With 17 games remaining in the regular season, the Mets are looking to hold off a handful of teams for the final Wild Card spot in the National League.
Here's everything you need to know ahead of play on Sept. 10...
Mets: 76-69, 2.0 games up on Giants for third Wild Card
Next up: @ Phillies, Wednesday at 6:45 p.m. on SNY (Clay Holmes vs. Cristopher Sanchez) Latest result: 9-3 loss to Phillies on Tuesday Remaining schedule: 2 @ PHI, 3 vs. TEX, 3 vs. SD, 3 vs. WSH, 3 @ CHC, 3 @ MIA Odds to make playoffs: 87.8 percent *Mets hold tiebreaker over Giants by virtue of winning the season series
Giants: 74-71, 2.0 games back of Mets
Next up: vs. Diamondbacks, Wednesday at 3:45 p.m. (Carson Seymour vs. Eduardo Rodriguez) Latest result: 5-3 win over D-backs on Tuesday Remaining schedule: 1 vs. ARI, 3 vs. LAD, 3 @ ARI, 4 @ LAD, 3 vs. STL, 3 vs. COL Odds to make playoffs: 7.7 percent
Reds: 73-72, 3.0 games back of Mets
Next up: @ Padres, Wednesday at 8:45 p.m. (Andrew Abbott vs. Nick Pivetta) Latest result: 4-2 win over Padres on Tuesday Remaining schedule: 1 @ SD, 3 @ ATH, 3 @ STL, 4 vs. CHC, 3 vs. PIT, 3 @ MIL Odds to make playoffs: 5.2 percent
Diamondbacks: 72-74, 4.5 games back of Mets
Next up: @ Giants, Wednesday at 3:45 p.m. (Eduardo Rodriguez vs. Carson Seymour) Latest result: 5-3 loss to Giants on Tuesday Remaining schedule: 1 @ SF, 3 @ MIN, 3 vs. SF, 3 vs. PHI, 3 vs. LAD, 3 @ SD Odds to make playoffs: 0.8 percent
Cardinals: 72-74, 4.5 games back of Mets
Next up: @ SEA, Wednesday at 9:40 p.m. (Michael McGreevy vs. Logan Gilbert) Latest result: 5-3 loss to Mariners on Tuesday Remaining schedule: 1 @ SEA, 3 @ MIL, 3 vs. CIN, 3 vs. MIL, 3 @ SF, 3 @ CHC Odds to make playoffs: 0.6 percent
Here's what to know about the game and how to watch...
Mets Notes
Juan Soto is hitting .306/.461/.667 with 12 home runs, 30 RBI, 31 runs scored, and 13 stolen bases over his last 30 games
Francisco Lindor had a strong month of August, but he's gone 0-for-12 over his last three games and is hitting .185/.395/.333 with no homers and one RBI during eight games in September
Clay Holmes is coming off a start in which he allowed just two earned runs (three runs overall) in 4.2 innings against the Detroit Tigers
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PHILLIES
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And all Early did was deliver one of his best pitching performances at any level.
Early, the No. 6 prospect in Boston’s system entering Tuesday, pitched five scoreless innings in the Red Sox’ 6-0 win, allowing just five hits and one walk with 11 strikeouts. Early showcased a filthy sweeping curveball and a mid-90s fastball while striking out 52 percent of the batters he faced.
A few fun facts about Don Aase, via The Boston Globe’s Peter Abraham: Aase never recorded more than eight strikeouts in a game after his debut, and was traded after the 1977 for a second baseman named Jerry Remy.
In the company of a Hall of Famer
According to Underdog’s Justin Havens, only three players in MLB history have allowed zero runs and one or fewer walks while striking out 10 or batters in their big-league debut.
One is Early. The second is Steve Woodard, who debuted for the Milwaukee Brewers in 1997. The third is Hall of Famer and 10-time All-Star Juan Marichal.
Ironically, all three players pitched for the Red Sox — Woodard in 2003 and Marichal in 1974.
