Category: MLB

Greetings, Brew Crew Ball community. The Brewers bounced back nicely on their road trip against the Marlins and Tigers, and they’re now back in Milwaukee to host Paul Skenes and the Pirates this weekend. In some scary news, team No. 2 prospect and MLB No. 21 prospect Luis Peña reportedly collapsed in the dugout late in High-A Wisconsin’s game on Wednesday night. We’ll keep you posted as we learn more.

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This is now an open thread:

Is there anything better than a sweep in Boston? The Yankees kept the good times rolling yesterday, rallying late to support Cam Schlittler, who tossed eight stellar innings for his oart. Up next are the Astros, another struggling rival off to a very poor start. The Yankees would do well to shove more dirt on Houston, just as they just did with the Red Sox.

On the site today, Sam reviews last night’s American League action, and also looks ahead to the upcoming three-game series with the Astros. Later, Matt remembers Carlos Beltrán’s brief time in pinstripes on the occasion of Beltrán’s 49th birthday. Meanwhile, Josh argues that MLB can’t afford to forfeit the momentum they’ve generated with recent rules changes by instituting a damaging lockout next year, and Andrés examines another great start from top prospect George Lombard Jr.

Today’s Matchup

New York Yankees at Houston Astros

Time: 8:10 p.m. EST

Video: YES Network, Space City Home Network

Venue: Daikin Park, Houston, TX

Questions/Prompts:

1. Is there a pitcher that you’re more excited to watch than Cam Schlittler right now?

2. As we head to Houston, how worried are you that the Astros will be able to shrug off this slow start and return to prominence by season’s end?

The Athletic | Chris Kirschner: Cam Schlittler has been one of the biggest surprises in recent Yankee history, coming onto the major-league stage in the most impressive way in less than a year. Part of his repertoire of success has been a shiny new cutter he unveiled in his final regular-season start, a cutter taught to him by no less than Gerrit Cole. Cole himself adopted the breaking fastball in his 2023 Cy Young season, and if that’s the pedigree that Schlittler is learning under, the sky is the limit for the young righthander.

MLB.com | Jared Greenspan: Alongside that cutter, Schlittler features a four and two-seam fastball, throwing those three pitches more than 85 percent of the time in 2026. This flies in the face of current pitching trends, where guys are offering more breaking and offspeed pitches than ever before. This old-school approach may be part of what takes MLB hitters by surprise when facing Cam, but all three heaters are also legitimate, big-league caliber pitches.

New York Daily News | Gary Phillips: We move from the pitcher’s mound to the batter’s box, where Amed Rosario has carved out a prominent spot for himself in the Yankee lineup. The onetime top prospect drove in all four Yankee runs in Wednesday’s win, and entering play yesterday had a sterling 137 wRC+. The righty credits an offseason change since re-signing with the Yankees over the winter, adding more uppercut to his swing and inducing more fly balls. His big home runs this year have been a direct symptom of that change — pulled fly balls do much more damage than shortening up and hitting the ball the other way.

New York Post | Mark W. Sanchez: When you’re rolling, these are good problems to have, but Aaron Boone does have to fill out a lineup card every day. Giving Ben Rice a day off will have Yankee fans grinding their teeth, and you need to balance out the new offensive upside Rosario has shown with the fact that Ryan McMahon really is a diamond defender at the hot corner. For now, Boone is pulling the right strings, although we’ll certainly hear about it if his luck starts to change.

In an attempt to remake a starting rotation expected to lose a two-time All-Star, the Astros traded two prospects from a barren farm system to acquire Mike Burrows from the Pittsburgh Pirates last December. 

An 11^th round pick by the Pirates in 2018, Burrows finally made his Major League debut in 2024 and put himself on the map by posting a 3.94 ERA with a 24.1 percent strikeout rate and a 7.7 percent walk rate, both better than league average. Burrows emerged as an above-average starting pitcher, and with five years of club control it’s the type of high-ceiling move smart clubs make.

So far, the trade has been a flop.

Burrows is 1-3 with a 6.75 ERA in his first five starts with the Astros. His walk rate has dipped slightly from last season, but his strikeout rate is down to 20.5 percent. He has finished the sixth inning just once and allowed three runs or more in all but one start. 

