Category: MLB

Yoshinobu Yamamoto was not at his most efficient Thursday night.

Which meant, even though he pitched 5⅓ scoreless innings against the San Francisco Giants, he left the fate of the game to the Dodgers’ shaky bullpen.

So often on nights like these recently, such a scenario would be a recipe for disaster. Given the way things have been going for the Dodgers’ unreliable relief corps — which entered the night with a 5.65 ERA in September — anything more than a few innings has felt like a big ask.

This time, however, the Dodgers’ relievers found a way to grind things out.

No, Michael Kopech still didn’t have his command. And no, Blake Treinen still didn’t look like himself.

Read more:'I’m really at peace': Why Clayton Kershaw decided to make resurgent 2025 season his last

But when they needed to most, the Dodgers' relievers executed pitches. In a 2-1 win at Dodger Stadium, they did enough to stretch the team’s National League West division lead to three games.

Yamamoto did not make their life easy.

Though he yielded only one hit, the recently streaking right-hander fell back into a bad habit with his command. He set a career-high with six walks. He found the zone on only 60 of 108 pitches. And though manager Dave Roberts tried to push him through the sixth inning, his pitch count got too high.

On a night the Dodgers managed only two runs off Giants ace Logan Webb — both of which came in a sixth-inning rally keyed by a Shohei Ohtani double and Freddie Freddie RBI single — the bullpen was forced to pick up the slack.

Things started well with Jack Dreyer, who inherited a runner from Yamamoto with one out in the sixth and stranded it in the span of 11 pitches.

The seventh inning, however, quickly became an adventure, with two of the Dodgers most veteran relief arms putting themselves in a world of danger.

It started with Kopech, and his continued struggles to locate the ball since returning from a midseason knee injury. The hard-throwing right-hander walked his first two batters, with a (very, very) wild pitch in between. He bounced back to strike out Drew Gilbert for the inning’s first out. But by that point, he had issued eight total walks over his last four outings, recording only eight outs in that span while throwing 50 balls to 45 strikes.

Thus, Roberts went back to the mound, bringing Treinen in to try and put out the fire.

Like Kopech, Treinen has battled uncharacteristic inconsistencies lately. He was the culprit when the Dodgers squandered Yamamoto’s near no-hitter in Baltimore earlier this month. He gave up a game-ending, three-run homer to the Philadelphia Phillies’ backup catcher two nights prior.

At first, the right-hander seemed poised to blow another lead.

He also walked his first two batters, loading the bases on the first and forcing home a run with the next (when home plate umpire Ryan Wills squeezed him on a full-count cutter at the top of the zone). The count went full against Willy Adames in the following at-bat, leaving Treinen one ball away from another disaster.

Read more:Plaschke: Clayton Kershaw retiring with legacy as the greatest Dodger ever

That, however, is when the script flipped.

Treinen dotted a sinker on the outside corner to Adames to strike him out looking. He snapped off his trademark sweeper to fan Matt Chapman and retire the side.

In recent days, Roberts has emphasized the need for his bullpen to cling to whatever moments of confidence they can find. Given that the team’s 2-1 lead was preserved in the seventh, the otherwise ugly inning still qualified.

After that, the Dodgers recorded the final six outs with ease.

Anthony Banda went 1-2-3 in the eighth inning. Alex Vesia picked up the save with a clean frame in the ninth.

Meanwhile, more than 1,000 miles up the Pacific Coast, the team saw positive signs from another potential bullpen option, with Roki Sasaki pitching a scoreless inning of relief in triple-A Oklahoma City’s game in Tacoma, Wash., retiring three of the four batters he faced with two strikeouts, one walk and a fastball that topped out at 100.1 mph.

That was a reminder that, between now and the end of the regular season, the Dodgers could have relief reinforcements on the way. Sasaki, the rookie phenom who struggled in a starting role before going down with a shoulder injury at the start of the year, could be primed for a big league call-up. Trade deadline acquisition Brock Stewart is also on his way back from a shoulder injury; although he followed Sasaki in OKC’s game on Thursday by giving up four unearned runs on a single, walk and hit-by-pitch in ⅔ of an inning.

At this stage, the relief unit remains the Dodgers’ biggest unanswered question. Their lineup is finally manufacturing runs. Their rotation has continued its late-season surge since getting healthy. And for one night at Chavez Ravine, the bullpen overcame some shaky moments to preserve a win that strengthened the team’s place in the standings.

Read more:Shaikin: How the Dodgers’ new minor league team in Ontario came up with its name

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

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.

Clayton Kershaw took a deep breath, grasped the microphone with his left hand, then chuckled as he scanned the room around him.

“This,” he said, “is weird.”

Over his 18 seasons with the Dodgers, Kershaw was always wary of putting the spotlight on himself. Now, dozens of teammates, coaches, executives, staffers and media members, as well as his wife, Ellen, and their four kids, all sat before him — witness to his official announcement that he was ending his illustrious playing career.

"I'm going to call it,” Kershaw said. “I'm going to retire.”

After years of grappling with the decision, and ultimately returning to play for the Dodgers into his age-37 season, the future Hall of Fame left-hander made his decision to finally walk away sound simple.

He felt it was time, and could do so pitching well.

“Going into the season, we kind of knew that this was going to be it, so didn’t want to say anything in case I changed my mind,” he said. “But over the course of the season, just how grateful I am to have been healthy and be out on the mound and be able to pitch, I think it just made it obvious that this was a good sending-off point. And it is. I’ve had the best time this year. It’s been a blast.”

Indeed, while Kershaw acknowledged that going out on his “own terms is a weird thing to say,” that’s exactly what this season has offered to the three-time Cy Young Award and former MVP winner.

“Not a lot of people get this opportunity,” he said. “Being able to pitch, and not pitch terribly ... has been super special.”

Kershaw, of course, has been much more than “not terrible” in what will be his final big-league campaign.

Entering what was suddenly the final regular-season home start of his career Friday, the left-hander was 10-2 with a 3.53 ERA, ranking second on the team in victories and third in innings pitched.

It didn’t matter that he missed the opening month and a half recovering from offseason foot and knee surgeries. Or that his diminished fastball has failed to average even 90 mph.

Read more:Plaschke: Clayton Kershaw retiring with legacy as the greatest Dodger ever

In Year 18, Kershaw has found success “just on guile and heart,” as manager Dave Roberts described it. He has used every bit of his veteran wisdom to navigate opposing lineups with his trademark combination of fastballs, curveballs and sliders (as well as a newly incorporated splitter to change speeds).

