitely something I was hoping to achieve.” 

Rice’s production has helped the Yankees weather the extended absences of Judge and Giancarlo Stanton, and with neither guaranteed to be on the roster for the AL wild-card series because of their respective injuries, the Yankees will need Rice to stay hot after breaking out of a quieter summer. 

“Just a complete hitter,” Judge said. “Each year he’s gotten better, each month he’s gotten better. Even through bad slumps, he’s making the reads and making the changes he needs to [make] to get back to his normal self. So it’s been fun to watch.” 

When Rice hit his 39th home run over the weekend in Arizona, Aaron Boone revealed that was his preseason prediction for the DH/first baseman.

But Rice said he knew his manager was short-changing him one from a nice round number, so when he got back to the dugout after his two long balls Wednesday, “he let me know it,” Boone said with a grin. 

“I think I said, ‘Hey, there’s 40 for you,’” Rice said. “I was joking with him after the 41st one, saying, ‘Hey, thanks for inspiring me this year.’ But it’s all in good fun.” 

Rice’s 41 home runs are now tied with Yordan Alvarez, Pete Alonso and Junior Caminero for the most in the American League and the third most in the majors. 

Fernando Cruz is still holding out hope of pitching again this season despite being diagnosed with a partially torn UCL, a diagnosis he said Wednesday he was “not going to accept.” 

The reliever threw his first bullpen session — using all four of his pitches, he said — Sunday and is slated to throw another Thursday. 

“I think I’m in a really good position to be back, I will say, in the next couple weeks,” Cruz said. “But that’s not my call. I’m just getting in position to be there for my guys and perform the way I perform.” 

The 36-year-old said he is “100 percent” ruling out surgery at this point and later added, “I’m going to beat this.” 

Carlos Rodón was named the Most Valuable Philanthropist for September by the Players Trust, the charitable arm of the MLB Players Association. 

The left-hander, who is also the Yankees nominee for the Roberto Clemente Award, and his wife, Ashley, are active in supporting families facing infertility and pregnancy loss through the Carlos Rodón Foundation.

WEST SACRAMENTO, CA — Athletics catcher Brian Serven left Wednesday's game early after taking a ball to the face.

Serven was at bat in the bottom of the sixth inning when Angels pitcher José Fermin threw a 94 mph changeup that resulted in a foul ball.

The pitch just skimmed Serven's bat, which he had in a bunt position, and ricocheted directly into his left cheek bone, just under his eye. He took the impact and fell to the dirt.

Athletics manager Mark Kotsay and the team trainer ran immediately onto the field to check on Serven as Angels' infielders took a sportsmanship knee. Serven was down for several moments but slowly got up, signaling he was OK.

Well the Braves’ position in the playoffs may be clear (the third seed in the NL), but their opponent is far from clear, with the Padres, Phillies, and Cubs all very close to clinching wild-card spots, but within 0.5 games of each other, pending the Padres’ result against the Dodgers. With the return of Robert Suarez and the seemingly missed bullet of Ronald Acuna’s injury scare Tuesday, the Braves seem about as healthy as they could hope going into the playoffs. That said, the offense and pitching are both serious concerns. The pitching is fairly obvious, as the Braves have Chris Sale and a strong bullpen, but Tyler Mahle is a questionable second starter for a playoff team even with his phenomenal performance for Atlanta and behind him is a mess in the rotation. The offense has been a struggle for months now really and has a 98 wRC+ on the season. Ronald Acuna has looked like his prime self of late, but one man can only do so much. The talent is there but the consistency has not. Perhaps this will be the year for the offense to show up in the postseason after a number of years of high quality regular season offense, followed by disappointing playoff production.

Braves News

Ronald Acuna is walking without a limp and is expected back in the lineup Thursday, after fouling a ball off his shin on Tuesday.

Robert Suarez returned from the IL after a lengthy absence, with Owen Murphy optioned to make space.

The Braves snagged a low-scoring walk-off win over the Reds in a meaningless game for both teams, featuring dominance from Chris Sale.

