Category: Baseball

The Mets open a three-game series with the Rockies in Colorado on Friday at 8:40 p.m. on SNY.

Here's what to know about the game and how to watch...

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Mets Notes

• Juan Soto has reached base 15 times in his last 31 plate appearances, including home runs on Saturday, Sunday, and Tuesday
• Pete Alonso has reached base in 12 consecutive games, and has hit six home runs during that span

• Kodai Senga allowed two runs on two hits and two walks with seven strikeouts in his last start on Saturday against the Rockies at Citi Field

• Francisco Lindor has nine hits in his last 24 at-bats and has smacked four home runs in his last six games, but will be out of the lineup for the second consecutive game after sustaining a toe injury

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Here's what happened in Mets Land on Thursday, in case you missed it...

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• A rare poor outing from Reed Garrett and a Brett Baty error did the Mets in during a 6-5 loss to the Dodgers in Los Angeles
• Baty owned his "dumb mistake" on pivotal play at the plate
• After the game, the players and Carlos Mendoza discussed a game they gave away
• Francisco Lindordidn't play on Thursday due to a broken pinky toe he suffered on Wednesday when he was hit by a pitch. He is day-to-day and plans to play through the injury
• Here are five things to watch as the Mets and Rockies play a three-game series in Colorado
• Mets prospect Matt Allan is back on the mound and excelling after an inspiring comeback
• Jonah Tong was named the Eastern League Pitcher of the Month for May
• In September at Citi Field, the Mets are hosting an Alumni Classic Game with 40 legends
• WATCH:Johan Santana told SNY that the Mets' starting pitchers are "for real"

Yaz gets extended rest with new Giants arrivals; Bailey slump over? originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

SAN FRANCISCO — A week ago, Mike Yastrzemski was leading off for the Giants. On the first night of this homestand, he was batting sixth, but for the next three games, he was out of the lineup entirely.

Thursday’s decision came with an easy explanation. Yes, the Giants wanted to get another look at Daniel Johnson, who shined in his debut a night earlier, but Yastrzemski also was hitless with eight strikeouts in 11 previous at-bats against San Diego Padres starter Dylan Cease. 

It was still a third straight game out of the lineup against a right-handed pitcher, which had to be a bit of an uncomfortable feeling for a veteran who watched fellow long-time Giant LaMonte Wade Jr. get DFA’d on Wednesday. But manager Bob Melvin said he anticipates Yastrzemski starting in right field Friday night against the Atlanta Braves. 

Yastrzemski was a savior for the Giants early on, moving to the leadoff spot when Wade struggled and posting a .385 on-base percentage with five homers through his first 38 games. Much of May was a struggle, though, and he has just one extra-base hit and a .167 average over his last 19 appearances. 

“It’s probably pitch selection, some of the swings he’s getting. He was getting good pitches to hit and wasn’t missing them. Now maybe he’s missing them a little bit,” Melvin said. “But I do think we probably played him a little bit more than maybe he’s used to playing. There was a little platooning in the past. We haven’t seen a ton of lefties. He has played against lefties. 

“I think there was an element where he might be a little run down right now and I don’t know that a couple days of break won’t be good for him.”

Patty (More) Barrels 

At the time that he was let go, Wade had the fourth-lowest batting average in baseball since the start of the 2024 second half. The lowest belongs to Patrick Bailey, but the catcher is showing signs that he might be coming out of a prolonged slump.

Bailey hit a long double in Miami that would have been a homer in 19 ballparks, and his RBI double on Wednesday night would have been out in one-third of the league’s parks. For the first time in nearly a year, Bailey is consistently driving the ball. He has three doubles during a modest five-game hitting streak that has raised his OPS to .540, his highest since April 16. 

“It just looks like he’s tracking the ball a little bit better, not swinging and missing or guessing and missing by a lot,” Melvin said. “He’s driving the ball to right-center field and that’s a pretty good indication that he’s seeing it a lot cleaner. That’s actually been going on for the last week or 10 days. He’s swinging it a lot better.”

Bailey leads all catchers with eight Defensive Runs Saved and is tied for second in Catcher Framing Runs and Pop Time. He doesn’t need to provide much at the plate to be a valuable player, but even he admitted recently that some of the numbers over the first two months were unacceptable. It looks like he might finally be headed back in the right direction. 

Ready For Coors?