An MLB first
According to Opta Stats, Early is the first pitcher in MLB’s modern era to have a debut in which he:
Threw at least 5.0 shutout innings
Walked one batter or fewer
Struck out more than half the batters he faced
It’s worth noting that the A’s don’t exactly have a cupcake lineup; while they’re in last place in the American League West, they rank fifth in all of baseball in team batting average (.254) and home runs (199).
Early’s highest strikeout total in the minors was 10, set during a Sept. 2 start for the Triple-A WooSox. He struck out 10 batters on two separate occasions at the University of Virginia, but never reached 11 Ks.
That’s all to say Early lit it up in his MLB debut — and earned a spot in the Red Sox’ rotation until further notice.
Fellow rookie Payton Tolle, who was called up two weeks ago, will get the start in Wednesday’s series finale vs. the A’s at 3:35 p.m. ET.
Teoscar Hernández points skyward as he heads home after hitting his first home run of the evening. (Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)
It was picture day at Dodger Stadium on Tuesday, one of those quaint baseball traditions that has endured long past its usefulness.
So the team set up three rows of aluminum risers in shallow center field and the players, wearing impossibly white uniforms, filed out of the clubhouse just before 3 p.m., passing up batting practice to pose for the cameras. For a sport that thrives on routine, the afternoon had a unique last-day-of-school vibe.
“It's a weird day," manager Dave Roberts agreed.
But picture day also serves to bring the end of the season into tighter focus since it usually happens in the final three weeks. And the players who climb those risers are the ones who will decide the team’s postseason fate.
That was especially true for the Dodgers, who rode another splendid pitching performance — this one from Emmet Sheehan — to a 7-2 victory over the Colorado Rockies. Sheehan, bidding for a spot in the playoff rotation, was backed by four homers, including a pair of solo shots from Teoscar Hernández, who had his first three-hit night in more than a month.
The win, the team’s third in a row, coupled with San Diego’s loss to Cincinnati, expanded the Dodgers’ lead in the National League West to two games over the second-place Padres with just 17 left to play.
The Dodgers’ starting pitching is already in postseason form, posting a 1.41 ERA over the past five games. On Tuesday it was Sheehan’s turn on the mound and he set down the first 15 Rockies in order, becoming the third Dodger starter in four games to take a no-hitter into the sixth inning.
He wound up scattering three hits and a walk over seven innings, striking out nine to earn his fourth victory in five decisions. The win was also Sheehan’s fourth victory in as many appearances against Colorado.
Roberts said his team’s starting pitchers are all competing to one-up each other, giving the significance of the games now.
“They're feeding off one another,” he said. “The pitchers are of the mind that these are very, very important games. It's kind of the playoff mentality. The catchers are calling games in that vein.
“The defense has been really focused getting off the baseball. There's a heightened level of focus across the board.”
That even spread to the offense, said Mookie Betts, whose two-run home run in the third extended his streak of reaching base safely to 15 straight games.
Mookie Betts is very happy after his two-run homer in the third inning. (Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)
“It's really neat being on this side,” Betts, who had multiple RBIs for a fourth straight game, said of watching the Dodger pitchers work. “If you kind of take a step back and look at it, there's a lot of teams that would ask for something like this. Those guys give us opportunity to win every day.
“It's really important for us as on the offensive side not to take that for granted.”
Although the Dodgers entered Tuesday second to last in the majors with an average of 3.14 runs a game in September, against Colorado starter Germán Márquez (3-13), whose ERA (6.31) looks more like a mortgage rate, they ran out to a 5-0 lead after five innings. As a result the focus turned to Sheehan, who needed just 59 pitches to cruise through five perfect innings, striking out five.
“I probably knew,” Sheehan, pitching on the 60th anniversary of Sandy Koufax’s perfect game, said when asked if he was aware he was more than halfway to matching that. “But I was definitely not thinking about it.”
