Category: Baseball

Five rental pitchers Phillies could target amid Andrew Painter's struggles originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia

It seemed like Andrew Painter had made the pitch-mix rearrangement that could generate consistency.

That has not come.

After three starts against Boston, Cincinnati and Cleveland where he posted a 2.60 ERA and went at least five innings each time, the Phillies’ right-handed rookie has allowed 15 earned runs over his last three outings.

Thirteen innings. A 10.38 ERA.

Ouch.

Those starts came against three division leaders: the Dodgers, White Sox and Brewers. Painter allowed four earned runs in Los Angeles, six against Chicago and five Friday in Milwaukee.

Opponents have tagged him for a .339 average and a 1.070 OPS in those outings.

Philadelphia simply has not had a great chance to win when he has taken the ball lately. Don Mattingly and the organization did not flinch after Painter’s last start a week ago. He was getting the start against the Brewers.

It did not work, even with the opener strategy they tried.

The Phillies need to make a change, and consider sending Painter to Triple-A.

The organization does not have much starting pitching depth. It was an issue they acknowledged at the beginning of spring camp. With a slew of veteran pitchers still on the free-agent market, the Phillies stayed put.

Just this year, they have released Taijuan Walker, who had a 9.13 ERA in five outings in the rotation. Aaron Nola has not bounced back, registering a 5.68 ERA. And Painter, their top pitching prospect entering the season, has a 6.21 ERA.

If the answer comes from within, Alan Rangel could be an option. He has seen some big-league innings over the last two seasons and has posted a 3.74 ERA in 65 innings for Lehigh Valley, working both as a starter and reliever. His most recent start came Friday.

Braydon Tucker, at Double-A, has made 10 starts and has the second-lowest ERA across all affiliated ball, including the majors, minimum 55 innings pitched.

The 26-year-old sinker-balling righty has found success at each level up to Reading and certainly deserves a promotion to Triple-A. His pitch-to-contact profile could even warrant a big-league start soon.

But if the Phillies want a legitimate big-league starter, there are a number of names on teams falling out of playoff contention or with enough pitching depth to move an arm.

Dave Dombrowski has already been proactive, acquiring outfield depth in Derek Hill when the club’s right-handed bats had struggled against lefties and Adolis García was later placed on the 60-day injured list.

So what hurlers are out there?

DET — RHP Casey Mize

The 29-year-old right-hander is one of the most interesting and least talked about deadline candidates.

He is a rental who has been on the IL over the last few weeks with right groin tightness, but is scheduled to return to the Tigers’ rotation Sunday.

In nine starts this year, the former first overall pick has posted a 2.27 ERA, a 0.97 WHIP and a 2.41 FIP.

His underlying metrics are very promising. He ranks in at least the top 15 percent of pitchers in expected ERA (2.64, top eight), expected batting average (.202, top 13) and average exit velocity (86.8 mph, top 14).

Mize, who was named to his first All-Star team a year ago, features a five-pitch mix. His best two pitches this year have been his four-seam fastball and slider.

The four-seamer is a pitch that Nola and Painter have been hit hard on this year. Opposing hitters are batting just .180 against Mize’s four-seamer, which he has thrown a third of the time, with just one homer.

His slider, used 25 percent of the time, has held hitters to a .114 average. That is the lowest average among starting pitchers who have thrown it at least 100 times.

Considering the Phillies have not gotten anywhere close to the production they wanted from Nola and Painter, it would make sense if they looked outside the organization for a strong rental who could reinforce the biggest strength of this team.

Starting pitching.

A postseason rotation of Cristopher Sánchez, Zack Wheeler, Jesús Luzardo and Mize, who was solid in two playoff starts a year ago, could win games on its own.

And it is possible.

Detroit has been one of baseball’s most underwhelming teams at 29-41, nine games back in the AL Central and 5 1/2 games out of the final Wild Card spot.

There is a good chance the Tigers move back-to-back Cy Young Award winner Tarik Skubal, another rental and one the Phillies likely could not afford in prospect capital.

If Detroit is willing to go that route, trading Mize would make sense, too.

