Category: MLB

Yahoo Sports: As you likely know by now, Aaron Judge exited yesterday’s game early when Heliot Ramos pinch-hit for him in the sixth. The Yankees announced it midgame as “lower leg tightness.” It’s some relief I suppose that Judge didn’t re-aggravate the rib fracture that kept him out for over three months, and Judge himself downplayed the seriousness of the ailment after the game.

“We’re still trying to ramp up so there’s still going to be little things like this that come up,” Judge said after the Yankees 13-inning loss to the Twins. “I just thought it would be best instead of pushing through it like I normally do.” Judge seemed to view his exit from the game as precautionary, and likened it to the type of thing that would happen in spring training when small, nagging things pop up as players get back into playing shape.

MLB.com | Patrick Donnelly: Clarke Schmidt came off the 60-day injured list yesterday, something we saw coming; he allowed two hits but got two strikeouts while facing four batters in his first MLB action since July 3, 2025. What we didn’t see coming was who was pushed off the roster to make room for Schmidt: fan favorite Oswaldo Cabrera. The utilityman Cabrera had spent most of the year at Triple-A, hitting .288 with 19 homers and a .790 OPS, but hasn’t spent much time with the big club ever since suffering a brutal ankle injury in a play at home plate last May. Cabrera seems likely to be claimed on waivers, meaning his time in the Bronx is likely to come to an end after being a member of the organization since signing at age-16 in July 2015.

The Athletic | Brendan Kuty: ($) Spencer Jones has been a bit of a revelation for the Yankees this year, producing at a high level across the outfield throughout the summer. He’s benefited from shadowing another big lefty swinger in the outfield: Cody Bellinger. Bellinger is only 31, but has a very long and decorated track record for a player his age, something Jones has tried to tap into during his time with the Yankees. “As a young guy, I can’t help but watch every time he’s up there,” Jones said of Bellinger. “When we are in the dugout,” Jones said, “he’s one of those people I can go up to and ask, like, ‘Yo, what did you see?’ He’ll tell me bluntly what he saw, how he saw it, and essentially what he’s going to do next time.”

New York Daily News | Gary Phillips: Ryan Weathers cleared a key hurdle in his rehab earlier this week, tossing 15 pitches in a bullpen session and sitting 87-90 mph on his fastball. The hope, if things go right, is for the lefty to get into game action before the regular season ends. It’s a tight timeline, but with Weathers set to throw another bullpen on Friday before perhaps facing live hitters early next week, it’s doable. The Yankees could certainly use his arm in the bullpen as they try to sort out what their playoff relief corps will look like.

FanGraphs | Davy Andrews: This here isn’t news, but it is fun. Andrews discusses the Amazon TV show Reacher, in which the titular character tries to maintain a low profile by checking into hotels under aliases, which are always Yankees second basemen. The problem, of course, is that Reacher’s cover is often blown, because Yankee second basemen are frequently famous people with recognizable names (don’t choose “Starlin Castro” as your alias if you’re trying not to attract attention!). So, Andrews endeavors to help Reacher by finding players who played second base for the Yankees who would help Reacher stay undercover. Good aliases include second basemen from New York’s Higlander days, like Joe Ward, and Otis Johnson. The worst possible aliases Andrews found? Robinson Canó and Mickey Mantle.

I’m fairly convinced that baseball fans are a special breed. There aren’t that many sports fans that can watch their team lose in heartbreaking fashion and then show up less than 24 hours later to support the team. It’s just too bad those special fans weren’t rewarded with a better result or better play. Instead, they were treated to another tense, frustrating affair that ended with another one-run loss against a team that is functionally playing out the string of the season.

