Category: Baseball

New York Post | Greg Joyce: ($) This weekend’s series in San Diego is a big one for Spencer Jones, and not only because he seeks to shore up his roster spot with Aaron Judge’s anticipated return on the horizon. Jones, a native of nearby Encinas, has had the Yankees’ trip to Petco Park circled since this winter. Still a minor-leaguer then, he set a goal to be with the big club in time for a homecoming, a goal he achieved as the series opened on Friday.

New York Daily News | Gary Phillips: Trent Grisham exited last night’s game against the Padres with a right hamstring strain. Grisham hit the IL with a strain of the same hamstring earlier this year. The center fielder seemed to labor on a shallow fly off the bat of Xander Bogaerts in the second and came out of the game after the inning. The Yankees appeared to have a roster crunch on their hands if and when Aaron Judge returns, but another IL stint for Grisham could put that crunch on hold.

MLB.com | Benjamin Hill: Luis Durango is in the midst of a breakout campaign in the Yankees’ minor league system, hitting .331 with 44 swipes. Even more notable is how he’s doing it. The 5-foot-10, 135 pounds speedster is a retro slap hitter to an extreme degree, employing bunts, Baltimore chops, and an offensive profile that centers around putting the ball on the ground. Despite — or, perhaps, because of — the fact that his approach is antithetical to the modern game, Durango has placed himself on the map as a budding prospect. “I describe it as unique,” the 23-year-old said to describe his hitting style. “And that’s what makes me special.”

MLB.com: The Yankees have announced their plans for commemorating the 25th anniversary of 9/11 next Friday. Before hosting the Mets at Yankee Stadium, the team will recognize the New York City Police Department (NYPD), Fire Department of the City of New York (FDNY), Port Authority Police Department (PAPD), Tunnel to Towers Foundation, and Tuesday’s Promise. Some members of the 2001 Yankees will be on hand to take part, as will several musical performers. First pitches will be thrown by Brielle Saracini and Sean McGuire, a married couple who both lost their fathers in the attacks.

Dear September Baseball,

The heat of August has given way to your cooler air, and the last several days of cloud cover and occasional drizzle have driven me further into the seasonal mood that you bring annually. Also, the Mariners just lost their second straight home game to the division rival Athletics, 7-6, that helped set the mood as well, if I’m being entirely honest. More important than any date in December, I have always found myself writing to you with special October days dancing like spiced pumpkins around my head. For many years my letters to you were simple appeals wrapped around that big one; hopes and wishes for prospect debuts, and competitive baseball, and of course if September Baseball so allowed, playoffs, you know, the big one.

For years I kept my wishes small, and over the last several years, that patience seemed rewarded. Prospect debuts to look forward to every year for the last several, and multiple securing of playoff appearances, and close misses when not in them. I could have asked for more, September Baseball, and surely, you could have given more too. But I only asked for so much because I understood this was just the way it had to be, this was baseball. I didn’t ask for history, because, well… baseball will make you careful what you wish for. I certainly would not have asked for Logan Gilbert to put up a pitching line that has never been put up before.

Well, maybe I would, but not that one. You can put ten strikeouts from a Seattle pitcher in any one of my September stockings, but next time you can leave out the 4.2 innings pitched, seven earned runs on eight hits bit. And the edging cool of the season can do nothing to match the dread cold that seeps into my bones hearing defeated quotes from Logan Gilbert post-game. “It’s pretty disappointing. We’ll look at it tomorrow and see what we see. It’s a little confusing, but they were on a lot of the pitches, so definitely made some mistakes. But I felt like they were just on it.” Logan, fully embracing the rain cloud of a post game presser, continued “It’s pretty disappointing. It’s a game we have to win. Let the team down for sure.” Ouch. Giving up four home runs in one inning and quotes like that kind of take whatever air out of the room his 21 Whiffs today may have created. 21 Whiffs though!

Maybe by now, September Baseball, you’re picking up on the direction of my letter. I have kept my asks simple over the years… but this year I have some notes. First, I would like to give credit where credit is due. I often ask for players who have underperformed throughout to year to have strong finishes from you, and this year you have been delivering so far. I will never, ever, ever complain about a Cal Raleigh home run, his 21st of the season, let alone a game-tying one.

Okay, now that we got that out of the way… the aforementioned notes. Dare I say, requests? About those prospect debuts. You have been a very generous September Baseball over the years in this regard. This year, you are already giving us the gift of Lazaro Montes, a player I was particularly excited about watching enter the big leagues. Laz had a pretty good debut day, and there will be struggle days like he had at the plate today, and all of that and the in between is fine. This, watching him crash into the wall and have to leave the game, is not. Why, September, why‽

Well, so far at least the X-Rays have come back negative, so we will see just how cruel you have decided to be this year, S.B.

My biggest wish for this particular September baseball season, my one plea for a change for what seems to be on this year’s agenda, and addendum to all my asks of year’s previous: can you just be a little less confusing? What am I supposed to do with a 7-6 loss where the Mariners walked twice as much (four walks) as they struck out (two strikeouts) all game, put up six runs, but still lost? Behind a pitcher who put up ten strikeouts but allowed the seven runs, and then a bullpen that went the rest of the game without giving up a run? What am I supposed to do with a team that is down one run at home, and leads off the last chance inning with pinch hitting Patrick Wisdom? I have kept my asks simple in the past and just asked for watchable, competitive baseball. Fun storylines around fun players. I wasn’t more specific and maybe that was a me problem.

Please, please, September baseball, if you are going to break our hearts, just break them. You know I can handle it, I will gladly be happy with what I get and anything I don’t can make an appearance in next year’s letter. Or, if you want to give us a weird backward AL West Waltz I will happily dance to that tune too, but I won’t hold my breath. But whatever you do, less of whatever today was.

P.S. I left you out some clam chowder and cocoa flavored liqueur.

Kodai Senga eventually found his 2026 niche but his role for next season remains uncertain, David Stearns said.

The high-octane but high-variance righty flamed out of the Mets rotation by the middle of the season, owning a 10.08 ERA after a June 23 start.

But given a look in the bullpen — and eventually at the very back of it, stepping in for Devin Williams as the team’s closer — Senga has found a new life.