The Giants are being cautious with Justin Verlander’s rehab, which was supposed to guarantee Kyle Harrison at least four starts. But Harrison came out of Wednesday night’s game after getting hit on the arm by a comebacker, which caused an elbow contusion. Melvin said Harrison was doing “a little better,” but the staff would have to wait and see how he feels after he throws his scheduled bullpen session this weekend. 

The Giants have an extra day off before Harrison’s next scheduled start, which should help. If he’s not able to go, top prospect Carson Whisenhunt would be on normal rest — although making your debut at Coors Field is a little rough. 

The Giants also could go with a straight bullpen game, which wouldn’t be difficult given that they have three long relief options — Spencer Bivens, Tristan Beck and Sean Hjelle — in their bullpen. Hjelle threw 2 2/3 hitless innings in relief of Harrison on Wednesday, picking up right where he left off last season. 

“It was as big a contributor to the win (Wednesday) night as anything, what Hjelle did to keep us (close),” Melvin said Thursday. “He came in in the middle of the inning, pitched two more, shut them down and gave us a chance to come back. That was huge. It’s not lost on us. Without that, they score a couple more runs and we’re probably not in the position to come back.”

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New Giant Andrew Knizner shares connections to Buster Posey, Patrick Bailey originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

SAN FRANCISCO — Andrew Knizner has only been a Giant for two games, but he arrived with previous ties to their starting catcher and the former catcher who now runs the organization. Knizner admits, though, that Patrick Bailey and Buster Posey might not be fully aware of those prior experiences.

Knizner went into North Carolina State as a shortstop and played third base as a freshman because Trea Turner was locked in at short, but after that season, he transitioned to catching. He eventually was represented by CAA agents Andrew Nacario and Jeff Berry, the latter of whom also represented Posey and now serves as an advisor to the president of baseball operations. As a young Knizner tried to figure out how to move from infielder to catcher, he was given drills and advice from Berry, who picked Posey’s mind on the subject. 

Knizner now finds himself backing up Bailey, a fellow NC State alum. While they never played together, Knizner — who is four years older — was well aware of Bailey’s collegiate career. One of his former coaches once teased him by saying, “We finally have a great defensive catcher coming into the program. Patrick Bailey is the best defensive player in the country.”

“I laid all the groundwork for him,” a smiling Knizner said Thursday morning. “I showed him what not to do at NC State.”

Knizner was one of three newcomers during Wednesday’s roster shakeup and started behind the plate a day later. As he walked around the clubhouse in the morning and chatted with teammates, team employees and reporters, it was easy to see why he was added to the mix. In a lot of ways, he is reminiscent of former Giants backup catcher Nick Hundley, who still is close with Posey. 

Knizner considers communication one of his strengths, and it stood out to manager Bob Melvin that he caught bullpen sessions on his first day and then went out to warm up all of Wednesday night’s relievers so he could get an early look at how the ball came out of their hands. The job, though, requires more than that, and the Giants are hopeful Knizner can bring a spark at the plate, too. 

Knizner was released by the Washington Nationals earlier this season because he had an opt-out date approaching in his minor league contract. The Giants were one of the first teams to call, and he posted a .500 on-base percentage and six doubles in eight games with Triple-A Sacramento. The veteran also has a solid reputation as a defender and game-caller. 

“He’s very invested in what he’s doing behind the plate, and that’s important here,” Melvin said. “It’s important to Buster, it’s important to us, that the catcher, first and foremost, is engaged with the pitching staff and all about winning a game.”

Knizner came to the Giants with 290 games of big league experience, nearly all of them with the St. Louis Cardinals, where he learned from Yadi Molina. He has a .210 average and .596 OPS in the big leagues, but he’s just two years removed from hitting 10 homers in 70 appearances. On Thursday, he was 0-for-3 but looked comfortable with Robbie Ray, who threw seven strong innings. 

“I feel like we had a really good game plan going in today and I felt like he stuck with it really well,” Ray said. “We had some moments where he called a pitch and it was exactly what I wanted to throw. It was almost like he had been here the whole time. I felt, overall, it was a great performance by him behind the plate.”

Ray essentially had Sam Huff as his personal catcher the last two months, but the first day with the new guy was smooth, which was no surprise to Knizner. He said before the game that he doesn’t anticipate needing much time to learn a new staff. Since the start of 2024, he has played for Triple-A teams in four different organizations, along with big league time with the Texas Rangers and a stint in the Dominican Winter League. 