MLB News

The Rays have ruled out star pitcher Shane McClanahan from their divisional round series.

Aaron Judge still hopes to play in the wild-card series for the Yankees, as he remains on the IL one week out.

The Dodgers activated stars Shohei Ohtani off the IL and Tarik Skubal off the bereavement list.

The 2026 Colorado Rockies have combined flashes of brilliance with a struggle to complete a full game on all sides of the ball. Tonight’s game fell in that camp.

There have been a few games this year where if you removed just one stretch of mistakes from one aspect of the game, the Rockies would have been in the mix, if not fully in a position to win. Tonight, the Rockies found themselves in a hole early on, one that they were unable to climb out of. Their defense allowed for a flurry of unearned runs and their bats didn’t consistenly step up to support the starting pitching.

That said, the Rockies found themselves right in the mix with a playoff contending team right until the end, with a few key performances to point to.

The Rockies first inning woes continue

Over the last 10 games, the Rockies had allowed 16 runs in the first inning. Last night, the Diamondbacks got after Kyle Freeland early and nearly hit around the order on their way to an early 3-0 lead. That trend continued tonight, unfortunately.

Mason Adams got the first laugh, but not the last. He started strong, striking out Lars Nootbar quickly on four pitches. He finished Nootbar off with his curveball, a pitch that Adams has dominated hitters with this year.

Ketel Marte, who tends to hit well at Coors more often than not, hit a double to left on a ball that Zac Veen lost in the lights for an error. That would prove costly as Gabriel Moreno brought him home just two pitches later.

Hunter Goodman flashed his always strong ABS challenge skills for the second strikeout of the inning, coming on a four-seam fastball that kissed the corner of the zone. But with two outs and two on, Nolan Arenado — who was just a triple short of the cycle last night — singled to left to score another. Veen’s rough start continued, as he scooped the ball but bobbled it.

With a sharp triple down the first base line, Corbin Carroll scored two more to make it an early 4-0 deficit for the Rockies. The Rockies went down in order in the bottom of the inning to leave things there.

No trouble with the curve for Adams

Sadly, Adams’ first career win proves to be elusive. Even still, all of his starts have shown stretches of extreme promise. Tonight was no different.

After surrendering four runs in the first, Adams locked in and bounced back, sitting down 13 straight batters from that point on until his next allowed hit in the top of the sixth. He got ahead in counts often (with 65% first pitch strikes) and worked his pitches well. In particular, Adams continues to be a master of the curveball. Entering tonight, he maintained a .083 batting average against for the pitch, allowing only one hit on curveballs all season.

He relied on the strength of that pitch today, alongside a mix of other effective pitches. He used his four-seamer most today (28%), but mixed in the sinker (24%) and curveball (21%). He kept hitters guessing with the curve (70% whiff rate) and sweeper (13% usage, 43% whiff).

During his stretch of four 1-2-3 innings, he continued to add to his strikeout total. Among those strikeouts, several rattlers were the victim of the curve tonight. Of his eight strikeouts, four of those came on a swinging curveball, as he rang up Nootbar (twice), Tim Tawa, and Pavin Smith with the pitch.

In another 100-loss season, you want to be able to point to bright spots, and Adams has been just that. He tallied an astounding 41% whiff rate on called strikes and set a new career high with those eight strikeouts. He ended his day after 6.0 innings pitched with zero earned runs and four runs allowed on five hits and no walks.

It’s impossible to know how the first inning and the game would have shaken out if the fly ball was reeled in for the second out. Without the outlier inning, Adams could have been in position for a competitive game throughout. Nevertheless, he put up one of, if not the best performance of his career, showed a lot of resilience, and put together a strong starting spot to build momentum heading into next year.

Diamondbacks holding steady

For their part, the D-backs held steady tonight, both in the game and in the Wild Card race.

