Category: MLB

The Yankees swept Sunday's doubleheader against the Toronto Blue Jays by taking the second game by a score of 5-1.

Here are the takeaways...

-Coming off a clunker in his second start of the season, Clarke Schmidt rebounded and turned in a solid outing against the Blue Jays. Still trying to get his legs under him after starting the season on the IL, the right-hander tossed five innings and allowed one run on one hit and four walks while striking out six. He threw 90 pitches (52 strikes).

The lone hit Schmidt allowed was a solo shot to Anthony Santander in the third inning that tied the game at 1-1 at the time. The 29-year-old didn't factor into the decision as he left the game with the score still knotted at one apiece. It wouldn't be until the sixth inning when the Yankees took the lead.

-Facing Chris Bassitt who was locked in a pitcher's duel with Schmidt for the first half of the game, Aaron Judge led off the inning with a solo home run, his eighth of the season, to put New York up by one. It was Judge's only hit of the game as the designated hitter.

With two outs and a runner on second, Bassitt had a chance to escape the inning without further damage but allowed an RBI double to Jasson Dominguez that doubled the Yanks' lead and knocked the right-hander out of the game. Dominguez finished 2-for-4 and is hitting .238 this season.

-A third run in the inning came around to score after J.C. Escarra singled off reliever Brendon Little. The backup catcher had an even cooler moment in the eighth inning, hitting a no-doubter for his first career home run to put the Yankees ahead 5-1. Escarra had two hits in four tries as he continues to try and find it at the plate in his first MLB season.

-New York's bullpen was nails as the combination of Tim Hill, Mark Leiter Jr., Fernando Cruz and Luke Weaver pitched four scoreless innings. Leiter Jr. struck out the side in his inning of work while Weaver has still yet to be scored upon in 14 innings this season.

-Trent Grisham got things started with a leadoff home run in the opening frame, already his seventh home run in just 57 at-bats. To put that into perspective, Judge has hit eight in 106 at-bats. In a reserve role, Grisham is now hitting .298 with a 1.069 OPS and is making his case to manager Aaron Boone to put him in the lineup on a more consistent basis.

-After hitting a home run in Game 1, Anthony Volpe went 2-for-4 in Game 2 to finish off a four-hit day for the shortstop.

-Cody Bellinger continues to struggle in his first season in New York after an 0-for-4 game lowered his batting average to .191 to go along with a .570 OPS.

Game MVP: Yankees pitching

Despite the offense hitting three home runs, New York's pitching is what really stood out by holding the Blue Jays to one run on three hits.

Highlights

Trent Grisham homer! 🔥

(via @Yankees) pic.twitter.com/DiWzchi6s6

— Yankees Videos (@snyyankees) April 27, 2025

AARON JUDGE HOME RUN 💣

Yankees take the lead! pic.twitter.com/f6fQnTmKDV

— Yankees Videos (@snyyankees) April 27, 2025

J.C. Escarra with an RBI single to bring in Jasson Domínguez!

(via @Yankees)pic.twitter.com/KHQgKqS14P

— Yankees Videos (@snyyankees) April 27, 2025

J.C. ESCARRA HITS HIS FIRST MLB HOMER 👏pic.twitter.com/hihE3AtDov

— Yankees Videos (@snyyankees) April 27, 2025

What's next

The Yankees head to Baltimore for a quick road trip to take on the Orioles for three games starting on Monday night. First pitch is scheduled for 6:35 p.m.

RHP Will Warren (1-0, 4.79 ERA) pitches for New York while the O's have yet to announce a starter.

Tylor Megill had allowed just one hit – a solo home run – and had retired 13 of the last 14 batters he faced when it came to the bottom half of the seventh inning. And the Mets' right-hander was pitching with a 7-1 lead, thanks to a five-run inning his offense gave him before he had to throw a pitch on Sunday afternoon.

“He was pretty dominant today,” manager Carlos Mendoza said of the starter who struck out nine Nats in 6.1 innings.

But by the early evening, he was left reflecting on a no-decision after the Nationals put together a five-run seventh and scored two more in the ninth to doom the visitors to an 8-7 loss after a second blown save of the series.

“Attacked the strike zone, got ahead of a lot of hitters, and everything else followed,” a subdued Megill said of his 105-pitch outing (a career high) that saw him throw 75 strikes.

The manager heaped praise on the starter: “He was electric, attacking, everything was in the strike zone, all of his pitches – live on his fastball, the secondary pitches – the way that he mix. He was dominant. He was pretty unbelievable.”

“Everything was working really well today,” Megill said after getting 13 whiffs and 26 called strikes (13 on his four-seam fastball) while allowing just three runs on three hits and a walk.

But the bullpen couldn’t preserve the lead, allowing an inherited runner of Megill’s to score and five of their own in the loss.

“Tough one there,” Mendoza said. “Let that one get away, especially after that outing from Megill. Lotta good things offensively early in the game and then for us to be there, 7-1 in the seventh, and let that one go away. That’s a tough one.”

“Got to turn the page and get ready for tomorrow.”

Juan Soto fought the sun and the sun won

It was a near-cloudless sky in Washington, apt for the day called Sunday, and the wind was swirling at times. And at the start of the bottom of the seventh, a pop fly to shallow right went for a double to end Megill’s run of 10 straight nationals retired when Juan Soto failed to see the ball.

