The Mets lost on Saturday night against the Cincinnati Reds, 6-3, to even up the series. They'll go for the series win in Sunday's rubber game.
Here are the takeaways...
-Jonah Tong was on the mound making his second career start, and after impressing in five innings at Citi Field in his debut, the young right-hander had a little more trouble in his first road start.
Pitching at hitter's haven Great American Ballpark, Tong surrendered three home runs -- highly unusual for the 22-year-old, who was exceptional at keeping the ball in the yard and allowed just two home runs in the minors this season.
The first of the three home runs did the most damage and came in the second inning. After retiring the side in order on six pitches in the opening frame and getting the first two outs in the second, Tong issued a walk to Spencer Steer before fellow rookie Sal Stewart clubbed his first major league home run to give Cincinnati a 2-0 lead. Both the walk and home run were the first allowed by Tong in his brief big league career.
Matt McLain and Austin Hays then each tagged Tong for solo shots leading off the third and fourth innings.
-But Tong settled down from there and didn't allow another hit for the rest of his outing, although he did walk two more to give him four on the night as he battled with his command. Nevertheless, the right-hander still showed off his nasty stuff and struck out six batters through six innings.
-He also showed some passion and moxie walking back to the dugout after the fifth inning and demonstratively conveyed to manager Carlos Mendoza that he wasn't ready to exit the game. At just 82 pitches through five, Mendoza sent Tong back out and the youngster rewarded his manager with a 1-2-3 inning that included striking out the final batter he faced.
Overall, Tong's final line: 6 IP, 4 H, 4 ER, 4 BB, 6 K, 3 HR on 96 pitches (57 strikes). Despite the gutsy performance, his ERA rose to 4.09.
-Offensively, the Mets had trouble against Reds starter Brady Singer, who allowed one run over six innings. However, the biggest hurdle came on the bases, specifically with Francisco Lindor.
After reaching base in his first three plate appearances on a single, walk and a double to extend his on-base streak to a career-high 10 consecutive plate appearances, Lindor was erased twice after getting caught trying to steal. The first caught stealing came after he left first base too early, which allowed Singer to pick him off. The second was far more puzzling, as Lindor was caught trying to steal third base with one out and Juan Soto up and New York down 4-1.
Otherwise, Lindor had a phenomenal night at the plate, going 3-for-4 with two doubles and a walk. A groundout in the seventh ended his consecutive on-base streak, but his one-out double in the ninth began a new one.
Soto also had a good night, finishing 2-for-4 with a walk and a stolen base.
-The Mets scored their runs on a sacrifice fly by Brandon Nimmo in the third and a pinch-hit solo home run by Jared Young in the seventh. A third run came across to score in the ninth on a wild pitch.
-After entering and escaping trouble on Friday night, Ryne Stanek came into a clean inning in this one and struggled. He managed to get just one out and allowed two runs on three hits and a walk. His ERA now sits at 5.44.
Game MVP: Brady Singer
The right-hander managed to quiet a hot Mets offense and earned his 13th win of the season.
Mets manager Carlos Mendoza shared updates on a handful of injured players before Saturday night's game against the Reds. Here's what he said...
Garrett back this weekend?
Reed Garrett is first eligible to be activated off the 15-day injured list on Sunday, and Mendoza said there's "a chance" the veteran right-hander is back in the bullpen mix then. The move will obviously depend on how the Mets utilize their relievers against the Reds on Saturday.
Garrett, who's been sidelined with right elbow inflammation since Aug. 25, made his first rehab appearance on Thursday for Double-A Binghamton. He served as the opener, striking out two and allowing one hit across one inning of work. He threw 15 pitches, 11 for strikes.
The 2025 season has produced mixed results for the 32-year-old, but he owns a respectable 3.61 ERA with three saves in 54 appearances.
Hey Siri, how much longer?
Jose Siri's return to the fold isn't as imminent as Garrett's, but the veteran outfielder is making decent strides in his months-long recovery from a fractured tibia.
Mendoza said Siri is "getting close" and noted he played nine innings for Triple-A Syracuse on Saturday. It happened to be a productive afternoon for Siri, as he smacked a two-run home run in the fourth inning.
The Mets want to keep building up his game volume, with a sensible mix of day and night starts. Mendoza didn't reveal when Siri could be back, but he's slated to play five innings for Syracuse on Sunday.
Progress for Megill and Taylor
Tylor Megill felt good after a Friday bullpen session and will make at least one more rehab start for Syracuse on Sunday, according to Mendoza.
The right-hander has been sidelined since mid-June due to an elbow strain, and he's completed five rehab outings between Double-A and Triple-A. He last pitched on Tuesday, allowing three runs on six hits and two walks with five punchouts across four-plus frames.
Before landing on the injured list, Megill had pitched to a 3.95 ERA with 89 strikeouts over 68.1 innings (14 starts).
Tyrone Taylor landed on the 10-day injured list on Tuesday with right hamstring tightness, but the veteran outfielder is already starting to run again. Mendoza said he moved around 85-percent speed during a Citi Field workout on Friday, and a rehab assignment is possible.
MIAMI (AP) — The Philadelphia Phillies invited a young fan to meet Harrison Bader following their 9-3 win over the Miami Marlins on Friday night after an apparent dispute over a home run ball hit by the center fielder during the game.
Bader hit a solo home run into the left-field stands in the fourth inning at loanDepot Park. Several fans scrambled for the ball before a man came up with it and walked over and gave it to a boy and hugged him. Both were wearing Phillies gear, and it was the boy’s birthday.
