Category: Baseball

What would a baseball team in Los Angeles want from a retired artist and designer in New York?

Janet Bennett wasn’t sure.

Generations of Angelenos are familiar with her signature project. You probably have walked right past it. Those colorful tile mosaics that decorate the long corridors toward baggage claim in five terminals at Los Angeles International Airport? She designed them.

You might have seen them in the movies or on television: "Airplane!," "Mad Men" and "The Graduate," just for starters.

You might have memorized the trivia: When you passed the red tiles, you were halfway down the corridor. “Red means halfway” was shorthand for locals in the know, just like “E Ticket” or “the #19 sandwich.”

“It just says L.A. in so many ways,” said Janet Marie Smith, the Dodgers’ executive vice president of planning and development.

The Dodgers wanted to get in touch with Bennett because they were about to install a similar tile wall at Dodger Stadium. Smith could not find Bennett, but she reached out to someone who had liked an article about Bennett that had been posted on LinkedIn. Same last name, same spelling. Smith crossed her fingers.

Turned out to be a relative of Bennett. The Dodgers sent some sketches of their project and asked Bennett for her thoughts.

“I was a little disappointed I didn’t work the project,” Bennett said over the telephone, chuckling, “but I don’t think I could have done it at this stage.”

Bennett is 96, happily living one block from Central Park. The LAX project was completed in 1961 — the year before Dodger Stadium opened.

What the Dodgers really were offering was the recognition denied to Bennett six decades ago.

“I realized they just wanted my blessing,” Bennett said. “They wanted the connection. And that was very satisfying.”

And, yes, she had some thoughts for the Dodgers. She wrote them a letter by hand, the old-fashioned way. The letter got lost in the old-fashioned mail, but Bennett’s daughter had thought to take a picture of the letter, and she sent it to the Dodgers via email.

Bennett’s advice for the colors of the tiles?

“Don’t limit it,” she wrote, “to the Dodger blue.”

---

On game days, Dodgers players take an elevator to the lowest level of Dodger Stadium. As they exit, they look to their right to see the Dodgers’ World Series championship trophies and most valuable player awards, to their left to see the Gold Glove awards.

When they turn toward the clubhouse, they see Cy Young and Silver Slugger and manager of the year awards on the right, rookie of the year awards and then the Dodgers’ retired numbers on the left.

“It’s meant to be uplifting and motivating, and a reminder to everyone — our players included, who take that path — of what a storied franchise this is,” Smith said.

Read more:Plaschke: There are 3,000 reasons Clayton Kershaw is the greatest pitcher in Dodger history

The fans in the fanciest seats, the ones you see on television right behind home plate, can take that path too — but only until they reach the double doors, the ones with “DODGERS CLUBHOUSE” painted above them.

Pass through those doors, and you used to see a gray wall decorated with signage pulled from storage — signs from events held at Dodger Stadium long ago, and others commemorating milestone seasons. As part of the clubhouse renovations last winter, Smith and her team imagined how to freshen up that walkway.

“We wanted to try to get it out of its funk of just being a concrete wall,” she said. “And, once we got tile in our head, how could you not think of the LAX walls?”

The Dodgers’ clubhouse features a tile wall “in the hydrotherapy area,” Smith said. The tiles there are all Dodger blue.

For the clubhouse walkway, Smith and architect Brenda Levin opted for multiple shades of blue tiles, interspersed with white tiles — a decision reinforced when they received Bennett’s suggestion to go beyond Dodger blue. The wall includes more than 714,000 individual tiles, Smith said.

“I think they did an excellent job,” Bennett said. “They got the rhythm of vertical stripes, which has a very athletic look.”

To Smith, a fierce advocate of sports venues reflecting their host cities, the tile wall reflects home.

“In many ways, that is a symbol: not just of L.A., but of ‘Welcome to L.A.’ ” she said. “That felt right to us.

“It’s not screaming at you. But, if you know, you know. We’ve always wanted that area to feel like a ‘Welcome to L.A.’ to our players.”

Read more:Hernández: The Dodgers have the best record in baseball. Why they still have room to improve

If you know, you know, but the players may not know. Dave Roberts, the Dodgers’ manager, said he did not know the story behind the wall until Smith explained it to him.

“It’s a great little touch,” Roberts said.

Smith said players and team executives have asked about the wall. Many of them did not know about the LAX walls, but she understood why.

“They don’t fly commercial,” she said.