He is 5-for-5 in save opportunities and has been excellent in short bursts, with a 1.54 ERA in 12 games that include a scoreless ninth Friday, since the trade deadline that created additional bullpen spots.

“It’s fun to see,” Stearns said before the Mets’ 10-6 win over the Giants at Citi Field. “I think his investment in that role — even though he views himself as a starter, I think he’d prefer to start — but his investment in that role and the way he embraced that role I think is a great example for his teammates, for the organization as a whole. … And he’s done a great job. Where that is going forward next year? Still to be determined.”

There is an obvious and enticing ceiling if given a leash in the rotation for a righty who was a 2023 All-Star, but he has volleyed between injuries and ineffectiveness since.

Next year the Mets will have Nolan McLean and Christian Scott in their rotation. Given his contract and upturn, Sean Manaea will be in the group, too.

With just about every start, Zac Thornton is demonstrating he deserves a 2027 shot. Robert Stock, Tylor Megill and Jonah Tong are among the in-house possibilities, to go along with whomever Stearns brings in through free agency or trade.

Figuring out the role for Senga, who is due $15 million next season, will be for this winter and spring after enjoying what they have seen from him this August and September.

Stock, who threw 72 pitches as a starter Monday, made a surprise appearance in the eighth and recorded the final out.

After using Stock in relief, interim manager Andy Green announced Jonah Tong, who has been pitching better with Triple-A Syracuse, will join the rotation Monday to begin the series in Miami.

Manaea will pitch Tuesday and “we’ll figure out where we are on that last day in Miami,” Green said. Given what would have been a long layoff, Stock became available as a reliever.

“He’s had some really good stuff at times coming out of the pen,” Stearns said.

Throughout his nearly three years in Queens, Stearns — the president of baseball operations — has operated without a general manager.

He was noncommittal about landing one this offseason.

“We’re always going to look to see if there are ways we can improve our organization in any way. That’s inclusive of the front office,” Stearns said.

“That’s been the case every offseason since I’ve been here, and it will be the case this offseason as well.”

Stearns reiterated that the plan is for interim manager Andy Green to return to a front-office role after this season.

Amid a roller-coaster year, Stearns said the Mets will “count on” Manaea next season.

Out of the rotation amid declining stuff at the start of the year, Manaea then worked his way into the starting group and was solid until recent issues. In all, he owns a 4.70 ERA.

“I think in general, we need Sean to go out and have a really good offseason, come back, and he’s going to be a part of this team next year,” Stearns said of Manaea, who is due $25 million next year. “We’re going to count on him, and he’s demonstrated that he can perform at a high level and contribute to a major league team.”

The Mets announced their 2027 spring training schedule — at least, a hopeful schedule — which begins Feb. 19 in Port St. Lucie against the Marlins.

A bad game on Friday got worse for the Mariners when exciting rookie Lazaro Montes left the game in the fifth inning after a collision with the right field wall.

Montes, who was running at full speed to chase down a fly ball off the bat of Zack Gelof that seemed destined for the right field seats, collided hard with the wall in right and fell down, managing to flip the ball to center fielder Julio Rodríguez to throw back in before writhing in pain on the ground for several long moments.

He was eventually helped up by Rodríguez and examined by the training staff before staying in the game for another two hitters and making a play on a hard-hit line drive in front of him. During a pitching change, the trainers again went to see Montes, later joined by Dan Wilson, and this time he came out of the game.

“I think he felt good enough to stay in there, but then on the play he came in on the ball he kinda felt it, so I think that was a natural time to get him out,” said Wilson. “On the play where he came in and charged, I think he felt it a little bit more than he thought. So at that point, I thought it was a good time to get him out of there and make sure that he checked out okay.”

The Mariners later announced Montes left the game with left hip soreness. He had a visible mild limp while walking off the field. The good news is x-rays were negative.

“We’ll see how he is in the morning and see if anything else is further needed at this point,” said Wilson.

If Montes is forced to miss time, the obvious replacement for Montes would be hot-hitting prospect Michael Arroyo. However, Tacoma is away in Albuquerque this week, so he likely wouldn’t be able to get here immediately. In tonight’s game against the Isotopes, Arroyo had two hits including a triple and hit a sacrifice fly in an 11-6 Rainiers loss.

Andy Green seems set on keeping the interim tag on his managerial role. 

And even as the Mets continue to play well with Green in the dugout, both he and the organization are prepared for him to go back to the front office in the offseason, as Green is looking to avoid the everyday grind of a managerial job. 

As president of baseball operations David Stearns said Friday, “I think Andy’s done a very good job in the dugout. Again, I think we will get to the point where I’ll more fully describe what we’re seeking in our next manager. Today’s probably not the day to do that.” 

Francisco Lindor and Juan Soto both said after Friday’s 10-6 win over the Giants that Green has done a good job in his new role, but respect his decision if he opts to return to the front office after the season. 

“That’s a very personal decision,’’ Lindor told The Post. “That’s between him and his family. We have no say in that. He has kept what he’s said from Day 1 and you’ve got to believe the guy. He’s a very respectable guy, and honest.” 

Soto added, “It’s tough to not know what you’re gonna get next year. That’s the hardest part for a player, not knowing what’s gonna happen. I know a lot of people want to be the manager, but when you get comfortable, it’s tough to see them get away.” 

And he also admired the job Green has done. 

“Everybody feels good with him,’’ Soto said. “He stays out of the players’ way and lets everybody do their own thing.” 

As to whether he’s hoping Green changes his mind, Soto said: “That’s his decision. We’ve enjoyed his time here and we’ve got to wait til he decides what he wants to do.” 

Lindor, who said Green has excelled at “making sure guys do what they need to do and is pushing to make us get better,” will also be monitoring the situation closely. 

“It’s gonna be an interesting topic this offseason,’’ Lindor said of Green’s future. “We’ll see.” 

Green noted Friday that he “loved” the current team and “loves the competition that comes from the dugout environment. That … part has never been in doubt or anything I’ve ever wavered on.” 

But Lindor also understood why Green might want to step away. 