Moments later, a woman, also wearing Philadelphia apparel, approached and appeared to shout at the man, who then grabbed the ball from the boy’s glove and gave it to her.
It isn’t clear from videos circulating on social media who initially secured the ball when it landed.
Later in the game, a member of the Marlins’ staff gave the boy a prize pack and another baseball as fans sitting near them in the stands cheered. The boy ended up going home with a signed bat from Bader, who met with him outside of the Phillies’ clubhouse after the game.
Marcus Lemonis, Camping World CEO and star of CNBC reality TV show “The Profit,” later posted on his X account that he would pay for the young fan and his family to attend the World Series.
“Oh, and you just won an RV as well,” he posted.
The dispute quickly went viral on social media and comes just days after another memorabilia-snatching moment in which a man took tennis player Kamil Majchrzak’s hat from a young fan at the U.S. Open and was widely criticized for the act.
He apologized on social media on Monday and said he has returned it.
LuisGil delivered six solid innings and the Yankees' offense got just enough support for a 3-1 win over the Toronto Blue Jays on Saturday afternoon in The Bronx.
With the win, the Yanks kept their slim hopes at winning the American League East alive as they improved to 79-63 on the season (42-29 at home) and are now 3.0 games back of the Jays, who fell to 82-60.
Here are the takeaways...
- With two outs in the first, Gil served up a double to Vladimir Guerrero Jr., who entered the game swinging a hot bat and 2-for-4 with three walks against the Yanks’ starter, on a fastball up in the zone that was rocketed into left-center. The righty began each of the first two innings by getting outs on the first pitch of the frame, and worked around a couple of two-out walks to get through three frames on 44 pitches (28 strikes).
Gil lost the feel to start the fourth, issuing back-to-back walks, which brought pitching coach MattBlake out for a visit. But he did well to limit the damage, getting a fielder’s choice on a grounder to second to put runners on the corners before Isiah Kiner-Falefa’s bouncer up the middle plated a run when the Yanks couldn’t turn the double play as Jazz Chisholm Jr. seemed to get handcuffed on AnthonyVolpe’s toss.
An eight-pitch 1-2-3 fifth put Gil back on track, before a one-out double by Bo Bichette put the tying run in scoring position as the rain started to fall in the sixth. After another Blake mound visit, Gil got out of the jam thanks to some good defense behind him. First getting Daulton Varsho, who has an .878 OPS with RISP this year, to pop out down the third base line thanks to a nice play by Ryan McMahon, who made a long run and stayed with the high fly. On a single to right by Nathan Lukes, Cody Bellinger gunned down the speedy Bichette at the plate by five feet to preserve the lead. His throw skipped on the wet infield grass perfectly to Austin Wells, who applied the tag as he blocked the plate.
A 106-minute rain delay after the top of the sixth ended Gil’s day prematurely; his final stats: one run on three hits and four walks with one strikeout over 6.0 frames on 90 pitches (56 strikes).
- The Yanks jumped on Toronto starter Chris Bassitt in the second after Bellinger worked a walk before Chisholm reached on an error by first baseman Guerrero and Jasson Dominguez cracked an RBI single to right for runners on the corners. After Volpewent down swinging at a fastball above the zone, Wells lined a ball to right, but a terrific diving catch by Addison Barger kept it to a sac fly, and the two unearned runs were all the home side managed in the inning.
- Chisholm looped the first pitch out of the rain delay in the bottom of the sixth over the shortstop for a single, but was thrown out trying to steal second a few pitches later. That baserunning aggressiveness hurt the Yanks as Dominguez followed with a walk, Volpe doubled, and Wells added his second sac fly of the game to double the advantage to 3-1.
- Luke Weaver was the first man out of the bullpen and surrendered a first-pitch double to left-center by Kiner-Falefa to start the seventh. After getting a pair of pop flies to shallow left, manager Aaron Boone went to Fernando Cruz to face George Springer, but a walk put the tying run on first. However, Cruz got Barger to hit a tapper to first to strand the runners.
Cruz allowed an infield single up the middle to Guerrero to start the eighth, but got Bichette swinging and Varsho to fly out. Boone then went to David Bednar, who got Lukes looking to end the inning. The closer stayed in the game for a 1-2-3 ninth, adding two strikeouts for his 21st save of the season.
- Aaron Judge put a charge into a fastball down the middle with two down in the first, but it went for a 398-foot flyout to center. Judge, DHing after he played right field on Friday for the first time since his return to injury, smoked it 104.1 mph off the bat, but to the wrong part of the park. The slugger, up for the second time with two outs and nobody on, then ripped a single (107 mph) down the third base line in the third.
In the fifth, after McMahon worked a leadoff walk and Ben Rice notched a one-out single through the right side of the infield, Judge had two men on to work with, but got jammed for a fielder’s choice to third. He came up again with two gone and nobody out in the seventh and went down looking to finish the day 1-for-4.
- Bellinger, who walked his first two times up, grounded out with runners on the corners and two out in the fifth inning. It was a funky play as Bellinger got tagged by Guerrero on the bottom of his back foot after the throw took the first baseman down the line. The call on the field was safe, but Toronto’s challenge took a run off the board and ended the inning.
Bellinger finished the day 0-for-1 with three walks, a season-high.