Mendoza said that “you could tell right away” that Soto didn’t see it off the bat.“As soon as that ball went up, he had no idea where the ball was. It was a tough play there.” 

“That one just got me,” Soto said.

“It was a tough ball, it just got in the sun,” he added. “Every time I take a step forward, it was getting in and out of the sun, pretty hard fly ball.”

Soto wasn’t the only victim of the sun and wind. Earlier in the game, Nationals first baseman Nathaniel Lowe had a foul pop-up hit the turf on a ball he seemed to have trouble tracking. And a fly down the right-field line foul found the ground as it blew away from Alex Call.

“You saw pretty much everyone fighting out there,” Mendoza said about the sun.

And while both those instances helped the Mets, including in the five-run first, the late-inning double snowballed to take the game away. 

Ninth inning pinch-hit decision

With Soto on third and Pete Alonso on second and one out in the ninth, Mendoza had a decision to make: pinch-hit Jesse Winker or let Starling Marte bat?

Mendoza, who had Winker standing next to him with his elbow guard and batting gloves on in the dugout, allowed Marte to face Washington right-hander Jackson Rutledge.

“It was a pretty even matchup there,” Mendoza said. “I trust Marte in that situation to get the job done, it just didn’t happen this time.”

With the infield drawn in, Rutledge got the veteran to ground a ball right at shortstop CJ Abrams for the second out of a scoreless inning.

Mendoza said that with the cutter being an “effective pitch” for the righty, he decided not to go with Winker.

“When you look at the matchup, it was pretty close,” he said. “Even though it was right-on-right, the cutter I think is a pitch now that is giving Winker some trouble and I stick with Marte there.”

No update on A.J. Minter's MRI

A.J. Minter was placed on the 15-day Injured List ahead of Sunday’s game, but Mendoza did not have any information on the results of an MRI the left-hander underwent after he exited Saturday’s game with an injury.

“We’re waiting for the doctor to read it,” the manager said, indicating an update will come on Monday.

Phillies end tough trip with ‘great win' led by 3 guys who needed a night like this originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia

CHICAGO — All 26 players in the Phillies’ clubhouse needed a weekend like this after what transpired at Citi Field to begin their road trip but it had to be sweeter for three in particular.

Aaron Nola, Trea Turner and Jordan Romano have been maligned through the season’s first month and were among the most important players in Sunday’s 3-1, extra-inning win.

Nola entered 0-5 with a 6.43 ERA and pitched seven innings of one-run ball. He had his best four-seam fastball, two-seamer and cutter of the season, his best velocity and command. He generated a season-high 16 swinging strikes and worked ahead of 17 of the 24 hitters he faced. He lowered his ERA by more than a full run to 5.40.

Turner began the night hitting .245 with only five extra-base hits in 111 plate appearances. He went 3-for-5, driving in two of the Phillies’ three runs. His 10th-inning RBI infield single was massive in giving Romano one more run of breathing room. Turner hit a groundball to third base but Vidal Brujan was playing back, which allowed the speedy shortstop just enough time to reach first safely.

And Romano, who’s allowed so many runs already that his ERA would still be above 3.00 even with 30 straight scoreless innings, rebounded after taking the loss in extras Wednesday with a 1-2-3 bottom of the 10th.

“That was a great win tonight, it really was,” manager Rob Thomson said.

It sent the Phillies back home at 15-13 and snapped a streak of three straight road series losses.

“We were just looking for a break,” Turner said. “Yesterday in that inning with six runs, we got some lucky hits there. Sometimes you need things to fall your way to build some momentum. Sometimes you need a little light at the end of the tunnel to build that confidence. Hopefully that’s the start of some pretty good baseball.”

Sunday was Turner’s 99th multi-hit game as a Phillie. They’ve gone 70-29. He can make so much happen with his bat and legs when he’s in rhythm at the plate and has proven for three different teams that he can carry an offense. He’s been as streaky as any Phillie in his three seasons and started the year colder than the previous two.

This game, in front of a national audience, was a reminder of the skill set that landed him a $300 million contract.

“That’s what he can do — he can change a game with his legs, with his power, with his hitting ability,” Thomson said. “He can change a game and that’s what he did tonight. Got the base-hit through the 5-6 hole and then beats out an infield hit to add on. It was huge.”

Especially so because on Wednesday, the Phillies scored the ghost runner but no one else in top of the 10th, ultimately falling to the Mets when Romano allowed two in the bottom half. Pitching under these extra-inning rules is completely different with a multi-run lead than the narrow one-run margin.

“It’s huge, it really is,” Romano said. “The boys get that extra run across and you don’t have to worry about the guy on second base. The tying run is at the plate but you’re not too concerned about the bunt, about being quick to the plate. You can kinda take your time on your pitches.”

Romano was the last of four pitchers the Phillies used on Sunday. Nola, Orion Kerkering, Jose Alvarado and Romano combined to allow three hits and a walk in 10 innings against a Cubs offense that leads the league in runs scored, on-base percentage, slugging and stolen bases.

For Nola, it was the kind of start that should calm down some of his many critics and reinforce that he can still pitch at a high level regardless of the opponent.