The right-hander said he tried to cross the Rockies up by moving away from his fastball and going with a slider to the glove side instead.
“I felt like I was executing the slider pretty well,” he said. “The more I throw it, the easier it gets to get it to that spot. It's an important pitch for me.”
Kyle Karros ended the suspense when he lined Sheehan’s first pitch of the sixth inning over a leaping Max Muncy at third for a single. Two more singles brought Karros around to score, ending the shutout as well.
Still Sheehan (6-3) was more than good enough to win for the fourth time in five decisions, lowering his ERA to 3.32 and forcing his way into the conversation over a role on the postseason roster.
“He's unflappable,” Roberts said. “He knows he's talented and he knows how to execute pitches. He's got good stuff. No moment is too big for him. So I can't speak to what role, but I know that he's a viable option for us now and going forward.”
Tuesday’s win also left Sheehan unbeaten on picture day, something he nearly skipped as the scheduled starting pitcher.
“I wasn't going go out there,” he said. “But I was like, I missed the last two. I gotta be out there.”
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Kyle Schwarber hit his 50th home run of the season and Ranger Suárez struck out a career-high 12 over six shutout innings to lead the Philadelphia Phillies to a 9-3 win over the New York Mets on Tuesday night.
The Phillies have won the first two games of the four-game series and lead the NL East by nine games over the Mets.
Suárez (12-6) turned in another terrific outing.
The left-hander tossed one-hit ball as he lowered his ERA to 2.77 and showed again why the Phillies believe he can be a No. 1 starter in the postseason with ace Zack Wheeler sidelined due to complications from a blood clot.
Schwarber’s three-run shot off reliever Justin Hagenman in the seventh gave the Phillies a 7-1 lead and made him the first National League player to reach 50 homers this season. Seattle Mariners catcher Cal Raleigh leads the majors with 53.
The fan favorite designated hitter came out of the dugout for a curtain call for a crowd roaring “MVP! MVP!” as “50 Schwarbombs” flashed on the big screen.
Suárez struck out Juan Soto and Pete Alonso in the first inning and threw 60 strikes out of his 99 total pitches. Suárez has allowed just one earned run and struck out 29 in his last 24 innings over four starts.
Harrison Bader was moved to the leadoff spot with NL batting leader Trea Turner sidelined and went 3 for 5 with a solo homer. Bader, who played for the Mets last season, had three hits against them for the second straight game.
Mark Vientos homered for New York, and Juan Soto got his 30th stolen base for the first 30-30 season of his career.
Key moment
Otto Kemp and Bader hit consecutive homers off struggling Mets starter Sean Manaea (1-3) in the second inning for a 4-0 lead.
Key stats
Schwarber remains within striking distance of the team season record of 58 homers set by Ryan Howard in 2006.
Up next
The Mets send RHP Clay Holmes (11-7, 3.61 ERA) to the mound against Phillies LHP Cristopher Sánchez (12-5, 2.60 ERA) on Wednesday.
Aaron Judge provided the one bright spot for the Yankees on Tuesday night in The Bronx.
In the first inning of what would ultimately be a 12-2 loss to the Tigers, Judge launched a one-out solo homer that not only gave the Yankees an early 1-0 lead, but gave him career home run 359, surpassing the great Yogi Berra for fifth-most in franchise history.
"The last few years with what Aaron’s done in this league and the seasons he’s had, he’s been in some rarified air," manager Aaron Boone said after the game. "There’s been some impressive lists or names he’s next to, but when you see a career list like that with this organization and where he is right now in the center of it, it’s pretty awesome."
The Yankees have had the same top five home run hitters in their franchise since Aug. 7, 1957. Babe Ruth (659), Mickey Mantle (536), Lou Gehrig (493), Joe DiMaggio (361) and Berra (358) made up that list for more than 50 years, but now Judge's name is at the top with those Yankees legends.
When he was asked about it after the game, Judge said his first thought was on what it meant for Tuesday's game, but he appreciates the company he has joined.