Burrows arrived in Houston regarded as having one of baseball’s best changeups. While it hasn’t been quite as effective this season, opponents are batting just .188 with a 37.1% whiff rate against it. His biggest problem has been his fastball getting crushed.

Lefties are 8 for 16 with three home runs against Burrows’ four-seam fastball, while righties are 8 for 20 with a homer against his two-seam. Burrows didn’t throw the two-seam often with the Pirates, so it’s not surprising he’s experiencing some early growing pains with it, but the four-seam needs to be better. Left-handed hitters batted .270 with two homers against it in 2025.

But there are reasons for optimism.

For 14 batters against the Cardinals on Sunday, Burrows looked like the pitcher the Astros thought they were getting. He retired all 14, seven via strikeouts, before Masyn Winn singled through the left side of the infield. The next four batters also reached, and Burrows couldn’t finish the fifth inning despite starting the game 14 up, 14 down.

“I don’t want to take away from how well he pitched those first four innings,” Astros manager Joe Espada said. “I think the fifth doesn’t speak for how well he threw the ball. He had his stuff working.”

There are two main reasons the Astros should be confident that Burrows can make the first 14 batters from his last start more the norm than the final five.

There is always an adjustment after changing teams. Aside from the obvious change of leaving the only organization you’ve ever known, your new team is going to ask you to tweak certain aspects of your game. The Astros have been no different with Burrows. 

The Astros have overhauled Burrows’ pitch usage. His two-seam fastball, which has produced poor results, is now his primary pitch against right-handed hitters after being used less than 10 percent of the time last season. They’ve also lowered his arm slot from 48 degrees to 39.

Burrows has also been somewhat unlucky so far this season. His FIP is nearly two runs lower than his ERA, and his BABIP is almost 90 points higher than league average despite a lack of hard contact. Opponents have a 33.8 percent chase rate against him, more than six percentage points higher than a season ago.

Per Baseball Savant, no pitcher has been hurt more by his defense. Through Sunday’s start, the Astros are at -4 runs prevented with Burrows on the mound and -5 outs above average.

Burrows hasn’t lived up to the high expectations the Astros had for him when he was acquired last winter, but they didn’t make the trade for five starts. The Astros traded for Burrows because they thought he could help lead their rotation for the next five seasons, and there are still reasons to think that could still be the case.

Carson Benge has had a bit of a rough start to his big league career. 

The young slugger put together a much-needed big night at the plate on Thursday, though, helping the Mets pick up their second straight win over the Twins. 

Benge opened his showing jumping on a first pitch Joe Ryan fastball up in the zone, ripping it 95 mph off the right-center fence for a one out double. 

He came around to score a few batters later on a sacrifice fly. 

The lefty did even more damage against Ryan his next time up, this time leading off the fourth by lifting a second-pitch splitter 388 feet over the right field fence.

This one left the bat at a whopping 105.7 mph. 

Benge struck out in his next plate appearance, then Tommy Pham pinch-hit for him when a lefty was brought in to the game with two on in the bottom of the eighth. 

Pham, of course, drew a walk and then Bo Bichette delivered his first big knock as a Met with a go-ahead bases-clearing double into the left-center gap. 

The 23-year-old finished 2-for-3, with the knocks being his second double and second homer of the season. 

“He was just getting the barrel though the hitting zone and hitting balls to the pull-side,” Carlos Mendoza said. “The first off the wall and then the homer, overall I think it’s just shorter and more direct to the ball.”

Benge is still hitting just .159 on the season, but it was encouraging to see him show off some of that pull-side pop. 

BOSTON — In his 38th career plate appearance as a pinch hitter, Cody Bellinger tripled his RBI total.

After starting Thursday’s game on the bench, Bellinger entered in the seventh-inning with the bases loaded and the Yankees trailing by a run and came through with a two-run single that sent them to a 4-2 win over the Red Sox, completing a sweep at Fenway Park.

Bellinger only had one career pinch-hit RBI before Thursday, but picked a clutch spot for his next two, coming against righty reliever Greg Weissert to help get Cam Schlittler the win in his first hometown start.

“It’s a hard thing to do,” Bellinger said. “But we got a bunch of guys in here, a lot of success this year [pinch hitting] and I just want to continue doing that. You really just prepare as much as you can and when your name’s called, I stick within myself and my plan and take my swing.”