“That was vintage Noles,” Turner said. “All his pitches were working, curveball was really good. He’s had some tough luck with the weather. Today was slightly better. He was back to his old self. He’s gonna be good for us, not worried about him at all.”

The velocity is creeping up. Nola threw three of his four fastest pitches of the season — 93.4 mph, 93.4 and 93.2 — and was mostly 92. His two-seamer was up by more than 1 mph. This has always been the case for Nola, whose career velocity before May 1 is 91.4 and after May 1 is 92.3.

But it’s about command more than anything for him. Cubs manager Craig Counsell was interviewed in-game and emphasized that Nola wasn’t just throwing strike zone but throwing a quality pitch for strike one.

“That’s Noles — he doesn’t get fired up about much,” Thomson said. “He doesn’t panic. He just goes about his business. He knows he’s good and that if he has a bad outing, he’s gonna bounce back. He’s got a slow heartbeat all the time.”

The Phillies are off Monday before hosting the Nationals for three games. Zack Wheeler gets the ball Tuesday as they look to make it three in a row.

The Mets needed just nine outs to grab a win over the Nationals as the fans stood to stretch on Sunday afternoon in Washington. And carrying a 7-1 advantage, thanks to a five-run top of the first inning, things should have been comfortable.

The Nats’ five-run seventh made things tight, but it wasn’t fatal as the 98.6 percent win probability was still at 83.5 percent come the bottom of the ninth, per ESPN Analytics. 

With closer Edwin Diaz unavailable after pitching on Saturday, it was up to Ryne Stanek to end it.

“You get to the seventh inning with a pretty comfortable lead there and not be able to finish things off is frustrating,” manager Carlos Mendoza said after Stanek managed to get just one out and allow two runs in the 8-7 loss. “Got to move on.”

Sunday’s script was similar to his blown save on Friday: A leadoff extra base hit (this time a double), a groundout, a single to tie the game on a grounder, a walk to put the winning run at second, and an error from first baseman Pete Alonso to score the winning run.

What went wrong for Stanek? “Execution,” Mendoza said, pointing to the 0-2 pitch that he left up in the zone for a leadoff double in the ninth. “Got too much over the plate and they put it in play and found a hole down the line. Not putting guys away. He’s getting ahead and not finishing hitters.”

Stanek felt like he executed a lot of pitches, but the results weren’t there for him.

“The only thing I can control is executing pitches. I felt like I did an alright job with that. The results just didn’t go my way,” he said. “The main thing over the course of a long season is you just go execute as best you can, and more times than not the ball’s gonna bounce your way.”

In the seventh, Jose Butto was the first man out of the bullpen, entering with the lead at five and a runner on first and one out. After making short work of Dylan Crews on four pitches for a strikeout, Butto allowed back-to-back singles on the next six pitches to score another run.

“Sinker got too much of the plate, couldn’t finish hitters, got a ground ball that found a hole,” Mendoza said.

The big blow came when Riley Adams smacked a 405-foot three-run homer to right center. “Got behind the nine-hole hitter, 3-1 count, and left a four-seamer there to a guy that’s a pretty good four-seam fastball hitter.”

The next step for the bullpen: get back on the horse.

“You just go back to work. That’s the job,” Stanek said. “They get paid to play ball, too. You go out there and you execute your game plan. A couple balls fall or squeak through or whatever happens, that’s out of your control. You go out there and you execute and you move on, go to the next day and execute the next day and that’s it.”

The skipper said the veteran reliever will continue to get opportunities.

“He’s been in the league for a long time and he’s been through it before,” Mendoza said of Stanek. “As long as he’s healthy and feeling well, we’ll get him back on track. The velo’s there, he’s getting ahead, he’s just not finishing hitters. It’s part of it. 

“We’ll watch some film and make some adjustments and he’ll be alright.”

The Mets’ bullpen, which had been a strength early in the year, has been touched up in the series. Could this be a result of some heavy workloads recently?

“Probably, we’ve been using these guys pretty hard,” Mendoza said. “And when you look at the usage, especially today, the guys who pitched were the guys that we had available, we just couldn’t finish the game.

“We will continue to take care of those guys, and guys will continue to get opportunities and they will get the job done.”

For Stanek, the bullpen’s struggles are “a little surprising” because they have “thrown the ball so well” to start the year, but bad runs happen.

“You’re not gonna be perfect,” he said. “It’s just a blip on the radar over the course of a full season. We play 162 and we scuffle for a couple and you forget about it and move on to the next day.”

Cleveland fan ejected for heckling Red Sox star Jarren Duran about suicide attempt​ originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia

Jarren Duran has found plenty of support from his Boston Red Sox teammates and others outside baseball since he revealed in a Netflix documentary that he attempted suicide three years ago.

His openness has also exposed him to hecklers, though.

Duran said a fan in the front row Sunday near the Red Sox dugout in Cleveland said “something inappropriate” to him after the All-Star left fielder flied out in the seventh inning of a 13-3 victory over the Guardians.

Duran stayed on the top step of the dugout and glared at the fan as the inning played out. During the seventh-inning stretch, before the singing of “God Bless America,” Red Sox teammates and coaches kept Duran away from the area as umpires and Progressive Field security personnel gathered to handle the situation.

The fan tried to run up the aisle, but was caught by security and taken out of the stadium.

