Category: Baseball

• Rangers have had 19 different goalscorers (excluding own goals) in the Scottish Premiership this season; since their promotion in 2016, only in 2023-24 (20) have they had more in a single campaign.
• Rangers are unbeaten in 12 league meetings with Dundee United (W8 D4) since a 1-0 defeat in August 2021.
• Dundee United have only won one of their past 22 league visits to Rangers (D4 L17), a 3-2 victory in April 2011 under Peter Houston.
• Dundee United have won two of their last three league games (D1), as many as their previous 11 beforehand (W2 D4 L5).
• Rangers have won 10 of their 12 home league games under Danny Rohl (D2), more than any other Scottish Premiership side since his first such match in charge in October.

SAN FRANCISCO — Devin Williams has kept drama to a minimum to begin his Mets career, but he knows there is room for improvement.

The Mets closer began Thursday without allowing an earned run — and yielding only one hit — over three innings in his first three appearances, striking out four and walking two.

“I’m getting good results, at least,” said Williams who did not pitch in the Mets’ 7-2 loss to the Giants. “I have some room for improvement with my command and my changeup and with my fastball, so I think just getting reps is going to help that.”

Williams pitched a shutout frame Wednesday in the Mets’ 2-1, 11-inning loss to the Cardinals.

Manager Carlos Mendoza noted there are no restrictions on Williams pitching back-to-back days this early in the season.

The right-hander began throwing a cutter in spring training but has yet to deploy it in the regular season.

“I’m in a good spot with it,” Williams said. “It’s there if I need it.”

Jorge Polanco is “close” to returning to play first base, according to Mendoza.

Polanco, who was the DH for the fourth time in seven games, has dealt with left Achilles discomfort in recent days.

• CHECK OUT THE LATEST MLB STANDINGS AND METS STATS

“Just wanted to give him an extra day [at DH],” Mendoza said. “He continues to feel better and progress. I might need that DH spot in the upcoming days for some other guys and that is why we’re taking advantage of the extra day here for him to DH.”

Mark Vientos started Thursday at first base for a second straight game.

The Mets began the day with 55 runners left on base, tied for the most with the Astros.

As a team, the Mets were 11-for-68 (.162) with runners in scoring position, ranking 29th in MLB.

The Reds were the only team worse in such situations.

This marks just the second time in franchise history the Mets played extra innings in three of their first six games. It last occurred in 1991.

Mendoza noted the strain it has placed on the bullpen, which needed to record 15 extra outs in the first week.

Daniel Susac had to wait four seasons to get to the majors, then another six games just to make his big league debut. All that patience paid off on Thursday night.

The former Arizona Wildcats catcher went 3 for 3 with a walk in his first career start, helping his hometown San Francisco Giants beat the New York Mets 7-2. He became the first Giants player to reach base four times in his first start since 2006.

The 24-year-old Susac, who made his MLB debut as a defensive replacement on Wednesday, wasted no time in his first plate appearance, sending a first-pitch curve ball into right-center field for a single. He singled through the left side of the infield on the next pitch he saw, then drew a 4-pitch walk in his third at-bat and singled up the middle to end the evening.

Per OPTA Stats, Susac is the first catcher with three hits and a walk in his first MLB start since Mike Piazza in 1992.

Susac, who played for Arizona in 2021-22, was a 1^st round pick of the Oakland (now Sacramento) Athletics in the 2022 MLB Draft. Blocked at the big league level by other prospects, Susac helped Las Vegas reach the Triple-A championship game last season and then was not added to the Athletics’ 40-man roster in the offseason.

That made him available for the Rule 5 Draft, which allows teams to pick up players from others’ farm systems who aren’t on the 40-man. Those drafted must remain on the MLB roster all season or be offered back to their original team.

Susac was selected by the Minnesota Twins, who then traded him to the Giants. A Northern California native, Susac’s older brother AndrewSusac made his MLB debut with San Francisco in 2014.

At the UA, Susac was Pac-12 Freshman of the Year in 2021 when he helped the Wildcats reach the College World Series, and as a sophomore was an All-American and Golden Spikes Award semifinalist. In 125 career games he hit .351 with 24 home runs and 126 RBI.