---

If you merit an obituary in the newspaper, the first sentence generally includes your claim to fame. In 2007, The Times published an obituary with this first sentence: “Charles D. Kratka, an interior designer and graphic artist whose Modernist projects included the mosaic walls in tunnels at Los Angeles International Airport, has died.”

Said Bennett: “I just about freaked out.”

After Bennett had finished the LAX mosaics, she left town. By the time the airport unveiled them, she said, she was in Latin America. Until she saw that Times obituary, it had not occurred to her that anyone else might have gotten the credit for the LAX project.

In the obituary, the airport historian credited Kratka with the design, and so did the director of volunteers at the airport museum. In 2017, so did an official LAX document: “Completed in 1961, Charles Kratka’s mosaic murals have become iconic symbols of Los Angeles International Airport.”

At the start of the Jet Age, when airplane travel was a glamorous affair and even passengers in the cheaper seats enjoyed in-flight meals served with silverware, Bennett said the murals were designed to evoke the wonder of a cross-country trip: blue for the ocean at each end of the corridor, and in between green for the forests, and yellows, oranges and browns for farmland, prairies and deserts.

Bennett freely admits that Kratka was involved in the project. The city hired Pereira and Luckman as architects for the LAX expansion, and Kratka was the firm’s head of interior design.

“He was my boss,” Bennett said.

Bennett said the mosaic design was hers, although she said she did not recall whether she had chosen to use glass for the tiles.

“Everything from that point on was mine,” she said.

Bennett and her family have pushed for LAX to recognize her as the designer. Airport officials acknowledge Bennett’s participation in the project but, amid a search for records from six decades ago and without Kratka to provide his version of events, they believe a conclusive determination would be difficult. And, back in the day, credit was more commonly attributed to a firm rather than to an individual designer.

When I asked for a statement saying whom LAX currently credits with the design, an airport spokeswoman said, “LAX has no official comment.”

Read more:Plaschke: Rob Pelinka and JJ Redick should be safe under Dodgers regime … for now

In 2017, Design Observer investigated and ultimately supported Bennett’s claims, citing two primary findings: one, an acclaimed designer of the same era “vividly recalls Bennett doing the murals,” and, two, Bennett installed similar tile murals for two Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) stations in San Francisco.

That was good enough for Smith and the Dodgers.

At LAX, there is no sign crediting anyone — not Bennett, not Kratka, not Pereira and Luckman, not anyone else — for the murals. However, the Dodgers have given Bennett her due at Dodger Stadium, on a sign directly across from their tile wall.

“This mosaic wall draws inspiration from architect Janet Bennett’s iconic mosaic murals at Los Angeles International Airport,” the text begins, “that transformed a transit space into a work of art.”

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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.

Book excerpt: What scared Bryce Harper away from signing with Giants in 2019 originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

• Editor’s Note: Alex Pavlovic’s new book “The Franchise: San Francisco Giants: A Curated History of the Orange and Black,” hits bookshelves Tuesday, July 8. The following is an excerpt regarding the team’s pursuit of Bryce Harper during the 2018-19 offseason. You can purchase the book HERE.

For all of the attention that was paid to the Jon Lester chase (in 2014), the Giants never really felt he was coming to San Francisco. Larry Baer, Brian Sabean, Bobby Evans and Bruce Bochy flew to Atlanta to meet with Lester and Buster Posey, who lived a few miles away, but it was pretty apparent that he would choose the Cubs. As they walked out of the meeting, Bochy, as good a judge of body language as anyone in the sport, turned to the others and said Lester wasn’t coming to San Francisco.

Lester was high-profile, but over the years, the Giants had fallen just short on plenty of others, from Pudge Rodriguez to Zack Greinke. The first pursuit of Shohei Ohtani was a long shot, but the Giants did their best to stand out. Trainer Dave Groeschner laid out a plan for the Japanese superstar to pitch every six days and play the outfield. Bochy added a personal touch by learning some Japanese from bullpen catcher Taira Uematsu. But the Giants could tell that Ohtani didn’t love their plan to use him in the outfield, and he chose to play in Anaheim, where he could be a designated hitter.

The other target that offseason, Giancarlo Stanton, was also best suited to DH, but back then, he was an outfielder and the reigning NL MVP. The sides agreed to a deal that would send Stanton to San Francisco in exchange for Denard Span and minor leaguers Jacob Gonzalez and Andrew Suarez, with the Marlins potentially sending about $40 million over the next decade to help offset some of the $295 million left on his deal. But a week after meeting with the Giants at a hotel in Los Angeles, Stanton used his no-trade clause to rebuff them and the Cardinals and land in New York.