Aaron Boone, who said he told Bellinger, “Nice off-day,” said he was not surprised to see him deliver.

“I mean, that’s Cody. He’s getting paid handsomely because he’s good at that,” Boone said of the outfielder who re-signed on a five-year, $162.5 million contract in January. “Just a really good at-bat, smoking the ball the other way and putting us in a great spot. He’s a great player, simple as that.”

Gerrit Cole made his second rehab start Thursday with High-A Hudson Valley, building up to 52 pitches across 4 ¹/₃ innings in which he gave up two runs and five hits while striking out four.

The ace is expected to use most, if not all, of his 30-day rehab clock as he finishes off his comeback from Tommy John surgery.

“[My arm] is feeling good,” Cole said, according to video provided by the Hudson Valley Renegades. “It’s responding good to all the new stimulus, so we’ll keep plugging away.”

Carlos Rodón will make his first rehab start Friday with Hudson Valley, and Boone reiterated that the left-hander is “closer” to a return than Cole. Rodón is expected to make at least three rehab starts.

Gerrit Cole strikes out the side! Got him swinging 4 Ks tonight for Cole pic.twitter.com/9wiEDP4FvS

— Hudson Valley Renegades (@HVRenegades) April 23, 2026

Anthony Volpe had Thursday off from his rehab assignment at Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, but he is expected to play nine innings at shortstop Friday and Saturday and then DH on Sunday, at which point the Yankees will reevaluate whether he is ready to return to the big leagues.

Boone declined to say whether Volpe could be in play for the Yankees series against the Rangers that begins Monday in Arlington, Texas, though it would not be surprising if they waited to activate him until they return home next Friday for a series against the Orioles.

“He’s getting close,” Boone said. “As this weekend unfolds, we’ll get a better idea.”

Ben Rice, Schlittler, Will Warren and Boone went to Boston Children’s Hospital this week to visit patients including Walker, a 7-year-old Westchester native who is awaiting a heart transplant.

He made a sign that read “Play like a [heart] warrior today” that the Yankees hung up in their clubhouse at Fenway Park on Thursday.

“It was awesome,” Boone said. “Grateful I got to go do that, to meet him and a few of the other kids over there. Walker’s family was awesome. He’s got a lot of personality and super upbeat. Just fun hanging with him. I know he’ll be yelling, ‘Let’s go Yankees’ around six o’clock over there. Hoping we hear it from the hospital.”

The league told Boone that Ryan Yarbrough’s balk against the Angels last Thursday — which ultimately led to the manager getting ejected for arguing the call — was not actually a balk.

The Savannah Bananas game scheduled for Saturday at Yankee Stadium has been moved to Friday at 7:30 p.m. because of the threat of inclement weather.

BOSTON — There were the three victories. There were the three losses for the Red Sox. There was pitching excellence. There were timely hits.

During a sweep at Fenway Park that included virtually only positives for the Yankees, among the club’s most encouraging developments was a possible breakthrough from Jazz Chisholm Jr.

The talented second baseman went his first 21 games without a multihit game. Against the Red Sox, he went 2-for-3 in multihit games.

Chisholm did not launch a home run in his first 23 games, but in the series finale, he wrapped a shot around the Pesky Pole, allowing him to exhale.

In three games, he spiked his OPS from .498 to .556. And in the final game, he felt as if he found what had been troubling him by backing away from the plate and assuming a more closed-off stance.

“I feel like I’ve been opening a little bit, and I feel like that helped me close up a little bit and just backing off [the plate],” Chisholm said after the stance tweak immediately paid off in the 4-2 victory Thursday.

A day prior, Chisholm felt his more open stance and crowding the plate was leading him to flare balls to left rather than drive them.

After the adjustments, the lefty swinger pulled an inside fastball from lefty Payton Tolle and snuck it around the right field pole in the fifth inning.

• CHECK OUT THE LATEST MLB STANDINGS AND YANKEES STATS

In the seventh, he singled hard to center against lefty Danny Coulombe. In the eighth, he grounded into a 103.8 mph force-out against lefty Tyler Samaniego.