“Guys that get to first base still go, ‘I cannot see the slider,’ and then he throws a 71-, 72-mph curveball,” first baseman Freddie Freeman said. “I know he’s not throwing 94, 95, like when I was facing him [in the prime of his career] anymore. But he still knows how to pitch. He’s the best to ever do it.”

It’s been a year of milestones for Kershaw, none bigger than when he became the 20th member of MLB’s 3,000 career strikeout club in July. But it’s also been a campaign of fulfillment, giving the 11-time All-Star one last chance to help lead a World Series chase.

“I’m telling you, this guy — you can never count him out,” Roberts said. “We certainly wouldn’t be in this position in the standings if it weren’t for him. I’m certain of that.”

That’s why, on Thursday, Kershaw kept referencing this season as the best ending he could have imagined. He isn’t injured, instead feeling as good as he has in years thanks to changes in his training routine. He isn’t struggling like last season when he posted a 4.50 ERA over just seven starts between shoulder and foot/knee surgeries.

While his postseason status remains to be determined — Roberts said Kershaw likely will have a role in the playoffs, perhaps as a multi-inning option out of the bullpen, but is still not a roster certainty given the team’s starting rotation depth — his impact on the club’s championship aspirations has already been profound.

“We still have a lot to accomplish, obviously, this month, and the last thing I want to do is be a distraction to anybody for accomplishing our ultimate goal, to win in the last game of the season,” Kershaw said. “So we're going to get through this today and then we're going to win the rest of the games and be good.”

But first, however, he had a few thank-yous to give.

Kershaw referenced Dodgers owners Mark Walter and Todd Boehly, a front office staff led by president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman and general manager Brandon Gomes, team president Stan Kasten and chief marketing officer Lon Rosen, and of course Roberts with the rest of his coaching and training staff.

“I know I'm a pain sometimes, so thank you for putting up with me,” Kershaw joked. “Thank you for helping me get this carcass out on the field every fifth day.”

From beneath his sweat-stained L.A. cap, his easy smile disappeared once he began to address his teammates. His voice cracked. Tears welled in his eyes.

“The hardest one is the teammates, so I'm not even going to look at you guys,” Kershaw said. “Just you guys sitting in this room, you mean so much to me. We have so much fun. I'm going to miss it. I'm going to miss working out Day 1 in the weight room, listening to crazy music with you guys. Shirtless Sundays, I'm going to miss all of that.

“The game in and of itself, I'm going to miss a lot, but I'll be OK without that,” he added. “I think the hard part is the feeling after a win, celebrating with you guys. That's pretty special.

“All right,” he continued while trying to gather himself. “I'm done with that.”

Next, Kershaw turned toward his four children, and his wife who is currently pregnant with their fifth. He shared a message from Ellen, and how she experienced Kershaw’s 18 years from her so-called perch in the stands.

“She's cried over some really hard losses and some really incredible milestones,” he said. “She's watched our kids fall in love with the game, with the players and watching me pitch.”

Moments later, as Kershaw was reading a Bible verse about working “with all your heart,” his voice began to quiver again.

Read more:Clayton Kershaw announces retirement after 18 seasons with Dodgers

“I’m really not sad, I’m really not,” he insisted. “I’m really at peace with this. It’s just emotional. I tried to hold it together.”

Kershaw was his more witty self as he opened the floor to field reporters’ questions.

He thanked the assembled media for “putting up with me” and his often (though less so recently) terse answers in postgame availabilities.

He reiterated that retirement now was the "right call" because, as he bluntly put it, “you don’t ever wanna pitch bad.”

When asked what he expected from his final regular-season home start on Friday, he deadpanned, “I anticipate pitching good” — noting that the first-place Dodgers (and their Friday opponent, the wild-card-chasing San Francisco Giants) are still playing meaningful games.

“[The atmosphere will] be heightened, I’m sure, but I’ve got a job to do, so I need to go out there and do my job,” he said.

When asked once more what has made this season so special, however, Kershaw let himself get sentimental again.

“It’s just a great group of guys — look, everybody’s here today, that means a lot — and I think we all have each other’s back,” he said. “It’s not always gonna go great for everybody all the time, and the only people that understand that are the people in the clubhouse. Baseball’s a hard game. It’s not easy to play. So I think to have a group of guys in it together, and kind of understanding that and being together, being able to have a ton of fun all the time, is really important. The older I’ve gotten, the more important it is.”

Kershaw then tried to shift his focus back to the remainder of the season, saying he’s “thankful we’re gonna have another month or so to play.”

After that, his future plans will be straightforward, his days set to be occupied by Little League practices and dance recitals and all of his kids’ other activities back home in Texas.

“I’m gonna do that for a while, for sure,” he said.

But first, he wants his storybook final season to have a storybook final chapter; hoping to not only go out on his own terms, but do so with one more championship ring.

“I don’t know if we need any more inspiration,” third baseman and longtime teammate Max Muncy said. “But obviously, it would be really nice to get another one on his way out.”

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 Yankees have won six of their past seven series, and they started this weekend's four-game set at the Baltimore Orioles with a 7-0 win in which Max Fried lived up to his ace billing.

He tied a career-high 13 strikeouts and showed what type of pitcher the team has as New York (86-67) trails the Toronto Blue Jays by three games in the AL East and owns the first wild card.

Fried's MLB-leading 18th win saw him throw 59 strikes on 87 pitches while allowing three hits and one walk in seven scoreless innings as the Yankees began the first of their final three series on a dominant note.

"Feel like he's in a really good spot, throwing the ball well," said New York manager Aaron Boone. "Went through a little lull there in the middle of the season or whenever that was and kind of dug himself out of that and, hopefully, going through stuff like that, you learn things and it allows you to make adjustments that you need to make and he's done that and I feel like he's obviously going out there with a lot of confidence right now."

Fried (18-5, 2.92 ERA) appears to be all the way back from struggling in parts of July and August, rounding into October form with a September where he is 4-0 in all four of his starts this month with a 2.05 ERA and 28 strikeouts to seven walks in 26.1 IP.

"We're playing some pretty good baseball right now, and that's when you want to really hit your stride," Fried said. "So, going into the last week or so, we're excited and want to go out there and finish strong -- go into the playoffs strong. And for me, personally, wins are a team stat. So, I can't give my teammates enough credit for putting me in a position to be able to get there."

If the playoffs started today, the Yankees would face the Houston Astros (second in the wild card) for a best-of-three series with the winner advancing to the ALDS against the Blue Jays.

