Category: Baseball

The Yankees came oh-so-close to completing another late comeback, only to stall out after Ben Rice’s game-tying three-run homer and eventually lose in extras. They still have a chance to split the doubleheader and win the series as they take the field less than three hours after the final out of Game 1, and they’ll do so as Max Fried makes his long-awaited return from injury.

Max Fried last pitched on May 13th against the Orioles, and had to depart after three innings with noticeably lowered velocity on all his pitches. It was later revealed that he had suffered a bone bruise in his left elbow and was shut down for over a month. He made just one rehab assignment start last Friday for the Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders, allowing two runs on three hits with three strikeouts and no walks on 52 pitches. Rather than make a final rehab start, the doubleheader convinced the Yankees to activate Fried off the IL to start the nightcap, where he will be on a pitch count of around 60. At the time of his injury, Fried was 4-3 in ten starts, with a 3.21 ERA (132 ERA+), 2.71 FIP, and 50 strikeouts in 61.2 innings.

Fried will face off against Pirates rookie Bubba Chandler. The 23-year-old righty isn’t very subtle, mainly trying to blow you away with a four-seamer that averages 99 mph. He backs up that heater with a slider and a changeup. Expect the Yankees to have a patient approach against the pitcher with the highest walk rate (13.1-percent) of any starter in baseball. In 18 starts, Chandler is 3-8 with a 4.77 ERA (92 ERA+), 4.59 FIP, and 85 strikeouts in 94.1 innings.

The Yankees make three changes to the line from the day game. Anthony Volpe replaces José Caballero at shortstop which should ease tensions with this umpiring crew after the incident involving his pitch clock manipulation earlier today. Paul Goldschmidt gets the start at first moving Ben Rice to DH and Spencer Jones to the bench. Ali Sánchez replaces Austin Wells behind the plate.

The Pirates also make three changes to their lineup with the lefty Fried on the mound. Marcell Ozuna comes in to DH, moving Ryan O’Hearn to first and Tyler Callihan to the bench. Jared Triolo replaces Jacob Gonzalez at shortstop despite the latter homering off Gerrit Cole while Baby Bomber alum Rafael Flores Jr. subs in for Henry Davis at catcher.

How to watch

Location: Yankee Stadium – Bronx, NY

First pitch: 7:05 pm ET

TV broadcast: YES, SportsNet Pittsburgh

Radio broadcast: WFAN 660/101.9 FM, WADO 1280 (NYY) | YES, SportsNet Pittsburgh (PIT)

Streaming: Gotham Sports App, MLB.tv (out-of-market only)

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Here’s the Twins lineup:

Here’s the Guardians lineup:

Let’s go, Guardians!

A game that started as a pitcher’s duel devolved into a crushing loss as the Colorado Rockies dropped the series finale 8-0 to the Washington Nationals. The Rockies are now 3-11 with a -29 run differential in rubber matches and have also suffered their fourth shutout of the season.

Another day at the office for Hughes

There has been a lot to be impressed about when Gabriel Hughes has taken the mound this season, and he didn’t disappoint once again. Making his third start of the season, Hughes faced a tough Nationals lineup full of left-handed bats.

The day started off well for him as he retired the side in order in the first inning, including gathering a pair of strikeouts. The Nationals got their first two hits to start the second inning as CJ Abrams poked a ball up the middle and Dylan Crews blooped a ball to center field that fell for a hit. Unfazed, Hughes retired the next three batters to end the inning.

He returned with another 1-2-3 third inning, gathering his fourth strikeout of the day. The fourth inning is when he hit a bit of a snag in efficiency. Hughes had averaged about 15 pitches per inning to that point, but the Nationals ran up his pitch count with an abundance of foul balls while collecting a single and a walk. Still, he escaped without any damage to keep the game scoreless.