The Mets offense, as a whole, is struggling, but Bo Bichette is starting to look more like himself, and Thursday proved that.

Bichette's box score shows he went 1-for-4, but he could have easily had three hits and driven in a lot more runs. It started in the first, when he lined a double to left field to score the game's first run. He then took Robbie Ray very deep in the third inning. Bichette launched an 86 mph slider to straightaway center. The ball exited the bat at 104 mph and went 390 feet. Unfortunately for Bichette and the Mets, it needed to go 391 feet as Harrison Bader leapt and caught it at the top of the wall. 

"I don't know, I thought I hit it OK," Bichette said after the game of the near-homerun. "I mean, if I thought I got it, I would've came out of the box a little different."

After a strikeout in the fifth, Bichette's night ended similarly to the robbed home run. He hit a liner that first baseman Casey Schmitt jumped and snagged on a line, before stepping on first base to complete the double play that ended the eighth. 

"Bo had some really good at-bats today," manager Carlos Mendoza said. "That first inning, that double. The one he drove to centerfield. I thought the at-bats from him today looked like Bo Bichette."

Bo Bichette's first extra base hit as a Met is a double to drive in Juan Soto for the game's first run! pic.twitter.com/O17d90QVoI

— SNY (@SNYtv) April 3, 2026

The high-profile free agent signing hasn't lived up to his billing in the early going. Entering Thursday's game, Bichette was just 3-for-27 with no extra-base hits. Bichette even admitted that he didn't feel like himself in the first series against the Pirates, but it seems the infielder has found his stroke, especially over the last couple of games.

Although the hits haven't been there, the at-bats look better. He struck out eight times in the first three games, he's struck out just once since and that includes Thursday. 

"Other than the first three games at home, he’s settling in nicely," Mendoza said. "Not trying to do too much. When he does that, he’s a pretty good player."

But Bichette's re-emergence has not translated to much offense for the team overall. After going 0-for-11 with RISP in Wednesday's series finale against the Cardinals, they were 0-for-3 on Thursday. 

"I mean, we've faced some pretty good pitchers recently. Or pitchers that have pitched well, that's part of it," Bichette said of the team's struggles. "I think for the most part, guys are having good at-bats. Maybe the contact is just not where we need it... This is baseball, so things go up and down, not that you're OK with it. You need to figure out a way to be better, but this is baseball. We'll show up tomorrow and do it again."

Bichette was asked about his two hard outs -- the near-homerun and the linedrive double play had xBAs of .680 and .520, respectively -- and whether the team is just a bit unlucky to start the season.

"Maybe, but that's not something to fall on. Should always be looking to do better, be better," Bichette said. "So that's what we'll do. Good thing about baseball, we get to do it tomorrow.

"I think people are looking at everything, every day throughout the whole season. Some years you get off to good starts, some years you don't. Just part of it."

Whether Sean Manaea returns to the Mets rotation is yet to be seen, but the left-hander's performance in Thursday's loss to the Giants was a good sign for the club. 

In relief of David Peterson, who allowed six runs over 4.1 innings, Manaea gave the team and their bullpen some much-needed rest by finishing the game.

Manaea wasn't perfect; he allowed a run on four hits and two walks in his 3.2 innings against his former team, but what he showed on the mound was enough for manager Carlos Mendoza to be impressed.

"It was a positive step there. He was aggressive, fastball had life. Got some swings and misses and for him to finish that game and save the bullpen, it's huge," Mendoza said after the game. "Talking about Manaea, personally, can build on this one. There were a lot of good signs out of this one today."

"Felt really, really good," Manaea said of his outing. "Was kinda grindy there in the seventh. Lost a little, but locked it in, and the eighth inning felt really, really good."

That seventh is where Manaea pitched into trouble. After getting the first two outs, the Giants hit back-to-back singles and Manaea walked the bases loaded. He got out of it by getting Rafael Devers -- who homered off of him in the sixth -- to ground out to end the threat. With the Mets playing their sixth straight game, with the next day off not arriving until Monday, it was important for Manaea to give the team length, and he did.