New York has a chance to catch Toronto (89-64) with three regular-season games remaining, but feels good about its situation regardless of where it ends up.

"We know how important pitching is in October and the whole year," said Yankees first baseman Paul Goldschmidt. "It's going to take a team effort, but to be able to do something like that, it's tough. All of these opponents are tough. They're going to be preparing for our pitchers, just like we're going to be preparing for them if we get that opportunity, and we'll be ready to go."

Max Fried, the Yankees' first-year ace, struck out a career-high-tying 13 batters in what was arguably his best start of the 2025 season -- Thursday's 7-0 win at the Baltimore Orioles.

Takeaways

1. Wherever the Yankees (86-67) end up in the playoffs, they should feel good about their chances with an ace like Fried (18-5, 2.92 ERA) on the mound. The southpaw found a way in this past Saturday's 5-3 win at the Boston Red Sox, and he made a statement against Baltimore (72-81) for his MLB-leading 18th victory.
   
   Fried, who surpassed his season-high 11 strikeouts from April 9 at the Detroit Tigers, allowed only three hits and walked just one batter in Thursday's seven-inning start. He threw 59 strikes on 87 pitches, retiring 12 straight at one point.
   
   With October coming, the Yankees need Fried at his best. He gave a glimpse of what to expect Thursday.
2. While the Yankees only led 3-0 into the seventh inning, where a three-run frame nearly doubled the lead, the bats certainly stayed alive after back-to-back games of 10 runs in the previous days' series-closing wins at the Minnesota Twins. Among them, leadoff batter Paul Goldschmidt's 2-for-5 night -- including an RBI single to start the seventh-inning spurt -- was a welcome sight for the Yankees as he increased his slash line to .280/.331/.415 through 137 games.
3. Aaron Judge followed Goldschmidt's Jose Caballero-scoring knock with a sacrifice fly to bring Austin Wells home and pad the Yankees' 5-0 lead. Judge was hitless but worked two walks and, as mentioned, added his 104th RBI.
   
   He is slashing .328/.453/.676 with 48 home runs and making a strong case for the AL MVP while battling Seattle Mariners catcher Cal Raleigh.
4. The Yankees are three games behind the AL East-leading Toronto Blue Jays with nine contests left to stack wins and see what happens. Six more games against the Orioles -- Friday, Saturday and Sunday in Baltimore before next weekend at Yankee Stadium -- are among them.
   
   Between those, the Yankees have a three-game series against the Chicago White Sox (which begins the six-game homestand, leading into the Orioles set). The Yankees, who hold the first wild card, have won six of their past eight games and have a golden opportunity to gain ground.

Who's the MVP?

Fried, who is up to a single-season career-high 182 strikeouts this year. He is proving to be worth every cent of his offseason deal, especially for a Gerrit Cole-less starting rotation.

Highlights

Rosario gets the scoring started 👊 pic.twitter.com/N88G5BQsJz

— New York Yankees (@Yankees) September 18, 2025

Wells plates Volpe 🤝 pic.twitter.com/M5PnyAqlk8

— New York Yankees (@Yankees) September 19, 2025

Goldy knock 👏 pic.twitter.com/Vslrjr8wHR

— New York Yankees (@Yankees) September 19, 2025

Some small ball from Stanton 🔥 pic.twitter.com/mqraCQg2wR

— New York Yankees (@Yankees) September 19, 2025

All 13 of Max's strikeouts to tie his career-high ⛽️#RepBX | @MaxFried32pic.twitter.com/or6Dmt9InI

— New York Yankees (@Yankees) September 19, 2025

What's next

The Yankees seek their fourth straight win Thursday at 7:05 p.m. when they continue the four-game series in Baltimore with New York RHP Will Warren (8-7, 4.44 ERA) and Orioles LHP Trevor Rogers (8-2, 1.43 ERA) set to start.

You can say you are building a ballpark, but the anticipation accelerates when the community sees what the ballpark might look like. For the city of Ontario and its architects, the rendering of its minor league ballpark included a team name.

A placeholder, that is. The new team owners did not yet own the team. The name would come later. The Dodgers' California League team would not move in until 2026.

On that drawing last year: the Ontario Sky Mules, with a whimsical logo of a grinning donkey wearing sunglasses and flying a prop plane. It was, frankly, awesome.

It was the essence of the minor leagues. Don’t know what a sky mule is? Hardly anyone knew what a trash panda was, either, and the Trash Pandas are one of the hottest brands in the minors.

Read more:Q&A: Here’s what’s at stake for the Dodgers over the final two weeks

This year, the newly hired team staff dropped hints about the actual name, about the buzz in town. On the walls of the team offices: “Cleared for Takeoff.” The city referenced ballpark fan zones nicknamed “The Airfield” and “The Tarmac.”

And, just last week, the biggest hint of all: the announcement of a naming rights deal with Ontario International Airport, close enough to the ballpark that you’ll be able to see flights take off. The ballpark name: ONT Field (spell it out: O-N-T, like LAX).

On Thursday, eight months in advance of its first game, the team finally revealed its name: the Ontario Tower Buzzers.

It’s an homage to the movie “Top Gun,” and to the defiant line uttered by the pilot played by Tom Cruise: “It’s time to buzz the tower.” The Tower Buzzers’ mascot, a bee called Maverick, is named after Cruise’s character.

The team name balances heritage and whimsy. The city is paying for the ballpark and wants to promote its airport, which was used as a World War II air base before reverting to civilian use and expanding into an Inland Empire transportation hub.

“We want to honor that legacy and have fun with it,” Tower Buzzers general manager Allan Benavides said. “We found something we think is a fun minor league name, rather than just, say, Pilots or Aviators.”

The Aviators? Already in use in Las Vegas. The Pilots? The name of a failed California League team in Riverside (the college landlord wouldn’t allow beer sales, which is akin to a death sentence in the minor leagues).

The Tower Buzzers should fare better, in a ballpark that figures to be the second-best place to see a ballgame in Southern California, behind Petco Park and ahead of Dodger Stadium and Angel Stadium.

The city’s latest cost estimate is $120 million, for a Class A ballpark. The stadium that opened this year for the Angels’ triple-A affiliate in Salt Lake City cost $140 million and holds 8,000.

ONT Field is expected to hold 6,500 — but with 3,200 seats between the foul poles, and the rest wherever you prefer: in the outfield, on the grass, in picnic areas, on a playground, or in bars, clubs and suites, including a couple where you can converse with the players.

There’s an ice cream parlor, a food hall, and a bar shaped like a luggage carousel. After a home run, the splash pad will erupt, and propellers will whirl in a bar. A runway will light up, and so will the antennas on the mascot.