The seal was finally broken in the top of the fifth inning when Jorbit Vivas hit a hanging curveball to right field that banged off the out-of-town scoreboard for a triple. Hughes retired the next batter for the first out of the inning, but James Wood then hit a changeup to deep center field for a sacrifice fly and give the Nationals a 1-0 lead.

Hughes gave up a leadoff single in the sixth inning, prompting his removal with Abrams stepping up to the plate. He ended up going five innings, allowing just the one run on five hits with five strikeouts and one walk. He continued to pound the zone, throwing 60 of his 88 pitches for a strike. The Nationals were mostly taking defensive swings as Hughes’ cut fastball continued to look good, and his curveball was working as well. He kept pace with Cade Cavalli pitch for pitch to give the Rockies a chance to win.

“Gabe’s pitching great,” manager Warren Schaeffer said. “He gave us a chance to win.”

“What worked today was fastball, curveball, changeup,” Hughes said after the game. “But I think the biggest thing was attacking the zone.”

Trouble with Cavalli

Speaking of Cavalli, he baffled the Rockies offense as they couldn’t figure out a way to break through against him.

In the second inning, Kyle Karros had a single with one out and moved up to second base when the ball was bobbled in left field. Unfortunately, Willi Castro bounced into a fielder’s choice that stranded Karros between second and third for the second out of the inning. Edouard Julien then struck out to end the threat with a runner on second.

In the third inning, Jake McCarthy had a one-out double but was stranded after Mickey Moniak flew out and Hunter Goodman struck out. TJ Rumfield then led off the fourth inning with a double. However, Cavalli struck out Cole Carrigg, issued a walk to Karros, and struck out both Castro and Julien to end the inning.

Goodman got a leadoff single in the sixth, but that’s all the Rockies were able to muster against Cavalli as he tossed six shutout innings, allowing just four hits while striking out eight against two walks.

Late game bullpen mess

After Brennan Bernardino navigated the sixth inning for the Rockies to keep the game 1-0, things went off the rails for the Rockies in the seventh inning.

Jimmy Herget entered the game and struggled with his command. Daylen Lile drew a leadoff walk and moved to second on a ground ball from Keibert Ruiz. Herget then issued a walk to Vivas to put runners on first and second. Nasim Nuñez hit a sharp ground ball to left field that scored one run, but Mickey Moniak misplayed the ball, allowing a second run to score and putting Nuñez on second.

With the Rockies now trailing 3-0, Herget managed to get Wood to line out but couldn’t say the same of Luis Garcia Jr., who blasted a hanging sweeper to center field for a two-run homer. The Rockies turned to Zach Agnos out of the bullpen, and the messy inning continued.

Agnos surrendered back-to-back hits to José Tena and Abrams. Then, Crews hit a ball into center field to drive in a run. However, multiple throwing errors allowed a second run to score and made it possible for Crews to end up at third base and give the Nationals a 7-0 lead before Agnos retired Lile to end the inning.

Matters didn’t necessarily improve in the eighth inning for Agnos as he surrendered another run on three straight hits to give the Nationals an 8-0 lead before getting a crucial double play and a ground out.

He then stayed out there for the ninth and, although he gave up a double and hit a batter, he prevented any further damage.

“Sloppy,” Schaeffer said of the Rockies defensive efforts.

RIP with RISP

The Rockies offense as a whole struggled as they had just six hits compared to Washington’s 14. Between facing Cavalli and the Nationals bullpen, the Rockies struck out 10 times with four walks and went 0-for-9 with runners in scoring position. The Nationals, on the other hand, went 5-for-17 with RISP and were led by Abrams four-hit day.

Up next

The Rockies will head to Milwaukee to take on the Brewers for a three-game series. Tomoyuki Sugano (9-4, 4.76 ERA) will make the start for the Rockies while left-hander Shane Drohan (5-3, 3.20 ERA) will start for the Brewers.

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The Houston Astros have officially signed both of their first-round picks from the 2026 MLB Draft. The Astros selected OF Logan Hughes from Texas Tech with 17th overall selection and RHP Jack Radel from the University of Notre Dame with the 28th overall pick. The announcement was made by Astros Director of Amateur Scouting Cam Pendino.