“I’ve gotten used to it over the last 12 months or so,” Knizner said.

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Here are five things to watch and predictions as the Yankees and Boston Red Sox play a three-game series at Yankee Stadium starting on Friday night...

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Preview

Rivalry renewed?

Although the Red Sox were not a playoff team and the Yankees went on to secure the No. 1 seed in the American League, New York had a 7-6 record against Boston a year ago. That included the Red Sox taking three of four from the Yankees at Fenway Park in mid-September. With the youth movement and high-profile free agents the Red Sox brought in, it was expected that these two teams would fight for the AL East crown.

As June has begun, the Red Sox are a mess. They're four games under .500 and are 3-7 in their last 10 games.

However, this is the first time these two rivals will meet this year. Could Boston give the Yankees a tough series?

Can Will Warren put LA behind him?

Warren was having the best stretch of his young career before he stumbled during the West Coast road trip, especially in Los Angeles. Warren didn't make it out of the second inning, allowing seven runs in the Dodgers' shellacking of the Yankees last Saturday. He'll be the starter in the series opener on Friday, and he'll be tasked with setting the tone for the weekend. Can he return to form and help the Yankees get to an early lead in the series?

Carlos Rodon pitching like an ace

Rodon has been amazing. Over his last seven starts, he's pitched to a 5-0 record and a 1.65 ERA. He'll take the mound in the series finale on Sunday and could be the difference between a series win or loss.

The Yankees need him to be great because Warren may not bounce back,, and although Ryan Yarbrough has been great, how long can New York depend on him? That's especially the case when Yarbrough will go up against Garrett Crochet.

Turnaround for Jazz Chisholm Jr.

In the three games since his return from the IL, Chisholm has been great at the plate. He's 5-for-11 with a home run and two RBI while also playing solid third base. Yes, that's a small sample size, but Chisholm has returned with the mentality that this is a new season for him and he's taking advantage of it. Can he do so again this weekend?

Aaron Judge's pursuit of .400

Judge is having an MVP season already, but what everyone is watching is his batting average. Heading into the weekend, Judge is hitting .392 and will hope to get back up to .400 this weekend. He'll be going up against some tough pitchers in Walker Buehler and Crochet, who he doesn't have much experience against (1-for-4, K combined against both pitchers) and has not faced Sunday starter Hunter Dobbins, a rookie, yet.

While it's difficult for any player to maintain such a high batting mark, Judge could conceivably keep this pace up.

Predictions

Who will be the MVP of the series?

Aaron Judge

With the Red Sox struggling, this series may not be as firey as years past, but Judge always seems to rise to the occasion.

Which Yankees pitcher will have the best start?

Carlos Rodon

Rodon has been the second-best pitcher for the Yankees, but has been THE best over the last couple of weeks.

Which Red Sox player will be a thorn in Yankees' side?

Rafael Devers

Even if Gerrit Cole isn't pitching, Devers gives the Yankees fits, especially at Yankee Stadium.

Every ace experiences the occasional hiccups -- Max Fried proved he was no exception last weekend, when he allowed a cushioned lead to slip in a frustrating road loss to the reigning champion Dodgers.

But top-flight starters always bounce back from adversity, and Fried reaffirmed the notion by painting over his dud in Los Angeles with yet another masterpiece in the Bronx. The prized left-hander returned to dominant form on Thursday night, delivering six shutout innings of one-hit ball with seven strikeouts in the Yankees' 4-0 win over the Guardians.

Less than a week after allowing a season-high six runs in primetime, Fried once again demonstrated why he's currently the highest-paid southpaw in MLB history. While his first inning of work wasn't efficient -- he threw 28 pitches and gave up his lone hit, a broken-bat single -- he still faced the minimum through the next five innings despite navigating deep counts.

"I just want to be able to go out there and go deep into games," Fried said after the win. "Nice to get to 100 pitches, being able to kind of get through a full outing and coming out with the win. Last time, I let the lead go. So I just wanted to make it a point to keep them in it and hold the lead as long as I could... Not trying to do too much, as far as putting extra pressure. But you just want to win every game you can when you go out there."

Fried now owns a stellar 1.78 ERA, which ranks third-best in the majors. It's also the lowest mark by a Yankees pitcher in his first 13 starts of a season since Phil Neikro in 1984 (1.73), according to MLB.com's Sarah Langs. So far, so worth every penny of his record-breaking contract.