Merrill Kelly took the bump looking to bounce back from a shortened outing against the Rangers. Unfortunately, he looked like he needed another hour to warm up as the first two innings were a real slog. The first two runners of the game reached before he struckout the side in the first and he loaded the bases in the second inning on a double and a pair of walks. Heriberto Hernandez then grounded a ball sharply down the third base line that Nolan Arenado reached and then made a heroic attempt to throw Hernandez out that took Pavin Smith off the bag and allowed two runs to score. There’s certainly an argument to be made that Arenado could have held the ball, but there’s no other fielder I trust to make that judgement than Arenado who has been a revelation this season in the desert. The Marlins would tack on two more runs in the third when Jakob Marsee, who had an excellent series, launched a two-run shot into the right field bleachers to extend the Miami lead. Kelly would last into the fifth inning and collected a season-high nine strikeouts, but another short outing from their starting pitcher was one of the last things the team needed. Thankfully, the Arizona bullpen continues to shine with 4.1 scoreless innings from Ryne Nelson, Jonathan Loaisiga, and Dennis Santana to keep the team within striking distance.

Meanwhile, the Arizona offense continues to sputter. Yes, they scored three runs, but they were all solo home runs as the struggles with runners in scoring position. Tonight they were an inexcusable 0-for-6 in such situations and even when they loaded the bases with less than two outs in the home half of the first, Corbin Carroll couldn’t find a way to get the ball in play to even give the team the chance to score the runner from third. The team was particularly dependent on the home run ball in the series, scoring all but two of their 13 runs via the long ball. That’s not how the team is particularly constructed and it helps to explain why the offense was so mediocre.

It’s easy to point to the final play of the game with Jordan Lawlar’s unsuccessful attempted steal of second base as the reason the D-Backs lost this game, but there’s plenty of blame to go around for this loss. Kelly looked shaky early on and struggled to put hitters away at times which shortened his start, the top half of the lineup besides Moreno went a combined 2-for-15 with a couple walks, and the team failed to get a single hit with runners in scoring position. That last point is worth emphasizing again as it also includes an at-bat with a runner at third with less than two outs that wasn’t cashed in either. Yes, it’s frustrating that the attempted steal “took the bat out of Marte’s hands,” and it’s possible Lawlar scores from first on an extra-base hit anyway, but having a runner in scoring position is always preferable. And it took a near-perfect throw and tag from a rookie catcher in order to nab Lawlar. I’d prefer the team stick to its identity and roll the dice on something like that than rely on a home run or a double that could theoretically score Lawlar all the way from first base.

This was a particularly frustrating series to watch. It was against a team that has little more than pride left to play for on the road versus a team very much in the postseason hunt. And yet, the starting pitching for the D-Backs struggled to a 5.66 ERA and covered just 14.1 innings, forcing the bullpen to cover that much more of the game. Meanwhile, the offense scored just 13 runs, nearly all of them coming via home run as they went a pathetic 6-for-31 with runners in scoring position for the series. As a result, the team finds themselves going into their off day 3.5 games back of the Padres for the final Wild Card spot with just nine games to go. If they fail to make the playoffs, going 1-5 against a mediocre Marlins team on the season will be just one of many reasons. We can only hope that they have better things to think about instead.

After dropping the first two games of the series against the worst team in the American League, the Mariners bounced back to win the series finale over the Angels, 7-2.

It was Jo Adell Home Run Robbery Bobblehead Night, despite Adell no longer being an Angel of Anaheim. You might remember, the Angels scheduled this promotion after a win over Seattle earlier this season. Yes, Jo Adell robbed three home runs in a 1-0 win against the Mariners this year, and yes, I did almost forget that this happened until Aaron Goldsmith and Angie Mentink brought it up on the broadcast because this season has pretty much been one big nightmare that I’ve been trying to forget.

The Mariners jumped out to an early lead in the top of the first off of their former All-Star Yusei Kikuchi. Back-to-back singles by J.P. Crawford and Randy Arozarena, plus a walk to Dominic Canzone, loaded the bases with nobody out. Cal Raleigh opened the scoring with a sacrifice fly to left that plated Crawford. Then, with two outs in the inning, Josh Naylor grounded a single through the right side to put the M’s up 2-0.