“The fans just said something inappropriate. I’m just happy that the security handled it and the umpires were aware of it and they took care of it for me,” Duran said.

After the game, the Guardians released a statement apologizing to the Red Sox and Duran. The team said it has identified the fan and is working with Major League Baseball on next steps.

“We recognize the gravity of the behavior at issue here and take very seriously conduct of this nature,” the statement said. “We strive to provide the best experience to visiting players and fans, and that fell short today.”

Duran said it was the first time he was heckled by a fan about his suicide attempt and mental health struggles since the Netflix series “The Clubhouse: A Year With the Red Sox” was released on April 8.

“When you open yourself up like that, you also open yourself up to the enemies. But I have a good support staff around me, teammates, coaches. There were fans that were supporting me, so that was awesome,” he said.

Boston manager Alex Cora was in the opposite corner of the Red Sox dugout but lauded security for how the incident was handled.

Cora was even prouder of Duran’s restraint. Duran was suspended for two games last season when he directed a homophobic slur at a heckling fan at Fenway Park when the fan shouted that Duran needed a tennis racket to hit.

“There’s a two-way street. That’s something I said last year. We made a mistake last year and we learned from it. We grew up, you know, as an individual and as a group,” Cora said.

The incident dampened what had been a solid game and series for Duran. He went 4 for 6 with an RBI and had at least three hits in consecutive games for the second time in his career.

In Saturday’s doubleheader nightcap, Duran had Boston’s first straight steal of home plate in 16 years.

Duran went 7 for 15 with three RBIs as Boston took two of three games in the weekend series. Six of his hits in the series came against lefties after Duran was just 3 for 31 against southpaws coming into the weekend.

“I’ve been getting some good swings on lefties lately, just hitting it right at guys. I’m trying to stay with my process and it just happened to work good for me this series. So I’m just going to keep at it,” said Duran, who has hit safely in 13 of his last 14 games and is batting .323 (20 for 62) with eight extra-base hits, including a home run, and six RBIs during that span.

NEW YORK (AP) — Max Fried won his fifth straight start, Austin Wells capped a six-run third inning with a three-run double off suddenly wild Kevin Gausman and the Yankees routed the Toronto Blue Jays 11-2 on Sunday in a doubleheader opener.

Fried (5-0) allowed a first-inning RBI groundout and six hits in six innings. He has given up one run over 20 2/3 innings in three starts following Yankees losses, and New York has won all six of his starts.

Anthony Volpe homered off Paxton Schultz, and Oswaldo Cabrera drove in a pair of runs with one of the Yankees’ six doubles.

Gausman (2-3) threw 53 pitches in the third, getting just two outs and walking five — one shy of his career high for a game. Cody Bellinger hit a sacrifice fly, Jazz Chisholm Jr. and Volpe forced in runs with consecutive walks and Wells doubled off the right-center wall for a 6-1 lead.

Gausman was ejected by plate umpire Chris Conroy as he walked to the dugout when he was removed after 2 2/3 innings. Toronto manager John Schneider was tossed two innings later for arguing a called strike from Fried to Vladimir Guerrero Jr.

Gausman threw the most pitches by anyone in an inning since Pittsburgh’s Cam Vieaux’s 56 in an eight-run eighth against Milwaukee on July 1, 2022, according to the Elias Sports Bureau. Gausman threw seven pitches to Cabrera, eight to Bellinger and nine each to Volpe and Wells.

Ben Rice caught for the first time this year when moved by the Yankees from DH to behind the plate in the ninth inning.

Key moment

Wells fouled off an 0-2 fastball and a pair of full-count fastballs before doubling on another fastball.

Key stat

Playing a day after his 33rd birthday, Yankees slugger Aaron Judge went 2-for-4 and raised his major league-leading batting average to .412.

Up next

Yankees RHP Clarke Schmidt (0-1, 7.45 ERA) and Blue Jays RHP Chris Bassitt (2-1, 1.88 ERA) were scheduled to start the second game.

When Tyler Glasnow left the mound last week at Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas, because of leg cramps, it was a dreary reminder of the injury struggles he has endured with the Dodgers.

Glasnow missed the postseason, and consequently the Dodgers’ World Series title run, after an elbow sprain last season. After four starts in 2025, was he in danger of seeing his season derailed again?

On Sunday, Glasnow suffered another setback. Warming up before the second inning against the Pittsburgh Pirates — after giving up back-to-back solo home runs in the first — he doubled over to his side after releasing his last pitch. Manager Dave Roberts rushed out to the pitcher’s mound, followed by a trainer.

Glasnow’s day was done. The team announced he left because of right shoulder discomfort.

The Dodgers overcame the departure, collecting nine runs and 14 hits to win 9-2 and claim the series over the Pirates. Often used as a bulk relief pitcher, Ben Casparius took over and excelled — tossing 3⅔ innings no-run ball, striking out five to help bridge the gap to the rest of the bullpen that combined for eight scoreless innings.

Pirates starting pitcher Bailey Falter, who entered Sunday with a 5.19 earned-run average, faltered Sunday. The Dodgers (18-10) tagged Falter for six runs (four earned) and forced Pittsburgh (11-18) to move to the bullpen in the fifth after Teoscar Hernández hit his 200th career home run — a solo shot for his eighth of the season — to give the Dodgers a 6-2 lead in the fifth.