Hughes, 21, a left-handed hitting outfielder, batted .375 (75×200) with 68 runs, 16 doubles, one triple, 18 home runs, 70 RBI and a 1.245 OPS in 55 games with the Red Raiders this season. Hughes was a First-Team All-Big 12 selection and a 2026 Baseball America Second Team All-American. He spent two seasons at Texas Tech, recording a combined .350 (144×411) batting average with 120 runs, 29 doubles, five triples, 37 HR, 128 RBI and a 1.176 OPS in 107 games. Prior to Texas Tech, Hughes spent one season at Stetson, where he batted .292 (50×171) with 49 runs, 10 doubles, two triples, eight home runs, 34 RBI and a .913 OPS as a freshman.

Radel, 21, went 8-3 with a 3.29 ERA (32ER/87.2IP) in his junior season at Notre Dame. He also recorded 116 strikeouts, a .206 opponent batting average and a 1.03 WHIP in 15 starts for the Fighting Irish, including two complete games and one shutout. Radel was a First-Team All-ACC selection and was named to the 2026 ACC Championship All-Tournament Team. In three seasons at Notre Dame, Radel combined to record a 3.71 ERA (87ER/211IP) with 215 strikeouts and a 1.12 WHIP. 

The deadline for teams to sign their draft picks is July 27.

Eric Lauer faces Aaron Nola as the Dodgers wrap things up against the Phillies.

WEDNESDAY GAME INFO

• Teams: Dodgers vs. Phillies
• Stadium: Citizens Bank Park
• Time: 3:40 p.m. PT
• TV: SportsNet LA
• Radio: AM 570 (English), KTNQ 1020 (Spanish)

Giving him a rare off day on Wednesday, the Mets stayed away completely from Juan Soto in their 4-3 loss to the Milwaukee Brewers.

In what was a close game until the last out, New York had plenty of chances to get Soto into the game at some point but opted to give him the full day off heading into a scheduled off day on Thursday to allow the outfielder/designated hitter two full days to be off his feet and recover from the minor calf flare-up, which arose following the All-Star break.

“We were just gonna stay away from him, try to give him 48 hours to get the calf thing completely behind him,” interim manager Andy Green said after the game. “He’s been able to be out there on it, but it has continued to be something that he’s dealt with on a minor level.”

The Mets are hoping this extended break will be enough to have Soto, who played in the All-Star Game as the starting left fielder during the break, healthy for the rest of the second half.

Soto initially missed around two weeks in April with a mild calf strain and since he returned, New York has been splitting his time between left field and DH. 

The injury has not affected his production at the plate this season as he’s slashing .283/.404/.539 with 21 home runs and 52 RBI, although he’s cooled off in his last seven games with just three hits in 24 at-bats and no home runs.

And despite a lost season, the Mets want a fully healthy Soto to close out the year. That starts on Friday night when New York hosts the Los Angeles Dodgers for a three-game weekend series at Citi Field to kick off a 10-game homestand.

“At this point in time, [Soto] playing the rest of the season as healthy as possible is really important to us,” Green said.

Reds 5, Mariners 3

Silver lining: Luke Raley, +0.20 WPA

Pain, sadness, things of that nature: Eduard Bazardo, -0.52 WPA

Game Thread Comment of the Day:

San Diego Padres (50-51) at Atlanta Braves (58-42), July 22, 2026, 4:15 p.m. PST

Watch: Padres.TV

Location: Truist Park – Atlanta, GA

Listen: 97.3 The Fan

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Pittsburgh Pirates vs. New York Yankees, July 22, 2026, 7:10 p.m. ET

The Pittsburgh Pirates are facing off against the New York Yankees in the middle matchup of their three-game series at Yankee Stadium.