“He’s got to make a decision with his family and those are the only people that matters,” Lindor said. “We’re both dads and you have to respect his decision and want him to be with them. He was a manager once [before in San Diego]. He knows what it takes. He knows what he’s doing and I fully respect his decision. I’ll be on board with whatever he decides.”

The A’s came out on top on Friday night, beating the Seattle Mariners 7-6.

More to come…

The Dodgers (84-57) pulled off a 5-3 win over the Nationals (67-76) Friday at Dodger Stadium for their second victory in as many games.

Snell kept the power-hitting Nationals off the board and navigated around two walks, utilizing his high fastball and curveball to rack up seven strikeouts over six innings pitched. The Dodgers’ bullpen made it interesting in the top of the ninth when Washington scored three late runs off Seth Halvorson and Jack Dreyer.

Despite going up against the Nats with a lineup sans Freddie Freeman and Shohei Ohtani for the second straight game, the Dodgers offense finally strung some clutch hits together.

Snell’s curveball was a thing of beauty.

Kent surrendered two straight walks to Kyle Tucker and Kiké Hernández to open the bottom of the third in a scoreless game.

The Dodgers were 2-for-27 with runners in scoring position before Tommy Edman went down swinging on a sharp curveball. Things looked as if they were trending toward the wrong direction again until Mookie Betts changed the course of the game.

Betts got the Dodgers the first lead after he knocked in Tucker with an RBI single to center field, extending his on-base streak to 14 games.

In a replay of Thursday, Teoscar Hernández doubled to center field to drive in two more runs for the Dodgers in the inning.

The Dodgers got their fourth run of the night with two outs in the bottom of the fourth. Alex Call opened the inning with a double off Kent. Edman reached on an error by Nasim Nuñez on a routine play at shortstop, allowing Call to come in to score.

The Nats started to figure out Snell in the top of the sixth. James Wood doubled, and Andrés Chaparro singled to give Washington runners at the corners with nobody out.

Tucker homered in the sixth to make it 5-0 Dodgers.

The Dodgers’ bullpen did a fine job to preserve the shutout until the ninth. Edgardo Henriquez threw his 104-mph fastballs in the seventh for a scoreless frame with two strikeouts.

Kyle Hurt and Tanner Scott did their job, but Halvorsen surrendered three base hits in the top of the ninth including an Abimelec Ortiz RBI single. After the third straight hit, Dave Roberts gave Halvorsen the hook.

Dreyer got the first two outs of the inning in exchange for a second Washington run. Jorbit Vivas’s scoring ground out made it 5-2.

Dreyer was one strike away from shutting the door, but Wood doubled to deep center to bring in the third run of the inning for the Nats. After the threat, Dreyer finally secured the final out and the save to give the Dodgers their second straight win.

Friday particulars

Home run: Kyle Tucker (12)

WP — Blake Snell (3-1): 6 IP, 5 hits, no runs, 2 walks, 7 strikeouts (100 pitches)

LP — Jackson Kent (1-3): 5 IP, 4 hits, 4 runs (3 earned), 4 walks, 4 strikeouts (87 pitches)

S —Jack Dreyer (2)

Up next

The Dodgers and Nats continue the series Saturday (6:10 p.m. PT, SportsNet LA). Tyler Glasnow (4-0, 2.79 ERA, 0.81 WHIP) starts for the Dodgers. Fellow right-hander Cade Cavalli (12-5, 3.12 ERA, 1.20 WHIP) takes the ball for Washington.

Scoring one in extras means holding serve, and that never rang truer than in tonight’s 3-2 loss to the Padres. The Yankees got one in the 10th only to allow a pair in the bottom of the inning thanks to a Luis Campusano homer off Paul Blackburn to secure the walk-off win for the Friars.

Through nine innings, though, each team only scored once, as this game delivered scarce scoring opportunities on both sides. Ty France led off the second inning with a double, and the Friars’ attempts to score a run via small ball momentarily came back to bite them—Jackson Merrill moved the runner to third on a bunt, only for Austin Hays to pop out. It was the type of frustrating plate appearance a starter like Max Fried is capable of generating when he needs it the most. And Fried looked like he’d get out of that inning unscathed after inducing soft contact from Xander Bogaerts with two outs, but Trent Grisham was unable to run it down in center, letting in the game’s first run.

The way in which Grisham chased the sinking hit certainly generated some concerns, and it was no surprise to see him subsequently removed due to right hamstring discomfort. It’s not yet certain if this issue is connected to the hamstring problem that affected his campaign a year ago, but it wouldn’t be a stretch to pose that question. Heliot Ramos replaced Grisham, entering the game in right field in the third inning, and moving Spencer Jones to center field for the remainder of the game.

It also didn’t take long for the Yankees to respond to the Padres’ opening run, tying the game in the top of the third with a solo shot. Ben Rice received one of Walker Buehler’s biggest mistakes of the game—a middle-middle 1-0 slider—and hit a no-doubter to dead center, his 36th long ball of the season.

Buehler’s ability to mix and match and keep the Yankees guessing, though, and allowed him to bounce back from that homer about as well as he could’ve. The Yankees had their opportunities, with the leadoff hitter reaching safely in each of the next two innings after Rice’s homer, but both times that runner was stranded—including a double play from Ramos in his first at-bat of the game.

Still on a leash in his return from injury, Yankees starter Max Fried received a little more leeway than in his previous start, and he ultimately covered 5.2 innings on 73 pitches. The only thing standing in the way of Fried and a scoreless performance was that soft single by Bogaerts. Surprisingly, Aaron Boone removed Fried after two quick outs in the sixth and went to starter-turned-reliever Will Warren, entering in the middle of a frame instead of starting one himself, somewhat unusual for a pitcher embarking on a new role. Warren took a moment to settle in, walking the first batter he faced, but with two outs, an easy grounder prevented any real problems.

With different methods —the Yankees with Warren in a long relief role and the Friars using their outstanding bullpen—these two teams combined to keep the score at 1-1 through nine with few threats of a run. Adrian Morejón and Mason Miller showed why they are one of the most menacing late-inning duos in the big leagues, striking out five of the six Yankees they faced in the eighth and ninth.

With David Bednar entering a tied game in the bottom of the ninth, the Padres finally threatened a run with France once again coming up big with a double. However, Bednar pitched around him, striking out Hays to strand the winning run at third and take the game to extras.