"Meant everything [to get out of the seventh]. Where the game was at, there was no reason to use anyone else," Manaea said. "I was going to be down regardless; might as well use me for the rest of the game....This is a family, this is a team. Everyone has work to do. I was happy I was able to help out the boys today."

Manaea said he felt "free and easy" throwing his pitches on Thursday, and with confidence. He boasted about getting to throw some left-on-left changeups and his sinker was working well for him. 

But the velocity continues to be a topic for Manaea. It's well-documented that the velocity dipped from last season, and while it was a tick up on Thursday, his fastball is still averaging in the high 80s. Manaea said that the small tick in velocity is a result of changes that he's made since spring.

"Just working on some things. It’s small incremental changes," Manaea explained. "Today was the first day that felt synced up and connected. Felt great."

Before the game, Mendoza said that if Manaea were to get into a game, he'd want his southpaw to throw 50-60 pitches to keep stretching him out. On Thursday, Manaea tossed 74 and he'll be down for a few days. 

The Mets skipper was asked about the possibility of Manaea returning to the rotation soon, but Mendoza maintains that the situation remains fluid.

"The fact there’s a lot of positive from his outing today is good for us," Mendoza said. " It was important for him to throw that many pitches, continue to have him stretch out in case we make the decision when we have to. There was a lot of positive from him today. Not only from a workload standpoint, but from the way he threw the ball."

Manaea was asked his thoughts on the rotation situation and whether it's his desire to be a starter again. The veteran, who has been a starter and a reliever in different parts of his career, gave a selfless response. 

"All I’m worried about is pitching and helping out this team. Whether I’m in the starting rotation or not, that’s all that I care about," he answered. " We’ve got five extremely talented starters and my role right now is to help this team in the capacity that I’m doing, and I’m very excited to do that."

In what quickly became the most lopsided game of the season, the Braves struck early and often against the Arizona Diamondbacks at Chase Field on Thursday night en route to a 17-2 win.

The Braves are now 5-2 on the young season, It took until game 17 last year to win five games.

Matt Olson and Dom Smith both launched solo homers in the first and third innings, respectively, to make it 2-0 early. Both baseballs traveled 430 feet in cavernous Chase Field. Smith continues to really hit the ball after being thrown into the DH role midway through the spring, while Olson continued to damage baseballs in Phoenix, where his career OPS is above 1.100.

The real magic transpired in the fifth inning, when Atlanta sent TWELVE batters to the plate and scored eight runs.

Ronald Acuña Jr. walked with the bases loaded to make it 3-1. In what ended up being perhaps the play of the game, Drake Baldwin grounded a ball to Nolan Arenado that appeared to be an inning-ending double play. Baldwin flew down the first base line and somehow beat the throw by a step — overturned on instant replay review — to keep the inning alive. Matt Olson then doubled down the right field line, Birthday Boy Austin Riley drove in two more runs with a double of his own, Ozzie Albies doinked one to the outfield, and Michael Harris capped it off with a line drive off the left field wall to make it 10-2 in the blink of an eye.

Reynaldo Lopez was effective over five innings, needing 79 pitches to get through Arizona’s lineup. He allowed one run on four hits and a walk, striking out three. His velocity was solid again with his fastball hovering in the mid-90s, although he only recorded six whiffs.

Tyler Kinley and Osvaldo Bido closed things out as the Braves continued to tack on runs against Arizona’s lifeless bullpen.

The series continues on Apple TV on Friday night with Grant Holmes set to face Eduardo Rodriguez. First pitch is set for 9:45 p.m. ET.

Unfortunately, the Diamondbacks fell victim to an early-season clunker in the series opener, thanks to an explosive eight-run fifth inning from the visiting Atlanta Braves. Getting bitten by the big inning is quickly becoming an unwelcome narrative for this young Arizona club.

In a game that offered few positives, one standout moment provided a bright spot. In the bottom of the third inning, Jordan Lawlar launched his first career MLB home run—a no-doubter that traveled 424 feet into the left-field bleachers. It was another encouraging sign for the 23-year-old, who has gotten off to a tremendous start to the season, batting .333 with a .956 OPS while adapting to a new position in the outfield. His early offensive surge appears tied to improved plate discipline: Lawlar is laying off right-handed spin out of the zone far more effectively, with his chase rate way down. That adjustment is allowing him to see better pitches and drive them with authority.