Andy Pages also continued to mash at the plate. The Cuban outfielder entered the series hitting .183 and left his 10-for-12 barrage against the Pirates with a .277 batting average. Pages collected at least three hits in each game. He had four hits, including a two-run home run Sunday, tallying a career-high four RBIs.

Despite the victory, attention will shift to how the Dodgers handle their pitchers.

If Glasnow’s injury is deemed longer-term, he could join Blake Snell on the injured list — with both starters now battling shoulder injuries.

Glasnow signed a four-year, $115-million deal — including a 2028 team option — with the Dodgers after the team acquired him from Tampa Bay in December 2023.

After his injury last season, Glasnow experimented with his hydration, much like his mechanics — being one of the pitchers publicly encouraging using technology to retool pitch shapes, increasing spin and movement. Glasnow previously stated that he chugs pickle juice to help subside cramps. The lanky, 6-foot-8 starter took it one step further Saturday and received an IV to help pump fluids into him before his start against Pittsburgh.

As with last season, pitching health has been an issue for the Dodgers. If Glasnow is sent to the injured list, he’ll be the 13th Dodgers pitcher and sixth starter to miss time this season.

Right-hander Tony Gonsolin is set to return from the 60-day injured list and make his first start since 2023 against the Miami Marlins this week. The Dodgers have spots in the rotation to fill Tuesday and Wednesday against the Marlins — and with Glasnow potentially out of action, they may need another spot starter to avoid consecutive weeks with bullpen games.

Landon Knack pitched Saturday for Oklahoma City, while Justin Wrobleski started Sunday — leaving right-hander Bobby Miller as the only fully rested option should the Dodgers make a roster move for a mid-week start.

Clayton Kershaw likely will be the next starting pitcher off the injured list as he makes his third rehabilitation start for triple-A Oklahoma City on Tuesday. Kershaw is eligible to be activated off the 60-day injured list on May 17.

Sign up for more Dodgers news with Dodgers Dugout. Delivered at the start of each series.

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.

The Mets scored five runs in the top of the first and held a six-run lead for the seventh inning stretch, but a bullpen meltdown and second blown save of the series saw New York fall 8-7 to the Washington Nationals on Sunday.

New York opened the game 3-for-6 with RISP, but went 0-for-6 the rest of the game, including failing to score an insurance run in the top of the ninth despite having two on and nobody out. Washington added five runs in the seventh and two in the ninth to grab the win.

The Mets wasted a solid outing from Tylor Megill that saw the right-hander strike out nine and allow three runs over 6.1 innings.

Here are the takeaways...

- Ryne Stanek, with Edwin Diaz unavailable after pitching on Saturday, got the ninth to protect a one-run lead, but allowed a leadoff double to right by Alex Call on an 0-2 fastball. A grounder to second gave Stanek an out, but put the tying run at third for the top of the Nats order. With the infield in, CJ Abrams yanked a base hit past a diving Pete Alonso to tie the game.

Stanek, who blew a save on Friday, walked James Wood to put the go-ahead run at second. A slow tapper to first was fielded by Alonso, but as Stanek was late to the bag, the first baseman airmailed the throw way over the pitcher's head to allow the winning run to score on the error.

- Megill, who had a lead before he threw a pitch, struck out Abrams on three fastballs as part of a quick first frame. The righty added a strikeout and two comebackers, but Dylan Crews continued his fine series with a homer to left in the second. Megill cruised from there, retiring 13 of the next 14 batters with six strikeouts to get him through six frames for the first time on the year.

Megill surrendered his second hit of the afternoon to start the seventh when a Luis Garcia pop fly for a double when Juan Soto lost the ball in a very bright Washington sun, which – along with a swirling wind – had been causing problems for fielders throughout the day. After a strikeout, Josh Bell's RBI single to center ended Megill’s day.

- José Butto entered with one on and one out in the seventh and got Crews swinging, but back-to-back singles plated the inherited runner. And after falling behind Riley Adams 3-1, the Nationals' No. 9 hitter cranked a center-cut 95 mph fastball for a 405-foot three-run homer to the right of center to cut the Mets’ lead to one run.

- In the top half of the ninth, the Mets had a great chance to extend the lead and take pressure off the bullpen when Soto singled up the middle, Alonso got hit on the left elbow, and a wild pitch put two in scoring position. But, with the infield in, Mark Vientos and Starling Marte both grounded out to short, with Abrams making a diving stop on the first chance. Ex-Met Jorge Lopez entered and got Brandon Nimmo to ground out to second.

Nimmo had a chance in the seventh with two on and nobody out, but he bounced into a 6-4-3 double play. He finished 0-for-4 with an RBI and the team went 3-for-12 with RISP.

- The Mets got something cooking right away as Francisco Lindor grabbed an infield single on a slow roller to third and Soto and Alonso worked walks to load the bases against Nationals left-hander Mitchell Parker. 

Vientos – just 3-for-26 this year with RISP – attacked a first-pitch fastball for a sacrifice fly to the warning track in right. Marte walked to re-load the bases, setting up Nimmo to punch a sac fly to center. 