- Chisholm finished the day 1-for-4 with a strikeout in his last at-bat, and he had some words for home plate umpire Alan Porter, who had a large zone at times during the game. (The Yankees benefited when the first out of the top of the ninth came on a called third strike that was a few inches off the plate.)
- Volpe finished 1-for-4 with a strikeout. He is now 30-for-154 (.195) since the All-Star break, but has eight hits over his last 29 at-bats (.276).
- Trent Grisham finished 0-for-4 with three strikeouts.
Game MVP: Luis Gil
Gil didn't have his best stuff, but kept the Blue Jays from making solid contact and was very effective at avoiding a big inning.
The Yanks and Jays play the rubber game of the three-game set on Sunday at 1:35 p.m.
The home team will send out left-hander Max Fried (2.98 ERA, 1.107 WHIP with 159 strikeouts in 169 innings) for his 29th start of his debut season in pinstripes. The visitors counter with righty Max Scherzer (4.11 ERA, 1.129 WHIP with 62 strikeouts in 70 innings) for the 14th start of the three-time Cy Young Award winner's debut season with Toronto.
WASHINGTON, DC - SEPTEMBER 22: Washington Nationals manager Davey Johnson (5) acknowledges the crowd after a tribute to him and his career before the game against the Miami Marlins Sunday September 22, 2013 in Washington, DC at Nationals Park. Washington Nationals lost to the Miami Marlins 4-2. (Photo by Katherine Frey/The Washington Post via Getty Images)
The Washington Post via Getty Images
NEW YORK (AP) — Davey Johnson, an All-Star second baseman who won the World Series twice with the Baltimore Orioles as a player and managed the New York Mets to the title in 1986, has died. He was 82.
Longtime Mets public relations representative Jay Horwitz said Johnson’s wife, Susan, informed him of his death after a long illness. Johnson was at a hospital in Sarasota, Florida, when he died Friday, Horwitz said.
Johnson played 13 major league seasons with Baltimore, the Atlanta Braves, Philadelphia Phillies and Chicago Cubs from 1965-78 and won the Gold Glove three times while being voted an All-Star four times. He managed the Mets, Cincinnati Reds, Los Angeles Dodgers and the Washington Nationals during a span from 1984-2013.
Former Nationals general manager Mike Rizzo called it a tough day.
“Davey was a good man, close friend and a mentor,” Rizzo said in a text message. “A Hall of Fame caliber manager with a baseball mind ahead of his time.”
Darryl Strawberry, a member of the ’86 Mets, on social media called Johnson a remarkable leader who transformed the franchise into a winning organization.
“His ability to empower players to express themselves while maintaining a strong commitment to excellence was truly inspiring,” Strawberry posted on Instagram with a photo of him, Johnson and Dwight “Doc” Gooden. “Davey’s legacy will forever be etched in the hearts of fans and players alike. My heartfelt condolences go out to Susan Johnson and the entire Johnson family during this difficult time. He will be missed but remembered for his incredible impact on the game and the lives he touched.”
Ryan Zimmerman, who played for Johnson with Washington from 2011-13, said Johnson was an even better human than he was a baseball man.
“He knew how to get the best out of everyone — on and off the field,” Zimmerman said in a text message. “I learned so much from him, and my career would not have been the same without my years with him. He will be deeply missed by so many people.”
Johnson was AL manager of the year in 1997 when Baltimore won the division. He was NL manager of the year in 2012 when the Nationals made the playoffs for the first time since the move from Montreal.
“Davey was a world-class manager,” owner Mark Lerner said in a statement. “I’ll always cherish the memories we made together with the Nationals, and I know his legacy will live on in the heads and minds of our fans and those across baseball.”
Speaking to reporters before his MLB debut for the Mets on Sunday, an excited Brandon Sproat shared how he learned of his promotion, his reaction to the news and what he's looking forward to most for the big day.
After reports of his call-up broke on Thursday, Sproat told his side of the story and what it means to him and his family.
"Super excited, very blessed to be here," he said. "It has not sunk in yet. I don’t think it probably will until tomorrow."
Following the news, Sproat said he held it together just long enough to call his parents before he "broke down in tears."
"We sat there and cried for some time together," he said. "Everything we’ve been through this year, they’re my backbone. They’ve been through it all with me."
The third top pitching prospect called up by New York this season, behind Nolan McLean and Saturday's starter Jonah Tong, Sproat has been able to get the lay of the land a little bit by asking his teammates and friends about their experiences during their, albeit brief, major league tenures.
"They’ve been up here for a couple weeks now, so I think it’s good for me to be able to ask them questions as well," Sproat said. "They already know some of the ropes and I’m close with them, so I’m a little more comfortable asking them the questions, but I’ll open up more as it goes on here."
Despite being leapt over by McLean and Tong and the third one of the bunch to get the call, Sproat kept his feet firmly on the ground and didn't let himself wonder if a promotion would happen this year.
Instead, he leaned on his faith and his family and kept pitching well for Triple-A to give himself a shot.
"You gotta give him credit, he went through a lot," manager Carlos Mendoza said. "It wasn’t easy for him. Even when he started pitching well, he wasn’t the one who was called up right away. And I’m pretty sure it was a struggle for him… and he kept doing what he needed to do in order to get the call. So it says a lot about his personality and the type of kid he is."
In fact, after a disastrous first half of the season, the right-hander completely turned it around during the second half by getting "back to the basics." Now, after all of his hard work, Sproat will make his debut and try to help a Mets team in the midst of a playoff push.