While Adams held off the Arizona offense after the first, the Diamondbacks were able to add a small cushion in the bullpen innings. With Mark Manfredi in the game in relief, Tawa launched a home run to left field to give Arizona a 5-2 lead in the top of the eighth inning. That would be Arizona’s lone run outside of the first inning. Arizona managed eight hits on the night, but were shut down for a long stretch.

The Rockies offense did better than they did last night but couldn’t quite get enough going. Their seven hits came in spurts and they ended the night with four batters left on base as a team.

Arizona gave up some ground on the other end of a solo shot in the bottom of the inning, as Ezequiel Tovar homered to right field to bring the Rockies back within two runs at 5-3.

Keeping an eye on the Wild Card race around the league, the Diamondbacks got some much-needed help. The Chicago Cubs fell to the Miami Marlins and the Philadelphia Phillies dropped a game to the Milwaukee Brewers, opening things up for the D-backs to threaten for one of the three open playoff spots.

Final Thoughts

On offense, Tovar had a night, logging two hits and two runs, including a solo homer. For a player that struggled to find contact through much of the season, settling in for most of the team’s runs was a win.

But the star of the show was Mason Adams, acquired in the Brenton Doyle trade, who delivered in his last start of the season. In that last start, he made it into the sixth inning for the first time all year. That feat was especially impressive given that it took over 30 pitches for him to escape the first.

In a game at Coors Field, Adams deserves all the kudos for holding strong and making it deep into the game. Manager Warren Schaeffer noted that Adams “kept his head about him in the first inning and was basically unhittable after that.” He added that “he’s extremely even-keeled. The game can speed up, but I don’t ever see that with Mason.”

It’s hard to be happy about 101 losses, but at this point in the season, it’s promising to see some good in the lineup. For a team with glaring holes in its rotation, having a pitcher like Adams stepping up throughout the year and late into the season provides a glimmer of hope for the 2027 campaign.

Up Next

It’s time for one last hurrah at Coors Field.

With tonight’s loss, the Rockies sit at 32-48 at home on the season but will try to end things on a good note. They’ll finish off the three-game series against Arizona before heading out to Chicago for a weekend series against the White Sox.

Tanner Gordon gets the start for Colorado. This year, he’s 1-5 in 11 starts and 23 total games, with a 6.01 ERA, 1.55 WHIP, and 84/18 K/BB.

Eduardo Rodriquez takes the mound for Arizona, entering with a 15-7 record over 31 starts, with a 2.89 ERA, a 1.23 WHIP, and a 140/62 K/BB.

The first pitch for the Thursday afternoon game is set for 1:10 p.m. MT.

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NEW YORK — Maybe nothing has changed with Aaron Judge’s status, but the Yankees captain prefers to conduct the narrative regarding his calf injury.

Judge's message is, essentially: Don't rule me out of next week's opening playoff round.

A day after manager Aaron Boone said that “we’re planning on him not being a part of that’’ Wild Card series roster next week, Judge said he's aiming to be in that lineup.

"My goal is to come back as soon as I can. If (Boone) says I’m not going to be ready…I’ve got no control over that,'' said Judge. "I’ve got control over what I can do to get back as soon as I can.

"So, if you ask me if I’m going to be back, I’m going to tell you, yeah, I’m doing everything I can every single day I show up here to get back and be ready to go.''

Locked in as the AL’s top wild card, the Yankees will host a best-of-three series against Boston, beginning Tuesday night.

More: Yankees watch Rays party but NY is still AL's team to beat without Judge

LOS ANGELES — Josue De Paula's first trial run in the big leagues has come to an end. For now, at least.

With Shohei Ohtani back in the lineup for the Los Angeles Dodgers on Wednesday, Sept. 23 against the San Diego Padres and manager Dave Roberts wanting to get a look at other players competing for a spot on the postseason roster, Roberts said the choice to option De Paula to Triple-A Oklahoma City was easier than it might've appeared on the surface.

"This was the original thought," Roberts said. "That once Shohei gets back, we were going to send (De Paula) out. We had a runway to give him, which we gave him, and he performed more than admirably."