NYY — LHP Ryan Yarbrough / RHP Paul Blackburn

The Yankees are firmly in a playoff spot, battling Tampa Bay for the top spot in the AL East.

They lead the American League in run differential by nearly 80 runs, thanks in part to some high-scoring games, but more importantly their pitching.

They have a lot of it.

Neither Yarbrough nor Blackburn, both on one-year deals, have started games this year. That is because the Yankees have not needed them to.

They have been used in shorter roles than usual, and pitched well, mostly because New York has not needed a long reliever often with its strong starting staff.

But both can be stretched out to make starts.

Yarbrough, 34, is a crafty arm who is excellent at missing barrels. He has been an advanced-metric darling, like Mize.

His expected ERA is 2.77. He is in the 96th percentile in barrel rate, 99th percentile in average exit velocity and 100th percentile in hard-hit rate at 19.1 percent. That hard-hit rate is the second best in the sport behind Padres closer Mason Miller.

This year, Yarbrough has registered a 3.47 ERA in 23 1/3 innings over 14 outings.

He would be a strong innings eater and trustworthy contributor in the back end of the Phillies’ rotation the rest of the way. He also has postseason experience, with a 3.06 ERA in 17 2/3 innings in parts of the 2019 and 2020 postseasons for the Rays, helping during Tampa Bay’s World Series run in the COVID-shortened season.

There is no guarantee New York would deal its cost-efficient lefty, especially with Max Fried on the shelf. But for the right offer, the Yankees would budge.

Blackburn, 32, throws a wide array of pitches, with seven different offerings.

His changeup, curveball and sweeper have been strong in his 10th big-league season. He has also been excellent at generating groundballs, with a 55.3 percent rate that ranks in the top 6 percent of pitchers.

He gets similar quality of contact to Mize. The former All-Star does not jump off the page, but could at the very least be a solid depth piece for the Phils.

Neither Yarbrough nor Blackburn would call for the pretty-penny package Mize would.

BOS — RHP Sonny Gray

This feels like the least likely fit, but there is some draw because of Gray’s experience.

The 36-year-old does not make the Phillies any younger, but if the front office believes its clearest path to a championship is shutting teams down, this is the kind of move it could consider.

Gray has been sharp in his first year in Boston after being traded there from St. Louis in the offseason. He has a 3.03 ERA in 12 starts.

He is a different pitcher than the three-time All-Star most are used to seeing. He long leaned on his four-seam fastball, but this year, he has used his cutter about the same amount, even a little more.

Gray is producing more groundballs than he has in years and still commands the strike zone well, even while navigating the ABS system with lower velocity.

Boston has been a paltry 28-39 club and had to send out three prospects in the winter to acquire Gray, so he would still cost a fair amount.

The longtime hurler also has a mutual option for next season at $30 million, which essentially makes him a rental. It would be hard to picture any suitor being satisfied with a 37-year-old making that kind of money, but teams would be happy if Gray became the missing piece in their rotation.

A move of this nature would speak to how aggressive the Phils want to be, not only in getting to the postseason, but in building a staff that can win there.

NYM — LHP David Peterson

How about an in-division trade for yet another rental?

Peterson’s surface-level numbers do not make him a grand finale.

A 5.75 ERA across seven starts and seven relief appearances. His 3.51 FIP, though, signals some misfortune.

The southpaw broke out for the Mets in 2024 and carried that into his first All-Star appearance in 2025. Between the two seasons, he posted a 19-9 record with a 3.67 ERA across 289 2/3 innings over 51 starts.

The Phillies have had success against Peterson in his six seasons in New York, pushing him to a 5.28 ERA. But the lefty was strong against Philadelphia in two relief appearances in the 2024 NLDS, when the Mets took the series. He allowed no runs over 5 1/3 innings.

What makes Peterson interesting, even with his struggles this year, is his groundball rate.

Over the last five seasons, he has produced a groundball rate of 49.8 percent or higher, ranking in at least the top 23 percent of pitchers in the category each year. Last season, he posted a career-high 55.4 percent rate. He is not far behind this year at 53 percent.