Luis Torrens came through with a base hit up the middle that scored Alonso from second, and the throw to third got past Jose Tena to allow Marte to score and put Torrens on third on the error. Luisangel Acuña kept things going by smacking a splitter the other way for an RBI single, and Tyrone Taylor walked before the inning closed on Parker’s 43rd pitch of the afternoon.

In all, 10 Mets went to the plate, scoring five runs on three hits and four walks. And in retrospect, trading the outs for the runs on the sacrifice flies came back to haunt them.

- Soto opened the second by smacking a ball past the second baseman (113 mph off the bat) and hustling into second with a double, and Alonso followed with an infield hit to short. But the Mets only added one more run as Vientos popped out to the second baseman Garcia, who hung on despite right fielder Call taking out his legs, and Marte beat out the double-play on a slow roller to short.

- Torrens added another RBI with a two-out double into the right field corner in the fifth as Marte hustled all the way around for first and, beating the tag with a great slide at the plate as the relay throw was on target for a 7-1 lead. 

Torrens (2-for-4 with two RBI), Vientos (2-for-4 with an RBI), and Soto (2-for-3 with two walks) were the only players with multi-hit days.

- The eighth inning was hairy, but Huascar Brazobán was the lone reliever to not allow a run. A 1-2 changeup got the middle of the plate and Wood hooked it into right for a double to start the inning. The reliever induced a tapper just in front of the plate to get the first out, but walked Nathaniel Lowe to put the go-ahead run at first base.

Brazobán got Bell swinging on three pitches (including a nasty changeup that ran right off the plate) for the second out, but plunked Crews to load the bases. A soft liner caught by Vientos ended the adventurous (and scoreless) frame.

Highlights

Two more first inning runs 🔥

Luis Torrens hits an RBI single to bring in Pete Alonso, and a throwing error brings in Starling Marte! pic.twitter.com/y7SXdlksfU

— SNY (@SNYtv) April 27, 2025

Luisangel Acuña hits an RBI single for the Mets' fifth run of the first inning! pic.twitter.com/otItGWXzcU

— SNY (@SNYtv) April 27, 2025

Three fastballs, three strikes to start the day for Tylor Megill 🔥 pic.twitter.com/9eEOBYIFgb

— SNY (@SNYtv) April 27, 2025

113.0 mph off the bat of Juan Soto for a double 💥 pic.twitter.com/QJPVv2te8y

— SNY (@SNYtv) April 27, 2025

Tyrone Taylor makes the sliding grab for the second out 😮‍💨 pic.twitter.com/2SVrvpYk3X

— SNY (@SNYtv) April 27, 2025

Luis Torrens gets his second RBI of the afternoon on a double to bring in Starling Marte! 👏 pic.twitter.com/HSNoH8LY96

— SNY (@SNYtv) April 27, 2025

What's next

The Mets look to earn a series split in Washington on Monday with a late-afternoon first pitch of 4:05 p.m.

Right-hander Griffin Canning (3.12 ERA, 1.385 WHIP in 26 innings) against righty Trevor Williams (5.11 ERA, 1.581 WHIP in 24.2 innings) is the scheduled pitching matchup.

Phillies playoff legend drags Mets fans: ‘I have no respect' originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia

No punches were pulled. The rivalry is SO back.

The Phillies/Mets rivalry is so back.

It never really left, but was newly rejuvenated by the Mets’ win over the Phillies in the NLDS last October. The Mets also swept a 3-game series from the Fightins at Citi Field last week.

But as Chase Utley can tell you, the hate never really goes away, even after playing careers end. Take former Phils playoff hero Jayson Werth.

Werth was a guest on the  “BSBLR show” Podcast, and he shared some strong sentiment regarding New York baseball fans, and which team they should – and should NOT – root for.

pic.twitter.com/CYpHW8V0pM

— DominguezLover (@DominguezLover8) April 27, 2025

“If you live in New York, you have a choice. You have an obvious choice,” Werth said. “You can either be a fan of one of the most storied franchises, one of the greatest franchises in sports history… or the Mets.”

“I have no respect for people that pick the Mets.”

While I appreciate his unvarnished candor, and I get the hate, there is a draw for rooting for the Yankees’ little brother. Maybe you like to root for the perennial underdog, although the 2025 Mets have a payroll of $273 million, second-most in baseball to the Phillies ($274M).

The trophy cases are definitely different. The Mets have two World Series titles, which is dwarfed by the 27 titles won by the Yankees.

Whatever the case, Werth has thrown another log – and maybe even some gasoline – on the Phillies/Mets rivalry debate.

Brandon Marsh pulled from 4th rehab game with hamstring cramp originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia

CHICAGO — Playing at Triple A for the fourth straight day, Brandon Marsh exited after six innings on Sunday with a cramp in the right hamstring he strained April 16.

The Phillies will evaluate Marsh back in Philadelphia on Monday but given it’s the same body part that sent him to the injured list, you can bet they’ll be cautious.

“I watched his at-bats yesterday, it looks like his timing’s OK,” manager Rob Thomson said. “We’ll see. (Hitting coach Kevin Long) seemed to like the swings, the timing, the balance. But I don’t know where we’re at now with the hammy.”

Sunday was the first day Marsh was eligible to return from the IL but the Phillies wanted to extend his rehab assignment until he looked right at the plate. Marsh is just 4-for-42 (.095) on the season with 16 strikeouts so this has also been a chance for him to find a rhythm away from hundreds of thousands of eyeballs.