Chandler is making his first start in 10 days for the Buccos fresh off the All-Star break. Chandler pitched 4.2 innings, giving up five hits and two earned runs while striking out six in his last start against the Milwaukee Brewers on July 11. Chandler was a no-decision, leaving the game in a 2-2 tie, but the Pirates added another run in the sixth inning to get themselves across the finish line with a victory.

For the Yankees, Will Warren is making his 20th start of the season. He has not picked up a win on his record since May 31, so he is long overdue. Warren has not finished the sixth inning in any of his starts in June or July, but the added rest from the All-Star break could give him the stamina to go deeper into the contest. The Yankees are 13-6 in games in which he pitches this year. In his last start on July 12, Warren pitched five innings, giving up four hits and one earned run against the Washington Nationals.

Location: Yankee Stadium, The Bronx, NY

Broadcast: KDKA AM/FM, Sportsnet Pittsburgh

Pitching Matchup: Bubba Chandler (3-8, 4.77 ERA) vs. Will Warren (7-4, 4.03 ERA)

BD community, this is your gameday thread for today. Chime off in the comments section below.

José Caballero and the Yankees are furious with Major League Baseball for reemphasizing a rule without addressing it with them during a frustrating 10-inning, 5-3 loss to the Pirates in the opener of a split doubleheader in The Bronx on Wednesday afternoon.

With two outs and a runner on first base in the sixth inning, Caballero was called for an automatic strike on a pitch-clock violation. It was the second strike of the at-bat that would end with the shortstop striking out.

Caballero routinely waits until the last moment on the clock to engage with the pitcher, looking down for several seconds as he steps into the batter’s box and gets ready to take his at-bat. It is a stalling tactic that sometimes forces pitchers to hold their delivery and has resulted in pitch-clock violations against them on occasion.

By rule, Caballero has to make eye contact with the pitcher when there are 8 seconds left on the timer. He was called for this violation with 9 seconds to go.

“Major League Baseball came out with something new, so we have to go change,” manager Aaron Boone said.

There is a rule that says if a hitter deceives the pitcher it is considered circumventing the aforementioned rule, and the umpire can assess a pitch-clock violation to the batter. There was a call between the league office and the umpiring crew about enforcing this rule prior to the doubleheader, but that didn’t involve the Yankees. It was news to them.

Asked if he was frustrated that the Yankees weren’t contacted about this ahead of time, Boone replied: “Very, very — embarrassing.”

“It says something about deceiving the pitcher, which [to] my understanding is trying to trick the pitcher,” Caballero said. “I’m not trying to trick anyone.”

Caballero wasn’t in the lineup for Game 2, replaced at shortstop by Anthony Volpe.

Home plate umpire Quinn Wolcott could be heard on mics telling Caballero, “You don’t get to do the 3 or 4 seconds thing in the box anymore,” after the two engaged in a conversation after the violation was issued. Caballero responded by telling Wolcott, “you’re picking on me,” multiple times. Hitting coach James Rowson was ejected shortly after Boone came out to defend Caballero.

“He’s been warned all season,” crew chief Adrian Johnson told a pool reporter. “We were instructed not to warn him. We were instructed to violate him. That’s what it is. It’s a violation.

“It’s not allowed anymore. It was the cause of a benches-clearing situation on Monday night. Major League Baseball stepped in. They want it enforced.”

On Monday, Caballero and Pirates pitcher Dennis Santana exchanged words related to his pre-pitch antics that led to both benches clearing. At the time, Caballero insisted he’s merely taking his time and following his routine.

“If you get frustrated, I’m winning. For me, it’s a battle in the box, and I’m trying to win the battle,” he said. “If you are not concentrating 100 percent, I think I’m winning.”

But now, Caballero is going to have to change his routine. He’s not happy about it.

“I’ve seen other guys do other things and they don’t call anything on them,” Caballero said. “I can name players I’ve seen deceiving the pitchers, but they don’t call it on them. They just call it on me. Like I said, they’re just picking on me.”