The scoreboard is a hexagon, just like the one at Dodger Stadium. Soon to appear: a mural of Fernando Valenzuela. All fans, not just the ones in the fancy seats, can watch players in the batting cage.

On the afternoon I visited, the temperature was 108 degrees. The seating area will not have mist machines, as the Angels' old California League stadium in Palm Springs did.

“It won’t be 108 at 7 o’clock,” Benavides said.

His target audience: the “30-year-old moms” that he said control the calendar and the spending for the family.

“Not everybody is a baseball fan, but they want to have time,” he said. “They want to be away from their cellphones and the TV and be outside, not spend a ton of money, and not have to drive to L.A. or San Diego.”

The Angels’ California League affiliate will play in Rancho Cucamonga, eight miles away. Another California League team plays in San Bernardino, 25 miles away. The Angels themselves are 35 miles away.

“We’re going to fight for dollars, certainly, but I think our affiliation with the Dodgers is huge,” Benavides said. “They’re the hottest brand in baseball, depending on who you ask. I’m a Dodger fan, so I think they are.

“And I think this will be the nicest minor league stadium in the country, regardless of classification.”

If the Tower Buzzers do not win that fight for dollars, Ontario’s investment in the ballpark could turn out to be a poor one.

The ballpark is the anchor of what the city is modestly calling the Ontario Sports Empire, a 200-acre facility for training and competition billed by the city as the “largest sports complex of its kind west of the Rocky Mountains.”

There absolutely is a market for sports tourism, for all those kids and all their parents shuttling to weekend tournaments in baseball, softball, football, soccer, tennis and more. But that market can be tapped without a nine-figure investment in a minor league ballpark. (The naming rights payments come from airport revenues, not city taxpayers; the airport is administered jointly by the city and San Bernardino County.)

That ballpark investment is more about a local entertainment option for residents, with so many homes in the pipeline that the population could double from close to 200,000 to about 400,000 within two decades. The NHL’s Kings already have a minor league affiliate playing in the city’s arena, and city officials plan for restaurants, hotels and shops to surround the ballpark and sports complex.

Dan Bell, a city spokesman, said Ontario is adding about 1,200 new homes every year.

“And they’re reasonable,” Bell said. “You can’t afford the L.A. market anymore.”

On Thursday, at the moment the team announced the Tower Buzzers name, the team merchandise went on sale. The home jerseys say Buzzers.

So is it Buzzers or Tower Buzzers? It’s like Blazers or Trail Blazers.

“We’ll let fans decide,” Benavides said.

Read more:Shaikin: Why Andrew Friedman's October test is looming with Dodgers

I still wondered about the homage. When the Tower Buzzers take the field next year, “Top Gun” will turn 40. To a fan of a certain age, the reference is obvious. It would be like opening a pizza delivery service and calling it Spicoli’s.

To a younger generation, “Top Gun” might mean a blank stare. No worries, Benavides said. You’ll be able to enjoy a night at the ballpark all the same.

“We’re not going to 100% lean into that film,” he said. “This isn’t going to be a ‘Top Gun’ museum.”

Well, then, Tower Buzzers: You are cleared for takeoff.

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

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.

Kodai Senga made his second start with Triple-A Syracuse since being demoted and was effective until he wasn't.

The Mets' right-hander, pitching against LeHigh Valley, 

In the first inning, Senga allowed a leadoff single to Johan Rojas before getting back-to-back pop outs. Rojas stole second, but Senga did not let it deter him, as he got Christian Arroyo to fly out to end the inning. 

Senga's second inning of work was the opposite, as he got the first two batters out (strikeout, lineout) before Rodolfo Castro hit a two-out single. Senga would get through the frame by striking out Payton Henry swinging on five pitches, the last being a forkball in the dirt. The third was an uneven inning for Senga, who hit the first batter he faced but got a doubleplay to erase the runner before allowing his third single of the game. Senga would get an inning-ending lineout to get him through three. 

The fourth inning is where Senga really struggled. After the first two runners got on base (single, walk), Senga struck out the next batter, but Castro hit a ground-rule double that knotted the game at 1-1. He bounced back, getting Henry swinging at a curveball, but a wild pitch allowed LeHigh Valley's second run to score and Erick Brito singled to put the IronPigs ahead, 3-1.

A five-pitch walk later and Senga was pulled after 81 pitches (46 strikes). Douglas Orellana, the pitcher in relief of Senga, walked the next two batters to push across the fourth run charged to the Mets hurler.

It was an up-and-down start for Senga, who could not get out of the fourth inning. His final line saw him pitch 3.2 innings, allowing four runs on six hits and two walks while striking out four batters. 

It's a far cry from his first start with Syracuse on Sept. 12, when Senga allowed one run on three hits over 6.0 innings (74 pitches) with eight strikeouts and no walks.

Mets manager Carlos Mendoza praised Senga's lack of walks in his first start before the big league club's series finale against the Padres on Thursday. But he didn't say he was a lock to be a part of the playoff roster.

"I wouldn't say definitely," Mendoza said. "I think we'll have the conversations and we'll take the best 13 guys that we feel are going to give us the best chance to win baseball games in October. In the meantime, we got ten more and we'll continue to treat it that way.

"I like the fact that there was no walks last time when he pitched in Triple-A," Mendoza said. "Getting ahead, using all of his pitches. He got swing and misses with the split. I think it starts with him throwing strike one and then staying on the attack."

He came to town as a quiet Texas kid charged with carrying Hollywood’s team.

For 18 years, in greatness and in grief, through sweet dreams and bitter despair, he did exactly that.

He was splendid. He was awful. He set records. He ruined seasons. He was passionately embraced. He was loudly booed.

For 18 years, Clayton Kershaw pitched through the gamut of emotions as both a hero and a villain, moments of euphoria addled with spells of despair, picturesque summers disappearing into the wicked wilds of October.

But carry the Dodgers he did, with courage and dignity and grace, and in the end, he will be surrounded only by love, a deep and abiding roar of affection from a city to a simple man who willed himself into legend.

Clayton Kershaw announced Thursday he is retiring at the end of this season.

The greatest Los Angeles Dodger ever is leaving the building.

He is more enduring than Sandy Koufax, more accomplished than Fernando Valenzuela, more impactful than any hitter in the team’s 67-year history in Los Angeles.

He is not only the greatest Dodger, but also resides at the top of a list of the greatest athletes in Los Angeles history, joining Magic Johnson and Kobe Bryant as Hall of Famers who spent their entire careers with one Los Angeles team and left behind a legacy that indelibly altered their franchise’s culture.