"It’s awesome to be able to come up here and help the guys and really just go out there and compete and just try to win every single game," Sproat said.
Still just 24 years old, Sproat also got some advice for tomorrow's game by the longest-tenured Met on the roster: Brandon Nimmo.
"I talked to Nimmo earlier and he told me one thing, he was like ‘whether it’s before your outing, during your outing, I want you to take 15 seconds and just look around and just soak it all in. Because whenever your debut is done, you’re gonna realize, oh wow, it’s already over.’
"He told me to do that and it makes a lot of sense. He’s been there before, so definitely gonna go out there tomorrow and just look around, find my family in the stands and just soak it all in."
Mets players have been doing a lot of soaking in lately following the debuts of McLean and Tong. Now it's Sproat's turn to showcase his stuff.
And while he shouldn't feel the need to compare himself to the others, if Sproat's debut goes anything like McLean and Tong's, New York looks poised to have an exciting finish to its season and perhaps a great start for its future.
"There’s a ton of talent up here, a ton of talent in the minors," Sproat said. "Seeing what Nolan’s done so far it’s incredible. Seeing Jonah’s debut that’s incredible as well. There’s other guys in Triple-A that are having really good success… I think the Mets have a great farm system and they do things right. I think there’s a bright future for us."
The Giants were rolling. The New York Mets lost. It was lining up to be a perfect day for a team that was dead in the water three weeks ago, on the cusp of finding themselves only three games back from an MLB postseason spot with the most valuable asset in baseball on their side — momentum
And then in the blink of an eye, it all came crashing down in heartbreaking fashion. With San Francisco holding a 2-0 lead over the St. Louis Cardinals, Giants manager Bob Melvin handed the ball to reliever Ryan Walker to get the final three outs of the game.
Walker instead coughed up three runs without recording a single out, as the Giants watched their five-game winning streak snapped in horrific fashion. Cardinals outfielder Jordan Walker’s RBI double landed in left field with the impact of a dagger to the chest as the Giants fell 3-2 to St. Louis in a game that very well could be looked back at three weeks from now if San Francisco narrowly misses out on playoff baseball.
Justin Verlander was stellar, tossing six shutout innings while also moving past Giants legend Gaylord Perry for the eighth spot on MLB’s all-time strikeout leader list.
In what has become a tragic routine during the 2025 MLB season, Verlander’s gem will be forgotten as the sting of another bullpen collapse steals the show in a gut-wrenching defeat.
While the Giants entered this game as MLB’s hottest team, late-inning collapses like this are an unfortunate consequence of San Francisco shipping out two key bullpen arms at the trade deadline in Tyler Rogers and Camilo Doval.
But they did have an arm who previously had succeded in high-leverage situations in Walker, who entered the season as the Giants closer after an outstanding 2024 campaign thats saw the right-hander log a 10-4 record with a 1.91 ERA in 80 innings of work. Walker didn’t stick in that role after some early-season struggles and location issues that reared their head on Saturday in St. Louis
Perhaps Giants manager Bob Melvin hoped Walker would be able to rekindle some of that magic, or maybe it was as simple as the limited arms at his disposal, but the relievers ninth-inning meltdown hardly came as a surprise to anyone who has watched this movie unfold countless times over the course of this season.
Saturday’s defeat is the kind of loss that feels like a gut punch, even if San Francisco still finds itself in the thick of the NL playoff picture.
There likely will be no shortage of close games down the stretch where the Giants will need to rely on their bullpen to see out wins and Saturday’s disastrous defeat feels like a harrowing reminder that San Francisco remains a few pieces short of what it takes to be a true contender.
Right now it’s obvious those pieces are in the backend of the Giants’ bullpen, making it difficult to envision a scenario where San Francisco is able to consistently scrape across enough run support to make a serious run into October.
Crazier things have happened in baseball, but the lack of trustworthy arms feels like the final nail in the coffin of the roller coaster ride that has been 2025 Giants baserball.
Adrian Morejon (RP Padres): Rostered in 27% of Yahoo leagues
Nick Pivetta aside, the Padres are having some obvious rotation problems, and they’ve reacted to them by leaning more and more on their deep bullpen. Adrian Morejon is often the first guy in when a starter leaves a close game in the fifth and sixth, and he’s all the way up to 11 wins as a result. One imagines he’ll be good for at least a couple of more this month, making him a great choice for teams more concerned about victories than saves at the moment.
Morejon is hardly a secret at this point, having been picked for the NL All-Star team. Converted into a reliever because of his issues staying healthy as a starter, he had a 2.83 ERA in his first full season in 2024. He’s at 1.85 in 63 1/3 innings right now. Of the 305 guys with at least 50 innings pitched this season, he has the second lowest hard-hit rate at 27.7%. He’s also issued just 10 unintentional walks.
The Padres don’t want to overwork Morejon, who is still just 25 years old, and they’ve backed off him a bit these last 10 days. Still, with the NL West and Wild Card positioning both up for grabs, they have plenty of incentive to finish strong, even if they’re not much in danger of missing the postseason. Morejon definitely rates as a top-30 RP at this point.
Romy Gonzalez (INF Red Sox): Rostered in 13% of Yahoo leagues
After five months mostly spent as a top-flight platoon player, Gonzalez is finally getting extended time against righties, in part because he deserves it but also because outfield injuries have forced the Red Sox to keep Ceddanne Rafaela in center instead of having him moonlight at second base. Gonzalez has gone 15-for-32 with six RBI while starting Boston’s last eight games, and he seems poised to stay at second base going forward.