In many ways, one could define the tenth inning by the levels of aggression from both managers. Craig Stammen sent his closer out there for a second inning of work, and although Spencer Jones got to Miller with an RBI single before getting thrown out trying to steal third, Miller stopped the scoring at one.

Trying not to ask too much of David Bednar, who had already faced four batters, the Yankees went to Paul Blackburn for the save, and despite sterling numbers on the season, he couldn’t get the job done.

Blackburn started the inning off well, retiring Xander Bogaerts on a strikeout, but the thing about the Manfred Man is that you’re one bad pitch away from a multi-run homer, always. That bad pitch came to Campusano, and he hit a no-doubter to left field.

Expect a much different lineup from the Yankees on Saturday as Carlos Rodón and Robbie Ray will deliver a battle of veteran lefties to a national audience. Fox will broadcast the matchup between the Yankees and Padres that starts at 7:15 p.m. (ET).

Box Score

SAN DIEGO (AP) — Luis Campusano hit a two-run homer with one out in the 10th inning and the San Diego Padres beat the New York Yankees 3-2 on Friday night to move back into the third National League wild-card spot.

The Padres won for just the second time in seven games and leapfrogged Arizona back into playoff position.

New York dropped four games behind first-place Tampa Bay in the AL East.

Campusano homered to left field off Paul Blackburn (7-3), his sixth. It came a half-inning after rookie Spencer Jones hit an RBI single to give the Yankees a 2-1 lead against his hometown Padres.

The 25-year-old Jones, who played at La Costa Canyon High in northern San Diego County, was playing for the first time as a big leaguer at Petco Park. After going 0 for 3, he singled to center off All-Star closer Mason Miller (5-2) to bring in automatic runner Luis García Jr. for a 2-1 lead.

Jones, who advanced to second on the throw, was thrown out trying to steal third as Heliot Ramos struck out.

Miller came into a 1-all game in the ninth and retired the side.

The Padres then got a baserunner to third with two outs before David Bednar struck out Austin Hays.

Ben Rice homered to the base of the batter’s eye in straightaway center field off Walker Buehler with two outs in the third to tie the game at 1. It was the All-Star’s 36th.

San Diego had gone up 1-0 when Ty France led off the second with a double against former Padres farmhand Max Fried, advanced on Jackson Merrill’s sacrifice bunt and scored on Xander Bogaerts’ single to center.

Up next

Yankees LHP Carlos Rodón (4-3, 3.20 ERA) and Padres LHP Robbie Ray (11-7, 3.14) are scheduled to start Saturday.

SAN DIEGO — The local boy made good, but it wasn’t enough.

After Spencer Jones put the Yankees ahead with a leadoff single in the top of the 10th against Padres flamethrower Mason Miller, his homecoming heroics got spoiled in the bottom of the frame.

Luis Campusano hit a walk-off two-run shot against Paul Blackburn to lift the Padres past the Yankees, 3-2, in a playoff-like atmosphere on Friday night at a sold-out Petco Park.

Blackburn had not allowed a run in his last 13 ¹/₃ innings before Friday night, or a home run since July 29. But after striking out the first batter he faced, he picked a bad time to snap both streaks, leaving a first-pitch sinker over the heart of the plate with one out that Campusano crushed to left field to end it.

“Definitely [stings],” manager Aaron Boone said. “Got all the confidence in the world there in Paul. … Probably wanted to get the sinker a little bit more in, but Campusano also put a really good swing on it. It’s part of it. We got a quick turnaround, get after it [Saturday].”

Jones had led off the top of the 10th with a single on Miller’s 100 mph fastball that put the Yankees up 2-1, but was later thrown out trying to steal third.

“Super excited to get a good swing off a good pitcher and give the guys a lead,” said Jones, who hails from nearby Encinitas and grew up going to games here. “I was ecstatic, and then quick turnaround and game over.”

On a night when they lost Trent Grisham to a right hamstring injury that could land him back on the IL, the Yankees (80-61) fell to four games back of the Rays for the division with 21 games to play, with the Red Sox moving within 3 ¹/₂ games of them for the top AL wild card. 

Max Fried was sharp in his second start back from the injured list for a recurrence of his left elbow bone bruise, building up to 72 pitches across 5 ²/₃ innings of one-run ball.

• CHECK OUT THE LATEST MLB STANDINGS AND YANKEES STATS

The left-hander pounded the strike zone, allowing him to be efficient and get deeper into the game despite the limited pitch count.

“Better and better every time,” Fried said. “For me, it’s more about, we have to win these games. So I’m going out there just trying to put up zeros. Ideally it would be better to be 12 pitches or less [in an inning], but it’s more important to make sure you’re putting up zeros as much as you can.”

With the Yankees moving their pitching around to take advantage of off days on Thursday and Monday, Will Warren piggybacked Fried for his second relief appearance of the season and was equally strong in a potential preview of his playoff role.

The right-hander threw 2 ¹/₃ scoreless innings, allowing just one baserunner before handing off to David Bednar to start the bottom of the ninth.

But the Padres bullpen matched with zeroes in relief of Walker Buehler, including lefty Adrian Morejon and Miller — who were both connected to the Yankees leading up to the trade deadline before both remained in San Diego.

Morejon struck out the side in the eighth inning before Miller retired the side in the ninth with two more punchouts, one on a 102 mph heater to Cody Bellinger, who fouled a ball off his left foot earlier in the game and appeared to be favoring throughout the night.

“Those two guys are pretty tough,” Boone said. “[Bradgley] Rodríguez and [Yuki] Matsui are good too. But Morejon and Miller are pretty dynamic there. Great swing by Spencer to get us on the board in the 10th, but obviously a tough one in the end.”

The Padres (74-67) nearly won it in the bottom of the ninth, when the winning run got to third on a double and a passed ball from Austin Wells. But Bednar struck out Austin Hays to send it to extras.

After the Yankees fell behind 1-0 in the second inning on Xander Bogaerts’ bloop single that fell in front of Grisham — who may have been able to catch if he was fully healthy — Ben Rice tied the game in the top of the third when he clobbered a 444-foot shot to the batter’s eye.