Falling short on Ohtani and Stanton helped usher in a new front office, and a few months in, Farhan Zaidi made a run at one of the game’s best players. In just about every way, Bryce Harper was the perfect fit. 

He was just 26, making him the rare superstar who could chase another title with the existing core but also be around long enough to lead a future generation. While Harper had some of the worst numbers of his career at Oracle Park, he loved the atmosphere. Sure, he always found it chilly, but he had faced the Giants in the 2014 postseason and never forgot what it was like to play in front of that crowd. 

The Giants were a late entrant in the sweepstakes, with Baer, Zaidi and Bochy flying to Las Vegas to meet Harper, his wife and agent Scott Boras at a casino near his home in early February. Years earlier, Harper had played on a travel team called the San Diego Stars that got field passes for a Padres game. He got to meet Bochy, and he remembered how all of his fingers disappeared in the former catcher’s huge hands. When they met again in 2019, Harper told Bochy he would love to play for him, but he needed to know how long they might be together. He knew Bochy was going into the final year of his contract and had not announced his future plans. Harper’s one shot at free agency was too big a decision for any uncertainty.

“We had a great meeting. They’re a great organization and they have been for a long time,” Harper said. “The biggest thing for me was asking Bochy if he was going to be here, and he said no, he had just one year left. I think that was the thing that really scared me the most.”

The question was still bouncing around Harper’s head as he neared a decision a few weeks later. A night before it was announced, he called Brandon Crawford and asked about the team and the organization. He also asked if the shortstop had any insight into what the plan was after Bochy retired. 

Nobody did at the time, and the next day, Harper reached a $330 million deal with the Phillies. The Giants had offered him $310 million over 12 years, and while they signaled to Boras that they could stretch higher if needed, there was a lot of ground to be made up because of the difference in state taxes. There was also another problem. “The key thing,” Boras said, “is they were late to the event.” Boras and Harper thought the meetings with the Giants went well, but they were always chasing offers from the Phillies and never caught up.

In a twist, the succession plan to Bochy ended up being to hire Gabe Kapler, who was Harper’s manager in his first year in Philadelphia. “You never know what’s going to happen, right?” Harper said. “I love Philadelphia. I love where I’m at and I’m very happy with the decision. It came down to Philadelphia or San Francisco, and I just felt that for me and my family, it felt right that we were going to go to Philadelphia.”

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Alex Cooper booed while singing ‘Take Me Out to the Ballgame' at Wrigley Field originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia

It appears Chicago Cubs fans do not want to take Alex Cooper out to the ballgame after her performance in the seventh-inning stretch.

Cooper, the famed host of the “Call Her Daddy” podcast, attended the Cubs-Cardinals game at Wrigley Field Sunday, where she sang “Take Me Out to the Ballgame.”

But her unique rendition and choreographed performance left many fans booing from the stands.

The Cubs had promoted the event as “Big Al’s Takeover.”

“Your Father, Alex Cooper, is taking over the Friendly Confines! Come on down to Wrigley Field Sunday, July 6, and take part in Big Al’s Takeover … You don’t want to miss Alex lead the crowd in ‘Take Me Out to the Ballgame’ during the seventh-inning stretch,” the team wrote ahead of the game.

Video posted to social media shows Cooper starting out the song with an interesting vocal choice as two friends performed choreographed moves behind her.

The boos started shortly after the performance began, but Cooper didn’t appear fazed. She continued through the end of the song, closing with a grand finale as she belted a note from the top of her friend’s shoulders while laughing.

Alex Cooper @callherdaddy was booed through the entire 7th inning stretch for her Take me Out to the Ballgame rendition #wrigley#Cubspic.twitter.com/eaug5RxXh0

— MBDChicago (@MBDChicago) July 7, 2025

.@alexandracooper brought the energy for Sunday Night Baseball 😂

📺 Sunday Night Baseball on ESPN pic.twitter.com/gZbjVMQvuD

— espnW (@espnW) July 7, 2025

While the seventh-inning stretch has carried many unconventional performances before, it appeared Cubs fans weren’t into this rendition.

“This was so brutal,” one fan wrote on X.

“You know it’s bad when you get booed during the stretch. Most get booed for a bad rendition of the National Anthem, but this is pathetic,” another commented.

A Reddit user reported hearing the boos from their condo four blocks away from the field.

“As a Cards fan, W Cubs fans for booing that horrendous rendition,” another wrote on X.