Gonzalez had intriguing exit velocity numbers during his time with the White Sox, but terrible plate discipline was his undoing; he had a 36% strikeout rate and a 2% walk rate in 239 plate appearances over three seasons with the White Sox. Two years later, his strikeout rate is down to 25%, and while that’s still not great, so much of his contact is hard contact that it’s allowed him to hit .306/.343/.496. His 57.2% hard-hit rate is fourth highest in fastball.
To turn into a truly above average regular, Gonzalez still needs to work on lifting the ball. His groundball rate has been over 50% throughout his time in the majors, and for all of his power, he’s totaled only 14 homers in 494 plate appearances the last two years. At this point, that’s more of a concern for next year, though. Gonzalez is the best the Red Sox have at second base right now, and he’s hitting in the middle of the order regularly. He should be a pretty good play.
Kyle Manzardo (1B Guardians): Rostered in 17% of Yahoo leagues
With four homers in seven games and nine in 31, Manzardo has been a nice contributor of late, and now he’s getting to play against lefties with Carlos Santana having been let go by the Guardians. The metrics definitely like what he’s doing; he has a .422 xwOBA over his last 50 plate appearances.
Manzardo is all about lifting the ball. Only three of the 252 players with 300 plate appearances this season have a higher flyball rate than the Guardians first baseman. He doesn’t combine it with elite power, so batting average is an issue and figures to remain one. Still, he should continue to be productive in terms of homers, and hitting fourth regularly behind José Ramírez means he’s getting RBI opportunities..
Manzardo also has a rather soft schedule going forward, particularly this week against a Royals rotation missing its three best starters and the White Sox. One could pick him up now and move on from him next week, but he’s a reasonable bet for the remainder of the month.
Waiver Wire Quick Hits
- The Brewers’ Jose Quintana is available in two-thirds of leagues and is due to face the injury-plagued Rangers and Cardinals next week. He’s a great one-week pickup.
- Emmet Sheehan is also a nice one-week pickup, assuming that the Dodgers make it official that he’ll start at home against the Rockies during the Monday-Wednesday series.
After the news of the death of former Mets manager Davey Johnson broke, the baseball world sent their condolences and gave tribute to the four-time All-Star and three-time World Series champion (twice as a player and once as a manager).
Steve Cohen and Alex Cohen, owners of the Mets, issued a statement on Saturday afternoon on the beloved manager who was at the helm in New York from 1984-1990.
"We are deeply saddened to learn of the passing of Davey Johnson. Davey’s 595 wins remain the most in franchise history, and his legacy is highlighted by him leading the 1986 team to a World Series championship. He led with a quiet confidence and unwavering belief in his team, always caring deeply for his players both on and off the field. He had a distinguished 13-year playing career, including winning two World Series titles with the Orioles. On behalf of our entire organization, we extend our heartfelt condolences to Davey’s family, friends, and all who were impacted by his remarkable life and career."
A two-time Manager of the Year, although none with the Mets despite compiling a 595-417 record (.588 winning percentage) in six-plus seasons in New York, Johnson was inducted into the Mets Hall of Fame in 2010, alongside Frank Cashen, Darryl Strawberry and Dwight Gooden.
Both Strawberry and Gooden, as well as a few other former players, paid their respects to their former manager with statements, too.
"Davey Johnson was the greatest manager I ever played for," Strawberry said. "He let us do our own thing. This is a sad day for the Mets and for the 1986 Mets family."
Gooden added: "He took a chance on me when I was 19. Davey wasn’t afraid to make a tough decision. I know I wouldn’t have had the career I did without him.”
Strawberry also posted a picture of him, Johnson and Gooden at their Mets Hall of Fame ceremony on Instagram with the caption:
Additional tributes by former players to Johnson include Keith Hernandez, Ron Darling, Mookie Wilson and Roger McDowell.
"Without a doubt he saved my career," Hernandez said. "He let me be myself on the field. He knew when to be tough and when to take it easier. It was a joy playing for him."
"Getting to the major leagues is tough. Succeeding in the major leagues is even harder, and to accomplish that you need a guardian angel,"Darling wrote. "Davey was my guardian angel."
"He was just a player's manager," Wilson added. "He made it fun to go to the field. He laid down the law when needed, but other times he just let us play."
"Davey was really a forward thinker," McDowell said. "He knew his players strengths and weaknesses. He always set us up to have success as a team and individually. Our Met family has lost a quality man."
The front-running Phillies are one game away from a sweep in Miami.
The Phils jumped out to another early lead and won a 4-2 contest Saturday afternoon over the Marlins.
Jesus Luzardo tallied his 13th win for the 83-59 Phillies. He threw six innings and allowed five hits and two runs. Luzardo walked four and struck out eight, raising his season total to 190.
With Trea Turner sitting, Kyle Schwarber led off for the Phillies and reached on a hit by pitch. Phillies manager Rob Thomson told reporters in Miami that Turner’s rare day off was planned.
After Alec Bohm lined out, Bryce Harper cracked a 1-2 Sandy Alcantara fastball over the center-field wall.
The Phillies tacked on two more runs in the fourth inning. Brandon Marsh doubled and sprinted home on Harrison Bader’s RBI single up the middle. Max Kepler then blooped a hit into shallow left field and Edmundo Sosa beat out an infield single. Bryson Stott’s sacrifice fly extended the Phillies’ advantage to 4-0.