His 36th home run of the season was his second-longest, trailing only a 447-footer last month in Baltimore.

Mets starter Nolan McLean didn't have his best stuff Friday night against the San Francisco Giants, but he battled to turn it into another strong outing.

Overall, the right-hander allowed two runs on six hits with seven strikeouts, needing a career-high 105 pitches to get through six innings in New York's eventual 10-6 win. 

His toughest challenge came in the fifth inning with the bases-loaded as he recorded a strikeout and got a double play to escape the jam. Despite his pitch count, McLean made his case to interim manager Andy Green, coming back out for the sixth and tossing a 1-2-3 inning when the team needed it most.

"Lucky," McLean said of his night. "You never really want to get into that much traffic. But I made some big pitches when it really mattered there with the double play and then going back out for the sixth and making pitches. But yeah, you never want to pitch with that much traffic."

He added on pitching the sixth inning: "I've been honest with Andy about how I felt. He came and asked me how I was feeling, I said I was good. I would love the sixth inning if he'd let me have it. He told me he'd give me three batters. I said, 'OK, that's all I need.' I'm pretty sure that he trusted me to go back out there."

After striking out Christian Koss to end the top of the sixth inning, McLean pumped his fists and let out a scream. When asked about showing that type of emotion, the 25-year-old explained his mindset and the importance of getting through six innings.

"I never want to be the guy that just loses that fire, no matter how the game's going or how the season's going," McLean said. "I'm trying to go out there and win every single time. And when I only go five innings, I don't really put my team in a position to do that. So it's important to me to go at least six innings."

Green added that he is consistently impressed with McLean's ability to get out of trouble by using "a ridiculous amount of confidence."

"Definitely wasn't his sharpest," Green said. "I don't think we love the middle innings there, where he found himself behind a lot, walked the nine-hole hitter, put him in a tough spot. The thing about him that I have always appreciated is he can put himself in some nasty jams, and then he finds a ridiculous amount of confidence to work his way out of it. 

"So you got the bases loaded, you got nobody out, he looks like's about to be done before the fifth inning's even over. Punches a guy out and gets a double-play ball and he's out of the inning. We had a conversation after that inning, he liked where he was mentally, physically. Felt good about giving him three more batters, he went out there and handled them. Not a sharp outing, six innings, two runs, great result."

McLean is now 11-8 on the year and owns an impressive 1.87 ERA over his last 12 starts (3.06 overall ERA on the season). His performances have put him in the conversation for NL Rookie of the Year, but that's not something that crosses his mind when taking the mound as the season winds down.

"Yeah, I mean, of course. I think any competitor would want to win an award," McLean said. "Is it something I'm focused on? Not really. I don't pay a whole lot of attention to it. My job is to go out there and compete for the New York Mets."

The Rockies spent much of Friday night letting opportunities slip away, then finally broke through in a four-run sixth inning that turned a 4-1 deficit into a 5-4 lead.

TJ Rumfield added insurance with a 441-foot home run an inning later, and the bullpen carried the two-run advantage into the ninth.

Then it disappeared.

Jordan Romano opened the ninth with a walk, Connor Norby made a throwing error and Iván Herrera crushed a three-run homer to center as the Cardinals came back for a 7-6 win at Coors Field.

Colorado fell to 54-87, while St. Louis improved to 71-71. Cade Winquest earned the win to improve to 1-0, Romano took the loss and fell to 0-3, and Riley O’Brien recorded his 36th save.

Feltner battles through five

Ryan Feltner’s final line was uneven, but there were stretches where his stuff looked quite good.

The right-hander allowed four runs on seven hits and three walks over five innings, striking out five while throwing 62 of his 95 pitches for strikes.

The changeup was his best pitch.

All five of Feltner’s strikeouts came on the changeup, which generated three whiffs on seven swings.

He looked sharp immediately, retiring the Cardinals in order in the first and finishing Iván Herrera with an 84.4 mph changeup for a swinging strikeout.

The second inning was much more difficult.

Jordan Walker opened with a single and Leo Bernal walked before Nolan Gorman tied the game with an RBI single. Thomas Saggese then won a seven-pitch battle with Feltner and doubled home Joshua Báez to put St. Louis ahead 2-1.

Feltner responded with an excellent third, needing just nine pitches to retire Herrera, Alec Burleson and Walker in order. Burleson chased a changeup below the zone for strike three, while Walker took another one to end the inning.

A leadoff walk to Bernal created more traffic in the fourth, but Feltner retired the next three hitters.

The fifth finally got away from him.

Nathan Church opened with a soft single, Bryan Torres walked and Herrera reached on a 104.2 mph grounder to short. Burleson followed with a high chopper that Carrigg charged, but the ball kicked off the heel of his glove as a runner crossed in front of him. It was scored an RBI single.

The Rockies did make one excellent defensive play in the middle of the inning.

Walker lifted a relatively shallow fly to center, where Jake McCarthy caught it moving toward the infield and made a strong throw toward home. TJ Rumfield cut the throw off after the run scored and helped catch Herrera between second and third for a double play.

Bernal then doubled at 109.8 mph, although McCarthy made a sliding stop in deep right-center that kept the ball from reaching the wall and prevented another run from scoring in that moment.

Feltner eventually got Báez to end the inning.

His four-seamer still averaged 94.4 mph and touched 96.6, while the changeup gave him a legitimate finishing pitch. The command was not consistent enough to keep St. Louis from creating traffic.

Pallante keeps Colorado quiet

The Rockies scored before recording a hit.

McCarthy opened the bottom of the first with a four-pitch walk, stole second, moved to third on Mickey Moniak’s groundout and scored on Hunter Goodman’s sacrifice fly.

Colorado had chances for much more against Andre Pallante.

Carrigg opened the second with a triple and never moved the final 90 feet. Norby grounded out, Troy Johnston walked, Adael Amador sacrificed Johnston to second and Zac Veen grounded out to end the inning.

Goodman and Rumfield then drew consecutive two-out walks in the third before Carrigg grounded out on the first pitch he saw.

Pallante eventually settled in.