The exceptional pace Fried has pitched to is new, considering the career numbers shown on his baseball card. But the 31-year-old has long been a thorn in the side of hitters. Jazz Chisholm Jr. understands that pain -- after the game, he offered his sympathies by saying it "wasn't fun" to see Fried multiple times each season when the two were division rivals in the NL East for four-plus years.

So far, Fried has handled the big-market expectations with ease and also served as a dependable stopper. He's now 6-0 with a 0.57 ERA following a Yankees loss, and that level of reliability isn't something the team is taking for granted. Fried is calm, cool, and collected. Toss in adaptable, too.

"They made him work. I don't know how many foul balls they had on the night," Yankees manager Aaron Boone said of Fried. "He had to work for it pretty hard tonight, but I thought the stuff was great. He had a lot of swing-and-miss going tonight, and he featured a little bit of everything."

Of the elite American League pitchers in the mix to start this summer's All-Star Game in Atlanta -- where Fried pitched for eight seasons -- he certainly deserves to be atop the list. He ranks third in the AL in innings (81.0), seventh in strikeouts (77), seventh in WHIP (0.94), and tied for sixth in opponent average (.196). He's lined up for another challenge next week, in a road matchup with the Royals.

Cody Bellinger homered and drove in three of the Yankees' four runs while Max Fried returned to form to help shut out the Guardians, 4-0, on Thursday night in The Bronx.

Here are the takeaways...

-The Yankees' offense was asleep for a part of Thursday's game, similar to what befell them on Wednesday. But the bats finally woke up in the fourth when Aaron Judge hit a one-out bloop double to get the Yankees their first knick of the game.Bellinger followed with an ambush of a Slade Cecconi fastball over the middle of the plate, depositing the ball 398 feet over the right-center field wall to put the Yankees up 2-0.

After that fourth inning, the Yankees fell into a slumber again until Bellinger woke them up in the seventh. With men on first and second and two outs, he singled to right field to plate Trent Grisham and put the Yankees ahead 3-0. Jazz Chisholm Jr. followed with a single of his own, driving in Judge from third.

In total, the Yankees had 10 hits and went 4-for-9 with runners in scoring position while leaving nine runners on base.

-Fried made his first start since losing his first game of the year last weekend in Los Angeles. And after a shaky first inning in which he threw 28 pitches, the southpaw settled in, blanking the Guardians for the next five innings. Fried dominated Cleveland, throwing 103 pitches (62 strikes) through six shutout innings, allowing one hit -- a Jose Ramirez single in the first -- and two walks while striking out seven. Fried's only issue was his inefficiency, but a great bounceback outing for the Yankees' ace.

Fried's performance lowered his ERA to 1.78, which is the lowest by a Yankees pitcher in his first 13 starts of a season since Phil Niekro in 1984 (1.73) (h/t Sarah Langs).

-With Fried out of the game, how would the Yankees' bullpen fare? Well, they pitched into trouble in the seventh. Mark Leiter Jr. allowed two singles, but a throwing error from Anthony Volpe loaded the bases with one out before Aaron Boone went to Tim Hill. The left-hander struck out Bo Naylor and got Jhonkensy Noel to fly out to end the Guardians' threat.

Hill pitched a 1-2-3 eighth inning and impressively picked up five outs.

Jonathan Loaisiga came in for the ninth and got Cleveland in order to clinch the series.

-Oswald Peraza went 2-for-3 but had three hard-hit balls (101.4, 102.3, 108 mph). His only out was a long flyout to center field that Angel Martinez slid feet-first into the wall to catch.

Chisholm Jr. went 3-for-4 and raised his average to .207. It's the infielder's second three-hit game in 33 games this season (March 30).

Judge finished 1-for-1 with two intentional walks, raising his average to .392

Jasson Dominguez made his first appearance since injuring his finger over the weekend. He went 0-for-4 with two strikeouts. In his final at-bat, he flew out with the bases loaded and two outs in the seventh.

Game MVP: Cody Bellinger

Fried shut down the Guardians, but Bellinger's two-run shot after the Yankees were shut out the day before helped the team get off the schneid.