Despite not being overpowering, Peterson gets great extension (7.1 feet) to the plate, maximizing his 6-foot-6, 240-pound frame.

A Mets-Phillies swap would be entertaining regardless of the variety, and this would be the perfect year for it with New York sitting at the bottom of the East at 31-38.

After a three-up, three-down first inning, Nolan McLean’s recent control struggles continued in the Mets’ 7-5 win over the Braves on Friday night at Citi Field.

The right-handed pitcher lasted just four innings, allowing three hits, two earned runs, and four walks. He threw 93 pitches.

The 24-year-old once again struggled “to land off-speed pitches.”

Of the 33 times McLean threw to the strike zone against Atlanta, only seven were off-speed pitches.

“I think the biggest thing is getting different pitches in the zone,” McLean said after his last outing against the Padres. “It’s much easier to hit when you know one pitch is going to be a strike and the other one isn’t. That’s been the main focus.”

The worst display of McLean’s struggles was the second inning, when three walks led to a 42-pitch inning and almost an early night for the starter.

Both the pitcher and Mets manager Carlos Mendoza said no one prepares for 40-50 pitches in an inning, and one more batter likely would have meant pulling McLean.

“Talking to Nolan after the second inning, he had a break, we had a long one offensively,” Mendoza said. “If we had a quick three outs there, I don’t think Nolan goes back in.”

All things considered, McLean got out of the inning with minimal damage, allowing just two earned runs despite the bases being loaded with one out.

He said it was just a matter of competitiveness and throwing whatever was working to get past the fatigue.

McLean is in the middle of his first big league stutter after starting the season on fire.

Entering Friday, he had 10.2 strikeouts per nine innings, a .202 batting average against, 1.11 WHIP and a 3.98 ERA.

His strikeouts and batting average against ranked first among all qualified rookies and top 10 in the National League.

Nevertheless, the last four outings for McLean have been his highest in WHIP, ERA and batting average against since his first start of the season.

A grinding team win, thanks to a grinding inning from McLean could be a slight confidence booster he needs to get back to competing for Rookie of the Year honors.

In his final two innings he settled down a bit, allowing one hit, one walk, and one strikeout.

SAN FRANCISCO — With a full week, instead of just a few minutes, to prepare this time around, the Giants didn’t find any more success against Javier Assad.

Assad, who blanked San Francisco when called into emergency duty last week at Wrigley Field, was just as effective as the Cubs’ scheduled starter in a rematch Friday night.

Well, that’s not entirely accurate.

The Giants mustered just one hit in 6 ⅓ innings against Assad last week. They got to him for three singles this time but nothing else in a 5-1 loss.

They needed more than that behind an erratic Landen Roupp, who struck out the first four batters of the game but exhausted 105 pitches and failed to complete five innings.

Roupp issued both his walks to begin the fourth and the fifth innings, and both came around to score. Seiya Suzuki’s double helped open a 2-0 lead in the fourth, and a two-bagger for Alex Bregman in the fifth gave the Cubs runners at second and third when Roupp’s day came to an end.

Manager Tony Vitello called on Erik Miller to get the platoon advantage against Michael Busch, who promptly swatted a hanging slider into McCovey Cove to make it 5-0.

The Giants’ lone run came off the bat of Bryce Eldridge, who was also responsible for two of their three hits against Assad. Moved up into the two-hole in a new-look lineup, Eldridge got the GIants on the board in the ninth with a one-out solo shot to right off Trent Thornton — his fourth of the season.

It amounted to a banner night for Eldridge but nobody else in the Giants’ lineup. The rookie finished 3-for-4 to raise his average to .316 and OPS to .959; his eight companions combined for one hit in 26 at-bats.

A walk to Matt Chapman was all else that interrupted 18 in a row retired by Assad after a leadoff single from Luis Arraez that extended his hitting streak to 12 games.

Assad had a 5.88 ERA when he was sent to Triple-A in May. In two outings against the Giants since being called back up, he has tossed 12 ⅓ scoreless innings, lowering his ERA to 4.21.