"Passing Yogi is pretty special. All-time great Yankee. What he meant to this organization, even when he was done playing, being around, the stories we heard. He's the definition of a true Yankee," he said. "Any time you're on a list with a guy like that, it's pretty remarkable."
As remarkable as the accomplishment is, the feeling after the loss was less so. The Yankees got out to an early 2-0 lead but were in position to potentially win the game entering the seventh inning tied at 2-2. But the combination of Fernando Cruz and Mark Leiter Jr. allowed nine runs without recording an out, and put Tuesday's game out of reach.
Despite the performance, Judge believes in the Yankees' bullpen and chalks it up to a bad game.
"It's just not going our way," he said. "Especially the guys we brought out of the bullpen, I trust every single one of those guys. They've gotten a lot of big outs for us, especially Cruzer and Leiter. Just didn't get it done there and put us in a bad spot. But we just gotta show up tomorrow, do our thing, and we'll be where we need to be."
The Yankees continue their three-game set with the Tigers on Wednesday, hoping to draw even in the series and stay within reach of the Blue Jays for the AL East crown.
.@martinonyc joins @mmargaux8 after the Yankees' loss to the Tigers to discuss the issues with the Yankees' bullpen and Aaron Judge passing Yogi Berra for fifth on the Yankees' all-time home run list: pic.twitter.com/cAWepuo4Pu
Outside of their young arms, their starting pitching continues to struggle.
Tuesday, it was Sean Manaea’s turn; he allowed the Phillies to strike for four runs over the first two innings before settling into a nice groove, but it was enough to raise his ERA to 7.71 since the beginning of August.
The recently red-hot offense has once again gone ice cold, as well.
Philadelphia lefty Ranger Suárez struck out nine of the first 12 batters he faced and held the Mets without a hit over the first five innings on Tuesday, before allowing a leadoff single to Brandon Nimmo.
Suárez finished the night with a career-high 12 punchouts in six scoreless frames.
New York was able to show some sign of life against the Phillies’ bullpen, but a Mark Vientos error and a big ninth inning sunk them, as they suffered their second straight loss to the first place division rival.
The Mets are now 3-5 on their current road trip with two games left, and like that, their hold on a playoff spot is starting to rapidly slip away.
Any hope of the NL East title went out the window with Monday's loss to the Phillies, and by the end of Tuesday night, their lead for the third NL Wild Card spot could be down to as many as 2.0 games.
They do luckily hold the tiebreaker over the next closest team, the surging Giants, but in the midst of a four-game losing streak with just 17 to play, is Carlos Mendoza growing worried?
“We’re good,” the skipper said. “But we gotta play better and we’ve got to fight. We’re in the middle of it, there’s no time to feel sorry, we've got to fight -- what’s in the past is in the past and we’ve got to take it one day at a time.
“We continue to trust and believe in those guys. There’s a lot of experience, a lot of talent and good players in that room -- we’ve been through adversity before as a group, we’ve got to find a way and we will.”
Their next opportunity to get things right comes against another tough Phillies left-hander in Cristopher Sanchez on Wednesday night.
The Mets have received a nice boost from their young arms over the past few games, but they are going to need their veterans to step up down the stretch.
Tuesday was Sean Manaea’s opportunity to turn the tide, however, the struggles continued for the left-hander. Manaea retired the first two batters he faced, but then the next three Phillies reached safely, capped off by a Nick Castellanos two-run double down the left field line.
He picked off a batter to almost work through a clean second, but with two outs Otto Kemp and Harrison Bader lifted back-to-back solo shots to make it a four-run ballgame.
Manaea showed some frustration in-between innings, but after having a discussion with Carlos Mendoza down in the tunnel he came back and settled into a nice groove.
“I just said screw it, can’t get any worse. Just let go and started to pitch,” Manaea said.
With the new mentality, he retired the next seven batters he faced before issuing a leadoff walk in the fifth -- that runner would advance into scoring position but was stranded when Bryce Harper struck out to end the inning and Manaea's night.