Even that might be an understatement to how well De Paula played.

In a small sample size of 11 games, the 21-year-old showed a confidence and poise beyond his years in the batter's box, controlling the strike zone like a seasoned vet and drawing 11 walks. And once the hits started falling, De Paula showed how dangerous he can really be, mashing three doubles and a home run (his first MLB hit in Miami) while driving in seven RBIs and posting a 1.081 OPS across 31 at-bats. His last regular season game in LA on Tuesday may have been his best yet as De Paula went 2-for-3 with a walk and his first career triple in a 7-0, series-opening win over the Padres.

He's played so well, in fact, that Roberts is seriously considering him for the postseason roster.

"He's a part of that conversation," Roberts said. "He's earned that."

A revered major league pitching coach died this week. 

Longtime White Sox pitching coach Don Cooper died, his family said in a Facebook post.

He was 70.

Cooper spent 33 years with the White Sox organization, including 18 years as the team’s major league pitching coach and as part of the staff of the 2005 World Series-winning team. 

The post by his family on his Facebook page indicated that Cooper died on Tuesday in Brentwood, Tenn., and stated that he was believed to have “passed away peacefully.” 

“His fierce passion for baseball, and the coaches and players around him, brought him a life filled with great pride, stories, and accomplishments,” the post from the Cooper family read. “This passion was superseded only by his unbreakable love for his family and friends. He cared immensely for his loved ones.

“He lived a life blessed by God, which he talked about whenever he had the chance. He was very thankful for his blessings and success both in and out of baseball. He checked in with his friends and family constantly, and was always a call away, willing to lend an ear and give his sincere advice and encouragement.”

Cooper was born in New York and grew up in Woodside, according to a Hall of Fame page on the Monsignor McClancy Memorial High School website. He attended McClancy and then went to New York Institute of Technology, where he played baseball and basketball. 

Cooper was selected by the Yankees in the 17th round of the 1978 draft and made his MLB debut with the Twins three years later. He spent time with the Twins, Blue Jays and Yankees in the big leagues.

He went on to coach after his playing career and was with the White Sox organization going all the way back to 1987. 

Former White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen memorialized Cooper in a post on X.

Guillen managed the Chicago American League team for eight seasons. 

“My career wouldn’t have been the same without Don Cooper,” he wrote. “Coop was one of a kind and taught me so much about pitchers, pitching, and their mindset. Always a close friend to my kids and family. Thank you for everything, Coop. My deepest condolences to his family. Rest in peace.”

Cooper was the pitching coach during the 2005 season when the White Sox won the World Series with a pitching staff that threw four consecutive complete-game victories in the ALCS, marking the first time a team had done so during a postseason since the 1928 Yankees. 

Cooper was eventually relieved of his role in 2020.

ARLINGTON, Texas — The boos directed at Marcus Semien in Wednesday’s eighth inning were music to the Mets’ ears.

Semien’s shot to left field had just cleared the fence to put his team ahead, and the fans at Globe Life Field let him know he had betrayed them in the moment.

This certainly wasn’t Pete Alonso returning to Citi Field.

That blast, coupled with Brett Baty’s grand slam an inning later, fueled the Mets’ 7-2 victory over the Rangers that further wounded a team fighting for the AL West title.

The Mets will try to complete the series sweep Thursday.

Semien, traded by the Rangers last offseason for Brandon Nimmo, was just one of the Mets’ big performers on this night. Another was Nolan McLean, who concluded his rookie year with an outing indicative of his season.

The right-hander allowed two earned runs on three hits over seven innings with five strikeouts, completing his season with a 3.16 ERA. Overall, he pitched 179 ²/₃ innings and struck out 194.

Juan Soto’s two-run homer in the third inning gave the Mets a 2-0 lead. Soto’s homer was his 27th this season.

Baty, pinch hitting, homered in the ninth for his second grand slam this season.

Kodai Senga’s role will be among the uncertainties facing the Mets heading to the offseason.