“Probably his best group of at-bats, especially off some tough lefty matchups there,” manager Aaron Boone said of Chisholm, who went 2-for-4 with a strikeout and two runs scored. “So good to see that.”

Asked if the lack of home runs was on his mind, Chisholm smiled and said, “I wouldn’t say home runs was on my mind — it would be hits.” But he was not overly concerned because it is still only April.

Nonetheless, Chisholm is hitting .188, and his one home run in 24 games does not put him on pace for the 50 he has said he wants to hit by the end of the season. During a walk year, he and the Yankees would have preferred a better start.

But Chisholm’s April last season was his worst month of what became an All-Star season. Perhaps he takes time to get going. Perhaps he needed a couple tweaks to get going.

“I tend to have a couple problems early in the season,” Chisholm said. “But at the end of the day, it feels good to finally get one [homer] in there.”

With windy conditions playing a noticeable role throughout the night, Mizzou fell to Arkansas, marking their eighth straight loss despite a strong outing from starting pitcher Josh McDevitt and an explosive start at the plate.

“We have to play better baseball,” head coach Kerrick Jackson said. “We can’t make some of the mistakes that we make, and then, more importantly, when they make mistakes, we have to be able to capitalize off of it. We don’t have to do anything over the top. We don’t have to be heroes. We just have to play good baseball.”

Tee Off at Taylor night featured a giveaway golf hat, and the Tigers came out hot early. 

Offense Struck Early

Jase Woita, batting leadoff for the second time this season, swung at a first-pitch strike and blasted a home run to left field. Kam Durnin followed with a hit-by-pitch, and freshman Blaize Ward continued his recent surge with a two-run shot to left, making it 3-0 Mizzou in just four pitches, and his third home run in five games. 

On the mound, McDevitt started strong, working through early trouble in the first inning with bases loaded by recording two strikeouts to limit the damage. He settled in from there, adding two more strikeouts in the second and throwing a clean 1-2-3 third inning.

Arkansas began to respond as the game progressed. After being held mostly quiet, TJ Pompey launched his tenth home run of the season to right field in the fifth, cutting the lead to 3-1. 

McDevitt continued to deal, tying his season-high in strikeouts during the fifth, before ultimately setting a new career high with 11 in the seventh inning. However, after he exited with two runners on, Trey Lawrence allowed a hit up the middle that tied the game 3-3.

Arkansas starter Hunter Dietz finished with eight strikeouts, allowing seven hits and three runs over seven innings.

Where it All Slipped Away

Momentum quickly shifted in the eighth when Zack Steward hit a two-run homer to right field, giving Arkansas a 5-3 lead, with the wind again playing a factor in balls traveling to the outfield.

Offensively, the Tigers cooled off after their fast start. Woita added a second hit, and Pierre Seals and Cameron Benson each contributed singles, but Mizzou struggled to string together runs late.

In the ninth, Ian Lohse delivered a scoreless inning to keep Mizzou within reach, which was the first time for him since February. 

Mateo Serna walked and later scored on a groundout by Donovan Jordon, who pinch hit for Keegan Knutson, cutting the deficit to 5-4. However, Tyler Macon who pinch hit for Isaiah Frost, struck out to end the game.

What’s Next

Mizzou will look to bounce back in their next matchup against Arkansas at 7 p.m. Friday, April 23, hoping to snap their losing streak.

“I still firmly believe that this team hasn’t synced up,” Woita said. “Our best baseball when the staff’s been on, the hitters have been off, vice versa, so I firmly believe that we can hang with anybody in the country when we’re playing our best baseball. I’m just excited for the chance to go out and do that again.”

With Brady Kehlenbrink taking the mound tomorrow, it will be a game worth watching. 

To follow along and read more about Mizzou Baseball, follow @Rock MNation,@SophBleedsLA and @Henry_C81, on twitter/x.

Christian Scott's first Mets outing in almost two years was one to forget.

He lasted 1.1 IP after allowing one run on five walks, including 18 strikes on 43 pitches, in his return from Tommy John surgery.

"It was great to get out there with the team," the 26-year-old RHP said after Thursday's 10-8 win at Citi Field. "First, unbelievable job by the offense today, grinding out at-bats through all nine innings, did a great job against all their arms. Bullpen did a really good job, too ... I didn't do my job, but they did their job and that's why we're here with a win today."