His strong finish closed his line with four runs allowed on five hits and a walk over five innings of work.
“He was showing a little frustration, but you have to fight,” Mendoza said. “I’m glad that he was able to respond to it there, I was proud of him for that. I think that’s the messaging for all of us right now, we’re going through it, but we have to fight.”
Certainly strong stretch to build off of, but overall still wasn’t good enough.
Manaea has now allowed four or more earned runs in six of his last seven outings, which has brought his ERA up to an ugly mark of 5.76 for the season.
Still, the Mets will continue to lean on him as a key piece in their rotation down the stretch.
“This is a guy that we’re counting on,” the skipper said. “He was huge for us all year last year, I know it’s been a struggle for him of late and obviously he is frustrated too, but we’re going to need this guy -- we brought him here to make an impact.
“Our job is to continue to help him. Obviously the last three innings tonight were a lot better, hopefully he can take some positives out of this outing from that.”
The Yankees' bullpen allowed nine runs in the seventh inning as New York fell to the Tigers, 12-2, on Tuesday night at Yankee Stadium.
The combination of Fernando Cruz and Mark Leiter Jr. gave up the nine runs on four hits and four walks in an inning that saw every Tigers hitter score.
After the Blue Jays' win, the Yankees (80-64) are now three games behind Toronto for first place in the AL East.
Here are the takeaways...
-Aaron Judge got the Yankees' scoring started with a solo shot in the first. It's Judge's 359th blast of his career, passing Yogi Berra for fifth in Yankees franchise history.
Cody Bellinger joined Judge in the home run party, launching his own solo shot in the fourth to put the Yankees up 2-0.
-Will Warren was cruising against Detroit early on, allowing just one baserunner across the first four innings, retiring 11 straight batters at one point. But a leadoff walk in the fifth and a two-run shot to Parker Meadows knotted the game at 2-2.
Warren finished strong, getting through six innings (91 pitches/59 strikes), allowing just the two runs on two hits and one walk while striking out five batters.
Unfortunately for the Yankees, the bullpen imploded. Cruz allowed two runs on two hits and three walks and did not record an out. He was pulled with the bases loaded and no outs before Aaron Boone brought in Leiter Jr. The right-hander got a shallow fly ball from Trey Sweeney, but it dropped just out of the reach of Anthony Volpe's glove, which pushed the Tigers' lead to 5-2. A hit-by-pitch, walk, wild pitch and a triple spelled the end of Leiter's night as he was pulled without getting an out.
Tim Hill came in and mercifully got through the seventh, allowing just one hit, but the score, 2-2 entering the inning, ballooned to 11-2. Here's how the bullpen fared in that seventh inning:
Cruz: 0.0 IP, 2 H, 5 ER, 3 BB
Leiter Jr.: 0.0 IP, 2 H, 4 ER, 1 BB, 1 HBP, 1 WP
Hill: 1.0, 1 H, 1 BB
According to Katie Sharp, this is the first time in Yankees history that two relievers allowed four-plus runs without recording an out in a game.
Paul Blackburn saved the bullpen by pitching the final two innings, allowing two hits, one walk and one unearned run while striking out three batters.
-Volpe's rough stretch continued on Tuesday. After striking out looking in his first at-bat, Volpe came up with runners on first and second and no out in the fifth. He tried to get the bunt down, but eventually popped out to third base in foul territory. Volpe was booed by the crowd as he walked back to the dugout. Ryan McMahon struck out and Trent Grisham popped out on a 3-0 count to end the threat. It would be the last inning the Yankees had a chance to score any runs. The Yankees had just four hits and no walks while striking out 12 times.
Volpe finished 0-for-3 with two strikeouts.
-Gleyber Torres returned to the Bronx for the first time since signing with the Tigers in the offseason. He received a nice ovation from the Yankee Stadium crowd in his first at-bat, and the second baseman acknowledged the fans with a hat tip. Torres would hit a ground-rule double in his first AB. He also received a tribute video from the team, showcasing his accomplishments in pinstripes.