The right-hander moved into the closer’s spot with Devin Williams’ injured list stint late this season and was largely successful. But Williams’ return to the bullpen this week — he will be the team’s closer heading into spring training — left manager Andy Green on Wednesday to answer questions about where Senga will fit in 2027, when he will be entering the final year of his contract.

“I think there’s a real decision point there and it’s not one that we’re ready to make today,” Green said.

Senga has expressed a preference to pitch as a starter. But he struggled in that role this season, prompting his move to a bulk relief role before transitioning to aa high-leverage, one inning pitcher after the trade deadline.

He entered the day with eight saves in nine opportunities and had a 3.78 ERA in 18 appearances since Aug. 1.

“We have an idea of how he fits in the pen now, which is really helpful,” Green said. “We don’t know the depth of our rotation going into ’27 right now. There’s a free-agency period. There’s a lot of uncertainty that could unfold over the offseason and he will fit into the spot he fits the best for us because that is how we should move forward at this point in time … where we’re at [after the offseason] will make the picture clearer nd figure out where the puzzle piece fits the best.”

The Mets beat the Rangers for the second straight night, defeating Texas 7-2 at Globe Life Field to secure the series victory and play the role of spoiler. Nolan McLean retired the Rangers in order in every inning he pitched except one and earned his 12th win in his final start of 2026. Three home runs—one from Juan Soto to get the Mets on the board, a go-ahead solo shot from Marcus Semien, and a pinch-hit grand slam from Brett Baty that sealed the deal—were responsible for all seven of the Mets’ runs.

The first inning was rather uneventful except for the fact that right after Gary Cohen mentioned that Rangers first baseman Jake Burger was on the precipice of breaking a Rangers club recrod for consecutive errorless games, he made an error on the very next play on a Bo Bichette grounder that went right between his legs for the game’s first base runner. Nothing came of it, however, as Mark Vientos flew out to end the inning.

The Mets did not record a hit until the third inning, thanks in part to a couple of nice places early in the game by Wyatt Langford in the outfield. But finally Francisco Lindor broke through against Cody Bradford with a two-out single up the middle and Juan Soto followed with a 429-foot blast to put the Mets on the board. Given a 2-0 lead to work with, Nolan McLean made quick work of the Rangers early and was perfect through four innings. The Mets squandered a golden opportunity in the fifth when the first two runners reached base, but did not score. Francisco Alvarez singled to lead things off and then A.J. Ewing dropped down a bunt intended to be a sacrifice, but he ended up reaching first base safely because the catcher Danny Jansen went to field it, but Bradford got in his way and the Rangers were unable to make the play. Nick Morabito then failed to execute a sacrifice bunt and struck out. Not taking any chances in a game that is crucial for their playoff hopes, the Rangers brought in Tyler Alexander to face the top of the order. Francisco Lindor flew out to center and not wanting to allow Soto to beat them again, Alexander intentionally walked Soto to load the bases. The move worked; Bo Bichette grounded out to end the inning.

Meanwhile, the Rangers did all of their damage against Nolan McLean in one inning in the bottom of the frame. Brandon Nimmo led off with a single for the Rangers’ first hit. Ezequiel Duran then grounded out for the second out, but Nimmo advanced into scoring position on the play. Jake Burger then smacked a single to plate the Rangers’ first run. As often happens with McLean, the base runners came in bunches; Nicky Lopez singled to advance Burger to second and Danny Jansen walked to load the bases still with only one out. But McLean did good to limit the damage to just one additional run. Evan Carter hit a grounder to second on which the Mets could not turn a double play, recording only the out at second base as the tying run came home. Carter stole second base, but McLean induced an inning-ending popup off the bat of Wyatt Langford to stop the bleeding.