Scott struck out Byron Buxton to start the game before walking four of his next six batters and allowing a two-out run on Austin Martin's bases-loaded walk.

A four-pitch walk to start the second inning against Brooks Lee was followed by a fly out, but a balk and a hit batter on an 0-2 count forced manager Carlos Mendoza's hand.

"He didn't have command," Mendoza said. "Couldn't throw the ball over the plate. The velo was there, but he lost the strike zone. It got kind of hard on him after that."

Before debuting for New York (9-16) against Minnesota (12-13), Scott made three starts with Triple-A Syracuse. After a rough first outing, he rebounded in his subsequent two performances.

"I didn't really have a good feel for anything today," Scott said. "The fastball was up a lot, cutter was up a lot. Try to make adjustments in the zone and start nibbling. Got away from being competitive in the strike zone like I am. Wasn't at my best, so learn from it, move on and turn the page."

His last MLB start was July 21, 2024. He logged 47.1 IP over nine starts, pitching to a 4.56 ERA and 1.20 WHIP and showing flashes as one of the Mets' top prospects.

"I don't think so," Scott said when asked if nerves factored into Thursday's outing. "I was definitely excited to be here, for sure. ... Once I started walking two or three guys, starting to nibble a little bit, start placing the ball in the strike zone instead of being confident with my stuff in the strike zone -- wasn't really who I am as a pitcher. So learn from it, move on and I trust my stuff. I have a lot of confidence that I belong here, so I've just got to do a better job of showing that and take advantage of the opportunities I get.

Scott will get another start "as of right now, yes," Mendoza said. However, the Mets' pitching options are in flux after the bullpen went 7.2 innings on Thursday.

"We've got to go back here and see where we're at as far as bullpen for the next few days after being aggressive the past few days here and how much we use those guys," Mendoza said. "... He's going to continue to get opportunities. He's a big part of this team, and he'll be all right."

Scott would be in line to start next Wednesday at the Washington Nationals.

"I feel like we're past the 'checkpoints' part, really," Scott said. "I'm just trying to go out there and compete and get as many wins as we possibly can. I felt great physically, so that's definitely not it -- that's the reason why what happened today. ... Learn from it, move on and bounce back."

Atlanta Braves outfielder Michael Harris II exited Thursday’s game in the seventh inning after experiencing left quad tightness. Fortunately, the move was only precautionary and Harris is expected to be on the lineup card tonight against the Philadelphia Phillies.

Harris had a huge series against the Washington Nationals, where he logged six hits, two of them leaving the ballpark. He also recorded six RBI and did not strike out once. The Braves will hope he can carry that momentum into another strong performance this series.

More Braves News:

JR Ritchie’s MLB debut started horribly but shaped up to be spectacular. He went on to throw seven innings, allowed two runs, two walks, and struck out seven. 

Tate Southisene knocked a leadoff homer during Wednesday’s GreenJackets game. More in the minor league recap.

MLB News:

The New York Mets placed shortstop Francisco Lindor on the 10-day injured list with a left calf strain. He is expected to miss a significant amount of time.

The Kansas City Royals have revealed plans for a new ballpark in downtown KC.

From the Feed:

Who do you think is the out man out at shortstop upon Ha-Seong Kim’s return?

BOSTON — During Cam Schlittler’s Fenway Park debut Thursday — his first game pitching against the Red Sox since his dominant playoff start, after which he revealed that venom from Boston fans both irritated and motivated him, a Massachusetts kid turning heel against his childhood favorite team — Red Sox fans treated him the same way their team’s bats treated Yankees pitching:

Kindly. With little resistance.

Sure, Schlittler was booed and heard typical jabs from hecklers before and during the 4-2 victory that finished off a sweep, but the type of poison that he said he heard online before Thursday did not show itself in person.

“You [underestimate] how many genuine people are out there compared to online,” Schlittler said after stymieing the Red Sox for eight innings in which he let up two runs (one earned).

Before the game, the Yankees’ talented right-hander walked from the visiting dugout to right field, where he stretched, before entering the bullpen hearing more applause than boos.