Luzardo struck out the side in the second inning and did it again in the third. He was a bit unfortunate to concede two runs in the fourth. Three of the Marlins’ four hits in the frame came on soft contact, but Miami halved the Phils’ lead.
The pitch has been a great go-to for Luzardo and it’s a major reason why he’s allowed zero home runs to left-handed batters this year. Among National League sweepers, Luzardo’s has the highest whiff rate (43.5 percent).
Luzardo walked Eric Wagaman with one out in the sixth inning and gave Javier Sanoja a free pass with two outs. Thomson stuck with Luzardo and he successfully finished off the inning after pitching coach Caleb Cotham’s mound visit. Troy Johnston flew out to center field on a sweeper.
David Robertson took the ball in the seventh inning and worked around Maximo Acosta’s leadoff double. Bizarrely, Acosta attempted to steal third base with one out. J.T. Realmuto rifled a strong throw to Bohm for his second caught stealing of the day and the 200th of his career.
The Phillies were unable to find any late-inning insurance runs. Schwarber was just short of his 50th homer in the ninth, flying out 389 feet to deep center.
The back end of the bullpen didn’t need a cushion. Matt Strahm pitched a 1-2-3 eighth inning and Jhoan Duran did the same in the ninth.
Taijuan Walker (4-7, 3.92 ERA) will start the series finale Sunday at 1:40 p.m. ET as the Phils go for a sweep. Miami has yet to name its starter.
The front-running Phillies are one game away from a sweep in Miami.
The Phils jumped out to another early lead and won a 4-2 contest Saturday afternoon over the Marlins.
Jesus Luzardo tallied his 13th win for the 83-59 Phillies. He threw six innings and allowed five hits and two runs. Luzardo walked four and struck out eight, raising his season total to 190.
With Trea Turner sitting, Kyle Schwarber led off for the Phillies and reached on a hit by pitch. Phillies manager Rob Thomson told reporters in Miami that Turner’s rare day off was planned.
After Alec Bohm lined out, Bryce Harper cracked a 1-2 Sandy Alcantara fastball over the center-field wall.
The Phillies tacked on two more runs in the fourth inning. Brandon Marsh doubled and sprinted home on Harrison Bader’s RBI single up the middle. Max Kepler then blooped a hit into shallow left field and Edmundo Sosa beat out an infield single. Bryson Stott’s sacrifice fly extended the Phillies’ advantage to 4-0.
Luzardo struck out the side in the second inning and did it again in the third. He was a bit unfortunate to concede two runs in the fourth. Three of the Marlins’ four hits in the frame came on soft contact, but Miami halved the Phils’ lead.
The pitch has been a great go-to for Luzardo and it’s a major reason why he’s allowed zero home runs to left-handed batters this year. Among National League sweepers, Luzardo’s has the highest whiff rate (43.5 percent).
Luzardo walked Eric Wagaman with one out in the sixth inning and gave Javier Sanoja a free pass with two outs. Thomson stuck with Luzardo and he successfully finished off the inning after pitching coach Caleb Cotham’s mound visit. Troy Johnston flew out to center field on a sweeper.
David Robertson took the ball in the seventh inning and worked around Maximo Acosta’s leadoff double. Bizarrely, Acosta attempted to steal third base with one out. J.T. Realmuto rifled a strong throw to Bohm for his second caught stealing of the day and the 200th of his career.
The Phillies were unable to find any late-inning insurance runs. Schwarber was just short of his 50th homer in the ninth, flying out 389 feet to deep center.
The back end of the bullpen didn’t need a cushion. Matt Strahm pitched a 1-2-3 eighth inning and Jhoan Duran did the same in the ninth.
Taijuan Walker (4-7, 3.92 ERA) will start the series finale Sunday at 1:40 p.m. ET. Miami has yet to name its starter.
Here's what to know about the game and how to watch...
Mets Notes
Jonah Tong gets the ball for his first start on the road after he allowed four runs (one earned) on six hits while striking out six over 5.0 innings in his MLB debut. The young righty has allowed just 19 earned runs in 118.2 innings across the majors and minors (1.43 ERA) this year
Mark Vientos added a homer and two RBI in Friday's win as he stays hot: .324 (22-for-68) with 14 extra-base hits (nine homers) and 24 RBI with a 1.192 OPS in his last 18 games
Juan Soto added two more hits in the series opener and is now slashing .309/.469/.711 for a 1.180 OPS with 12 home runs in his last 27 games
With five walks in his last two games, Francisco Lindor is continuing to get on base at a fantastic rate: .481 OBP in his last 22 games. During that span, the shortstop is batting .393 and has a 1.133 OPS with 13 extra-base hits, including five home runs
Brady Singer will get the ball for the Reds. He has a 4.08 ERA, 1.256 WHIP, and 140 strikeouts in 143.1 innings over 27 starts
METS
REDS
Francisco Lindor, SS
TJ Friedl, CF
Juan Soto, RF
Noelvi Marte, RF
Brandon Nimmo, LF
Elly De La Cruz, SS
Pete Alonso, 1B
Austin Hays, LF
Jeff McNeil, 2B
Gavin Lux, DH
Mark Vientos, DH
Spencer Steer, 1B
Brett Baty, 3B
Sal Stewart, 3B
Luis Torrens, C
Jose Trevino, C
Cedric Mullins, CF
Matt McLain, 2B
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Born with a bravado to match that of the team he led to a world championship, Davey Johnson was the perfect manager for the 1986 Mets, brash enough to predict his ballclub would “dominate” the competition that season and immodest enough to howl “I told you so” when all was said and done.