Adding to the feel-good factor, Lawlar’s first career homer was actually predicted on the pregame show by Mark Grace—a fun, uncanny moment that’s hard not to smile about.

Sadly, even the good news came with a caveat. Lawlar was hit on the wrist by a sinker in the seventh inning and had to exit in the top of the eighth. According to manager Torey Lovullo, X-rays on the wrist were negative, but Lawlar will undergo a CT scan tomorrow for extra caution. Here’s hoping the young outfielder gets a clean bill of health.

On the mound, Ryne Nelson lasted just 4⅔ innings, surrendering seven runs (only two earned, thanks to an error by Nolan Arenado). Nelson looked fairly efficient early on, but he suddenly lost his command in the fifth, and the wheels came off quickly. He walked three Braves in the inning while recording just two outs—including a bases-loaded walk—and the Atlanta hitters seemed to be sitting on his fastball, jumping on it early and squaring it up. Nelson’s slider remained a solid weapon (0-5 with three strikeouts), though that may have been partly because the Braves were geared up for fastballs.

The bullpen fared no better. 2023 postseason hero Kevin Ginkel relieved Nelson in the fourth but struggled with location as well. Despite his velocity sitting back up in the 95-96 mph range, he was hit hard and allowed three runs while recording only one out—not the kind of encouraging sign fans wanted to see from a former high-leverage arm.

Joe Ross also continued to have trouble throwing strikes, walking three batters in his two innings of work. That ineffectiveness prevented him from filling the long-man role he was kept on the roster to handle. With the game well out of hand, Lovullo was forced to burn an inning from Andrew Hoffmann in a mop-up situation he’d rather have avoided.

At this point in the season, the best approach is simple: flush this one and move on. If Nelson had made a couple of key pitches in the fifth and Arenado had converted a play he’s made countless times before, the outcome could have looked very different. Instead, the Braves racked up 17 runs on 16 hits. Time to regroup and come back swinging for the rest of the series.

Two days ago, we asked you which minor league affiliate you were most eager to follow since the big league club is rebuilding. Therefore, most of the exciting future Rockies are in the farm system. The majority of you are excited to watch the High-A Spokane Indians:

However, many of you are also very intrigued to see the Triple-A Albuquerque Isotopes (I know I am).

You can see our analysis of the rosters here.

Do you agree with the results? What are your initial impressions of the Isotopes and Yard Goats? Let us know in the comments!

Brought to you by FanDuel Sportsbook, the official sportsbook partner of SB Nation.

The Mets came into their series against the Giants already scuffling a bit. They had just lost two straight games to the Cardinals, sitting at an even 3-3 record six games into the season. David Peterson was coming off a solid first start of the season against the Pirates, facing off against former Cy Young winner Robbie Ray.

The Mets started the game off with some offense, which had been sorely lacking over the past few games. After a lead off walk by Francisco Lindor, Juan Soto hit into a force out, replacing Lindor at first and being the runner driven in by a Bo Bichette double. The Mets didn’t have any more hits in the inning after that, and the ball was turned over to David Peterson for his first inning of work, which was less than ideal.

David Peterson had a rollercoaster of a first inning. He threw just fifteen pitches, which one would think is efficient at first. But he was incredibly efficient at giving up runs, giving up three in the first inning. With two outs and Heliot Ramos on first, Peterson gave up a triple to Luis Arraez to tie the game, a double to Matt Chapman to put the Giants ahead, and he committed an error on a play at first to allow Chapman to score an insurance run. By the time the inning was over, the Giants had created an ultimately insurmountable two run gap between them and the Mets.

The Mets scratched another run across in the second on a leadoff home run by Mark Vientos, to come within a run of the Giants, but that was the only offense they had in response. Peterson held the Giants scoreless in the bottom of the second, but in the bottom of the third he gave up three straight singles that turned into two more runs scoring on sacrifice flies to put the Mets behind by three runs.