The bottom of the first started as a near-mirror image of the top half. George Kirby loaded the bases with nobody out by allowing a single to Zach Neto and walking the next two hitters. Vaughn Grissom then cut the Mariners’ lead in half with a shallow sacrifice fly to left that successfully tested Randy Arozarena’s arm; his throw came a bit up the line, allowing Neto to score. Unlike the top half of the inning, however, the Mariners were able to limit the damage. With one out, Moisés Ballesteros hit a liner right at Crawford at short, who was able to step on second to double up Mike Trout and end the inning.

The Mariners may have worked out of trouble in the first, but their hold on the lead was brief. In the bottom of the second, the first two runners reached — Denzer Guzman skipped a base hit to left and Josh Lowe singled with a bunt that Kirby had trouble barehanding. Former Mariner Adam Frazier would dump an RBI single just in front of Arozarena to tie the game, but Kirby again avoided disaster in the second, striking out the side and leaving the bases loaded.

After a quiet couple of innings for both sides, the Mariners hopped back in front in the top of the fifth. Kikuchi walked a pair of hitters with one out, and even though his pitch count was at 96, Angels manager Kurt Suzuki elected to stick with him. Three more pitches and three runs later, Kikuchi was chased from the game; Cal Raleigh roped a double down the right field line to score a run, and even though Grissom was able to snare a Josh Naylor grounder on the next pitch, he threw his double-play attempt into left field, allowing two more runs to come across.

The Angels immediately threatened to get back into the game. With one out in the bottom half of the fifth, Grissom himself reached on an error by Crawford, who sailed a throw to first on a routine ground ball. Kirby walked a career-high fifth hitter to end a 4.1-inning start where he wasn’t his sharpest, but managed to limit damage anyhow. I suppose we’ll take it — can’t be too choosy at this point, can we? Carlos Vargas took over in relief, and he K’d a couple of hitters to get out of a jam. After five innings, the Mariners had a 5-2 lead.

Once they finally got some separation, the Mariners went for the jugular. They got right back to work in the sixth, scoring two more on successive RBI singles by Canzone and Raleigh to make it 7-2.

With some breathing room in the late innings, the Mariners felt safe enough to return to their Mariner-ing. Naylor was doubled up on a play that, if it had occurred in any sort of consequential situation earlier in the season, it likely would’ve drawn some sort of aversive response from me, but now it didn’t even prompt me to bat an eye.

Luckily, the Mariner-ing in question remained inconsequential, as the Halos failed to get anything going in the late innings. The Mariners bullpen had one of its better nights of late, allowing no runs over 4.2 innings with contributions from Vargas, José Ferrer, Cooper Criswell and Andrés Muñoz.

M’s get a day off Thursday as they head to Colorado to face the Rockies in the final road series of the year. With the Astros losing to the Royals, the Mariners’ elimination number remains at five.

Robert Stock’s season ended Wednesday with the disappointment of his placement on the injured list but relief that his situation doesn’t appear serious after he experienced finger numbness.

Earlier this season, the Mets right-hander underwent surgery for thoracic outlet syndrome.

Stock said an MRI exam determined poor circulation in his hand and that he’s begun treating the condition with medication.

He was scratched from his scheduled start against the Orioles because the Mets did not want to risk overextending the bullpen if he wasn’t feeling right on the mound.

Xzavion Curry was recalled from Triple-A Syracuse and started in Stock’s spot.

Stock, 36, completed his season with a 5.93 ERA in eight appearances (seven starts) for the Mets.

“I have proven that my name should be in consideration for being a major league pitcher,” Stock said before the Mets’ 7-1 loss to the Orioles on Wednesday night at Citi Field. “There are a million things I want to do better.”

Stock, a career journeyman, called it a “dream come true” to pitch for the Mets.

“It’s my dream to be an established major league starter and go pitch for the next two decades in Major League Baseball,” Stock said. “To do that requires an absurd amount of work and success and this was a half-step in what is 50 steps.”