Highlights

Cody Bellinger with the leaping catch! pic.twitter.com/LYp9OunMvu

— Yankees Videos (@snyyankees) June 6, 2025

Cody Bellinger drills a 2-run homer to open the scoring! pic.twitter.com/FNugt0FRYC

— Yankees Videos (@snyyankees) June 6, 2025

Cody Bellinger drives in his 3rd run of the game! pic.twitter.com/LAkJvooyrL

— Yankees Videos (@snyyankees) June 6, 2025

Jazz Chisholm Jr.’s 3rd hit of the game makes it 4-0! pic.twitter.com/ifNmJc4WMo

— Yankees Videos (@snyyankees) June 6, 2025

What's next

The Yankees and Red Sox meet for the first time this season. The series opener will be Friday night at the Stadium with a 7:05 p.m. first pitch.

Will Warren (3-3, 5.19 ERA) will take the mound against Walker Buehler (4-3, 4.44 ERA)

Here are five things to watch and predictions as the Mets and Rockies play a three-game series in Colorado starting on Friday at 8:40 p.m. on SNY.

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5 things to watch

Juan Soto is back

Toward the end of the Mets' homestand, Soto started to look truly comfortable at the plate for the first time this season.

And he carried that with him for the first leg of their road trip as the Mets faced the Dodgers in Los Angeles.

Over the last week of games, Soto is hitting .273/.484/.773 with three home runs, two doubles, six RBI, six runs scored, eight walks, and two strikeouts.

With Soto hitting his stride offensively, his patented Soto Shuffle returned -- as has his penchant for staring out at pitchers and nodding during his at-bats.

How is Francisco Lindor feeling?

Lindor suffered a fractured pinky toe when he was hit in the foot by a pitch on Wednesday night against the Dodgers -- a diagnosis that was learned after Lindor toughed it out while playing the remainder of the game in Los Angeles.

He was out of the lineup on Thursday (after arguing to play), and said he considered himself "day-by-day" -- with the plan being to play through the injury.

"It’s not a surgical thing," Lindor said. "It’s just a matter of tolerating the pain, so hopefully I’m strong enough to play sooner rather than later."

Meanwhile, manager Carlos Mendoza said an IL stint is not on the table at the moment.

Lindor is in the midst of another MVP-level season, slashing .279/.353/.490 with a career-best 141 OPS+ while playing Gold Glove-caliber defense at shortstop.

Pete Alonso is on an absolute tear

Since breaking his long home run drought, Alonso has been hitting dingers at a rapid clip. And he's been on fire overall.

In 39 plate appearances over his last 10 games, he's hitting .333 with five home runs, three doubles, and 15 RBI.

Alonso's barrage included two homers and five RBI during Wednesday's win in Los Angeles, and he added another homer in the series finale on Thursday.

He is now 11 home runs shy of tying the Mets' all-time record of 252, which is held by Darryl Strawberry.

The Rockies are hot (really)

The Rockies are still on a historically awful pace, but they're also on a winning streak.

After starting the season 9-50, Colorado swept a three-game series from the very bad (23-37) Marlins.

During that series, the Rockies won the three games by a combined four runs, so there was some randomness and luck involved. But a winning streak is a winning streak.

Still, Colorado remains quite bad. And their starting pitching is a total mess.

During this series, the Mets will face Antonio Senzatela (7.14 ERA, 1.98 WHIP), Carson Palmquist (8.50 ERA, 1.83 WHIP), and German Marquez (6.98 ERA, 1.69 WHIP).

A mile high

Games at Coors Field are known mostly for the thin air that causes the baseball to fly much farther than it does at other ballparks.

The thin air can turn extra-base hits into home runs, and also causes lots of would-be fly balls to drop in the shallow outfield because outfielders play deeper to counteract how far the ball carries.

But the air also causes the ball to break/travel differently out of the pitchers' hands, which is one of the reasons why the Rockies' offensive home/road splits are often so drastic.

It's difficult for Colorado's hitters to constantly adjust to pitches moving differently every time they're on the road.

As far as the Mets, they'll be dealing with the conditions for the first and only time this season.

Predictions

Who will the MVP of the series be?

Pete Alonso

His hot streak plus the Rockies' pitching plus the thin air, should mean damage.

Which Mets pitcher will have the best start?

Kodai Senga

Senga's Ghost Fork (if it moves like he wants it to) should help combat the thin air.

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

Ryan McMahon

McMahon hasn't had a great season, but his track record of success is solid.

The lasting images from the Mets' vexing 6-5 road loss to the Dodgers on Thursday afternoon were snapped during an eighth inning that unraveled. Moments before the reigning champions scored the go-ahead run on a two-out single from who but Michael Conforto, the tying run crossed the plate on an ill-timed double-clutch grab and errant throw home from Brett Baty.