What it means

The Giants’ difficulties against Assad extended to Jung Hoo Lee, whose hitting streak came to an end after 18 games.

With an 0-for-3 performance, Lee will have to settle for the second-longest hitting streak in the majors so far this season and the longest by a Giant since Angel Pagan went 19 games in 2016.

Who’s hot

Daniel Susac was on fire early with three successful, high-impact ABS challenges.

The simple act of knowing when to tap his catcher’s helmet resulted in an additional three strikeouts for Roupp, including two 3-2 pitches that also erased walks.

He turned a 2-2 curveball into strike three against Michael Busch to end the first, got a full-count cutter in the same low-and-away location against Ian Happ to begin the second and stole a strikeout of Carson Kelly in the third on a sinker that clipped the upper-outside corner of the strike zone.

It was a notable showing from the Giants, who have been among the majors’ least effective team in deploying their ABS challenges with the sixth-lowest success rate (49%).

Susac’s hot streak behind the dish only lasted so long, however. He overturned a fourth call into a strike against Seiya Suzuki in the fourth, only to be unable to corral a relay throw that beat the runner to the plate when Suzuki lined an RBI double later in the at-bat.

Who’s not

Willy Adames was back in the lineup after missing only his second game of the season with what manager Tony Vitello termed “hip-to-knee” discomfort.

The rare day off, however, wasn’t the solution to his woes at the plate.

Adames popped out to short, swung and missed at a slider low and outside the zone for strike three and grounded out to third to extend his hitless streak to 20 at-bats.

Up next

Another rematch — this time against Ben Brown (2-2, 1.74), the right-hander who limited them to one hit over 5 ⅓ shutout frames last week in Chicago before the Giants lost in extra innings.

San Francisco will counter with Trevor McDonald (2-3, 4.15), who threw five strong innings in the Giants’ 2-1 extra-inning win to close their series in Chicago.

It took less than one pitch for the San Francisco Giants to ruin their Friday night game. The stands had yet to fill in. The clock had yet to strike 7:10. The umpire had yet to say “play ball.”

And yet the Giants, in a season full of embarrassment, had already delivered their most disgraceful moment of the season.

Landen Roupp took the mound for the team’s annual Pride Night, and scribbled across the rainbow SF insignia on his hat were the words “Gen 9:11-16.”

The bible verses Roupp wrote referenced God’s creation of the rainbow. It’s become a common verse for homophobes to quote, in their never ending quest to reclaim that colorful arc in the sky from the Big Gay Agenda.

And it gets worse! After Roupp got rocked by the Chicago Cubs — and I refused to be upset by it — J.T. Brubaker entered the game (after a brief interlude from the ever-lovable Erik Miller). As though upset that Roupp had been so subtle with his writing, Brubaker one-upped his teammate, scrawling “Genesis 9:13-15” in lettering so large one would assume a toddler wrote it, except toddlers are more mature and understanding than that.

When Brubaker’s night ended, the Giants took a break from the biblical proclamations, as Sam Hentges filed his protest against The Gays by refusing to wear the Pride Night hat at all, opting instead for the basic orange and black Giants hat.

Finishing off the night was the recently-returned Ryan Walker, who opted for a less in-your-face version of Roupp and Brubaker’s message, putting his Genesis reference on the side of his Pride Night cap, rather than on the front of it (he also had easily the best penmanship of the group, which of course is a skill dripping in masculinity).

In all, the Giants sent five pitchers to the mound, and four of them turned to the crowd in attendance and proverbially tossed up a pair of middle fingers. Screw who you are, they said. We’ve got a colorful semicircle to protect.

It was equal parts bigoted and embarrassing, and blame deserves to shine throughout the organization. I don’t recall this ever happening with the Giants at prior Pride Nights, so it’s a reasonable assumption to make that Tony Vitello was okay with this “expression” where other managers have shut it down. It speaks poorly to the leaders in the organization, like Logan Webb, Willy Adames, and Matt Chapman, who prioritized the desires of a few players over the comfort of their fans (and, you know … humanity).