Cooper did not post any footage of the performance to her own social media channels and has not yet commented on the boos.

The Cubs ultimately gave fans plenty to cheer about Sunday, however, as they shut out the St. Louis Cardinals 11-0.

Just as the Mets appeared close to getting one DH back to full health, another one appears to have sustained an injury.

Starling Marte's right knee "flared up again" during his last at-bat of Sunday's loss to the Yankees and he is undergoing testing to determine the severity of the injury, manager Carlos Mendoza said after the game. The skipper added that this is the "same knee that he had issues with last year, spring training."

When asked about his level of concern, Mendoza exhaled and said, "I gotta wait."

"I was just talking to him and he was like, 'Obviously, I felt it,'" Mendoza said. "But I gotta wait and see what the doctor says, or the trainers."

SNY's Andy Martino reported that a source said the Mets don't expect to have anything on the injury Sunday night and might not have any information on Monday, either, as the testing gets done.

"It doesn't sound like a quick resolution with Marte, don't want to speculate beyond that. But that's the deal, there's gonna be some tests and we're not gonna know for a little while," Martino said.

With Monday's day off, the Mets have time. And Tuesday, which Martino indicated could be when the club knows more, could be when a move is made as they are primed to activate Jesse Winker from the IL.

Mendoza said earlier in the day that Winker, who then went on to hit a long home run in Sunday's game for Triple-A Syracuse, had a chance to be added to the 26-man roster for Tuesday's series opener in Baltimore against the Orioles.

Winker has missed around two months of action with a right oblique strain. He had eight extra-base hits (one home run) with 10 RBI in 78 plate appearances over 24 games with a .239/.321/.418 slash line for a .739 OPS (112 OPS+) before landing on the IL.

The injury to Marte appeared to happen when he took a 1-1 offering from Yankees closer Devin Williams for a ball. After Marte took the pitch above the zone, he grabbed at his left knee and called for time. As the Mets coaching staff and training staff came out, they looked at his right knee, which he began flexing. The veteran remained in the game, swung through a change-up and fouled one off, before grounding out to third.

Marte, who finished 3-for-5 on the day, was only able to jog out of the box and slowly made his way down to first in obvious discomfort and disappointment.

The 36-year-old was making just his fifth start in the outfield on the season and had a busy day out in left field, in addition to running the bases (including grabbing a steal) after three of his five trips to the plate. The veteran made 80 starts in the outfield last season and 82 in 2023.

Marte has 11 extra-base hits (four home runs) and 20 RBI in 58 games and is slashing .270/.353/.387 for a .740 OPS.

Clayton Kershaw was named to his 11^th All-Star Game on Sunday by Commissioner Rob Manfred, who used his “Legend Pick” to select the Dodgers’ left-hander. Kershaw (4-0) is one of just 20 pitchers in baseball history to strike out 3,000 batters.

He’ll be joined on the N.L. team by right-hander Yoshinobu Yamamoto, who leads the Dodgers in wins (8), strikeouts (109), innings (96 2/3) and ERA (2.51). The Dodgers declined to make either Kershaw or Yamamoto available to the media after their selections.

First baseman Freddie Freeman, catcher Will Smith and designated hitter Shohei Ohtani were chosen as NL starters last week. The All-Star Game will be played July 15 in Atlanta.

Read more:Dodgers' All-Star lineup record quest fizzles with 3 of 8 finalists voted as starters

Injury update

The Dodgers’ injury-battered pitching staff could soon be getting healthier. Right-hander Tyler Glasnow threw a bullpen Sunday in preparation for what Roberts will be a return to the rotation during the Dodgers’ six-game roadtrip. Glasnow has been out sine April 28 with shoulder discomfort. He had a 4.50 ERA in five starts before going on the IL.

Left-hander Blake Snell and reliever Blake Treinen are both scheduled to make minor-league rehab assignments this week in advance for their return to the roster. Snell, a two-time Cy Young winner, as been sidelined since April 2 with a shoulder injury, is expected to pitch for Class A Rancho Cucamonga. Treinen, who last pitched in mid-April, is expected to make a one-inning outing with Triple A Oklahoma City. He is recovering from a right forearm strain.

Read more:'Super grateful' Clayton Kershaw, Dodger teammates bask in glow of 3,000th strikeout

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

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.

When the Dodgers left Los Angeles for their final road trip before the All-Star break last summer, they had a 55-36 record and a 7 1/2-game lead in the National League West.

That team went on to win the World Series.