The golden era of Dodger baseball, 11 West Division titles in 12 years, two World Series championships? It is a glory that carries the shade of one man, his teammates following Kershaw’s daily leadership into a place that looks and feels like his unrelenting glare.

The Dodgers are unselfish? That’s Kershaw. The Dodgers are accountable? That’s Kershaw. The Dodgers have the strength to rise out of what seems like constant adversity? That’s Kershaw.

That he is retiring now is not a surprise. He’s been talking about it for several years. He’s 37, his beard has turned gray, he’s battled all sorts of injuries, and he’s no longer a cornerstone of the rotation.

But that he is ending his career while pitching so well is a huge surprise. His fastball crosses the plate in slow motion, but he is still able to junk it up enough to go 10-2 with a 3.53 ERA including going 5-0 with a 1.88 ERA in August.

He can still battle. He can still compete. And while there will be much emotion surrounding his final home start Friday against the San Francisco Giants, he could pitch again during the postseason, making an emergency start or even pitching out of the bullpen.

How great would it be to see him finish strong in October? It is his resilience in October that has defined his career here. Although he has one MVP award, three Cy Young awards, 222 wins and 3,039 strikeouts, those aren’t the numbers that many people will remember.

A 4.49 ERA in 39 postseason appearances, those are the numbers.

That’s the failure that Kershaw endured, that’s the stain that he once felt, those are the results that actually certify his greatness.

The St. Louis Cardinals shelled him. The Houston Astros cheated him. The Washington Nationals rocked him. And two years ago, in his most recent postseason start, gritting through a severely injured shoulder that should have kept him off the mound, the Arizona Diamondbacks shelled him for six runs before he could get two outs.

Yet he never complained about the injury. He never made excuses for anything. He never griped that he was pitching on short rest, or pitching with a bum arm, or pitching with a terrible offense and an untrustworthy bullpen.

He kept imploding in the postseason, yet he kept coming back, year after year after year. He never let his failures own him, he never let them even slow him, until he finally overcame his curses by going 4-1 with a 2.93 ERA in a 2020 World Series run that ended with a championship win over the Tampa Bay Rays.

When the Dodgers clinched that title, Kershaw was seen staring up into the heavens, thankful that redemption was finally his. He was injured last year and didn’t pitch in the postseason, but he was part of that team nonetheless, giving him two titles that all but fulfilled his career.

He had one more personal goal, though, and he reached it this summer by becoming only the 20th player to record 3,000 strikeouts.

After that game, a win over the Chicago White Sox in early July, the stoic Kershaw finally acknowledged the chills of spending his entire career with one team, and the impact of his journey.

Read more:'A baseball legend.' Clayton Kershaw announces retirement after 18 seasons with Dodgers

“I don’t know if I put a ton of stock in being with one team early on,” Kershaw said that night. “It’s just kind of something that happened. Over time, I think as you get older, and you appreciate one organization a little bit more — the Dodgers have stuck with me too. It hasn’t been all roses. I know that. There’s just a lot of mutual respect, I think. I’m super grateful now, looking back. To say that I’ve spent my whole career here and I will spend my whole career here — I have a lot more appreciation for it now.”

The appreciation is mutual, and Kershaw will surely hear it in these final days.

The greatest Los Angeles Dodger ever is leaving the building amid a farewell roar that will live here forever.

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

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.

Here are five things to watch and predictions as the Mets and Nationals play a three-game series at Citi Field starting on Friday at 7:10 p.m. on SNY.

---

5 things to watch

Is this an audition for Brandon Sproat?

Sproat, who gets the start on Friday night, has been impressive over his first two big league starts, allowing just three runs in 12.0 innings while walking four and striking out 10.

And he was unscored upon in his last outing, when he fired 6.0 innings of shutout ball against the Rangers at Citi Field.

If the Mets reach the postseason, the expectation is that Nolan McLean will be a lock to start one of the games in the Wild Card Series. The other start or two? That's up in the air.

Kodai Senga could possibly make a start, but he could also be left off a potential postseason roster. Meanwhile, David Peterson -- who was touched up for six runs on Wednesday -- has a 5.23 ERA in 65.1 innings spanning 12 starts in the second half of the season.

That potentially leaves a possible piggyback outing from Clay Holmes and Sean Manaea, and a start for Sproat as the other most sensible options in the Wild Card Series.

There's also the possibility Sproat could be used as a late-inning reliever, with the club badly in need of a reliable righty to help bridge the gap to Tyler Rogers and Edwin Diaz.

The Nolan McLean Show

McLean has been phenomenal since debuting, with a 1.19 ERA and 0.98 WHIP in 37.2 innings over six starts. He has allowed just 25 hits while walking 12 and striking out 40.

And what's been just as impressive as McLean's filthy arsenal has been his poise on the mound, his ability to pitch deep into games, and how he has quickly righted the ship and battled through outings where he doesn't have his best stuff.

He enters Saturday's start with a groundball rate of 62.9 percent and having allowed just one home run.

If things stay on track, McLean would possibly be lined up to pitch again next Thursday against the Cubs at Wrigley Field, which could theoretically set him up to pitch Game 1 of the Wild Card Series the following Tuesday -- should the Mets be there.

The Mets' offense should feast

The Nationals are a very bad baseball team.

They have the third-most losses in baseball (ahead of just the Rockies and White Sox), and have allowed the second-most runs in the majors (ahead of only the Rockies). The Nats also have the second-worst run differential in the sport, ahead of just the Rockies.

Put it all together and this should be a field day for a Mets offense that has been hit and miss this season -- but has looked better lately.

Cade Cavalli and Mitchell Parker are expected to get starts in this series, while MacKenzie Gore is not.

What's the plan for Sunday?

Manaea was placed on paternity leave before Thursday's game, meaning it's possible he won't be able to pitch on Sunday.

The expectation had been that he and Holmes would again piggyback.

Asked before Wednesday's game if Manaea could still pitch on Sunday, Carlos Mendoza was unsure, noting that if Manaea is able to throw while he's on leave that he could potentially be ready.

In a world where Manaea can't go on Sunday, the Mets might have to lean heavily on the bullpen behind Holmes. 

The out-of-town scoreboard

The Mets will enter play on Friday still leading the Diamondbacks, Giants, and Reds in the race for the third and final wild card spot in the National League.

As the Mets battle the Nats, here's what their closest competitors will be doing:

Diamondbacks: vs. Phillies for three games
Reds: vs. Cubs for four games
Giants: at Dodgers for four games

Predictions

Who will the MVP of the series be?