Norby singled to begin the fourth, but Johnston grounded into a double play. Pallante then worked a clean fifth to finish five innings with only one run allowed on two hits and four walks.

He struck out just one and generated only four whiffs on 33 swings, but Colorado did almost nothing with the contact it made. The Rockies averaged just 74.4 mph on 15 balls in play against him.

Pallante had retired seven straight and had thrown only 72 pitches through five.

Colorado breaks through in the sixth

Hancel Rincon entered for his major-league debut and got Goodman to line out.

Then the inning came apart.

Rumfield drove a ball into right and raced into third. St. Louis challenged the safe call, but replay upheld it.

Rincon then threw a wild pitch that brought Rumfield home.

Carrigg followed by driving a ball into the right-center gap and never stopped running, coming all the way around for an inside-the-park home run to cut the deficit to 4-3.

Norby singled, and that ended Rincon’s debut after just one-third of an inning.

Justin Bruihl replaced him, but Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol was still arguing with the umpires as the pitching change was made. The argument continued before play resumed, and Marmol kept yelling from the dugout until home-plate umpire Doug Eddings ejected him.

Once play resumed, Johnston doubled Norby to third and Amador tied the game with an RBI single to right.

Veen then gave Colorado the lead.

He missed his first attempt at a safety squeeze before getting the second bunt down toward the third-base side of the mound. Bruihl charged and shoveled the ball home with his glove, but Johnston was ruled safe.

The Cardinals had already used their replay challenge on Rumfield’s triple and could not challenge the play at the plate.

Colorado had turned a 4-1 deficit into a 5-4 lead.

Manfredi and Rumfield build the lead

Mark Manfredi gave the Rockies exactly what they needed after Feltner.

The left-hander retired all six hitters he faced over two perfect innings and struck out two.

His fastball averaged 95 mph, nearly a full mile per hour above his season average, while his slider generated two whiffs on four swings.

Carrigg helped him finish the sixth.

With two outs, Carrigg ranged toward the middle on Church’s grounder, charged it, fielded it on the backhand and fired a strong throw to first that narrowly beat the runner.

Manfredi came back for the seventh and retired another three in order, ending his night by winning an eight-pitch battle with Burleson on a 94 mph fastball.

Then Rumfield gave the Rockies some breathing room.

Goodman drove a ball 382 feet to center but came up just short.

Rumfield did not.

He got a 2-0 sweeper and launched it 441 feet to right-center for his 15th home run, extending the lead to 6-4.

Jimmy Herget took over in the eighth and retired Walker and Bernal before Báez singled with two outs. Brennan Bernardino then came on to retire pinch-hitter Ramón Urías and preserve the two-run lead.

Colorado managed only a two-out infield single from Ezequiel Tovar in the bottom half.

The lead went to Romano.

Romano cannot close it

Romano opened the ninth with a seven-pitch walk to Saggese.

That was the first problem.

Church flew out, but Saggese stole second before José Fermín hit a slow ground ball toward third. Norby’s throw got away, putting runners at second and third with one out.

Herrera made the mistake hurt.

Romano left an 84.2 mph slider over the plate, and Herrera drove it 430 feet to center at 103.5 mph.

Three runs scored.

St. Louis led 7-6.

Romano retired only one hitter, allowing three runs — two earned — on one hit and one walk.

Colorado still had one last chance.

O’Brien opened the bottom of the ninth with three straight sweepers to Moniak.

Moniak swung through the third.

Goodman grounded out before Rumfield singled with two outs and Ryan Ritter entered to run for him. O’Brien then threw away a pickoff attempt, moving the tying run into scoring position.

Carrigg came to the plate.

O’Brien threw him three straight sweepers.

Carrigg swung through all three.

Game over.

Final thoughts

The Rockies spent the early innings creating opportunities without finishing them.

Carrigg’s leadoff triple went to waste in the second. Consecutive two-out walks produced nothing in the third. Colorado finished just 1-for-8 with runners in scoring position and left eight runners on base.

Rumfield finished 3-for-4 with a triple, homer and two runs scored. Carrigg went 2-for-5 with a triple and an inside-the-park homer.

The defense had its moments too. McCarthy made multiple important plays in center, Amador made a slick backhand play up the middle and Carrigg made a strong play to finish Manfredi’s first inning.

Manfredi was excellent, and Herget and Bernardino kept the lead intact through the eighth.

The Rockies did enough to erase a three-run deficit and build a two-run lead.

They just could not finish it.

Up next

The Rockies and Cardinals continue their series Saturday night at Coors Field, with first pitch scheduled for 6:10 p.m. MDT.

Colorado will send Mason Adams to the mound for the third start of his major-league career. The right-hander enters 0-0 with a 3.00 ERA and 10 strikeouts.

St. Louis will counter with left-hander Matthew Liberatore, who enters 5-13 with a 5.41 ERA and 141 strikeouts.

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Dodgers manager Dave Roberts’ tone shifted slightly Friday, as he addressed Shohei Ohtani’s absence from the lineup for the second straight day.

After describing a stint on the injured list as “unlikely but not impossible” on Thursday, Roberts said Friday that he was “hopeful, but I wouldn’t say confident,” that Ohtani would avoid the IL.

Still considered day to day, Ohtani did not play in the Dodgers’ 5-3 win over the Washington Nationals.

There are a wide range of possibilities for Ohtani as he continues to deal with lingering pain in his right biceps. Though the Dodgers experimented earlier in the season with ways to manage his two-way workload — holding him out of the batting order on the day he pitched, giving him the day off after a start on the mound, or both — this is the first time he has missed two consecutive games. And he hasn’t pitched since July 3.

Read more:What Shohei Ohtani’s latest injury scare reveals about Dodgers' late-season plans

Roberts described Thursday as a “spa day,” meaning Ohtani rested, watched the game from the dugout and didn’t do any baseball activities. Roberts said Friday was a day to “start getting his body moving a little bit.”

“Let’s stay in communication, and let’s see when the time to give the green light is,” Roberts said.

Roberts said Ohtani has been “very agreeable” with the decision to rest him. Ohtani has declined multiple requests for comment over consecutive days through a team spokesperson.

“I think he wants to be out there, wants to play,” Roberts said, “but he’s understanding.”