Stock didn’t misspeak in saying his plan at 36 is to pitch another two decades.

“Aside from the lack of circulation, my arm, when we got all the other imaging done, it looked great,” Stock said. “I feel great. I am throwing fast for someone that throws from a low slot and I have no reason to think that will decay anytime soon.”

Daniel Duarte was placed on the injured list with a left hamstring strain.

The right-handed reliever pitched to a 2.12 ERA in 24 appearances this season. Lefty Jefry Yan was recalled from Triple-A Syracuse.

Carson Benge, with his homer Tuesday, joined Gregg Jefferies (1989) as the only rookies in franchise history with at least 40 extra-base hits and 20 stolen bases in a season.

Benge began the night with 18 homers, 19 doubles and three triples along with 22 stolen bases.

Mariners 7, Angels 2

Mr. Pibb: Cal Raleigh, 0.19 WPA; Josh Naylor, 0.18 WPA; Dominic Canzone, 0.14; Carlos Vargas, 0.12 WPA

RC Cola: Cole Young, Weston Wilson, -0.08 WPA

Game Thread Comment of the Day:

Former Toronto Blue Jays pitcher Brian Wolfe has died, the team announced on Wednesday, Sept. 16. He was 45.

"We are saddened to learn of the passing of former Blue Jay, Brian Wolfe," the team said in its social media posts. "Our thoughts are with his loved ones during this difficult time."

Wolfe's wife, Rachell, posted on Facebook on Tuesday, Sept. 15 that he passed away that day.

"(After) a really really difficult and torturous battle Brian Wolfe passed away early this morning," she wrote.

The cause of death has not been made public.

We are saddened to learn of the passing of former Blue Jay, Brian Wolfe.

Our thoughts are with his loved ones during this difficult time 💙 pic.twitter.com/q7jeeu91tz

— Toronto Blue Jays (@BlueJays) September 16, 2026

Brian Wolfe was drafted by the Minnesota Twins in the 1999 MLB Draft after he starred at Servite High School in Anaheim, California. According to the Los Angeles Times, in his sophomore year he went 8-0 and had an ERA of 0.27. The Fullerton, California, native spent eight years in the minor leagues before making his MLB debut in 2007 with the Blue Jays.

Wolfe spent three seasons in MLB, all in Toronto. He made 72 appearances and went 5-5 with a 3.81 ERA, tossing 47 strikeouts, 22 walks and allowing 79 hits.

After becoming a free agent in December 2009, Wolfe played in Japan from 2010 to 2018. He spent a few years with the Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters, the same team where Shohei Ohtani cut his chops. Ohtani and Wolfe were both on the team in 2013.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Former Toronto Blue Jays pitcher Brian Wolfe dies at 45

JR Ritchie had a rough outing Wednesday, going 4.2 innings with 6 runs allowed, 2 homers, 2 walks, and 5 strikeouts. The strikeout number was at least respectable, but he continues to look like a fringe major league starter at best, despite having looked like a new pitcher over the last period in the minors since his last major league appearance. That’s a bummer for the Braves, who were perhaps hoping for a higher upside for anyone to start a playoff game after Chris Sale and Tyler Mahle. Right now it feels a whole lot like “Grant Holmes for 2-3 innings and then pray the bullpen can cover the rest” and that doesn’t even address a fourth starter. Not a great spot for the playoff rotation.

Braves News

Five Braves’ prospects were named to the A-ball All-Star teams.

JR Ritchie struggled again on his return from the minors, as the Braves lost the series to the Cubs in Chicago.

MLB News

A’s prospect Ryan Lasko was released from the hospital after two months, after he was originally injured and paralyzed in an outfield collision.

The Cardinals activated star rookie JJ Wetherholt, who has spent the last two weeks on the IL.

Dodgers’ Blake Snell left his start against the Reds after just one inning on Wednesday with a groin injury.