Neither team did much of anything in the fourth inning, but the Giants put up another run in the bottom of the fifth inning. An one-out Jung Hoo Lee walk drove David Peterson from the game in favor of Sean Manaea, who got another out before giving up a walk and a single to drive in another run and give the Giants a four run lead. The sixth was similar, with the Mets going out quietly in the top of the inning and the Giants scoring again in the bottom, their one run coming by way of a Rafael Devers solo home run off Manaea.

The rest of the game was quiet, with both teams trading zeroes for the rest of the game. The most notable part of the last three innings was Blade Tidwell finally making his Giants debut and earning a three inning save against his former team. But the Mets were unable to put any runs on the board after the second inning as their offensive woes continued.

Their pitching woes also continued, with Peterson taking the loss that was earned when the third run crossed the plate in the first inning, the Mets never being able to even match the Giants’ bottom of the first. Manaea finished the final 3.2 innings, but he gave up a run and was still experiencing his velocity issues. The Mets play their second of four games against the Giants tomorrow, with Nolan McLean taking the mound opposite Tyler Mahle. But even a gem from McLean might not be enough to overtake the Mets’ inability to score runs, which is an integral part to the whole “winning games” thing that is a vital part of baseball.

SB Nation GameThreads

Amazin’ Avenue
McCovey Chronicles

Box scores

MLB.com
ESPN

Win Probability Added

What’s WPA?

Big Mets winner: Bo Bichette, +6.3% WPA
Big Mets loser: David Peterson, -35.2% WPA
Mets pitchers: -39.8% WPA
Mets hitters: -10.2% WPA
Teh aw3s0mest play: Bo Bichette’s RBI double in the first inning, +11.6% WPA
Teh sux0rest play: Luis Arraez’s RBI triple in the first inning, -12.1% WPA

SAN FRANCISCO — The Mets added a new wrinkle to their recent doldrums.

Instead of losing a game because they didn’t hit, they lost one Thursday night because their pitching was just as ineffective as their sputtering lineup.

David Peterson got jumped from the onset, and the Mets managed just five hits in a 7-2 loss to the Giants at Oracle Park that extended their losing streak to three games.

Peterson’s clunker followed a string of five straight solid starts from the Mets’ rotation that began with Peterson’s 5 ¹/₃ scoreless innings against the Pirates last Saturday.

Nolan McLean, Clay Holmes, Kodai Senga and Freddy Peralta followed with strong outings, but the Mets were just 1-3 in that stretch, with hits with runners in scoring position scarce.

On this night the Mets were 0-for-3 with runners in scoring position. Over their last four games they are 1-for-32 in that category. Robbie Ray handled the Mets early, before the Giants bullpen sealed it with 3 ²/₃ scoreless innings.

Peterson lasted just 4 ¹/₃ innings and allowed six runs, five earned, on nine hits and two walks with five strikeouts. He was removed after just 68 pitches.

“Early in the game there were pitches I was trying to get down in the zone and I left them up and they took advantage,” Peterson said.

Bo Bichette delivered an RBI double in the first that gave the Mets a 1-0 lead. Francisco Lindor drew a leadoff walk and Juan Soto hit into a fielder’s choice before Bichette’s smash to left field brought Soto sliding across the plate. It was the fourth RBI this season for Bichette, who began the night batting .111.

“We have faced some pretty good pitchers recently, that is part of it,” Bichette said. “But I think for the most part guys are having good at-bats and maybe the contact is just not where we need it.”

• CHECK OUT THE LATEST MLB STANDINGS AND METS STATS

Peterson scuffled through the first inning, falling into a 3-1 hole with three hits allowed. Luis Arraez smashed an RBI triple to begin the party before Matt Chapman’s double produced the second run. Peterson could have escaped the inning with a one-run deficit but dropped Mark Vientos’ flip while covering first base on Jung Hoo Lee’s grounder, scoring Chapman.

Mark Vientos’ first homer of the season, a shot into the left-field seats leading off the second, pulled the Mets to within 3-2.

“Vientos had some really good at-bats,” manager Carlos Mendoza said. “Especially early in the game we had some base runners. We just couldn’t put a lot together.”

Successive singles by Heliot Ramos, Arraez and Chapman loaded the bases for the Giants to begin the third inning.