On a night meant to celebrate the LGBTQ+ community — which, it goes without saying, is a fairly significant demographic anywhere, but especially San Francisco — the Giants instead sent a message loudly and clearly: not all are welcome (though they’re still more than welcome to spend a few hundred bucks on tickets and overpriced beer, of course).

Their “explanations,” predictably, were lacking.

Sure, no hate at all, Landen. Just so much insecurity that he couldn’t wear a hat with a few colors on it without having to deface it. Big strong man scared of a little rainbow. The mind can hardly fathom such profound masculinity.

Anyway, the Giants lost and I don’t care. Tonight I’m thinking about Kyle Harrison, who was plastered across every Pride Night ad a year ago, grinning like a kid in a candy store while showing off his Pride Night bucket hat. Tonight I’m thinking about Matt Cain, good ol’ country boy that he was, popping up on a Giants PSA to tell fans that baseball is for everyone. Tonight I’m thinking about Solomon Bates, the Giants pitching prospect who came out as gay shortly after his Minor League career came to an end. I’m thinking of the closeted professional baseball players across the Majors and Minors, each of whom has surely spent countless hours wondering if their teammates would accept them.

I hope they’re all having good nights.

More importantly, I’m thinking of the thousands of queer Giants fans in attendance on Friday, and the tens or hundreds of thousands more watching at home, who not only had to watch their favorite team prove for the umpteenth time that they’re bad at baseball, but also had had to be reminded that even their favorite athletes don’t accept them. That the organization, from top to bottom, would rather drown with freedom of bigoted speech than commit itself to genuine acceptance.

The Giants just keep finding ways to embarrass themselves and let us down. Hopefully next time they keep it confined to baseball.

There was no late-night luck in Vegas for the Rockies.

Sean Sullivan gave Colorado an encouraging first look in his major league debut, and Cole Carrigg delivered the swing that briefly looked like it might define the night. But the lead did not hold. The Athletics answered Carrigg’s three-run homer with four unanswered runs, including the go-ahead run on a preventable throwing error, and beat the Rockies 6-4 on Friday at Las Vegas Ballpark.

The loss dropped the Rockies to 26-44, while the Athletics improved to 34-35.

Sullivan shows enough in debut

Sean Sullivan (No. 8 PuRP) became the sixth Rockies player to make his major league debut this season, and his outing ended after three scoreless innings due to illness. He allowed two hits, walked no one, and struck out two while throwing 33 of his 49 pitches for strikes. He generated 29 swings and five whiffs, topped out at 90.7 mph, and allowed just one hard-hit ball.

Sullivan built the outing around his four-seam fastball, throwing it 29 times for 59% of his pitch mix. He also used eight cutters, seven changeups, and five sweepers. The fastball averaged 87.6 mph, with the cutter at 83.2 mph, the changeup at 77.9 mph, and the sweeper at 75.6 mph. Against right-handed hitters, Sullivan used the fastball 61% of the time. Against left-handed hitters, he used it 56% of the time, with the sweeper becoming a bigger part of the plan at 22%.

The fastball was not overpowering, but Sullivan pounded the zone with it and forced Oakland to keep fighting it off. The clearest example came in the first inning against Colby Thomas. Sullivan fell behind 3-1, then threw eight straight four-seamers. Thomas swung through one to run the count full, fouled off six more, and then missed the 12th pitch of the at-bat, an 86.1 mph fastball, for Sullivan’s first major league strikeout.

That was the first real moment of the debut. Sullivan did not win it with velocity. He won it by staying in the zone, trusting the fastball, and making Thomas prove he could finish the at-bat. Thomas never did.

The other defining sequence came in the second. Jonah Heim doubled off the base of the wall in left, driving an 85.7 mph four-seamer at 102.1 mph with a 20-degree launch angle and a projected distance of 355 feet. It was the first hit Sullivan allowed in the majors and the only hard-hit ball against him.

Sullivan came right back against Zack Gelof and ended the inning in three pitches. He started with an 84.2 mph cutter for a called strike, came back with an 82.3 mph cutter that Gelof tipped for strike two, then finished him with a 74.6 mph sweeper for a swinging strike.