McLean bounced back with a very quick 1-2-3 inning in the sixth and the Mets’ half of the seventh inning played out almost exactly like their missed opportunity in the fifth. Chase Silseth took the mound for the Rangers and Francisco Alvarez greeted him rudely with a sharp single up the middle—the first time in his career he’s had four straight multi-hit games. A.J. Ewing followed with a walk and then Nick Morabito once again failed to bunt the runners over and bunted a two-strike pitch foul for strike three. Desperate to keep this important game tied, Rangers manager Skip Schumaker turned to his closer Jacob Latz to get the final two outs. Francisco Lindor made a bid for home run number 300, but the ball was caught on the warning track for the second out. The Rangers then intentionally walked Juan Soto to load the bases for a second time and for a second time it worked; Bo Bichette flew out to right field to end the inning.

Nolan McLean finished his night on a high note, retiring the Rangers in order to keep the game tied. Marcus Semien rewarded McLean’s brilliant work by putting him in line for the win in the top of the eighth with a two-out, go-ahead solo homer off his former team. Devin Williams made his first appearance back from the injured list in relief of McLean in the eighth and recorded a 1-2-3 inning with a strikeout of Wyatt Langford to cap it off. Jordan Montgomery took the mound for the Rangers in the eighth and Morabito redeemed himself somewhat with a one-out hit—his first big league hit off a left-handed pitcher. He advanced to second on a Lindor dribbler in front of the plate for the second out. The Rangers then—you guessed it—intentionally walked Juan Soto yet again. It marked the first time a Met has been intentionally walked three times in a game since David Wright in 2009. Montgomery then made way for righty (and former Met) Trevor Williams to face Bo Bichette, who this time finally made the Rangers pay by drawing an unintentional walk to load the bases. Brett Baty then pinch hit for Mark Vientos to face the righty and dealt the decisive blow—a towering grand slam to extend the Mets’ lead to 7-2 and break the Rangers’ hearts.

Cionel Pérez was tasked with the ninth inning by now-official manager Andy Green and worked around a one-out single to Josh Jung to complete the victory and give Nolan McLean the win in his final start of 2026. The Mets will go for the sweep at Globe Life Field tomorrow afternoon.

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Win Probability Added

What’s WPA?

Big Mets winner: Juan Soto, +28% WPA
Big Mets loser: Bo Bichette, -15% WPA
Mets pitchers: +29% WPA
Mets hitters: +21% WPA
Teh aw3s0mest play: Marcus Semien’s go-ahead home run in the eighth, +29.6% WPA
Teh sux0rest play: Jake Burger’s RBI single in the fifth to drive in the Rangers’ first run, -10.9% WPA

The Mets secured a series win against the Texas Rangers on Wednesday night, winning by a score of 7-2.

Here are the key takeaways...

-- In his final start of his rookie season, Nolan McLean looked like he was on his way to something special after retiring the first 12 batters he faced on just 43 pitches. However, a Brandon Nimmo single to lead off the fifth inning put history to rest.

-- A groundout advanced Nimmo to second and a single by Jake Burger ended McLean’s shutout bid and cut New York’s lead to 2-1. After finding an opening, the Rangers did not let up and loaded the bases on the right-hander following a single and a walk.

With his back against the wall, McLean got Evan Carter to ground one to second base, but the Mets couldn’t turn the double play thanks to Carter’s speed and Texas tied the game. Still in trouble, McLean finally ended the inning with a popout, leaving two runners in scoring position.

-- The rocky fifth inning took McLean 26 pitches to complete and came out of nowhere. In fact, before the game manager Andy Green was asked about the rookie’s season and talked about wanting McLean to work on limiting those innings where he’s forced to work a ton.

To McLean’s credit, he did manage to keep what could’ve been a big inning to just two runs and then went back out in the sixth inning and needed just five pitches to get through the frame. The right-hander ended his outing by retiring the side in order in the seventh inning on just eight pitches. 

-- Overall, McLean allowed two runs on three hits and one walk while striking out five on 82 pitches (52 strikes). Aside from the fifth inning, the youngster pitched six perfect innings in what was another fantastic start and ends his season with a 3.16 ERA in 31 starts.