One young fan held up a sign reading, “Walpole [hearts] Schlittler,” and Yankees fans outnumbered Red Sox fans in the area a half hour before first pitch.

It was helpful for Schlittler that Red Sox fans might be angrier at their own team, which has begun the season poorly and scored three runs in the three-game series, than at Schlittler.

“I think [the Red Sox] not scoring a lot or mounting a lot necessarily kind of took [away] a little bit of that angst that you get from playing at Fenway, which can be so tough,” said manager Aaron Boone, who did not find the atmosphere to be hostile. “So, he did a good job of not giving them a lot to rally about.”

Schlittler said this week that he and his family have received death threats from Red Sox fans who “kind of hate me.” That hate was not apparent face to face, the most biting comment heard from the bleachers outside the bullpen perhaps being, “Mr. Walpole, forget where you came from?”

There also were fans who yelled “ball” or “single” or “home run” after each warmup pitch, standard fare for any visiting pitcher at a ballpark. The boos reserved for Aaron Judge during the lineup announcement drowned out the boos for Schlittler.

After retiring the side, Schlittler returned to a dugout that was surrounded by Yankees fans.

“For the most part, [fans were] really respectful,” Schlittler said. “And a lot of Yankees fans here.”

The Yankees were prepared for worse. Their three pitching coaches — Matt Blake, Preston Claiborne and Desi Druschel — stood behind Schlittler during his bullpen warmup, ensuring they were between Schlittler and any overzealous fan. Their director of team security followed Schlittler from the dugout to the bullpen and hovered in right field, in the vicinity just in case. Fenway Park security did not allow fans to loiter in the stands around the bullpen without a ticket.

Schlittler facing off against the Red Sox has the potential to reinvigorate the rivalry, and his October brilliance and ensuing openness in punching back at overaggressive Boston fans rekindled a spark.

But the Red Sox, who fell to 9-16, and their fans have bigger issues than antagonizing Schlittler, who acknowledged the atmosphere felt tamer than he expected.

“Just another game,” Schlittler said.

Bo Bichette chased his early Mets moment and was unsuccessful during a difficult opening weekend. He improved through April and delivered in Thursday's 10-8 win over the Minnesota Twins.

Leading off while New York (9-16) was without the injured Francisco Lindor, Bichette's 3-for-5 evening at Citi Field featured a three-run double with the bases loaded and two outs in the eighth inning.

"It's a good moment," Bichette said. "Great thing about baseball is you've got to show up and do it again tomorrow. So, looking forward to that."

The Mets ended up needing every last one of the three runs that Bichette drove in, surviving Minnesota (12-13) after the Twins scored a run in the ninth inning and brought the tying run to the plate.

"Huge," said Carlos Mendoza. "I think he's been looking for that moment, especially here at home -- or any ballpark, but I think meaningful to do it here in front of our fan base. I think I'm going to go back to that first opening weekend when he wanted it so bad. And then for him, after we lost the lead in the eighth, the way we did it, and just punch right back -- it was just good to see it."

Bichette overcame two strikeouts while adding a single in the first and fourth innings.

"I think the desire to help a new team and the desire to just perform at the level you know can perform at," said Bichette, who is slashing .277/.310/.373 with one home run and nine RBI through 83 at-bats in April. "So, I don't know if any of that was weighing on me. But I definitely still need to get better, but make adjustments and get to the player that I need to be at."

Bichette and the Mets, on the heels of this month's 12-game skid, seek their third straight win Friday when they start a three-game series with the Colorado Rockies at Citi Field.

"Winning games in the big leagues is really hard," Bichette said. "I think good teams fight, no matter the ebbs and flows of the game, and it was really exciting to see tonight from us."

The Texas Rangers scored six runs while the Pittsburgh Pirates scored one run.

That’s more like it. After a few annoying losses here and there over the last couple of weeks, the Rangers came out tonight and did pretty much everything right as they finished off a series win over Pittsburgh in the first leg of the current homestand.

The Rangers had Jacob deGrom on the mound at The Shed and that usually works out pretty well.

Indeed, tonight was vintage deGrom as he allowed a single run on five hits and a walk with ten strikeouts in 5.2 innings of easy breezy dominance.

Meanwhile Evan Carter continued to make enemies of Pittsburgh with a two-run inside the park home run that gave the Rangers a 2-0 lead.