But the Dodgers' three-run rally wouldn't have been possible if the Mets had made the most of some prime scoring opportunities before the late-inning meltdown. Despite smacking three home runs, which helped them climb to an early 4-0 lead that briefly seemed comfortable, New York once again struggled to break a game open. They finished 2-for-10 with runners in scoring position, and left 13 runners on base.

Of the 13 baserunners, 10 were stranded through the first six innings. Perhaps the Mets' frustrations boiled over in the sixth, when a one-out rally with two in scoring position was squandered by a Jeff McNeil strikeout that stunningly turned into a double play with Starling Marte tagged out at third, leaning too far off the bag.

The Mets looked poised to take three of four games at Chavez Ravine and send a clear message to the Dodgers. They were just five outs away from making another statement. Instead, they were forced to settle for an unsatisfying split due to mental miscues and recurring RISP woes.

"We felt like we gave that one away. We were sloppy today. We didn't play well, and it cost us there," Mets manager Carlos Mendoza said after the loss. "Those two games that we lost, we could've won. They did some good things, too, but they made some mistakes. That's a good team. And when you're giving extra bases, extra outs, they're going to make you pay."

While the Mets haven't lacked offense this season -- they entered Thursday ranked 11th in MLB in total runs and seventh in on-base percentage -- their inability to capitalize with traffic on the basepaths has been a hindrance. The four-game set in Los Angeles didn't show the big picture, as they overall hit a solid 11-for-36 (.305) with RISP, but their season average now sits at .220. The mark ranks bottom five in the league.

"We had a couple of chances to add on, and we couldn't cash in," Mendoza said. "When you continue to give those guys a chance and give them an opportunity to come back, they're going to make you pay... Early on, we had two chances -- bases loaded, one out and second and third, one out -- and we didn't get any runs there... I just felt like it was a game that got away from us."

Of course, the Mets can find solace in how they stacked up with the Dodgers in seven games this season, and pose a legitimate threat in a competitive National League. Perhaps there's no better time to solve the RISP problem than this weekend, as the Mets are slated to face the lowly Rockies at a very hitter-friendly Coors Field.

The Mets were five outs away from taking the series against the Dodgers on Thursday afternoon, but a misplay by Brett Baty allowed Los Angeles to tie the game in the eighth inning and eventually take the lead in New York's 6-5 loss.

Reliever Reed Garrett was called upon in the eighth and was in a bind with Will Smith on third base with just one out but the right-hander got exactly what he needed. Garrett got Andy Pages to hit a grounder to Baty as Smith bolted for home. The young third baseman had plenty of time to toss to Francisco Alvarez to get Smith in a rundown, at least. However, Baty double-pumped before throwing the ball into the dirt, allowing Smith to score.

"We didn’t make the play," manager Carlos Mendoza said after the game. "I don’t know if [Baty] got confused if Will Smith stopped halfway to get him in a rundown there. He double-pumped. Didn’t make a routine play there."

Baty, who is usually soft-spoken when speaking with the media, was especially so after Thursday's loss. To his credit, the young infielder owned the misplay as he walked reporters through what happened. 

"He’s up front on a sweeper. Pages dribbled one to me," Baty explained. "Made a good read coming in and was running at Will Smith because he didn’t get a good jump on it, and he kinda stuttered. I was pump faking and I thought he was going to come back, but he ended up going [home]. A very, very dumb mistake and it can’t happen in that situation. Have to give it up early and get him running back to third base. Terrible, terrible play." 

The @Dodgers tie it in the 8th! pic.twitter.com/hZhlqxoeae

— MLB (@MLB) June 5, 2025

"The play there is to give it up," Mendoza said when asked what the right play in that situation is. "Especially how far he is down the line. If he wants to stop, then we’ll get him on the rundown. Didn’t complete the play there."

Although the Mets won the season series against the Dodgers after last night's victory, they were so close to winning this four-game set. If not for a few misplays in the two losses in LA this week, the Mets could have swept this series.

Mendoza said he felt like they gave Thursday's game away, but they don't have time to dwell on it as they head to Colorado to take on the Rockies this weekend. But the sting of Thursday's loss will be felt by Baty for a bit.

"It's brutal for sure," Baty said about leaving with a split. "We were up going into the eighth there. That play right there tied it up. Brutal for sure."