Lee and Harrison Bader each hit a sacrifice fly to extend the Giants’ lead to 5-2. Peterson encountered further trouble in the inning, allowing a single to Daniel Susac before Casey Schmitt walked, but struck out Willy Adames to end the threat.

“Petey had a hard time getting inside to righties,” Mendoza said. “It was more up and away to those right-handed hitters and they made him pay.”

Peterson departed after walking Lee in the sixth. Sean Manaea retired Bader for the second out before walking Susac and surrendering an RBI single to Schmitt that gave the Giants a 6-2 lead.

Rafael Devers cleared the fence in left-center leading off the sixth against Manaea to push the Mets into a 7-2 hole. Devers mashed a 90-mph four-seamer that landed just beyond Luis Robert Jr.’s outstretched glove.

Manaea pitched 3 ²/₃ innings and allowed one earned run on four hits and two walks in his second relief appearance. The Mets are attempting to keep him stretched out until the need arises for a sixth starter. Manaea threw 74 pitches. In his Sunday outing he threw only 29.

Marcus Semien snapped an 0-for-20 with an infield single in the seventh inning.

The Mets will unleash McLean on Friday and hope the rookie can help get a team in need of an energy boost on track.

McLean allowed two earned runs over five innings against the Pirates on Sunday — the Mets lost the game in 10 innings to begin this downturn of four losses in five games.

The Mets offense continued to struggle, recording just five hits in a 7-2 loss to the San Francisco Giants on Thursday night.

It's New York's third straight loss as they fell to 3-4 on the season.

Here are the key takeaways…

-- Bo Bichette got the Mets going in the first inning against LHP Robbie Ray, driving in Juan Soto from first base with an RBI double to make it 1-0. It's Bichette's first extra-base hit with New York after having 63 last season with Toronto.

However, the lead didn't last long, as David Peterson had a first inning he'd like to forget. The lefty let up a one-out single to Rafael Devers, a two-out RBI triple to Luis Arraez, and a go-ahead, RBI double to Matt Chapman. Looking to get out of the inning, Peterson forced a grounder to first, but dropped the ball covering the base, allowing Chapman to score from second and push the Giants' lead to 3-1.

-- Mark Vientos, in the starting lineup for the third straight game, blasted his first home run of the season to lead off the second inning. The solo HR cut San Fran's lead to 3-2 and traveled an estimated 406 feet (108.6 mph exit velocity).

In the bottom of the second, Marcus Semien was unable to make a catch in shallow center field, calling off Luis Robert Jr., giving the Giants two on with no outs. Luckily, Peterson forced a 6-4-3 double play and struck out Devers to prevent further damage. Despite throwing just 24 pitches, Peterson had already faced 11 batters through two frames.

-- Peterson found himself in a bases-loaded jam in the third inning after allowing three straight singles. The Giants capitalized, tacking on two more runs on two sacrifice flies to make it a 5-2 game. The left-hander escaped with runners on second and third base, striking out Willy Adames on his 47th pitch of the night.

He finally had a quick inning in the fourth, sending the Giants down in order with two strikeouts. Peterson got Chapman to ground out in the fifth inning and then walked Jung Hoo Lee, ending his day after 4.1 IP. The LHP allowed five earned runs on nine hits with five strikeouts and two walks over 68 pitches.

-- Sean Manaea entered in the bottom of the fifth inning with Lee on first base and couldn't keep the score intact. He let up a walk and an RBI single to Casey Schmitt that put SF up 6-2 before striking out Adames to end the frame. Manaea then allowed a solo homer to Devers in the sixth as the Giants went up 7-2.

Manaea got two quick outs to open the seventh inning before back-to-back singles and a walk loaded the bases. The lefty avoided trouble thanks to an inning-ending groundout. He stayed in to pitch a 1-2-3 eighth inning, ending the night after 74 pitches in 3.2 innings of relief.

-- Ray held New York to just three hits through 5.1 IP. He retired the last five Mets hitters he faced after allowing a Francisco Alvarez single in the third inning. 

Semien broke the team's hitless streak in the seventh with a single, but Alvarez grounded into a double play and Tyrone Taylor grounded out to end any scoring chance. New York recorded just one more hit, a Soto single in the eighth, ending the night with five total. They went 0-for-3 with RISP and left four on base.