Johnson, 82, died Friday night, leaving a legacy as an accomplished major league player and manager for several teams. He was most successful as a manager with the Mets, racking up 595 wins over six-plus seasons, the most by any skipper in team history.
Above all, he’ll always be remembered most fondly in New York for winning the second and still the most recent championship in the history of the franchise.
It took something of a miracle in Game 6 of that World Series against the Boston Red Sox to bring home the title, of course, with Mookie Wilson’s ground ball trickling through Bill Buckner’s legs to complete a two-out rally in the 10th inning. Yet in some ways, that too was fitting for the team and its manager, both forever oozing with a confidence that bordered on arrogance and created a belief that they couldn’t lose.
Johnson’s self-assurance was at the heart of what made Queens the place to be in the mid-to-late 1980s, the rare period in New York baseball history when the Mets, not the Yankees, unquestionably owned the city.
It was Davey, after all, who was secure enough in his ability that he managed with a loose rein, giving a famously boisterous group of players the freedom to flaunt their talent, speak their mind, and even publicly disagree with the manager on occasion.
In his 2018 book, “My Wild Ride in Baseball and Beyond,” Johnson succinctly summed up his style during his time with the Mets: “I just let everybody do their thing.”
Yet there was never any mistaking who was in charge, thanks to Johnson’s brilliant baseball mind. Even as a player who helped the Baltimore Orioles win championships in 1966 and 1970 -- and lose to the upstart Mets in 1969 -- Davey was always considered a deep thinker who was destined to manage.
May 28, 2016; New York City, NY, USA; New York Mets former manager Davey Johnson is introduced to the crowd during a pregame ceremony honoring the 1986 World Series Championship team prior to the game against the Los Angeles Dodgers. / Andy Marlin-USA TODAY Sports
In fact, as a young player, he was nicknamed “Dum-Dum” by some veteran Orioles who thought he was a little too smart for his own good at times.
“He was a guy who was always thinking about things,” Hall of Fame pitcher Jim Palmer once said about Johnson. “Very cerebral, even to the point of overanalyzing a situation, but I think that became one of his strengths as a manager.”
In fact, Johnson was ahead of the curve as one of the first managers to rely on a computer to give him an edge in creating lineups, bullpen matchups and the like. Analytics before there was such a thing, in a sense.
As a player, Johnson even tried to convince Hall of Fame manager Earl Weaver on the benefits of statistical analysis, as he recalled when he was hired to manage the Orioles for the 1996 season.
“I used to work on this program I called ‘optimizing the Orioles lineup,’” Johnson told reporters. “I would run it through the computer and bring the data to Earl Weaver. I found out that if I hit second instead of seventh, we’d score 50 or 60 more runs, and that would translate into a few more wins. I gave it to him, and it went right into the garbage can.”
Johnson was never shy about voicing his opinion on all matters baseball. It was a trait that would create conflict with Mets GM Frank Cashen and may well have hastened his departure when Cashen decided to fire him during the 1990 season.
It also led to some tension during his playing days with the equally headstrong Weaver, but eventually Johnson came to regard his Orioles’ manager as one of his mentors.
“He handled the pitching staff the right way,” Johnson once said of Weaver. “He knew how to use his relievers. He was a genius that way. I took it in.”
As a player, Johnson was a fixture at second base on those Orioles teams that went to the World Series four times from 1966 to 1971, winning three Gold Gloves and putting up solid offensive numbers.
Sep 12, 2013; New York, NY, USA; Washington Nationals manager Davey Johnson looks on before the game against the New York Mets at Citi Field. / Joe Camporeale-USA TODAY Sports
It wasn’t until Johnson was traded after the 1972 season, reportedly because Weaver felt his second baseman was becoming more interested in bulking up to hit for power than playing defense, that he had his most memorable season.
Playing for the Atlanta Braves in 1973 at age 30, Johnson hit 43 home runs, setting a record for second basemen that stood until 2021 when Marcus Semien hit 45 with the Toronto Blue Jays.
Johnson never hit more than 18 in a season before or after that year, and by the mid-1970s, his stock had fallen to the point that he went to Japan to be a starter for two years before returning to the U.S. to finish out his career as a part-time player for the Philadelphia Phillies and Chicago Cubs.
After his playing days, Johnson got into managing due in part to his connection with Cashen, who had overseen baseball operations for the Orioles in the 1960s and 1970s before taking the GM job with the Mets.
Cashen hired Johnson in 1981 to manage in the minors with the Mets and then decided the time was right to promote him to manage the big-league club in 1984. With a wave of young talent led by Darryl Strawberry and Dwight Gooden, Johnson experienced immediate success, winning 90 games in ’84 and 98 games in ’85, both times falling short of the postseason at a time when there were no wild-card berths.
“Davey had great knowledge, and I think his real strength was knowing how to develop the young pitchers we had then,” former GM Joe McIlvaine, who was Cashen’s assistant in ’84, once said. “I don’t think anybody could have done a better job with Doc, with Ron Darling, and Sid Fernandez that first year. That set the trend for the next five years.”
After finishing behind the St. Louis Cardinals in the NL East in ’85, despite their 98 wins, Johnson wasn’t shy about predicting greatness going into the ’86 season. He told his team in spring training, and anyone who would listen, “We’re not just going to win, we’re going to dominate.”