Both strikeouts ended innings. That is the useful takeaway from Sullivan’s debut. He threw strikes, avoided walks, limited hard contact, and had a response when the A’s finally put pressure on him. It would have been good to see him go deeper, but three scoreless innings was a solid first look.

Rockies finally get to Jump

For five innings, Gage Jump looked like he was going to make the Rockies pay for their missed early chances.

Colorado had a chance to get to him right away. Kyle Karros singled through the left side in the first, and TJ Rumfield followed with a ground-ball single to right that moved Karros to third. But with runners on the corners and one out, Jump escaped. He struck out Hunter Goodman, then got Troy Johnston to line out to Henry Bolte in center field for the final out.

The Rockies put another runner on in the second when Braxton Fulford lined a 97.5 mph fastball to right field for a two-out single, then stole second on the next pitch. Jump again avoided damage, and from there he settled in. He retired 10 straight Rockies hitters and carried a 2-0 lead into the sixth after Shea Langeliers and Nick Kurtz went back-to-back in the fifth.

Then the Rockies jumped him.

Willi Castro opened the sixth by poking a single past Max Muncy at third base. Karros followed with louder contact, shooting a 95.2 mph fastball through the left side for a 104.3 mph single. Rumfield then worked a walk, loading the bases with nobody out and forcing Mark Kotsay to go to the bullpen.

That was the inning’s first turn. Jump had been cruising, but the Rockies finally got him out of the game and created the kind of pressure they had missed with their early traffic.

Justin Sterner entered to face Goodman and won the first matchup, striking out Goodman for his third strikeout of the night. That made the inning feel like it might become another missed opportunity. Johnston kept that from happening. After falling behind 0-2, Johnston lifted a deep fly ball to center field, plenty deep to score Castro from third. Karros also tagged and advanced to third, a smart read as the ball carried Bolte deeper into the outfield.

Then Cole Carrigg made sure the Rockies did not settle for just one run.

Carrigg attacked a first-pitch cutter from Sterner and drove it out to right-center for a three-run home run. Carrigg’s second career round-tripper turned a 2-1 deficit into a 4-2 Rockies lead. The swing came off a 90.2 mph cutter and left the bat at 102.5 mph with a 34-degree launch angle.

That closed the book on Jump, who was charged with three runs over five innings. He allowed five hits, walked one, struck out six, and threw 52 of his 75 pitches for strikes. His fastball carried the outing, accounting for 38 of his 75 pitches, and it averaged 97.2 mph while topping out at 99.2. He also mixed in 21 sliders, eight curveballs, seven changeups, and one sweeper.

Jump was excellent for long stretches. He generated 14 whiffs on 40 swings and controlled the middle innings after Colorado failed to convert its first two chances. But the sixth changed the line. Two singles and a walk created the jam, Johnston got the first run home, and Carrigg delivered the swing that finally broke through.

Bullpen gives the lead back

The Rockies had to piece the game together after Sullivan exited, and the first handoff worked. Jeff Criswell handled the fourth with a scoreless inning. He allowed one walk, struck out one, and topped out at 97.1 mph while mixing sliders, four-seamers, and changeups.

The fifth is where the game changed. Seth Halvorsen opened the inning by getting Muncy to line out and Bolte to strike out, but Langeliers broke the scoreless tie with two outs. Langeliers got a 98.8 mph fastball and drove it to center field, sending it 450 feet at 104.2 mph for his 18th home run of the season.

Kurtz followed with the bigger swing. After falling behind 2-0, Halvorsen got a swinging strike on a 98.3 mph fastball, then tried to finish the at-bat with a 90 mph splitter. Kurtz drove it 471 feet to right-center at 108.9 mph, giving Oakland back-to-back home runs and a 2-0 lead.

Halvorsen walked Lawrence Butler before Zach Agnos entered and got Tyler Soderstrom to pop out in foul territory, keeping the inning at two runs. Halvorsen’s line closed at 0.2 IP, 2 H, 2 ER, 1 BB, 1 K, 2 HR.