When this year’s Dodgers land in Milwaukee on Sunday night to begin the last road trip before the All-Star break, their record will be a game better and their division lead about the same, pending the results of San Diego’s game Sunday night.

But if you take a good look under the hood, there are obvious — and worrying — differences between this year and last year.

In 2024, the Dodgers had one of the best records in baseball against teams with a winning record. After Sunday’s 5-1 loss to the Houston Astros, this year’s team is just a game over .500 — 20-19 — against teams over .500. Those are the only kind of teams the Dodgers will face in the playoffs.

And it’s not just that they lose, it’s how they lose that’s troubling.

In losing three in a row for the first time since mid-May, the Dodgers were outscored 29-6 by the Astros. The sweep was Houston’s first in a three-game series at Dodger Stadium since 2008, when the team played in the National League.

Manager Dave Roberts, however, pronounced himself unconcerned.

Read more:Shohei Ohtani wows early, but Dodgers' bullpen falters in loss to Astros

“I know we're a good team,” he said. “The point is to win as many games in the regular season as possible. I really don't care who we beat, I just want to win more games than anyone.

“So right now, or even going forward, I don't pay too much attention to that.”

Look a little deeper, though, and there are other concerns. The Dodgers’ injured list, already as crowded as a Beyoncé concert — it swelled to 12 players with Max Muncy’s addition Thursday — could get even larger this week depending on the health of outfielder Teoscar Hernández and utility player Tommy Edman.

Teoscar Hernández, who fouled a ball off his left foot Saturday, spent 13 days on the IL with a groin problem in May and has been troubled by that injury and a nagging hip-flexor issue that could be behind a slump that has seen him hit .188/.240/.321 over his last 30 games. Edman didn’t play Sunday after a ball off the small toe on his right foot over the weekend. Both players had MRI scans Sunday with Edman’s showing a fracture of the toe.

Kiké Hernández has been battling a sore left elbow that affects  his swing for about a month. He may have to be shut down to let it heal.

“There is talk about one of those guys potentially going on the IL,” Roberts said. “I don't see it being Tommy but we're still kind of trying to figure that out. And then who would we bring [up]?”

With those three unavailable, the only player Roberts had on the bench Sunday was catcher Will Smith. And with the rotation still missing four starters to injury, he gave the ball to right-hander Emmet Sheehan, who had thrown just four big-innings all season.

That left manager Dave Roberts with a short bench. And with the rotation still missing four starters to injury, he gave the ball to right-hander Emmet Sheehan, who had thrown just four big-league innings all season.

Read more:Dodgers' pitchers get torched during historic lopsided loss to hated Astros

Sheehan went one better Sunday, yielding just a run on five hits over five innings. But his teammates did little against Houston starter Ryan Gusto (6-3), who gave up four hits — including a run-scoring double to Dalton Rushing — over a season-high six innings.

Will Klein came on in favor of Sheehan to start the sixth and after two quick outs, the Astros loaded the bases on a double, a hit batter and an infield single. Klein (1-1) then walked Zack Short on a 3-2 pitch to force in the go-ahead run.

The Astros padded their lead with back-to-back homers from Christian Walker and Yainer Díaz to start the seventh off reliever Tanner Scott.

Jose Altuve closed the scoring with another solo homer off Anthony Banda in the ninth.

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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.

The Yankees have been looking for that big play during this tough stretch. 

Hoping to snap their season-high six-game losing streak on Sunday afternoon, they were able to open an early advantage over the shorthanded makeshift Mets pitching staff in the Subway Series finale at Citi Field. 

The Mets refused to go away, though, and suddenly had recaptured the momentum. 

They were able to scratch across runs in back-to-back frames against Max Fried and Jonathan Loaisiga to make is a two run ballgame, then Francisco Lindor led off the bottom of the seventh with a walk. 

Suddenly, the red hot Juan Soto stepped to the plate representing the tying run. 

The star outfielder worked the count before lacing a 105 mph liner into shallow left which looked like a clean knock off the bat, however Cody Bellinger came racing in and made an incredible shoestring catch to rob him. 

Bellinger then came up throwing and unleashed a perfect strike to first, doubling off Lindor. 

The Mets challenged the play, but replay confirmed the call on the field.

“It was a hard hit ball, so it’s just trying to get the best read possible,” Bellinger said. “I saw it in the air and had a really good beat on it, so I was just glad I was able to make the play and when I looked up I saw Goldy with his glove high so I was trying to make a good throw.”