-- McLean left in a tie game but his teammates picked him up as Marcus Semien made the right-hander the pitcher of record on the long side (12-10) with a solo home run with two outs in the eighth against his former team which put New York ahead, 3-2. 

The Mets’ only other offense prior to that came in the third inning off the bat of Juan Soto who demolished an 0-1 changeup from Cody Bradford for a two-run shot. 

-- The Rangers learned their lesson after that and intentionally walked Soto three times later in the game, twice to load the bases – seldom seen. Both times it worked, though, as Bo Bichette ended the inning by making an out. 

The last time, however, came back to bite Texas. With New York up by a run in the top of the ninth and a runner on second with two outs, the Rangers intentionally walked Soto and then walked Bichette after a tough at-bat. With the bases loaded, pinch-hitter Brett Baty, who has been on a tear to end the season, hit a no-doubt grand slam off Trevor Williams that went 455 feet and blew the game wide open.

Over his last 30 games, Baty is slashing .348/.439/.609 (1.048 OPS).

-- Devin Williams made his first appearance since re-joining the team from the IL, entering in the eighth inning of a one-run game at the time and pitching a perfect inning with a strikeout.

Game MVP: Nolan McLean

Baty's grand slam will capture the headlines, but McLean showed his mettle and ended his rookie season on a high note.

Highlights

Nolan McLean gets a pair of strikeouts looking in the first inning pic.twitter.com/bu5iPEGG8Q

— SNY (@SNYtv) September 24, 2026

Juan Soto 2-run shot!

His 27th homer of the season! pic.twitter.com/QMbSYwdDcC

— SNY (@SNYtv) September 24, 2026

Marcus Semien homers back in Texas!

The Mets lead 3-2! pic.twitter.com/1NBGM7XtG1

— SNY (@SNYtv) September 24, 2026

PINCH-HIT GRAND SLAM BRETT BATY! pic.twitter.com/yjXtWnYYlV

— SNY (@SNYtv) September 24, 2026

What's next

The Mets and Rangers close out their three-game series with a Thursday matinee starting at 2:35 p.m. on SNY.

LHP Zac Thornton (5-5, 3.40 ERA) will pitch for New York while Texas has yet to announce a starter.

The Texas Rangers scored two runs but the New York Mets scored seven runs.

Oh. So baseball games are telling jokes now, huh?

With their season hanging very much in the balance, Texas went until the first batter of the fifth inning before their first time on base all night and by that point, they were already trailing 2-0 and had committed another couple of defensive miscues in what had swiftly devolved into a mistake-filled series at quite literally the worst time for it.

The Rangers did make there first hit of the game matter as they finally worked a rally against Mets starter Nolan McLean that eventually plated the tying runs, but they also had a bases loaded, one out scenario after scoring their first run and they only managed to tie the game out of it and only just barely as Evan Carter beat out a would-be double play.

Instead of breaking through and taking the lead, the Rangers didn’t get another baserunner on against McLean or any other Mets hurler for that matter until there was one out in the ninth. Meanwhile, sensing the season was definitively on the line, Skip Schumaker called in closer Jacob Latz earlier than usual when the Mets threatened with two on in the seventh inning in a tied game.

After Latz wiggled out of that jam, he remained in for the eighth where, after a couple of outs, he allowed a solo home run to former Ranger World Series winner Marcus Semien. You know, the guy the Rangers traded away over the winter in an attempt to rinse off the stink of a couple of lost seasons that is nearing a third, now perhaps punctuated by Semien as the grim reaper.

Kind of funny, all things considered.

Not quite as funny, but at least relieved us of the last vestiges of hope for this one, with two outs in the top of the ninth, Brett Baty hit a pinch-hit grand slam to slam the door in Texas’ face.

The Rangers aren’t eliminated just yet but their path is exceedingly perilous now as they’ve dropped this series to the lowly Mets, their first home series loss in over two months.

Player of the Game:

Up Next: The Rangers close out this series against the Mets trying to avoid a sweep. They haven’t announced a starting pitcher but it’s probably RHP Kumar Rocker. New York will counter with LHP Zac Thornton.