After the Colorado Rockies secured a 9-3 victory behind a multi-homer game from a rookie on Tuesday, the San Diego Padres returned the favor Wednesday night with a 9-3 victory powered by a multi-homer game from a rookie.

Adams battles his command

Making his fifth big-league start, Mason Adams seemed primed to build upon his excellent last start in Detroit. Unfortunately, it turned out to be a tough night on the mound as he struggled with his command and gave up hard contact to the Padres offense.

It was immediately apparent in the first inning that Adams did not have his sharpest stuff for the evening. He hit Fernando Tatís Jr. with a pitch to lead off the game and then walked Dustin Harris. Manny Machado then grounded into a force out but hustled down the line to prevent a double play. Ty France hit a sacrifice fly to score a run to put the Padres up 1-0. Jackson Merrill then collected his first hit of the evening with a single and was followed by another walk, this time to Xander Bogaerts. With the bases loaded, Jake Cronenworth singled up the middle to score another run to make it 2-0. By the time Adams got out of the first inning, he had thrown 32 pitches, working from behind with nearly every batter.

“The command just wasn’t there today,” manager Warren Schaeffer said. “I think it was obvious with all of his pitches, specifically in the first inning. I thought he made an adjustment to get back in the zone after that, but overall the command wasn’t where it needs to be, not where he’d like it.”

Leading off the second inning, Adams surrendered the first-career home run to Ethan Salas to make it 3-1 Padres. He later gave up a two-out single to Machado. He managed to secure a 1-2-3 third inning but again ran into trouble in the fourth. Samad Taylor led off with a single and stole second base, coming in to score on a two-out triple by Harris to make it 4-1 Padres.

Adams’ night would come to a close after allowing a one-out single to Merrill in the fifth, followed by a walk to Bogaerts. Unfortunately, when Nick Frasso came in relief, he allowed those two runs to score on a two-run single by Taylor.

Adams went 4.1 innings, allowing six runs on eight hits with three walks. He threw 84 pitches, with just 54 going for strikes. Most notably, he only had one swing-and-miss on the night, which was his lone strikeout.

“The one thing Mason does well is think, always,” said Schaeffer. “Even when things are going wrong, he thinks well and diagnoses well mid-inning and between innings.”

Trouble with the lefty

Much like Adams, Padres starter Robbie Ray didn’t necessarily look good in the first inning. He walked Jake McCarthy to start things off. McCarthy then stole second base, his 30th bag of the season. It was a historic stolen base because it made him the first Rockies player in franchise history to have 15 home runs, 30 doubles, 10 triples, and 30 stolen bases in a single season.

Ray then hit Connor Norby with a pitch, followed by a flyout from Cole Carrigg that allowed the runners to move up. Kyle Karros then drew a walk to load the bases. Adael Amador grounded into a force out that allowed McCarthy to score to make it 2-1 before Troy Johnston struck out to end the inning.

However, Ray was able to settle back in while Adams struggled. He allowed a two-out single to Ezequiel Tovar in the bottom of the second inning and then proceeded to retire the next 10 consecutive batters he faced through the fifth inning.

The Rockies finally cracked through in the sixth inning when Norby led off with a double to center field. Then, with one out, Karros belted his 12th home run of the season, a two-run shot to center field to make it a 9-3 ballgame. Unfortunately, that’s all that the Rockies could muster against Ray.

His night ended after six innings, having allowed just three runs on three hits with six strikeouts and two walks. Ray threw 88 pitches, 55 for strikes, while recording five groundouts. He generated five swings-and-misses on the night as the Rockies really struggled against his slider.

Bullpen effort

After Frasso allowed the two-run single to Taylor in the fifth, he then gave up two runs of his own on a two-run home run by Salas. That second home run by Salas was notable because it made him the youngest catcher in MLB history to have a multi-homer game. In the sixth inning, he then gave up an RBI double to France to bring in San Diego.