Josh Jung keeps contributing as he kept his average back above .300 with a hit while also making a diving stop and throw to prevent the Pirates from converting on a bases loaded rally and keeping a final run off deGrom’s ledger.

Perhaps best of all there was Corey Seager demolishing one for a back-breaking three-run shot to finish off a four-run fourth inning during a two-hit night that hopefully catapults him out of an early slump.

The bullpen managed 3.1 more innings of scoreless ball, including a 10-pitch scoreless ninth from newest reliever Peyton Gray in his MLB debut.

The win also allows the Rangers to climb back above .500 and avoid slipping below the mark once again.

Player of the Game: I just can’t choose. My steak is too juicy, my lobster too buttery.

Up Next: The Rangers will don their new red TEJAS City Connect uniforms for the first time as they welcome the unhoused Athletics to Arlington for a three-game set. RHP Nathan Eovaldi will take the mound for Texas opposite RHP Luis Severino in a rematch of the series opener from West Sacramento from about ten days ago.

The Friday night first pitch in the series opener from The Shed is scheduled for 7:05 pm CDT and will be telecast over-the-air via CW33.

A Mets team that’s done more losing than almost anyone anticipated seemed determined at times to give up Thursday’s battle against the Twins. 

Instead, they hung on — barely — to win their second straight to follow their 12-game skid. 

The 10-8 victory, which came on the heels of the news that Francisco Lindor would likely be out months with a left calf strain, featured a brutal start from Christian Scott, a blown four-run lead in the eighth, a bizarre bullpen mix-up and then nearly another Devin Williams catastrophe in the ninth. 

But the Mets put up enough runs, got enough solid innings from some unlikely relievers before Bo Bichette delivered a go-ahead double in the eighth and then Williams righted himself to finish it. 

“It was good to get some wins [and] remember what that feels like,” said Bichette, who had a three-run double in the eighth after Huascar Brazobán allowed a game-tying grand slam in the top of the inning to Ryan Jeffers. 

“It was a crazy game,’’ manager Carlos Mendoza said. 

It came after they ended their longest streak in more than two decades Wednesday. 

Scott, making his first start since 2024 Tommy John surgery, retired just four batters and walked five before his early exit. 

He walked five, hit one and was pulled in the second inning. 

By then, the Mets had a 3-1 lead, courtesy of Brett Baty’s three-run homer in the bottom of the first, his first of the season. 

The lineup scored three unearned runs off Minnesota’s Joe Ryan in the second and Tobias Myers settled the game down with 2 ¹/₃ solid innings in relief of Scott — who will likely stay in the rotation because the entire staff is in tatters. 

• CHECK OUT THE LATEST MLB STANDINGS AND METS STATS

David Peterson, banished to the pen after three consecutive poor outings, was solid, allowing just one run in 3 ¹/₃ innings. 

But Craig Kimbrel struggled before Brazobán gave up the game-tying homer to Jeffers. 

The Mets recovered in the bottom of the inning. 

It started with a Baty leadoff single, a sacrifice bunt by Tyrone Taylor and a single from Marcus Semien. 

Ronny Mauricio popped out to center and Tommy Pham — pinch hitting for Carson Benge — drew a walk before Bichette just missed a grand slam of his own, with the ball hitting near the top of the wall. 

The drama was only building. 

Brazobán jogged back onto the field to start the ninth and crossed the foul line, mistakenly believing he was still in the game, while Williams was coming in from the bullpen. 

Brazobán had to face a batter and recorded the first out before Williams entered and struck out Luke Keaschall then struggled again. 

Williams gave up a single to Brooks Lee, who took second on defensive indifference and scored on Tristan Gray’s base hit. 

Mets killer Byron Buxton then ripped a double to left to send Gray to third. 

Williams recovered and struck out Trevor Larnach to end it. 

As they try to put the franchise’s longest skid since 2002 behind them, and deal with the indefinite loss of Lindor, the Mets managed to knock Joe Ryan around for seven runs — four earned in five innings. 

The victory gave the Mets their first series win since they took three out of four from the Giants nearly three weeks ago. Now they have the Rockies and Nationals coming into Citi Field. 