The Thursday afternoon first pitch in the final home game of the season is schedule for 1:35 pm CDT and you’ll find it on the Rangers Sports Network.

The Cleveland Guardians lost, 1-0, to the Boston Red Sox on Wednesday night. All the White Sox had to do was beat the Kansas City Royals to reclaim first place in the AL Central.

Instead, they lost, 5-4. Apparently, taking control of your own destiny sounded a little too easy.

Bryan Hudson’s opening assignment was to get through the top of the Royals’ order. That plan lasted five batters. Carter Jensen and Bobby Witt Jr. opened with singles. After Jac Caglianone grounded out, Maikel Garcia drove in two runs with a base hit and Vinnie Pasquantino doubled home another.

Having seen enough, skipper Will Venable called for bulk reliever Erick Fedde. The veteran punched out Salvador Perez before Kansas City tacked on an unearned run on a bad throw by Colson Montgomery to take a 4-0 lead. Fedde finally got out of the inning by getting John Rave to fly out. The opener strategy works considerably better when the opener gets more than one batter out.

Seth Lugo retired the South Siders in order in each of the first two innings, and Fedde needed an escape act to keep the Royals from adding to the lead in the second. Then the Sox remembered they were allowed to hit.

Chase Meidroth opened the third with a bunt base hit. Braden Montgomery singled, Sam Antonacci took one for the team and Kyle Teel delivered a two-run single. Miguel Vargas followed with an RBI knock, and Munetaka Murakami doubled to tie it, 4-4.

Chicago batted around in the inning and had a chance for more, but Meidroth popped out with the bases loaded to end the frame.

The Sox got another gift-wrapped opportunity in the fourth. Back-to-back singles from Braden and Antonacci chased Lugo, and Anthony Gose walked Teel to load the bases with one out. Vargas grounded into a double play. Four runs in the third, bases loaded in the fourth and somehow that was the end of the offense.

Fedde gave the Sox a chance after the ugly start, allowing no runs on four hits and two walks over 2 2/3 innings. Sean Newcomb got Chicago out of trouble in the fourth by striking out Jensen and getting the speedy Witt to ground into a double play. Hagen Smith handled the sixth with two strikeouts.

But Kansas City broke the tie in the seventh off Smith. Jensen singled, Witt reached on a force out and Garcia doubled him home for a 5-4 Royals lead. That one run held up with alarming ease.

Lucas Erceg needed just nine pitches to retire the Sox in the eighth. In the ninth, Royals manager Matt Quatraro called on Steven Cruz to close it out. He struck out Meidroth on three pitches, and Colson Montgomery went down on five. Unfortunately, with that K, he’s now tied Adam Dunn’s White Sox single-season record with 222 strikeouts. That total also leads all of MLB this season and puts him just one shy of Mark Reynolds’ all-time record of 223, set in 2009. Two more punchouts would give him the record outright. With four games left, it seems almost inevitable that the crown will be his.

Braden tried to get something going with two outs and did manage a single to give Antonacci one last shot. He flew out to end it.

The Royals played spoiler, but the Sox did plenty to help them. Chicago wiped out a four-run deficit, stranded a bases-loaded chance and then offered little resistance when it mattered most. Cleveland left the door wide open. The South Siders walked right past it.

MVP
Kyle Teel: 1-for-3, R, 2 RBI, BB, 2 K

Runners-Up
Braden Montgomery: 3-for-4, R
Munetaka Murakami: 1-for-4, RBI, 2B, K
Miguel Vargas: 1-for-4, RBI
Chase Meidroth: 2-for-4, R, K
Erick Fedde: 2 2/3 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 2 K
Sean Newcomb: 2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K

Cold Cat
Bryan Hudson: 1/3 IP, 4 H, 4 R (3 ER)

Runners-Up
Colson Montgomery: 0-for-4, 3 K, E
Tristan Peters: 0-for-3
Hagen Smith: 2 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 2 K, L