-- Former Met Blade Tidwell made his Giants debut in the seventh, recording two strikeouts and getting the three-inning save.

GAME MVP

Ray, who was locked in after allowing two runs through two innings. He struck out seven with just three walks over 96 pitches.

Highlights

Bo Bichette's first extra base hit as a Met is a double to drive in Juan Soto for the game's first run! pic.twitter.com/O17d90QVoI

— SNY (@SNYtv) April 3, 2026

Mark Vientos drives his first homer of the year! pic.twitter.com/RosbrUPW40

— SNY (@SNYtv) April 3, 2026

Mark Vientos sticks with it and snags the grounder pic.twitter.com/UWfCLkNqas

— SNY (@SNYtv) April 3, 2026

Marcus Semien snaps his 0-for-20 skid pic.twitter.com/sOZzfXkQIJ

— SNY (@SNYtv) April 3, 2026

Juan Soto has hit safely in each of the Mets' first seven games this season pic.twitter.com/RESqCl5Jn3

— SNY (@SNYtv) April 3, 2026

Upcoming Schedule

The Mets continue their series against the San Francisco Giants on Friday night at 10:15 p.m.

Nolan McLean will make his second start of the year and face RHP Tyler Mahle.

Reds lefty Nick Lodolo’s stellar rehab outing came to an abrupt end on Thursday.

Lodolo, who started this MLB season on the 15-day injured list because of a blister, exited his start with the Single-A Daytona Tortugas after throwing 40 pitches because of another sore on his index finger.

The 28-year-old retired the first eight batters in order with four strikeouts, but then called for a trainer in the middle of an at-bat during the third inning despite being expected to throw 60-65 pitches.

The Reds confirmed Lodolo’s blister to the Cincinnati Enquirer, though it is still unclear if the issue will delay the lefty’s return to the major league club.

Lodolo, who has dealt with blister injuries throughout his MLB career, suffered the initial injury during his final spring training start on March 22.

Cincinnati skipper Terry Francona said Monday that Lodolo was slated to make his season debut for the Reds during the team’s series against the Marlins (April 6-9) in Miami, barring any setback.

“We didn’t want to have him go somewhere and not pitch,” Francona told the Enquirer. “So we thought this was the best way to do it.”

Lodolo is coming off perhaps his best MLB season in his four-year career so far, where he posted a 3.33 ERA with 156 strikeouts and two complete games through a career-high 156⅔ innings.

This also comes as the Reds are without their ace, Hunter Greene, who is recovering from arthroscopic surgery that he underwent on March 11 to remove bone chips from his throwing elbow.

“I’d been dealing with discomfort for a while,” Greene told reporters following his surgery, according to MLB.com. “Over the course of a season and feeling certain things in an area, especially as an elbow … as a pitcher you think that it’s just, ‘Maybe I’m feeling a little inflammation or discomfort,’ and it’s to be expected because we’re pitchers. Obviously, it’s a lot on the body.

“The bone spurs came up as chronic so there’s no timestamp as to when it formed, but it’s been there. It’s still early [after the surgery], so I still feel it and it’s still uncomfortable and swollen. There’s already a lot of freedom in the elbow.”

Greene is expected to make his Reds return in July.

We now have two teams in the system who have started their season as Myrtle Beach joins Iowa. Knoxville and South Bend take the field tomorrow.

Iowa Cubs

The Iowa Cubs blinded the Louisville Bats (Reds), 11-10.

It was not a good start for Javier Assad, who got pounded for three runs in the second inning, one more in the third and four in the fourth. The final line on Assad was eight runs on eleven hits over four innings. One of the eight runs was unearned. Assad walked three and struck two. He also gave up two home runs as the wind was howling out to right at Louisville Slugger Park.

As much trouble as Assad had with the conditions, Louisville pitchers had even more as Iowa hit five home runs tonight. The first one came with two men on in the top of the first by center fielder Chas McCormick.

McCormick was 1 for 4 with a walk tonight.

Second baseman James Triantos came up after McCormick and went back-to-back to make it 4-0 before the Bats even came to bat.

Triantos had a big night, going 4 for 5 with four runs scored.