Torres finished 1-for-3 with two walks, an RBI and a run scored.
Game MVP: Parker Meadows
Meadows' two-run shot tied the game and was a part of that seventh-inning bludgeoning. He finished 3-for-5 with three RBI
Highlights
Aaron Judge is 5th on the Yankees' all-time home run list, passing Yogi Berra! 👏 pic.twitter.com/ZfmoeIy1Ra
The Mets were defeated by the Philadelphia Phillies 9-3 on Tuesday night at Citizens Bank Park.
New York has now lost four in a row.
Here are some takeaways...
- Sean Manaea retired the first two batters of the night, but his recent struggles continued from there. He gave up a two-out two-run double to Nick Castellanos in the first, then served up back-to-back shots to Otto Kemp and Harrison Bader in the second.
After heading into the tunnel to talk with Carlos Mendoza in between innings, Manaea was able to settle into a groove, retiring the next seven hitters he faced before issuing a leadoff walk to Kemp in the fifth. Philly pushed him into scoring position, but Manaea struck out Bryce Harper to strand him there.
The southpaw finished with a line of four runs on five hits and a walk while striking out three over five innings.
- The Mets' offensive struggles continued in their first meeting with Ranger Suárez this season. The southpaw held them hitless until Brandon Nimmo led off the fifth with a single up the middle, but that was quickly erased with a Starling Marte double play ball.
Suárez allowed just four baserunners and struck out a career-high 12 batters in six shutout innings.
- New York was finally able to get on the board when they got into the Phillies' bullpen. Mark Vientos led off the top of the seventh with a laser-beam solo shot to deep right off of David Robertson, snapping a 15-inning scoreless streak.
- Philly answered right back in the bottom half of the inning thanks to a Vientos error, though. Kyle Schwarber officially put this one to bed, lifting a monstrous three-run homer off of Justin Hagenman to the deepest part of the ballpark, making him the second player in franchise history with 50 in a season.
- Jose Siri scored the Mets' second run in his first game back in five months. He laced a double high and deep off the right-center fence, and then came around two batters later on Juan Soto's RBI single -- it was just Siri's second hit as a Met.
Soto swiped third a few pitches later, giving him his first 30/30 season, and the fifth in franchise history.
- Francisco Alvarez snapped a 0-for-12 skid with a double in the top of the ninth. It was just the young backstops second hit since returning from the injured list.
- The Mets' lead for the third Wild Card spot is now down to 2.5 games with 17 to play.
Game MVP: Ranger Suárez
The southpaw was absolutely spectacular, holding the Mets to just one hit while setting a new career-high in strikeouts (12).
Could Roki Sasaki make the postseason roster? (Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)
Roki Sasaki topped 100 mph a half-dozen times in four shutout innings of a rehab start for triple-A Oklahoma City on Tuesday, pushing himself back into the conversation for a spot on the Dodgers’ postseason pitching staff.
“We’ve all got to huddle up and figure out what's the next plan,” manager Dave Roberts said. “I personally don't know Roki’s plan after tonight.”
Sasaki struggled through four rehab appearances and seemed to have dropped off the Dodgers’ radar. But he gave up just a hit through the first four innings Tuesday before tiring in the fifth, when he gave up three runs, two walks, two hits and a hit batter.
He threw 90 pitches, 52 for strikes, striking out eight and walking four.
It’s unlikely Sasaki, 23, will be considered for a spot in the rotation but he could pitch out of the bullpen.
“Anything's possible,” Roberts said. “I know he wants to contribute. So we’ve just got to see where he fits in. And we'll have that conversation as an organization.”
Sasaki went 1-1 with a 4.72 ERA in eight starts before going on the injured list with a shoulder impingement in mid-May. In his first four rehab starts for Oklahoma City, he gave up 17 hits and 11 earned runs in 14 innings.