Pete Alonso

Alonso has been heating up power-wise

Which Mets pitcher will have the best start?

Nolan McLean

It's McLean until proven otherwise

Which Nats player will be a thorn in the Mets' side?

CJ Abrams

Abrams is Washington's most formidable threat

Giants' postseason hopes on life support after wasted chances in loss to Dodgers originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

LOS ANGELES — In their first draft under president of baseball operations Buster Posey, the Giants went out of their way to take contact hitters. A few weeks later, they took the same approach to the trade deadline.

The goal is to one day have more balance, to feature a lineup that includes free-swinging sluggers but also ancillary pieces that can keep a rally moving with a well-placed ball in play. The problem for the Giants is it might be years before the changes behind the scenes are seen on the field, and right now they still have a group that can seem stuck in the mud far too often. 

That’s never been more apparent than in the seventh inning Thursday.

After failing to score any of the six runners who drew a walk from Dodgers starter Yoshinobu Yamamoto, the Giants went walk, walk, strikeout, walk, walk, strikeout, strikeout in the seventh against right-handers Michael Kopech and Blake Treinen. With the game, and possibly their slim playoff hopes, on the line, nobody could put one in the gap, or find grass in front of an outfielder, or even hit a sacrifice fly. 

Nobody could do that all night, really. The lineup managed just one hit and wasted 10 walks and a stellar performance from Logan Webb, losing 2-1 and falling three games (plus the tiebreaker) behind the New York Mets with nine to go. 

“We put pressure on them. We just couldn’t get a hit,” manager Bob Melvin said. “That’s happened for us some this year. We certainly made their guys work, made their starter throw a lot of pitches, got him out after 5 1/3 and usually we do a little damage off the bullpen. We couldn’t do it other than drawing some walks and we couldn’t get a big hit.”

The lineup struck out 14 times, including six times in the last three innings. The two biggest ones came from two guys in the heart of the lineup. 

With the bases loaded in a 2-1 game, Willy Adames took a 2-2 sinker at the top of the zone that the Dodgers wanted. It was close, and the 3-2 pitch was just as close at the bottom of the zone. That one was called a strike as Adames protested. Matt Chapman then struck out swinging, stranding the three runners. 

“That’s why guys hit in the middle of the lineup. It just didn’t happen tonight,” Melvin said. “It’s frustrating. We had traffic all night long and you’d think we’d get one or two (home). Especially with Webby doing what he’s doing on the mound, we saw a lot of pitches and had a lot of traffic, but couldn’t get a hit, couldn’t get a big hit.”

Melvin called it a “Jekyll and Hyde” situation, and that’s really been the case the entire second half. The Giants were historically bad for several weeks and then turned into the best offense in baseball once everyone wrote them off. With a chance to catch the sliding Mets over the last week, they once again have gone silent. 

Incredibly, the Giants still might have found a way to win this one, but they gave a run away in the bottom of the sixth. With two in scoring position and one out, Mookie Betts hit a grounder to Adames, who threw a perfect strike to the plate. Patrick Bailey — who had the night’s only hit — dropped the ball as he tried to put down the tag. A Freddie Freeman single made it a two-run inning.

Bailey said there was no excuse. Webb made a good pitch and Adames made a great throw, he said. 

“I dropped the ball,” Bailey said, “Which is unacceptable.”

 That whole sequence from the bottom of the sixth through the top of the seventh wasted a bounceback performance from Webb, who allowed two runs — one earned — in seven innings and threw 103 pitches on a muggy night at Dodger Stadium. After throwing just eight sinkers last Saturday, he went back to his roots Thursday, firing sinkers and changeups at the Dodgers, who had just five hits of their own. 

“He was fantastic,” Melvin said. “He deserved to win that game.”

Download and follow the Giants Talk Podcast

Mets first baseman Pete Alonso's fourth straight game with a home run set the tone for New York in Thursday's 6-1 victory against the Padres, a series-deciding result that saw manager Carlos Mendoza's group (79-74) take 2 of 3 from San Diego (83-70) and hold the NL wild card's third spot by at least two games with nine regular-season contests left.

"He's locked in," Mendoza said of Alonso, whose two-out solo shot to center field off Randy Vásquez in the first inning put the Mets on the board at 1-0. "And when he's doing things like that, he can carry a team. We know he's a streaky hitter. We've seen it when he gets cold. And then when he gets hot, man, he gets on one of those streaks that he's pretty dangerous. And right now, where we're at -- if we get that type of Pete Alonso, our offense obviously will benefit from it, of course."

Alonso, whose 1-for-2 afternoon at Citi Field included a third-inning walk and seventh-inning sacrifice fly that capped the Mets' 6-1 lead, is slashing .270/.345/.526 with 37 home runs and 121 RBI through 153 games.

"I mean, I'm just happy that I'm seeing stuff to hit in the middle of the zone," Alonso said. "With that being said, getting those pitches in the heart of the plate, not missing them, is big. I just want to keep having quality at-bats and stay in every pitch and just capitalize on mistakes."

With a trio of three-game series left on the regular-season schedule, led by this weekend's set against the Washington Nationals and Friday's 7:10 p.m. opener on SNY, Alonso appears to be rounding into form for the Mets' postseason push.

"You always want to play your best baseball at the end of the year," Alonso said. "And if we can continue to do that -- it's not about how you start, it's not about how things happen in the middle, it's about how you finish. If we keep continuing to stay within ourselves and do the best we can and execute, then we're going to be in a really good spot."

The Mets picked up a crucial 6-1 win over the San Diego Padres on Thursday, clinching a series victory and getting them closer to stamping their spot in the postseason.

While young starter Jonah Tong was dominant and the offense -- led by Brandon Nimmo's three-run homer -- led the way, it was the bullpen that stood out and helped seal the win and the series.

Often maligned for its inconsistencies, outside of closer Edwin Diaz, four arms -- including Diaz -- shut down a high-powered Padres lineup to just two hits in four shutout innings. Tyler Rogers, Brooks Raley, Gregory Soto and Diaz each pitched an inning with the closer -- having not pitched since Sunday -- picking up two strikeouts in a ho-hum 1-2-3 ninth.

Mets manager Carlos Mendoza was asked about the bullpen and whether the piggyback situation on Tuesday, which saw Clay Holmes start and pitch four innings and Sean Manaea finish off their win, pitching the final five innings, helped save the bullpen for Thursday's series finale.