He later added: “They’re the ones who invented this clock thing. They don’t know what to do with their rule now.’’

That wasn’t the only call the Yankees objected to. Starting pitcher Gerrit Cole was called for a balk as he attempted to tell the umpires the pitch clock wasn’t working. He broke his hands and stepped off at the same time. There was one out at the time, and the balk sent Jake Mangum to second base. Cole was able to get out of the jam.

“They were not aware the clock went off,” Cole said. “I was startled that it was off. I was tracking the clock and holding the runner.”

The pitch clock caused all kinds of problems Wednesday afternoon for the Yankees.

It has been four years since the Padres made the blockbuster trade with the Washington Nationals for superstar outfielder Juan Soto, and they’re still facing the ramifications of it.

Former Major League Baseball executive Jim Bowden appeared as a guest on Foul Territory on Wednesday afternoon and took a shot at the team for mortgaging their future on Soto.

“It’s too painful watching James Wood and CJ Abrams rake every single night, to sit there and trade your next guy,” Bowden said.

Before the 2022 season, the Padres had one of the best farm systems in baseball, headlined by MacKenzie Gore, Abrams, and Wood.

At the time, the trade looked like the perfect move for San Diego, which was making a push to win their first World Series in franchise history by pairing him to play alongside Manny Machado and Fernando Tatis Jr.

When the trade deadline came around that season, the team was second in the National League West with a 58-46 record. General Manager A.J. Preller swung for the fences and traded the three of them, along with Robert Hassell III, for Soto.

Unfortunately for San Diego, things did not pan out. The team just missed the World Series that season when they were eliminated by the Philadelphia Phillies in the National League Championship Series and missed the playoffs the next year.

In December, 2023, Soto was traded by San Diego to the New York Yankees with Trent Grisham. The move allowed the Padres to replenish the farm to some degree, acquiring Michael King, along with four other players.

Last year, though, history repeated itself in San Diego when they traded away now No. 2 overall prospect Leo De Vries for Mason Miller at the deadline.

Fast forward a year later, the Padres farm system is considered the worst in baseball and enters Wednesday third in the National League West with a 50-51 record. Meanwhile, Abrams and Wood have turned into promising young players who were selected as All-Stars in 2026.

“I can’t trade anymore of these top prospects here,” Bowden said. “The farm system is so much different than it was, and you’ve got a problem.”

With the future not looking too bright in San Diego, Bowden is now urging the Padres to be sellers at this year’s deadline.

“The right play here isn’t for them to go for it this year; the right play is to do the exact opposite,” Bowden said. “Listen in on Mason Miller, listen on Michael King, and be very open to trying to see if you can get six or seven players back and quickly try to reboot this thing.”

The MLB trade deadline is Aug. 3, and no one knows which way the wind will blow in Southern California.

Wednesday notes…

• SPLITTING THE DIFFERENCE: This is the 17th of the Cubs’ 33 series in which they split the first two games. They are 8-7 in third games, with one postponed by rain. After losing, then winning, they are 6-4, including 1-2 at home. The win was last Sunday vs. the Twins. They had lost to the Nationals on March 29 and to the Giants on June 7. The Cubs are 8-1-1 in their last 10 series and 16-14-2 for the year. (Courtesy BCB’s JohnW53)
• RUN DIFFERENTIAL: The Cubs have outscored their opponents by 20 runs, 33-13, in their last four games, boosting their run differential to +69, a season high. They were +56 on May 8, after the last of their second streak of 10 straight wins, 7-1, at Texas. They were -2 after a 3-2 loss at Colorado on June 10, +63 after a 23-3 demolition of the Padres at home on July 1, then +44 after a 3-0 loss at home to the Cardinals on July 4. (Courtesy BCB’s JohnW53)
• THE HITS JUST KEEP ON COMING: The Cubs have made 11, 12, 11 and 11 hits in their last four games. They had not had double-digit hits in more than three consecutive games since they had four in a row April 21-24. Last night’s game was their 75th since then. They did it in five straight games April 12-17. (Courtesy BCB’s JohnW53)
• TODAY IN CUBS HISTORY: Sammy Sosa’s three-run homer highlighted a six-run eighth that broke open a 3-3 tie, and the Cubs went on to defeat the Expos 9-5 at Wrigley Field. It happened 28 years ago today, Wednesday, July 22, 1998.