“Winning games in the big leagues is really hard,” Bichette said. “Good teams fight, no matter the ebbs and flows.” 

Despite the win — which the Mets will take any way they come these days — the return of Scott was discouraging. 

The 26-year-old right-hander had pitched well in his previous two starts with Triple-A Syracuse, but had no command Thursday. 

And while they managed to hold on to beat the Twins, the bullpen is a bit of a mess, as they try to keep Peterson and Sean Manaea stretched out to be options in the rotation — as well as Myers — but they need them to get innings in relief. 

“They’ve been saving us,’’ Mendoza said of the trio. 

How long that can continue is anyone’s guess, but Thursday, they survived another day.

It wasn’t pretty, but the Mets managed to win another game, topping the Twins in their series finale 10-8. Christian Scott was poor and the bullpen coughed a lead up late, but the Mets offense – largely dormant for the past three weeks – finally woke up and scored enough to cover for the poor night on the mound.

The aforementioned Scott got the start, making his 2026 debut and his first major league appearance since July of 2024. He struck out the first batter he faced, then managed to walk four of the next five batters, forcing in a run. It didn’t get much better in the second either; a walk, a balk, and a hit batter ended his night after only 1.1 innings.

Against Joe Ryan, one of the more underrated starters in the game, you’d likely expect that to be the end of it with the way things have been going for the Mets. But no, tonight was different. Brett Baty got Ryan for a three-run home run in the bottom of the first, his first homer of the year. A couple of doubles led to another run in the bottom of the second, and two more came home after a passed ball on a strikeout extended the inning. The Twins got one run back in the fourth, but the Mets immediately responded with a solo shot from Carson Benge, giving them a 7-2 lead after four.

Nothing is easy for the 2026 Mets though. Tristan Gray homered off of David Peterson out of the bullpen in the sixth, making it 7-3. Then, the real disaster in the eighth. Craig Kimbrel entered and had nothing, loading the bases with two outs. Huascar Brazoban, Carlos Mendoza’s security blanket, was brought in to put out the fire. Instead, he surrendered a game-tying grand slam to Ryan Jeffers. Yup.

If anything, it’s fitting that the Mets were burned for making what was clearly the wrong transaction prior to the game. Yes, Craig Kimbrel is a future hall of famer. Yes, he has a shiny ERA so far as a Met. No, he is not currently a better pitcher than Austin Warren, and that’s immediately obvious to anyone who can visually or statically evaluate a pitcher. Optioning the superior arm in deference to a veteran who doesn’t have it anymore is simply bad process.

Mercifully (for us at least), this game didn’t go like so many others in this streak. Two singles and a walk loaded the bases with two outs, bringing Bo Bichette to the plate. Bichette entered the game with a .220/.255/.390 line and the worst strikeout rate since his rookie season. He finally came through though, launching a ball that missed being a grand slam of his own by inches and which gave the Mets a 10-7 lead.

But again, nothing is easy for the 2026 Mets. Huascar Brazoban ran back out to the mound for the ninth, only he wasn’t meant to; Devin Williams was supposed to come in. But because Brazoban crossed the foul line, he needed to face at least one batter. (This whole incident is a huge indictment of the manager, as if we’ve not had enough of those recently.)

That’s okay though, Brazoban got the first out and Williams entered, and even struck out the first batter he faced. Then he allowed a single. Then another single. Then a double. Suddenly, the tying run was in scoring position, and it sure felt like yet another disaster was pending. But no, Williams bounced back to strike out Trevor Larnach and finally close out the 10-8 win.

The Mets are now 9-16 and perhaps are back on track, though losing Francisco Lindor earlier in the day for an extended period is not going to help (Ronny Mauricio did not look good at short today). They’ll start a 3-game series with the Rockies tomorrow with Freddy Peralta squaring off against Michael Lorenzen.

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What’s WPA?

Big Mets winner: Bo Bichette, +44% WPA
Big Mets loser: Huascar Brazoban, -32% WPA
Mets pitchers: -29% WPA
Mets hitters: +79% WPA
Teh aw3s0mest play: Bo Bichette hits a three-run double in the eighth, +34.2% WPA
Teh sux0rest play: Ryan Jeffers hits a grand slam in the eighth, -36.5% WPA