The Yankees’ bullpen was able to hold on from there, as Tim Hill and Devin Williams kept the Mets off the board over the last two frames to finally end the skid.  

Carlos Mendoza called it the "play of the game."

Aaron Boone one-upped him and called it the Yanks' "play of the year, so far."

"That's one of those it's like that in-betweener, do you leave your feet, your best way is to go try and shoestring catch it there," Boone added. "He's able to get underneath it, but just that Cody Bellinger presence of mind thing that he has, we've seen it all year with him defensively, just a really special play."

WHAT A PLAY FROM CODY BELLINGER!

Bellinger makes the shoestring grab and doubles Francisco Lindor at first! pic.twitter.com/GqgQFOITWU

— Yankees Videos (@snyyankees) July 6, 2025

What we learned as Giants' offense stays hot in dominant win over Athletics originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

BOX SCORE

SAN FRANCISCO — The Giants ended up with a disappointing record during their two easiest weeks of the season, but they at least found a way to salvage the final few days and make sure they return home on the right track. 

Willy Adames drove in three runs and Luis Matos had a back-breaking two-run double to lead the Giants to a 6-2 win and a series victory at Sutter Health Park. They won five of six against the Athletics this season, and left town back at seven games above .500.

Willy Adames stays hot with a homer 🔥 pic.twitter.com/ViAk4U6bi7

— SF Giants on NBCS (@NBCSGiants) July 7, 2025

The Giants took the final two games in Arizona and then two of three in Sacramento, finishing with a 5-5 record on their 10-game trip. They went 5-8 during a two-week stretch against teams below .500, and the road ahead gets much tougher. The first-place Philadelphia Phillies and Los Angeles Dodgers arrive for the final homestand of the first half, but the Giants are at least playing cleaner baseball than they were a few days ago. 

“I’m Back.”

The Giants weren’t thrilled about having to play a late Sunday game, leading to a bus ride back to San Francisco at the very end of a holiday weekend. But Adames might want to stay in Sacramento for a few more days. With two bases-loaded walks and a solo homer, Adames became the first Giants shortstop since the legendary Rich Aurilia to have back-to-back games with three or more RBI. 

Adames took better swings for most of June, but the results still weren’t there. In July, he has fully turned a corner. He has reached base 14 times in six games with two homers and nine RBI. Adames’ OPS is up to a season-high .683. 

Whatever Works

Hayden Birdsong sprayed his four-seamer all night and walked five. But he was, as they say, effectively wild. 

Birdsong gave up just one run, repeatedly working his way out of self-inflicted jams. He threw 46 strikes and 44 balls, so in a lot of ways the outing fit right in with his previous ones, but he was able to get strikeouts when he needed them. Birdsong struck out six — including four straight at one point — and got out of the fifth with a double play after giving up a single and walk. 

Birdsong has 23 walks in 42 1/3 innings as a starter this season. He has walked at least four in each of his past three starts. 

Circle of Trust

Spencer Bivens has jumped past Ryan Walker on the bullpen’s depth chart and he continues to show that he’s ready for more responsibility. Bivens came on in the sixth with the Giants leading by four and had a quick inning, striking out one and getting a groundout and flyout. 

The right-hander lowered his ERA to 3.09, and he has five strikeouts and just one hit allowed over his last three appearances. He was followed Sunday by All-Star Randy Rodriguez, who lowered his ERA to 0.69. Tyler Rogers and Camilo Doval closed out the win. 

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Yankees slugger Aaron Judge will have some company at the 2025 MLB All-Star Game.

Judge was previously named the starter in RF after leading the AL through the opening round of voting.

Now, ace Max Fried and infielder Jazz Chisholm Jr. have also been selected to represent the organization.

For Fried, it will mark a return to Atlanta, where he spent the first eight years of his career.

The southpaw has been spectacular during his first season with the Yankees, taking home the victory in 11 of his 19 outings and pitching to a 2.27 ERA.

With Gerrit Cole sidelined for the season, he's stepped in perfectly atop their banged-up rotation, and now logs his third career All-Star appearance.

"It's an honor," Fried said. "We have a lot of players on this team who are really deserving. Hopefully, over the next week or so, we can add a few more, but it's special and it's a really cool experience to go and be able to share that with teammates and family."

Chisholm has been forced to battle through some injuries in his first full season with the organization, but he's been extremely productive when healthy.

The 27-year-old infielder is hitting .245 with nine doubles, 10 stolen bases, 15 homers, 38 RBI, and a .841 OPS over 59 games.

This is his second career All-Star appearance.