“I think it’s good for him, sure, because you could see the sawdust coming out of his hands as he was up at the plate,” Thomson said Saturday. “He was just trying to do too much. It’s a process and it takes time.”

They’ll find out Monday whether Marsh needs to sit back down for a few days.

Johan Rojas continues to start every day in center field in Marsh’s absence with Cal Stevenson backing him up. Edmundo Sosa has played a bit of center as well this year for the first time but the Phillies feel most comfortable playing him there during the day.

Suarez whiffs eight

Ranger Suarez threw 78 pitches over 4⅔ innings Sunday for the IronPigs, striking out eight and throwing a first-pitch strike to 18 of the 20 hitters he faced.

Suarez has been sharp in all four rehab starts. The Phillies will determine Monday or Tuesday whether he makes one more to extend to 85-95 pitches or joins their big-league rotation.

“It’s great if he’s pitching like Ranger can pitch and it looks like he has been,” Thomson said. “When he’s good, he’s one of the best in the league.”

Suarez has been out since early March with a lower-back injury. He couldn’t have more incentive to pitch well — free agency looms after the season and it’s been nearly a year since he opened 2024 with a 1.75 ERA through 15 starts.

Sanchez throws bullpen session

Cristopher Sanchez threw a bullpen session Sunday afternoon at Wrigley Field, five days after leaving a start early at Citi Field with left forearm tightness.

Sanchez has been examined by the training staff in the days since and felt normal. He, too, will be reevaluated Monday morning to determine the date of his next start. The Phillies will pitch Zack Wheeler on Tuesday against the Nationals but the rest of the week is currently TBD pending the statuses of Sanchez and Suarez.

First-place Giants end grueling gauntlet with familiar fireworks originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

SAN FRANCISCO — Perhaps the most fitting ending the Giants could have asked for.

With no outs, nobody on and the score tied 2-2 in the bottom of the ninth, Heliot Ramos dribbled a ball between third base and the pitcher’s mound, and thanks to a pair of throwing errors on the play, circled the bases to deliver a thrilling walk-off little-league-style home run that capped a 3-2 win on Sunday at Oracle Park.

HELIOT RAMOS WALK-OFF LITTLE LEAGUE HOMER 🤯 pic.twitter.com/Ceh9c3ZjPq

— SF Giants on NBCS (@NBCSGiants) April 27, 2025

“Honestly, I remember when I got to second, and then after that I blacked out and kept running,” Ramos told reporters postgame. “I saw [third base coach Matt Williams] waving me and I saw the ball and I turned and just kept running.”

Ramos initially stopped as he pulled into second base before he realized where the ball was. Giants manager Bob Melvin pointed out after the game, that had Ramos kept running instead of hesitating, he likely would have eased into third without a throw and the ensuing second throwing error that allowed him to score would not have happened. Although, with how the team has performed in high-leverage situations, it’s fair to assume he eventually would have found his way home.

“For whatever reason, it all worked out about as good as you could … sometimes things happen for a reason, and the theatrics were pretty cool there at the end,” Melvin told reporters.

It wasn’t pretty. And boy, was it exhausting. But it got the job done. The same could be said for a lot of the Giants’ wins on their stretch of 17 games without a day off.

The two-and-a-half-week marathon was a gauntlet. First, a three-game series against the reigning American League champion New York Yankees (17-11). Then four against the perennially-championship-contending Philadelphia Phillies, followed by three against (at the time) a hot Los Angeles Angels squad before consecutive home series against the Milwaukee Brewers and Texas Rangers, two teams off to slow starts, but more than capable of winning their respective divisions at the end of the season.

What do the Giants (19-10) have to show for it? A 10-7 record in those 17 games and first place in the National League West.

Not too shabby.

“I think it was great, and we had a lot of guys playing every day, too,” Melvin said of his team’s performance on the stretch. “So to be able to post up, day games, night games, travel, East Coast, West Coast. It was pretty significant, and these guys just continue to go out there and fight and our best work is usually done at the end. So I think they handled 17 in a row really well.”

“I think it was pretty good,” Ramos added. “I think New York was the toughest for us, it was pretty cold and rainy. I think this stretch, all the wins that we got, playing as a team, it’s going to help us throughout the season with this momentum.”

Again, it wasn’t perfect. The Giants feel as if they should have notched another win or two. But all things considered, they not only kept their heads above water, but proved they have what it takes to contend with the game’s best.

“We don’t have many of those stretches, so it’s important that whenever we have the tougher ones that we come out on top with a winning record,” Giants starting pitcher Jordan Hicks said. “I think we handed it really well. There were some that we probably would have liked back, but at the same time, 10-7 is pretty good.”

What’s their reward? A day off in beautiful San Diego before two big games against the Padres (17-11), one of their division foes, along with the vaunted Los Angeles Dodgers (18-10), who trail them in the standings.

“I can’t wait,” Ramos, with a big grin on his face, said about the day off. “It’s going to be great. A great off day, for sure.”

“Last year was always fun battling those guys, you know what you’re going up against,” Hicks said of the Padres. “Pretty elite lineup and solid pitching as well. It should be fun. It’s always a good environment and one of my favorite stadiums. I get to watch the games, watch [Logan Webb] dominate and hopefully come out with two [wins].”