After the Bats scored three times in the bottom of the second, third baseman Pedro Ramirez got one run back with a solo home run.

Ramirez was 3 for 4 with a walk and three runs scored.

Later in the third inning, catcher Christian Bethancourt cranked a three-run home run to make it 8-3 Iowa. (Note: the post has the wrong score.)

Bethancourt his his second home run of the game and the season with a man on in the seventh inning.

Bethancourt went 2 for 5 with the two home runs and five RBI.

Charlie Barnes took over for Assad in the fifth inning and got the win. His final line was one run on three hits over 3.1 innings. Barnes walked three, hit one batter and struck out three.

Gavin Hollowell was summoned from the pen to get the final two outs of the bottom of the eighth. He did that after walking two. When Hollowell came out to pitch the ninth, he walked the first batter of the inning. Then Edwin Arroyo tripled him home to reduce the Iowa lead to 11-10 with a runner on third and no outs in the ninth. But Hollowell then buckled down and struck out the next three batters to record the save.

The final line on Hollowell was one run on one hit and three walks over 1.2 innings. He struck out five.

Shortstop Ben Cowles was also 0 for 1 with four walks and one run scored.

Myrtle Beach Pelicans

The Myrtle Beach Pelicans neutered the Charleston RiverDogs (Rays), 14-0 in a game called in the middle of the eighth inning because of rain.

Cubs’ 2025 third-round pick Dominick Reid made his professional debut tonight and looked good. He pitched four scoreless innings and gave up just two hits. He struck out five and walked just one.

Jackson Brockett threw the next three innings in his professional debut and got the win because Reid didn’t go five innings. Brockett gave up three hits. He walked two and struck out two.

Myrtle Beach got a run before they even put a ball in play as after shortstop Ty Southisene was hit by the first pitch of the season, the next three batters walked. In the end, the Pelicans scored 14 runs on 11 hits and 15 walks.

DH Cole Mathis hit the first home run of the year with two men on in the second inning. Mathis went 2 for 3 with three walks. He drove in four runs total (one of the walks came with the bases loaded) and he scored twice.

Southisene went 0 for 2 with three walks and the hit by pitch. He scored three times.

Right fielder Josiah Hartshorn was 1 for 2 with four walks in his pro debut. Hartshorn scored once and drove in one with a single.

Catcher Logan Poteet went 2 for 5 with a walk. He scored three times and had two RBI.

First baseman Michael Carico was 3 for 6 with a double and one run scored.

Center fielder Alexey Lumpuy finished at 1 for 4 with a two-run double and two walks. He scored twice and had three overall runs batted in.

Here are some Reid highlights.

Here is the Mathis home run.

The Lumpuy 2-run double

One of Major League Baseball's most iconic uniform sets is getting a refresh.

The Los Angeles Dodgers unveiled a new look on Thursday, adding a blue alternate jersey to their regular road rotation. While the Dodgers have worn blue in the regular season before, most notably in their first City Connect uniforms from 2021-23 and for six games during "Think Blue Week" in 1999, this marks the first time in club history that blue will be a mainstay option on the road.

Dodger Blue.

For the first time in history, the Dodgers will be wearing a blue jersey as part of their regular uniform rotation on the road. pic.twitter.com/ce3EVFVJTd

— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) April 3, 2026

The announcement comes after much speculation among the fanbase; rumors spread over the last few months as images circulated on social media from retailers reportedly receiving the new alternates. They were also listed on both the Fanatics website and in the "MLB The Show 26" video game.

It's a clean look that resembles the Dodgers' spring training tops and features the traditional "Los Angeles" script that was first worn in 1959 (they used that until they switched to "Dodgers" as their away wordmark in 1970, before re-introducing "Los Angeles" in 1999). A script Dodgers logo appears on one of the sleeves, a break from all their other uniforms that carry the LA logo. The uniform is finished off with gray piping on the sleeves and a gray outline on the traditional red front numbers to match their gray pants.

With the new addition to their closet, the Dodgers now have three uniforms for the road. These will be the team's third option behind both of their grays — one that reads "Dodgers" across the front and the other with "Los Angeles."

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Los Angeles Dodgers unveil blue road alternate jersey