Cubs lineup:

Tigers lineup:

Colin Rea, RHP vs. Keider Montero, RHP

Colin Rea wound up with a “quality start,” three earned runs in six innings, in his last outing last Friday vs. the Twins. That’s due to an error that made one run unearned — but really, the outing was pretty good, marred by one bad pitch that went for a three-run homer by Ryan Jeffers.

Rea hasn’t faced the Tigers since April 24, 2023 and that’s so long ago that Phil Maton’s brother Nick was batting cleanup for Detroit, and his opponent was … Matthew Boyd.

Thus Rea has only faced a handful of Tigers and only for a couple of PA each. Maybe that’ll be to his advantage.

Rea has been much better at Wrigley (2.94 ERA in nine games, eight starts) than on the road (6.45 ERA in 11 games, eight starts).

Keider Montero was in the Tigers rotation until the end of June and was doing reasonably well, but has been throwing in relief since then. This will be his first start since June 28. He hasn’t thrown more than 59 pitches in an outing since then.

Last year he allowed four runs to the Cubs in 5.2 innings as the “bulk guy” after an opener, June 7, 2025 in Detroit. Pete Crow-Armstrong, Michael Busch and Matt Shaw homered off him.

Here is the weather forecast for the area around Wrigley Field.

Today’s game is on ESPN (full national broadcast, no blackouts).

Here is the complete MLB.com live streaming page for today.

MLB.com Gameday

Baseball-reference.com game preview

Please visit our SB Nation Tigers site Bless You Boys. If you do go there to interact with Tigers fans, please be respectful, abide by their individual site rules and serve as a good representation of Cub fans in general and BCB in particular.

The 2026 game discussion procedure has been changed, so please take note.

You’ll find the game preview, like this one, posted separately on the front page two hours before game time (90 minutes for some early day games following night games).

At the same time, a StoryStream containing the preview will also post on the front page, titled “Cubs vs. (Team) (Day of week/date) game threads.” It will contain every post related to that particular game.

The Live! (formerly “First Pitch”) thread will still post at five minutes to game time. It will also post to the front page. That will be the only live game discussion thread. After the game, the recap and Heroes and Goats will also live on the front page as separate posts.

You will also be able to find the preview, Live! thread, recap and Heroes and Goats in this section link. The StoryStream for each game can also be found in that section.

Discuss amongst yourselves.

The last and only other time the Red Sox won 15 games in a row was in the spring of 1946. Ted Williams had just returned from World War II and was off to a scalding start in what would become his first MVP season (it should have been his second). Harry S. Truman was a year into his presidency, there were only 48 states, and Louis Armstrong, Helen Keller, Dwight Eisenhower, Albert Einstein, Walt Disney, J.R.R. Tolkien, and Agatha Christie weren’t just alive, but still had important work to do in the coming years.

Tonight, after yet another victory this afternoon, the 2026 Red Sox could stand alone. Yes, the same 2026 Red Sox that as of a month ago didn’t have a single winning streak longer than three games.

On the mound to help them get there will be Eduardo Rivera, who is likely to be followed by a bunch of Brayan Bello given the current state of the pitching staff. Further complicating matters on that side of the ball is Justin Slaten, Garrett Whitlock and Aroldis Chapman all pitching in the first game of the double header today. In other words, outside of an offensive explosion, the Sox probably need Bello to be good and good for a while if they’re going to pull out yet another win. (And let’s hope for Bello’s sake that happens, because if Brayan Bello is the guy to wreck this winning streak, the pitchforks will be out all across Boston for him.)