After their quick stop in Southern California, the Giants then have three games against the MLB-worst Colorado Rockies (4-23) before another tough series against the NL Central-leading Chicago Cubs (17-11).

Then, a much-more favorable month of May that the Giants could use to position themselves quite well for a second-half playoff push.

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What we learned as Giants win on unbelievable Ramos walk-off originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

BOX SCORE

SAN FRANCISCO — At long last, the marathon has ended, and the Giants should feel very good about how it went.

Monday will be San Francisco’s first day off since April 10. The 17-day, four-city gauntlet against some of MLB’s best teams taught us a lot about the 2025 Giants, who entered Sunday’s series finale against the Texas Rangers at Oracle Park alone in first place in the National League West and held onto it at least for one more day — thanks largely in part to a Little League home run by Heliot Ramos in the bottom of the ninth.

HELIOT RAMOS WALK-OFF LITTLE LEAGUE HOMER 🤯 pic.twitter.com/Ceh9c3ZjPq

— SF Giants on NBCS (@NBCSGiants) April 27, 2025

It also taught us a lot about Jordan Hicks, who toed the rubber against young Rangers righty Jack Leiter on Sunday as San Francisco secured its sixth series victory of the 2025 MLB season.

Here are three takeaways from the Giants’ thrilling 3-2 walk-off win, the second in as many games.

Recovered Nicely

Hicks struggled in his three previous starts, but if you take away three of his 27 1/3 total innings before Sunday’s start (ND, 5 IP, 7 H, 2 ER, 0 BB, 3 K), his numbers on the season would look pretty good.

Five of the seven earned runs Hicks surrendered in a start against the New York Yankees on April 12 came in the fifth inning alone. All five of his earned runs against the Philadelphia Phillies on April 17 came in the first inning, while three of his five earned runs against the Milwaukee Brewers on Tuesday came in the third inning, before Hicks departed in the middle of an eight-run top of the sixth in an eventual 11-3 loss.

His outing on Sunday followed that same trend. Fortunately for Hicks and the Giants, it was just a two-run top of the first inning before four scoreless frames.

As a reliever, one rough inning likely would spell doom for his team on any given day. That’s much less likely to be the case for Hicks in his role as a starter.

Procrastination At Its Finest

The Giants entered Sunday’s game with four walk-off wins this season, the most in the majors. The last time the Orange and Black had four walk-offs in their first 12 home games was in 2011.

Patrick Bailey delivered the pinch-hit, game-winning single in Saturday’s 3-2 victory over Texas, and on Sunday, it was Ramos. Well, kind of …

With the game tied 2-2 in the bottom of the ninth, Ramos led off with a dribbler up the third-base line into no man’s land between the mound and third base. Rangers reliever Luke Jackson, a former Giant, threw an off-balance throw up the right-field line, which allowed Ramos to advance all the way to third before first baseman Jake Burger overthrew third base and Ramos scored a Little League homer to win the game.

San Francisco had a .761 OPS in what Statcast defines as high-leverage situations this season before Sunday’s game, which was the fifth-best in baseball.

The Giants also now have 16 walk-off wins dating back to last season, which, unsurprisingly, is the most in the majors.

Bird(song) Is The Word

Hayden Birdsong, who has been nothing short of a revelation for the Giants out of the bullpen this season, continues to show impressive poise in his new role.

With the score tied 2-2 in the top of the sixth inning, old friend Joc Pederson roped a leadoff triple into the gap in right-center. Not a problem for the 23-year-old.

Birdsong then struck out Adolis García before getting Marcus Semien and Nick Ahmed to ground out and pop out, respectively, to end the inning. He was awarded an additional inning in the seventh, another scoreless frame. And then a third in the eighth, also another scoreless frame.

Light work.

The three scoreless frames lowered Birdsong’s ERA to 1.13 on the season. It’s unclear what the future might hold for the young righty who still hopes to reprise his role as a starter, but for right now, he provides an already elite Giants bullpen with another very, very exciting weapon.

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Yankees manager Aaron Boone confirmed on Sunday morning that the team is moving reliever Devin Williams out of the closer role “for now.”

Speaking to reporters ahead of Sunday’s doubleheader against the Toronto Blue Jays, Boone said that Luke Weaver will get the majority of the save opportunities, while the club wants to see Williams build up some positive momentum in non-save chances.

“The good news for Devin is, he has everything to get through this and come out better from the other side. That’s my expectation," Boone said, via MLB.com's Bryan Hoch. "Right now, it’s best for everyone to pull him out of that role and try to start building some good rhythm, confidence, and momentum.

"I fully expect him to be a central figure for us moving forward.”

SNY MLB Insider Andy Martino wrote on Friday that the Yankees could be making a change at closer, noting Williams’ command issues along with Weaver’s early-season success.

Williams, a two-time All-Star and twice named the Trevor Hoffman National League Reliever of the Year, was acquired in an offseason trade with the Milwaukee Brewers, looking to give the Yankees another lockdown closer in their storied history.

But the 30-year-old's start in New York has been nightmarish, with the right-hander pitching to an 11.25 ERA and a 2.375 WHIP with only eight strikeouts and seven walks in 8.0 innings of work.