An MRI scan of the area around his biceps and neck showed no structural damage, or as Roberts put it “nothing of note at all,” which is a promising sign. But Ohtani’s swings and body language Wednesday signaled that something was clearly wrong, affecting Ohtani’s play.

The fact that the Dodgers (84-57) have not put Ohtani on the IL yet doesn’t necessarily mean that he’ll be out fewer than 10 days — it just means that they can’t rule out an earlier return. Teams can backdate IL moves up to three days. But that hasn’t traditionally served as a hard deadline for the Dodgers to make IL decisions. It isn’t expected to in this case, either.

Although having an injured player take up a roster spot for more than a few days isn’t ideal, it’s easier to cover for the designated hitter spot than other positions. And there is no obvious replacement on the 40-man roster pushing for a call-up through an extended period of outstanding play. Those factors mitigate the urgency to make a move.

In Ohtani’s absence, the Dodgers have started outfielder Alex Call at DH against left-handed pitchers, with Dalton Rushing available off the bench in the later innings.

The setup has afforded Rushing more regular at-bats than initially expected when the Dodgers activated him this week. Because Rushing (elbow) is still working through a throwing program, the original plan was to have him pinch-hit one at-bat per game until he was ready to return to catching duties.

The Dodgers also have not officially ruled out Ohtani’s return to pitching, seeing even one or two innings from him as a plus. But the longer he’s out, the less likely it’ll become.

Ohtani’s planned buildup from tossing live batting practice on Aug. 22, to preparing to possibly start a little more than a week later, instead ended with the Dodgers shutting him down from throwing. Ohtani hasn’t even gone through weighted plyo ball drills in “a few days,” according to Roberts.

Asked what that meant for Ohtani’s return-to-pitching timeline, Roberts said it “certainly pushes it back.”

The priority, however, is getting Ohtani back to himself on the offensive side before the postseason — whether that means a couple days off or more than a week.

Roberts described the two-day break from the lineup as not just a physical one, but also a mental reprieve for Ohtani. He recorded just two hits in his last six games (23 at-bats). And over the past four weeks, he has a .703 OPS — compared to his .903 OPS overall this season.

“With a lot of players, when they’re not feeling well physically it adds to the toll mentally and emotionally,” Roberts said. “So I think Shohei is like that, like most players. We’re just kind of balancing how many days is sufficient to then be worth the time to get back, versus running this play out of days off and it not being adequate.”

Back on track?

Coming off a series loss to the Cardinals, the Dodgers’ offense carried the momentum it found at the beginning of the week into Friday. Even slumping Kyle Tucker hit a solo home run against the Nationals — his first homer since Aug. 8 and his first at Dodger Stadium since June 15.

Blake Snell tossed six shutout innings, navigating the traffic of five hits and two walks while allowing only one baserunner past second base.

Reliever Seth Halvorsen gave up three hits without recording an out in the ninth, but the Dodgers had built up enough of a lead to weather a Washington (67-76) comeback attempt.

Read more:Why Tarik Skubal thinks Stan Kroenke could turn Angels into coveted home for free agents

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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.

Death, taxes, and the Rays having a horrible time in Globe Life Field.

It’s been 4 years since the Rays last win in Arlington, Texas. On this night, they turned to a former Ranger to break the long losing streak. Nick Martinez has been the Rays stopper all season, and once again he answered the call.

6.1 IP 5 H, 2 BB, 4 Ks, and at his hand just a solo HR given up. Now his final earned run line looked a bit uglier thanks to Garrett Cleavinger, but make no mistake, Martinez was exactly the man the Rays needed to finally break the Globe Life curse. Well, the win and loss curse at least.

On the night when the Rays finally got their first win since June 2nd 2022 in Globe Life, it came at the cost of three of their key pitchers. Before the game Shane McClanahan and Manny Rodriguez were announced added to the 15-day IL. But it was the end of the game, with All Star closer Bryan Baker, in the midst of a an all time Rays season for a reliever, would leave the game wincing and twisting looking anything but comfortable. Hopefully precautions abound, but the Rays pen has been a struggle all season and they can ill afford to miss Baker for any amount of time.

Can’t wallow in the unknown, so back to what happened earlier on the field and Nick Martinez. More than anything, Martinez gave the Rays room to breathe a little. Just stay within a game and feel like they had a true punchers chance to take a game from Texas in Texas. He gave time for the bats to find ways to get the lead and extend a lead and hit with a lead. And he turned the ball over to the pen with only 8 outs to cover and 5 runs to protect. Hard to ask more than that from the ace of the Rays.

Speaking of the Rays hitters, a night after floundering without a hope or prayer vs Cal Quantril, they faired much better vs former 1st round Vanderbilt star Kumar Rocker. Rocker came in after an opener, which how it ended up mostly was academic as he entered to start the 3rd facing Rays leadoff hitter Yandy Diaz.

In terms of Rays hitters, perhaps nobody needed a big night more than Jonathan Aranda. Aranda has not been his normal self for several months, but the All Star level hitter is still in there, and tonight he was the engine that drove the Rays offense.

Aranda tied up the game in the 3rd greeting Rocker with a loud solo HR. The homer came the inning following the Rangers jumping out to an early lead the inning before on their own solo HR. Having that answer immediately showed some fight desperately needed vs a fellow playoff contender.

Richie Palacios would follow that up with a solo shot of his own to give the Rays a lead which somehow, and frankly unbelievably, they would not relinquish.

He would follow that up in his next at bat by doubling in Yandy Diaz who had a double himself to extend the Rays lead. Junior Caminero would have a double of his own, followed by more hits from Mesa, and Chandler, and even a productive albeit rally killing run scoring double play by Cedric Mullins, would all work to give the Rays a 6-1 lead.

But this is Texas and nothing is easy. Or fun. Or without agony.

After Nick Martinez was unable to get through the 7th to save the pen, Cash would call upon Garrett Cleavinger to try and clean up the mess.

Now, I have a strategy that I think could work well for the Rays: whoever Kevin Cash will call upon to get warm in a hurry and come in to clean up Cleavingers mess, just use that guy first instead.