The Rockies did get some reprieve for the bullpen thanks to Jimmy Herget. After allowing a leadoff single to Cronenworth in the top of the seventh, Herget proceeded to retire the next six batters, allowing just one hit on 22 pitches. Juan Mejia then fired a clean ninth inning by striking out of the side.

Cold Rockies offense

The Rockies managed just four hits while they struck out nine times against four walks. Two of those walks came with two outs in the ninth inning against Yuki Matsui. The two extra-base hits came in the sixth inning, and they went 1-for-5 with runners in scoring position.

Meanwhile, the Padres collected 13 hits and struck out seven times with just three walks. However, they had five players with at least two hits and had five extra-base hits while going 4-for-12 with RISP.

The flip-flop of the offense from the previous night for both teams is an interesting development, but the Rockies were overly aggressive against Ray while the Padres were patient against Adams. That difference is what allowed San Diego to punish mistakes and the Rockies to struggle to string hits together.

Up next

The Rockies and Padres will close out the series with a Thursday afternoon affair! Tanner Gordon (1-4, 5.55 ERA) will take the ball for Colorado and face off against Michael King (11-9, 3.03 ERA) for the Padres.

First pitch is at 1:10 pm MDT; see you then!

Please keep in mind our Purple Row Community Guidelines when you’re commenting. Thanks!

Daniel Lynch had his best outing as a starter for 2026 picking up a win as the Royals take care of business 5-2 in Houston tonight.

There were a lot of early base runners though not a lot of early scoring in this one. Carter Jensen and Bobby Witt both walked to put Cristian Javier into a quick bind, but he worked through it with no harm done. Similarly, Daniel Lynch gave up a double to open the first and then went K, groundout, and flyout to render Jeremy Pena’s opening salvo moot. The Royals had a couple of singles and no runs in the second. Baserunners were just not finding their way all the way around the bags. Well, until the 4th inning that is.

In the top of the 4th frame Massey doinked a ball to center that landed before the center fielder could get to it. It was a bad swing and contact, but in just the right sort of way. He was followed by a Nick Loftin flyout, and you started to think maybe Javier would work around another leadoff runner. John Rave had other ideas.

It wasn’t a bad pitch coming down and in. Rave was able to turn on it and put it in the bleachers down the right field line. The Royals strike first takinga a 2-0 lead.

Daniel Lynch had easily his best start of the season. It was the first time he seemed mostly in command as a starter, in my opinion, this season. There was a walk and a hard it single past Bobby in the 3rd, but otherwise he looked solid all night. His final line was 5IP, 2H, 1BB, 3K, 0ER. After five, he had only thrown 72 pitches without yielding any runs, but the Royals are at the end of the season and do not seem interested in building his pitch count anymore. Craig Kimbrel came on for the 6th with Danny in line for the win. This pitch to strike out Yordan Alvarez in the 1st is a good example of how sharp he looked.

Cristian was lifted in the 6th and Bryan King took over and continued into the 7th where the Royals mounted another threat. Isaac Collins lead off with a single up the middle and then moved to second when Jensen grounded out down the first base line. Houston decided that with first open they would rather not face Bobby and intentionally walked him. The Royals were still looking for their first hit with runners in scoring position and Vinnie moved that stat to 0-8 with a flyout to center. It was enough to move Collins to third on the tag at least. Enyel De Los Santos came in to face El Capitan who almost singled up the middle, but Jeremy Pena ranged to his left, spun, and threw him out to end the inning with the score still sitting at 2-0.

Matt Quatraro turned to Nolan Hoffman for the 7th and Houston quickly mounted a threat of their own. Two singles, from Jose Altuve and Yainer Diaz, both came in the first four pitches for Hoffman. He did get Christian Walker to flyout but then was pulled with it still at one out and runners on first and second. The Royals brought in Anthony Gose and Houston pinch hit the Royals’ old friend Nelson Velazquez for Cam Smith, though they had been planning to use Lamonte Wade Jr. as the pinch hitter when it was still Hoffman in the game. Velazquez struck out and Dalton Varsho flew out to center as both offenses continued to fail to bring runners in with a combined 0-16 with RISP.