The Yankees snapped a six-game skid and held on to beat the Mets, 6-4, avoiding the sweep on Sunday in the finale of 2025's Subway Series.

Here are the takeaways...

-- Chris Devenski did his job as the Mets opener and pitched a scoreless first inning, allowing just a one-out single to Trent Grisham before getting Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton to fly out. The right-hander surprisingly came back out for the second inning and sent the Yanks down in order, including back-to-back strikeouts.

-- New Met Zach Pop made his team debut and came in for Devenski in the third inning, but it go as planned. He allowed a solo homer to Austin Wells on his second pitch as the Yankees took a 1-0 lead. Pop escaped the third without further damage and stayed in to pitch the fourth inning. The righty allowed a leadoff double to Stanton and found himself in a first-and-third situation after Cody Bellinger singled. Pop got Anthony Volpe to hit a grounder, but the Mets could only turn one as the run scored to push the Yanks' lead to 2-0. He allowed another single and was then replaced by Brandon Waddell with runners on the corners.

Wells hit another hard grounder that the Mets couldn't turn two on, making it a 3-0 game. Waddell got Oswald Peraza to fly out and end the inning. Waddell stayed in to pitch the fifth and things fell apart fast. Paul Goldschmidt doubled and then Judge launched a two-run homer as the Yanks went up 5-0.

-- Starling Marte dropped a surprise bunt to leadoff the bottom of the first inning and beat it out for a single. Yankees starter Max Fried got a bit upset during Francisco Lindor's at-bat, as he was called for a pitch clock violation with a 2-2 count and walked off the mound to argue with the home plate umpire, but no one was ejected. Marte stole second while Lindor struck out and then advanced to third on a wild pitch by Fried. The Mets failed to capitalize on the early scoring chance as Pete Alonso flied out.

-- Fried kept the Mets bats quiet for most of the day, but found himself in a tough spot in the fifth inning. Jeff McNeil and Hayden Senger hit back-to-back one-out singles and Marte collected his third hit of the day to load the bases. Lindor delivered with the fourth straight hit against Fried on a single up the middle, scoring two and cutting the Yankee lead to 5-2. Fried escaped by striking out Juan Soto on a slider in the dirt and getting Alonso to fly out to right field.

The left-hander's day ended after plunking Brandon Nimmo to leadoff the sixth, as he tossed 98 pitches (61 strikes) and allowed two runs on six hits with five strikeouts.

-- Ronny Mauricio pinch-hit for Mark Vientos with Nimmo on first base and came through with a single. It was then Brett Baty's turn to pinch hit for Tyrone Taylor and he loaded the bases with another single. McNeil hit a dibbler that was misplayed by Jonathan Loáisiga, allowing the run to score and keeping the bases juiced. Senger grounded into a double play, but another run scored to cut the Yankee lead to 5-4. Loáisiga escaped by getting Marte to line out with some help from a sliding Judge in right field.

-- The Yankees tacked on another in the top of the seventh on a Judge sacrifice fly, making it 6-4. Bellinger made the play of the day in the bottom half on a low catch in left field against Soto and was able to double-up Lindor retreating back to first base, helping Mark Leiter Jr. avoid potential trouble.

-- Carlos Mendoza was ejected for arguing balls and strikes in the bottom of the ninth inning. Home plate umpire John Bacon called two low pitches strikes against Luis Torrens, as both pitches were clearly outside the zone.

Game MVP: Aaron Judge

The slugger hit HR No. 33 on the season with a two-run blast and picked up another RBI with a sacrifice fly. He's up to 74 RBI on the season.

Honorable mention: Bellinger, for his scooping catch and throw to shut down a Mets comeback.

Highlights

Two scoreless innings for Chris Devenski! 💪 pic.twitter.com/ohz5g0z3A7

— SNY (@SNYtv) July 6, 2025

Austin Wells with a solo shot to put the Yankees on the board first! pic.twitter.com/s78D0Jv4TY

— Yankees Videos (@snyyankees) July 6, 2025

Anthony Volpe with an RBI fielder's choice pic.twitter.com/s7zM7KhxbV

— Yankees Videos (@snyyankees) July 6, 2025

Another RBI fielder's choice, this time from Austin Wells pic.twitter.com/lNnrdUDw7y

— Yankees Videos (@snyyankees) July 6, 2025

Two-run homer for Aaron Judge makes it 5-0 Yankees! pic.twitter.com/JsDDXvMoEg

— Yankees Videos (@snyyankees) July 6, 2025

Francisco Lindor gets the Mets on the board with a two-run single! pic.twitter.com/ruErjYGcpn

— SNY (@SNYtv) July 6, 2025

A run comes home and everybody's safe on Jeff McNeil's ground ball! pic.twitter.com/dIXiCVDIZE

— SNY (@SNYtv) July 6, 2025

Aaron Judge with a deep sac fly for his third RBI of the day pic.twitter.com/MiVDyTUdrh

— Yankees Videos (@snyyankees) July 6, 2025

WHAT A PLAY FROM CODY BELLINGER!