His team backed up his words, winning 108 games and running away with the division title, then surviving an epic NLCS against the Houston Astros and finally coming back after losing the first two games of the World Series to defeat the Red Sox, miracle Game 6 comeback and all.
“Like I told you guys all along, there was never a doubt,” Johnson crowed gleefully after Game 7.
Davey Johnson while managing the Mets / Andrew D. Bernstein/Getty Images
In total, for those five years that McIlvaine referenced, from ’84 through ’89, the Mets were the best team in the National League. However, their failure to win more than one championship left a sense that they didn’t fulfill their promise.
As such, Johnson eventually faced criticism from Cashen, who wanted his manager to be more of a disciplinarian. And then there was the 1988 NLCS, which the Mets lost in seven games to the Los Angeles Dodgers after having dominated them during the season, winning 10 of 11 games.
The turning point came in the ninth inning of Game 4 with the Mets poised to take a 3-1 lead in the series. Gooden, after walking light-hitting John Shelby, famously gave up a game-tying two-run home run to equally light-hitting catcher Mike Scioscia, and the Dodgers won the game in extra innings.
Though it was an era where pitchers routinely went much deeper into games than they do now, there was a case to be made that Gooden was running out of gas, especially after he walked Shelby. Yet over the years, Johnson remained defiant about his decision.
“That was Doc’s game,” Johnson said in 2013, when he was asked about it. “I’ve never had a second thought about leaving him in.”
True to his confident nature, Johnson rarely doubted himself, at least publicly, about any decision he made. But in 1990, with the Mets off to a 20-22 start, Cashen fired Johnson on May 29, replacing him with third-base coach Buddy Harrelson. The team went on to win 91 games but finished second in the division behind the Pittsburgh Pirates.
From there, Johnson went on to have success managing the Orioles, Cincinnati Reds, and the Washington Nationals, reaching the postseason with each of them, in addition to a stint with the Dodgers. A career managerial record of 1,372-1,071 (.562).
He won Manager of the Year awards in ’97 with the Orioles and then in 2012 with the Nationals in a distinguished career that, together with his playing accomplishments, has made his Hall of Fame candidacy on various veterans committees a subject of considerable debate.
Whether he ever gets into Cooperstown remains to be seen. However, Johnson is a member of the Mets Hall of Fame, with a legacy in New York that was forever secured with the ’86 championship that defined Johnson in so many ways.
The Philadelphia Phillies invited a young fan to meet Harrison Bader following their 9-3 win over the Miami Marlins on Friday night after an apparent dispute over a home run ball hit by the center fielder during the game.
Bader hit a solo home run into the left field stands in the fourth inning at loanDepot Park. Several fans scrambled for the ball before a man came up with it and walked over and gave it to the boy and hugged him. Both were wearing Phillies gear.
Moments later, a woman, also wearing Philadelphia apparel, approached and appeared to shout at the man, who then grabbed the ball from the boy and gave it to her.
It isn’t clear from videos circulating on social media who initially secured the ball when it landed.
Later in the game, a member of the Marlins’ staff was seen giving the boy a prize pack, and he ended up going home with a signed bat from Bader, who met with him outside of the Phillies’ clubhouse after the game.
The bizarre scene quickly went viral on social media and comes just days after another viral memorabilia-snatching moment in which a man took tennis player Kamil Majchrzak’s hat from a young fan at the U.S. Open and was widely criticized for the act.
He apologized on social media on Monday and said he has returned it.
Man in viral video speaks out
NBC10 caught up with the man in the viral video, Drew Feltwell, who was the Phillies fan who scrambled to grab the home run ball for his son, Lincoln.
Feltwell shares that he grew up in Burlington County, New Jersey, but now lives in West Palm Beach, Florida, with his family.
According to Feltwell, he was attending the game with his wife, daughter, and Lincoln for Lincoln’s approaching 10th birthday.
“We’re just trying to make this week about him,” said Feltwell.
Feltwell shared that he was hoping to give that home run ball to Lincoln and get them on TV.
“I felt like super dad putting that ball in his glove and giving him a hug,” Feltwell said.
As seen in the video, once Feltwell handed Lincoln the ball, an unknown woman came up and shouted at them. That’s when he could be seen giving the ball back.
Feltwell said that the woman was screaming six inches from his ear, “That’s my ball!” and it made him jump.
“Still in disbelief that she walked down there like that,” said Feltwell.
Feltwell added, “Just trying to set an example of how to de-escalate a situation in front of my son, I guess.”
Feltwell explained that he apologized to his son for giving the woman the ball. He shared that the woman was eventually booed out of the stadium, leaving five minutes after she took the ball.
After it happened, Feltwell said a representative of the Phillies sat with the family to invite them to meet with the players. He noted that the Marlins staff was also “super,” giving his son a goodie bag.
“I wish I had the ball for my son to put in his room next to the bat, but if I had the ball, I probably wouldn’t have gotten the bat, so it worked out fine,” said Feltwell.
Feltwell said Harrison Bader was a class act. Bader spoke with Lincoln, signed the bat and took pictures with everyone.
“We ended up having a good night because of good people, said Feltwell.
Feltwell expressed that he partially regrets giving the ball to the woman because of what it meant to his son, “Putting the ball in his glove and then taking it back out killed me.”
He adds that if the woman came forward and offered the ball, we would respect it: “I hope that ball means a lot to her.”
Feltwell said they’re going to get a bat display for Lincoln’s wall to put Bader’s bat on the wall.