De Los Santos remained in for the 8th and left a ball up and in to Michael Massey to lead off the inning. Massey hit that one off of the Chick-fil-A screen attached to the right field foul pole. Royals get an insurance run and the lead moves to three. Then we finally saw some non-homer runs. It started with two outs when Josh Rojas and Collins walked to set up some runners. Carter Jensen then continued his extra base assault by ripping a ball down the first base line for a for a 2 RBI double and a 5-0 lead. Houston did challenge the call on Collins sliding into home, but it was upheld.

Nate Pearson got the 8th for KC and like Hoffman immediately put a runner on by walking Jorge Barrosa. Next up was Jeremy Pena, the hero last night and he had 3 hits already in this one, but he flew out harmlessly before Yordan ripped a double to the gap at 111 MPH. Isaac Paredes did not get Houston’s first hit with runners in scoring position, but he did manage a deep enough fly ball to get the sac fly RBI and put them on the board. That one was all they would get in the 8th and it was 5-1 heading into the last inning.

The Royals went silently in the top half then turned the game over to Steven Cruz in a non-save situation to close it out. Diaz led it off with a laser solo shot to left field. It was not a bad pitch and yet it was hit very well. They still needed three more though, and Cruz struck out three of the next four batters to finish the job.

They will play one more in Houston tomorrow with the Royals down 2-3 in the season series. KC will look to split the 2026 Astros season tomorrow in the rubber game as the Astros are now at 76-76 just like the Rangers, who won tonight, as they battle for AL West supremacy.

Among the flurry of moves ahead of Wednesday's series finale with the Orioles, the Mets recalled Jefry Yan, and the southpaw made the most of his return by being absolutely perfect.

Replacing an injured Daniel Duarte in the bullpen, Yan pitched a career-high three innings, striking out three batters and tossing a career-high 32 pitches in the process. He didn't allow a baserunner, giving the Mets three perfect innings in relief.

"I felt like I was getting better and better. I went out there and I was just competing against each and every batter," Yan said through an interpreter. "I felt as the game was going on, I was getting stronger and my confidence was getting higher."

Although it came in defeat, Yan's performance helped the Mets reset the bullpen in what could have been a disastrous game after starter Xzavion Curry allowed six runs in the first three innings. 

The Mets optioned Yan back on Sept. 6 for a fresh arm, but also to get the left-hander right in the minors. Yan had allowed a run in each of his prior four appearances before being optioned. He also walked at least one batter in six of his previous seven outings. 

As Mets interim manager Andy Green and the organization conveyed to Yan when he was optioned, he had to find a way to limit the walks if he wanted to succeed in the big leagues.

"We sent him down and said, 'If it's strikes, you're gonna be a big leaguer for a long time. Just have to fill up the zone,'" Green said after the game. "Really can't ask for more than three perfect innings and 30 pitches. One hundred (mph) in the last inning, too, with the velo kept ticking up. There’s a lot to like there."

Yan took on that challenge and proved it Wednesday, even striking out the side in the second of his three perfect innings. But the 30-year-old also pointed to his confidence as a big reason for his performance in the series finale. 

"First and foremost, it's really the confidence," Yan explained. "For me, when I was first up here, I was searching a little bit, searching for the results. Trying to get that result. When I went back down, I said I'm going to go back to being myself. Believing in myself. Now that I'm back up, I'm able to command my pitches; I’m able to go out there and execute because I believe in what I’m doing."

With the combination of Yan's three innings and Jack Weisenberger's three frames, the Mets should have a relatively fresh 'pen when they host the Phillies on Thursday for the start of their four-game series. 

Jefry Yan strikes out the side in the 6th pic.twitter.com/2hwEjdUk5r

— SNY (@SNYtv) September 17, 2026