The theme of this run however has been just finding a way to win against all odds. If these Sox do it just one more time tonight, they’ll stand alone in the franchise record book — A record book that goes back twelve and a half decades!

⚾️ First Pitch: 7:10pm — Fenway Park, Boston, MA

📺 TV: NESN

📻 Radio: WEEI

Box Score

The Brewers don’t win this game without Joey Ortiz and Christian Yelich. Ortiz went 3-for-3 with a double, a triple, a walk, two runs scored, and two RBIs, while Yelich finished 2-for-5 with a triple and two RBIs. Together, they accounted for five of the Brewers’ nine hits and all four of Milwaukee’s RBIs as the Brewers held on for a 4-3 win in today’s series finale against the New York Mets.

Logan Henderson struck out three in a scoreless top of the first inning, and Mets starter Christian Scott kept the Brewers off the board in the bottom of the frame. Marcus Semien broke the tie in the top of the second with a solo home run on a four-seamer that ran just a little too far over the plate.

The Brewers were shut out yesterday, but their offense didn’t take long to come to life today. In the bottom of the second, Garrett Mitchell led off with a walk, and Andrew Vaughn advanced him to third with a single. Jake Bauers popped up and Cooper Pratt struck out in what were Milwaukee’s first two opportunities with runners in scoring position, but Ortiz delivered with two outs, sending a fly ball over the head of Brett Baty in right field.

Baty probably should have made the catch, but he took a bad route to the ball. He ran almost straight back on a fly ball that landed about 15 feet closer to the foul pole than he anticipated. He adjusted at the last second, veering to his left, but couldn’t quite get there as the ball bounced off the warning track. Ortiz made it around to third for a triple as Mitchell and Vaughn both scored, giving the Brewers a 2-1 lead.

Up next was Christian Yelich, who came through with a line drive single into left field to score Ortiz. All of a sudden, Milwaukee was up 3-1 — and hitting .500 with runners in scoring position.

Henderson allowed just one more hit until the top of the fifth, when Baty hit a solo home run to cut the Mets’ deficit back down to one run. The Brewers couldn’t answer in the fifth, but they did in the sixth. Ortiz grounded a ball past third base that got stuck under the tarp along the third-base line. Ortiz came all the way around to score before being sent back to second on a ground-rule double.

Ortiz wouldn’t be on the bases for long, as the very next hitter — Yelich — crushed a line drive off the center field wall for a triple. Ortiz scored to widen the Brewers’ lead back to two runs.

Henderson exited after five innings, allowing two runs on two home runs while giving up just three other hits. He struck out nine and didn’t walk a batter. As Pat Murphy said in his postgame press conference, “I’ve seen him better,” but if two runs and nine strikeouts is room for improvement, I’ll take it.

Aaron Ashby tossed two hitless innings in relief, striking out four and walking a batter, and Abner Uribe worked around a pair of hits in a scoreless eighth. Trevor Megill came in for the top of the ninth and had a sketchier outing than Brewers fans have become accustomed to lately. He walked Tyrone Taylor to start the frame, who then advanced to second on a groundout from Semien. Luis Torrens then crushed a line drive into right field, but it was right at Luis Lara, who took care of it for the second out.

With the Mets down to their final out, catcher Francisco Alvarez grounded a single into left field to score Taylor. Rather than risking a throw home, Jackson Chourio threw behind Alvarez to keep the tying run at first base.

A.J. Ewing then hit a ground ball to the left side that probably would have been a hit had the Brewers’ third baseman not been named Joey Ortiz:

Despite allowing a run for the first time in his last 14 appearances, Megill came away with the save and the Brewers came away with the series win. After taking two of three from the Mets, the Brewers will get tomorrow off before welcoming the Rockies to American Family Field for their third straight three-game home set. First pitch for Friday’s series opener is set for 3:10 p.m., with the Brewer Alumni Legends Game — featuring Ryan Braun, Ben Sheets, Yovani Gallardo, and many more — to follow.