"It always helps," he said. "When I’m trying to be aggressive, taking the ball from the starters, when you know you’re set up with the guys, you’re trying to piece it together. But it was good to see those guys get the job done. Rogers against the top of the lineup in the sixth, Raley, Soto, and then Sugar finishing it there. It was good to see. 

"We’re going to continue to rely on those guys, but yes, having the piggyback situation on Tuesday, not having to use any of those guys, puts you in situations like this where you’re able to win series."

Nimmo for three

The Padres had just tied the game at 1-1 when the Mets came up to bat in the bottom of the third. A Juan Soto groundout pushed across Francisco Lindor to give back the lead for the Mets. After Pete Alonso walked to put runners at the corners with one out, Padres manager Mike Shildt pulled starter Randy Vasquez for southpaw Wandy Peralta to face Nimmo.  

Peralta got ahead of Nimmo in the count, 1-2, when he threw an 87 mph changeup that rode in on the Mets outfielder. However, Nimmo pulled his hands in and got the barrel of the bat on the ball and launched it over the right-center field wall for a three-run shot. That blast put the Mets up for good and after the game, he spoke about his approach in that at-bat.

"[Peralta's] very tough on lefties, great relief pitcher for a long time now," Nimmo said. "Just trying to get a job done, find the barrel to the ball and usually the way you do that is by getting him in the strike zone, and I was able to do that there and get the job done with two strikes. Just trying to keep things simple…sometimes you come through, sometimes you don’t.

"You miss all the shots you don’t take. Trying to go up there with a good plan, and we were able to execute and do something big there and get more done than I went up there hoping for."

Nimmo's blast in the third was the 24th of the season, tying a career-high he set back in 2023. It's the seventh game this season that Nimmo has driven in three or more runs in a game and he has now hit safely in 25 of his last 31 starts.

Nimmo's outfield assist

Before his heroics at the plate, Nimmo made a pretty big play in the outfield.

Tong found himself in some early trouble in the first inning, giving up back-to-back one-out singles to Luis Arraez and Manny Machado. However, on Machado's hit, Nimmo threw to Lindor, who quickly pitched the ball to Jeff McNeil at second base to apply the tag on Machado, who was trying to stretch the hit into a double.

"Able to get Manny at second and putting the pressure back on them and not make it so easy with second and third there, it definitely does change momentum in a game," he said. "Glad to be a part of that, Francisco and Jeff executing the play, glad we can help out there."

Tong was able to get out of that jam by striking out Jackson Merrill to leave Arraez stranded at third base. The young right-hander was able to coast from there, allowing one unearned run through five innings and striking out a career-high eight batters.

What we learned as Giants' offense struggles in demoralizing loss to Dodgers originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

BOX SCORE

LOS ANGELES — The Giants did not get any help before they took the field Thursday. The New York Mets won their afternoon game and the Cincinnati Reds got a shutout from ace Hunter Greene.

They did, however, get a few gifts once they took the field at Dodger Stadium. Yoshinobu Yamamoto walked six batters and a couple of Dodgers relievers combined for four free passes in an inning, but the Giants couldn’t capitalize. They had just one hit, losing 2-1 in what was a must-win game given how good Logan Webb was.

The Giants fell behind 2-0 in the bottom of the sixth, but right-hander Michael Kopech walked the first two batters of the seventh. After a strikeout, right-hander Blake Treinen entered and walked Heliot Ramos and Rafael Devers, pushing a run across.

A well-placed ball in play would have tied the game and anything in a gap would have given the Giants the lead, but Willy Adames went down looking and Matt Chapman struck out swinging.

The Giants drew double-digit walks at Dodger Stadium for the first time since July 19, 2002, but that game went 12 innings. On this night, the walks were clustered in seven innings but led to one run.

With the loss, the Giants are now four games behind the New York Mets if you include the tiebreaker. They have just nine games left in the season and probably need to win out to have a shot.

Digging Deep At Short

Adames had a really slow start defensively this season, but he has looked like an above-average shortstop for several months and he made two strong plays in the sixth inning Thursday. With runners on second and third, Adames made a perfect throw to the plate to cut down catcher Ben Rortvedt, but Patrick Bailey dropped it and the go-ahead run scored.

Later in the inning, with runners on first and third, Adames saved a run with an athletic play on a grounder to the hole at short.

Willy Adames made two really good plays at short that inning. Patrick Bailey couldn't hold onto the first throw, but this one ended the inning and saved a run: pic.twitter.com/38sBZLuV0B

— Alex Pavlovic (@PavlovicNBCS) September 19, 2025

Adames entered the night at two Outs Above Average, although he had to dig out of a huge hole. His March/April metrics were the second worst in a single month for a shortstop this season, but the Giants now feel pretty good about his ability to stay there for years to come.

That’s More Like It

Given the stakes, last Saturday’s loss at Oracle Park was one of the most disappointing days of Webb’s career. But he bounced back in a big way Thursday, keeping the Giants in the game even as the offense struggled to get anything going against Yoshinobu Yamamoto. After throwing just eight sinkers last weekend, Webb was his old self, throwing 32 of them.

Webb allowed two runs — only one earned — in seven innings and struck out five. He threw 103 pitches on a muggy night, but there was some bad luck in the only rally. The whole feel of that inning would have been different had the play at the plate been made.
Webb is now 4 1/3 innings away from becoming the first big leaguer this season to reach 200 innings. He got to 211 strikeouts on the season, moving two ahead of Pittsburgh’s Paul Skenes.

Left on Left

The Dodgers brought in lefty Jack Dreyer to face Bryce Eldridge with the go-ahead run on second in the top of the sixth and manager Bob Melvin stuck with the rookie instead of pinch-hitting Wilmer Flores. It nearly paid off.
On a 2-2 pitch, Eldridge smoked a 102 mph line drive to right, but it was hit directly at Teoscar Hernandez. In two earlier at-bats against Yamamoto, Eldridge struck out. The rookie has had some solid at-bats through his first three starts in the big leagues, but is still looking for his first big league hit.

Download and follow the Giants Talk Podcast

The holy grail is upon them.

For the first time in franchise history, and in the year after a global superstar led them to a World Series championship, the Dodgers will hit 4 million in attendance this season.

The Dodgers have led the major league in attendance every year since 2013, the first full season under the Guggenheim ownership group chaired by Mark Walter. In press releases, the Dodgers regularly note the team has “the highest cumulative fan attendance in Major League Baseball history.”

Yet the 4-million barrier has been an elusive milestone. Lon Rosen, the Dodgers’ executive vice president and chief marketing officer, said the team would officially pass 4 million tickets sold on Sunday, in the regular season finale.