Bellinger makes the shoestring grab and doubles Francisco Lindor at first! pic.twitter.com/GqgQFOITWU

— Yankees Videos (@snyyankees) July 6, 2025

Carlos Mendoza has been ejected for arguing balls and strikes with home plate umpire John Bacon pic.twitter.com/aJrDvmn4Ay

— SNY (@SNYtv) July 6, 2025

What's next

The Mets are off on Monday and then start a three-game series in Baltimore against the Orioles on Tuesday. First pitch is at 6:35 p.m. on SNY.

Clay Holmes (8-4, 2.99 ERA) is scheduled to start, while Brandon Young (0-3, 7.02 ERA) goes for the O's.

The Yankees stay in New York and start a three-game series with the Seattle Mariners on Tuesday at 7:05 p.m.

Will Warren (5-4, 5.02 ERA) take the mound and will face Logan Gilbert (2-2, 3.40 ERA) for the Mariners.

Carlos Mendoza is usually pretty calm and collected -- but frustration has been brewing for the second-year Mets skipper throughout Sunday's Subway Series finale at Citi Field.

Finally, in the ninth inning, things reached the breaking point.

With Luis Torrens pinch-hitting against Yankees closer Devin Williams leading off the bottom of the ninth, home plate umpire John Bacon made an extremely questionable strike two call on a pitch out of the zone.

Mendoza gave Bacon an earful from the first-base dugout, but play went on.

Seconds later, Bacon punched out Torrens on a changeup even further out of the zone, and this time the skipper immediately came sprinting out of the dugout.

Mendoza quickly earned his second ejection in the last eight days, and this time he got his money's worth -- kicking some dirt on home plate and getting in Bacon's face before being separated.

It was just his third career ejection, and second in the last week.

Carlos Mendoza has been ejected for arguing balls and strikes with home plate umpire John Bacon pic.twitter.com/aJrDvmn4Ay

— SNY (@SNYtv) July 6, 2025

"It was building up the whole game," Mendoza explained postgame. "In that situation, leading off the inning down two runs, you want to get guys on base and keep the line moving so hopefully [Juan] Soto and Pete [Alonso] get a chance here.

"You get two calls like that that don't go your way, it's just pretty frustrating."

And as things played out, the Mets ended up going down quietly against Williams, who got Starling Marte to ground out and then punched out Francisco Lindor on a 98 mph fastball to end the game.

Still, the club was able to secure the series victory and Subway Series split for the season.

Jesse Winker has been sidelined since the beginning of May, but he finally appears ready to roll. 

The Mets' left-handed hitting slugger took the field in his potential final rehab appearance down in Syracuse on Sunday afternoon and he looked back in form.

It didn’t take Winker very long to make his mark, as he jumped on a first pitch sweeper from Worcester right-hander Cooper Criswell in the bottom of the first and crushed it 410 feet for a no-doubt two-run home run. 

It was his first long ball with Triple-A, but the second on his rehab assignment. 

He then worked the count full before drawing a walk to load the bases during his next at-bat, but he was a little too aggressive on the bases and was thrown out trying to advance to third on a Jared Young sacrifice fly.

Winker came up with a man on two innings later and he worked another walk, but after two more free passes forced in a run and loaded the bases, he was stranded as Jose Azocar struck out to end the inning. 

The 31-year-old was finally retired in each of his final two plate appearances, flying out to center in the seventh and then the same leading off the bottom of the ninth. 

Overall, he finished the day 1-for-3 with the two-run homer and a pair of walks. 

Winker’s hitting just .143 through five games of his minor league rehab assignment, but he’s driven in seven runs and has a .904 OPS. 

Carlos Mendoza said pregame that the Mets will see how he feels following the back-to-back contests, but there’s a chance he could rejoin the team as they kick off a series Tuesday in Baltimore. 

Getting Winker back in the mix will be a huge boost for this offense -- prior to the injury, he was receiving the bulk of the DH at-bats against right-handed pitching.