The Dodgers’ bullpen is starting to get crowded, however, with left-hander Alex Vesia returning from the injured list Tuesday. Vesia was 3-2 with a 2.75 ERA in 59 games before going to the sidelines on Aug. 23 with a right oblique strain. Right-hander Ben Casparius was optioned to Oklahoma City to create a roster spot for Vesia. Casparius was 7-5 with a 4.64 ERA in 46 games.
Roberts said as the postseason roster begins to come together the decisions on who stays and who goes with 2 ½ weeks left in the regular season become harder.
“The conversation with Ben yesterday wasn't fun for anyone,” he said. “It starts to get tougher.”
He’ll have to have another one of those talks Wednesday before activating utility player Tommy Edman from the injury list. Outfielder Justin Dean, who has appeared mostly as a defensive replacement, batting just twice in 18 games entering Tuesday, is the most likely to be sent down.
Mets star Juan Soto officially joined a pristine club on Tuesday night.
The outfielder swiped his 30th bag of the season in the top of the eighth against the Phillies, making him just the fifth player in franchise history to put together a 30-30 season.
The others are Darryl Strawberry, Howard Johnson (three times), David Wright, and Francisco Lindor.
Soto is the first player in baseball to reach the mark this season.
"It's a big deal for him getting to 30," Carlos Mendoza said. "But if you ask him he isn' about his own stats, he's about winning, and right now obviously we're going through a tough stretch but he's all about winning -- but the fact that he got to 30 is certainly impressive."
Soto currently leads the Mets in both marks, and his stolen bases are a new career-high.
The home runs don’t come as a surprise, but working with first base coach Antoan Richardson he’s put an emphasis on improving as a baserunner during his first year as a Met, and it’s led to the uptick in thefts.
"We've put in a lot of hard work since the beginning of the season," Soto said. "Antoan did an unbelievable job, he's been helping me since Day 1, so I think I give him all the credit. He's the one who put me in this situation and in this spot to do what I've done."
With 19 games still left to play, Soto has a strong chance to become the first 40-30 player in Mets history.
Juan Soto has the first 30/30 season of his career and the seventh 30/30 season in the history of the Mets 👏 pic.twitter.com/f1MEuZej5N
ATLANTA (AP) — Atlanta Braves catcher Sean Murphy will undergo season-ending surgery Thursday to repair a labral tear in his right hip, the team announced.
Recovery is expected to take four months. Murphy should be back in time for spring training.
Murphy has three years and $45 million left on his contract with a club option in 2029.
Murphy hit .199 in 94 games this season, 76 at catcher. He had 16 home runs, 45 RBIs and a .709 OPS. In 2024, Murphy hit .193 after being limited to 72 games with various injuries.
In his first season with the Braves in 2023, Murphy had career-highs in home runs with 21 and RBIs with 68.
Rookie Drake Baldwin emerged as the Braves top catching option about halfway through this season. Murphy served as the designated hitter for seven games. Sandy León will serve as the Braves’ backup catcher for the remainder of the season.
ATLANTA (AP) — The Chicago Cubs placed All-Star right fielder Kyle Tucker on the 10-day injured list because of a strained left calf, a move retroactive to Saturday.
Tucker has not played since Sept. 2. He is eligible to be activated on Sept. 16.
“It was just a little worse today than it was yesterday,” Cubs manager Craig Counsell said before Tuesday night’s game against Atlanta. “Yesterday was a really good day, just didn’t have any progress today. He wasn’t comfortable playing, so we said, ‘We have to give this a little more time.’”
Tucker is hitting .270 with a team-best .854 OPS. He has 22 home runs in his first year with the Cubs after seven seasons with Houston.
“I don’t think anything has gotten worse,” Counsell said. “We just have to get to a point where he’s not symptomatic and then not feeling it doing baseball activities.”
Catcher Moisés Ballesteros was recalled from Triple-A Iowa.