“We’re proud of the accomplishment,” Rosen said.

Read more:'A baseball legend.' Clayton Kershaw announces retirement after 18 seasons with Dodgers

No major league team has hit 4 million since the New York Mets and Yankees in 2008, the final season of Shea Stadium and the old Yankee Stadium, respectively. The Yankees also sold 4 million in 2005-07. The only other teams to do it: the Toronto Blue Jays (1991-93) and Colorado Rockies (1993).

No team besides the Dodgers can hit 4 million anymore. The Mets, Yankees and Rockies all moved into smaller stadiums; the Blue Jays downsized theirs.

A team that hits 4 million must average 49,383 tickets sold per game. The Arizona Diamondbacks play in the stadium with the second-largest capacity in the majors: 48,330. The Dodgers’ average entering play Thursday: 49,589.

The Dodgers sold 3.97 million tickets in 2019, coming off back-to-back World Series appearances, and 3.94 million last year. They have not sold fewer than 3.7 million under Guggenheim ownership, aside from the two seasons with pandemic-related attendance restrictions.

“We’re a very successful franchise, and I attribute it all to the players," Rosen said. “We have incredible players. We have very popular players.”

Technically, the Dodgers sold 4 million tickets in 1982, former Dodgers vice president of marketing Barry Stockhamer told The Times in 2010. Under National League rules at the time, teams were required to announce how many fans actually showed up, not how many tickets were sold. The Dodgers’ attendance that year was reported as 3.6 million.

The Dodgers’ dominance on the field under Walter and his partners — two World Series titles, four World Series appearances and 13 consecutive playoff berths — has been accompanied by dominance on the business side.

In essence, at a time when cable and satellite revenues are collapsing, the Dodgers can finance their player payroll either from ticket revenue or from local television revenue. The Dodgers’ payroll is about $340 million this season.

The Dodgers’ SportsNet LA contract with Charter Communications, the parent company of Spectrum, pays an average of $334 million per season. However, the contract started in 2014 and extends through 2038, with the annual payment rising each year — to more than $500 million by the end of the deal, according to people familiar with the deal but not authorized to disclose its terms.

The Dodgers generated $4.29 million in ticket revenue last season for each regular-season home game, according to an internal league document first reported by Sportico and confirmed by The Times. That totaled $343.2 million for 80 home games last season, at an average ticket price of about $80.

As the Dodgers compete with the San Diego Padres for the National League West title, the Dodgers’ SportsNet LA contract exacerbates the financial disparity. The Padres have sold out 66 of 75 home games this season and have sold more tickets than any team besides the Dodgers and Yankees, but the Padres have cut payroll over the past two years, following the bankruptcy and subsequent implosion of the parent company of what was then called Bally Sports.

In August, the Padres told season ticket-holders their average price increase for 2026 would be 7% — the fifth consecutive season with an increase, according to the San Diego Union-Tribune. The Padres raised prices by an average of 20% for the 2022 season and 18% for the 2023 season, the Union-Tribune reported.

Rosen declined to discuss how much the Dodgers had raised the price of season tickets for 2026, although several fans told The Times their seats had increased in the range of 20%. Rosen said the Dodgers’ renewals were “going well.”

The Dodgers still have bills to pay beyond player payroll, of course: a robust staff in both baseball operations and business operations, Dodger Stadium operations and maintenance, minor league operations, revenue sharing and more than $100 millon in luxury taxes among them.

They also make money in ways besides tickets and SportsNet LA, among them national broadcast revenue, national and local merchandise revenue, corporate sponsorships, and stadium parking and concessions.

“We put the money back into the team,” Rosen said. “Our owners have done that from day one.”

Read more:A dominant Blake Snell provides 'a huge boost' as the Dodgers shut out the Phillies

With Clayton Kershaw, Mookie Betts and Freddie Freeman, the Dodgers already had a star-studded roster. The addition of Shohei Ohtani, and the tourists that follow him from Japan, supercharged the Dodgers’ business and finally vaulted the team over the magic 4-million mark.

It is not just that the fans come out to see a winner, Kershaw said. It is that the fans provide an edge that helps keep the team a winner.

“Without question,” Kershaw said. "Any time you play in front of a packed house at home, it’s important. We play every day. It’s hard to create energy sometimes, just because you play so much. I think having the fans behind us every day and seeing that packed house gives you that little bit of added energy.

“You play a day game on the road somewhere, and there’s nobody there, it’s hard to mimic. Even though it is a big league game, there are levels to this. Playing at home in front of our fans is definitely a home-field advantage.”

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

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.

After dominating every level of the minor leagues en route to his call-up to the Mets in late August, Jonah Tong hit his first speedbump his last time out against the Texas Rangers. The righty recorded just two outs while allowing four hits and walking three. He was charged with six earned runs, raising questions about whether or not he’d even stay in the rotation moving forward.

In Thursday afternoon’s ultra-important win over the San Diego Padres, Tong rose to the occasion and silenced any doubters, allowing just one unearned run on four hits over his 5.0 innings of work, setting a new career-high with eight strikeouts while not walking a single batter.

“I threw a lot more strikes,” Tong said with a smile when asked what the biggest difference was this time around. “I just think from the very first pitch I had the confidence to attack hitters. I feel like I did a better job with it this time around.”

Following the game, manager Carlos Mendoza said that Tong “wasn’t messing around,” noting that the 22-year-old didn’t let Padres hitters back into the count once he got ahead of them.

“There’s a lot to like, after the last outing and even today in the first couple of innings. They put together some good at-bats and he was kind of scattered there,” Mendoza said. “…That’s kind of like the guy we saw at the minor league level, pretty much the whole year. Getting swings and misses with the fastball at the top, the changeup, the curveball, he was attacking, he was pretty impressive.”

Pete Alonso, who smashed his fourth home run in as many games, echoed the words of his manager, noting that Tong’s outing was not just great for the young right-hander’s confidence, but for the rest of the team as well, as the Mets collected their third win in their last four games as they look to secure a spot in the 2025 postseason.

“He was poised the entire day. …Really stoked for him,” Alonso said. “Like those bounce-back outings are huge for development. Again, we talk about a kid who’s still 22 years old. Obviously, he’s got sky-high potential, and you’re seeing him kind of develop into a big-league professional right in front of your eyes.

“Really stoked for him, and he threw the ball excellent for us today. It was huge for the team, but I’m really happy for him, because seeing him succeed and bounce back like that shows a lot of character.”