Well, that bit of analytics has not made its way to the dugout yet, and instead Cleavinger would immediately walk the first batter he faced loading the bases. 9th hole hitter Elias Diaz would then hit a grand slam to bring Texas back within a run 6-5.

Cleavinger was given another batter to maybe try and get an out. Unfortunately, not gonna happen. After another single, Cleavinger would be replaced by Cam Booser would would clean up the mess and induce an inning ending double play vs Corey Seager to escape the inning with Martinez still the pitcher of record.

Garrett Cleavinger’s line tonight: 0 outs recorded, 2 hits 2 ER 1 BB

The rest of the way Cash used the few reliable high leverage arms he had. Kevin Kelly continued his great season, working a scoreless 8th.

In the 9th Baker would take the ball, and mentioned at the top, never quite looked right before departing. Two walks, no outs, and we wait with bated breath.

Tyler Wells would get the call to try and hang on to the win, and much like the rest of the Rays 2026 deadline, would deliver. Big save, huge win, and maybe just maybe now the Rays can take less than 4 years before their next win in Arlington.

Game Summary

Andrea Pallante pitched 5 stout innings to get the Cardinals started. Gorman, Saggese, Burleson and Walker drove in early runs to stake the Cardinals to an early 4-1 lead. Unfortunately, the Cardinal bullpen melted down yet again, with a disastrous debut by Hancel Rincon, allowing the Rockies to go up 6-4. But a late 3-run HR by Ivan Herrera bailed the team out, followed by an O’Brien save to close out a win, ugly, but a win.

The Cardinals have won 3 out of 4 on a tough road trip that spans 9 games in 3 cities. Anything can happen, right? Winning creates that opportunity.

Pre-game notes

• Greetings from Denver, Colorado. It’s a warm evening tonight, just under 90 degrees start. Weather won’t be a factor, other than I expect the ball to be flying.
• Pallante goes for the Cardinals. I’m curious how Coor affects his stuff.
• Feltner for the Rockies.
• Fernandez optioned to make room for Pallante. I assume that means Mautz to the bullpen and likely hot tonight.

The first innings

The Cardinals go quickly in the top of the first. Pallante walks the first guy on four pitches, McCarthy, who was a pain in the series back in St. Louis. A stolen base, ground out and a fly ball produce a quick 1-0 lead for the Rockies.

The Cardinals answer right back in the second. Walker leads off with a single and Bernal walks. A one-out RBI single by Gorman ties the game and a liner by Saggese that carooms off the pitcher into the outfield lands another run. Pallante works in and out of trouble in the bottom of the second, having trouble locating any of his pitches.

The Cardinals go quietly in the third, Burleson racks up another strikeout. He is on an awful streak. In the bottom of the third, Pallante continues to struggle with command, issuing two more walks, but working in and out of trouble. Cardinals up 2-1, in spite of Pallante with 4 walks and 0 K’s.

The middle innings

The top of the fourth is more of the same. The Cardinals ABs look like hitters who flew in late and didn’t get enough sleep. Feltner K’ed 5 through four innings. In the bottom of fourth, Pallante yet again dealt with traffic but a GIDP settled things nicely. I don’t think I’ve seen him land a 4-seam FB for a strike all night.

Rolling into the fifth inning (noting the game is barely an hour old), the Cardinals rally. Church and Torres lead off with a walk and a single. Herrera reaches on a ball whiffed by their SS Carrig. They gave him a hit, but he just screwed up a doubleplay ball straight up. Burleson singled in a run. Walker hit a SacFly that scored a second run, but a TOOTBLAN by Herrera resulted in an out at third on the play. Bernal promptly doubled, putting runners on 2nd and 3rd but the rally ended there as Baez grounded out. Cardinals leave the inning leading 4-1, but should have been more. Pallante did a good thing and comes out with a quick, clean bottom of the fifth. 72 pitches for him.

Feltner was lifted for Manfredi in the sixth. Cardinals went quietly. Rincon in for Pallante in the bottom of the sixth. After a quick out, things went sideways. Rumfield with a Coors triple on a ball not well played by Walker. An unsuccessful challenge by the Cardinals results in an umpire doing a jig after the replay supported the call. followed by a Rincon wild pitch to narrow the score. Carrig scores on a poor choice by Church who tried to leap and catch a ball 20 feet over his head, turning a double into an inside-the-park-homerun. A third hit ends Rincon’s debut outing, which felt a lot like Mautz’ debut the other night. Ugly. Bruihl in for Rincon. An automatic ball on a pitch timer violation adds drama and an Oli ejection. Not entirely sure what happened there, but suspecting the roots of this was the earlier challenge. A double and a single continue the avalanche, tying the game. A squeeze bunt gives the Rockie’s the lead, and no out is recorded. Runner looked out, but alas, no challenge remaining. The inning mercifully ends with the Rockies leading 5-4. Could have been much worse.

The decisive and bitter exhilarating end

The Cardinals offer no resistance to the vaunted Rockies pitching in the seventh. Burleson racks up another K. This is not going well. Bruihl remained in for the seventh. He gives up a HR to Rumfield and was promptly replaced by Winquest. He gets two quick outs, but the Rockies now up 6-4.

Herget replaces Winfredi in the eighth. Two quick outs followed by a Baez single chases Herget for Bernadino. Urias pinch hits for Gorman and pops out. Winquest remains in for the eighth and works through without drama.

In the ninth, Saggese leads off with a walk and steals second. A fly reduces the WPA for the Cardinals. Fermin gets on via error putting runners at second and third. Herrera crushes a 3-run HR to straight away center, dramatically changing the Cardinals’ WPA. For the record, WPA calc is unaware of the Cardinal bullpen situation.

O’Brien in to close. Leads out with a 3-pitch K. Goodman grounds out. A single and an ROB throwing error on a pick-off adds drama, but a K ends it quickly. Cardinals win 7-6.

Post-Game Notes

• This season has had some ugly losses. This one falls into the ugly win category.
• Be sure and check out “Tonight on the Farm – Friday 9.4” over at The Feed.
• Walker reached 100 RBI this game.
• Winquest with his first MLB decision…a win!
• Watching a game at Coors Field is indeed a pleasant experience. I wish the Cardinals played better here, but they don’t. It’s a weird place to play.