The Rockies answered with four runs in the top of the sixth, but the lead did not last. Agnos walked Jacob Wilson to open the bottom half, then gave up a one-out single to Gelof. Muncy tied the game with a double to center, driving a 94.9 mph four-seamer 398 feet at 103.5 mph to score both runners.

Agnos still had to get through Kurtz with runners on the corners and two outs. Kurtz had already hit the longest ball of the game, and he nearly did more damage. He drove a ball deep to center, but Carrigg tracked it down near the warning track to end the inning and keep the game tied, 4-4.

The seventh turned on a preventable mistake. Butler opened with a double to right off a 93 mph sinker, and Soderstrom followed with a walk. Agnos got Wilson on an infield fly and Carlos Cortes on a forceout, putting runners on the corners with two outs.

Cortes took off for second, and Goodman popped up from behind the plate, bluffing a throw to second. Butler broke down the line from third and got caught between bases. Goodman started him back toward third, but then spiked the throw to Karros. The ball skipped into the outfield, and Butler scored easily to give Oakland a 5-4 lead.

It was the kind of self-inflicted play that changes a game. Goodman had Butler hung up and a chance to get the Rockies out of the inning tied. Instead, the throw got away, and the A’s took the lead without putting another ball in play.

Agnos came back out for the eighth and gave up back-to-back singles to Muncy and Bolte before getting Langeliers to line out to Johnston in right. That ended Agnos’ outing at 2.2 IP, 5 H, 4 R, 3 ER, 2 BB, 2 K.

Brennan Bernardino replaced Agnos and got the first out he needed, striking out Kurtz on a called third strike after an ABS challenge confirmed the pitch. Butler followed with a ground-ball single to center, scoring Muncy from second and pushing Oakland’s lead to 6-4. Bernardino then struck out Soderstrom to end the inning. His line closed at 0.2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K.

The Rockies got a clean inning from Criswell, but the rest of the bullpen stretch was costly. Halvorsen gave up the back-to-back homers in the fifth, Agnos was charged with four runs across the sixth, seventh, and eighth, and Goodman’s throwing error turned a tied game into a deficit before Butler added another run in the eighth.

Rockies go quietly in the ninth

The Rockies had one final chance in the ninth, but Hogan Harris closed it quickly. Carrigg struck out swinging, Sterlin Thompson followed with another strikeout, and Brett Sullivan lined out to Butler in right field to end a 6-4 loss.

Mason Barnett earned the win for Oakland, while Agnos took the loss for Colorado. Harris picked up the save after retiring all four batters he faced.

The Rockies finished with seven hits and went 1-for-7 with runners in scoring position, leaving four runners on base. The Athletics went 2-for-12 with runners in scoring position and left 10 on base, but they cashed in enough late. Oakland scored two in the fifth, two in the sixth, one in the seventh, and one in the eighth after being held scoreless through the first four innings.

Colorado got impressive moments from the call-ups. Sean Sullivan threw three scoreless innings in his major league debut, and Carrigg delivered the biggest swing of the night with a three-run homer in the sixth. Kyle Karros also had two hits and made several defensive plays at third.

But the Rockies did not finish the game cleanly. The bullpen allowed six runs after Sullivan and Jeff Criswell covered the first four innings, and the defense gave Oakland extra help. Hunter Goodman had a rough night, going 0-for-4 with three strikeouts and committing two errors, including the throw that gave the A’s the lead in the seventh.

The young pieces gave Colorado real moments. Sullivan’s debut was encouraging. Carrigg’s homer changed the game. But missed chances, a leaky bullpen, and one preventable defensive mistake were enough to turn those moments into another loss.

Up Next

The series continues tomorrow night in Las Vegas, where the Rockies will send Kyle Freeland to the mound for an 8:05 p.m. MDT first pitch at Las Vegas Ballpark.

Freeland is still trying to right the ship after a disastrous run of starts since returning from injury. The left-hander enters at 1-6 with a 7.87 ERA and 45 strikeouts, and Colorado badly needs him to find something closer to his usual form.

The Athletics, meanwhile, have not yet named a starter for the game.

From the jump, the Rays just didn’t have it tonight.

In the bottom of the first, Trey Mancini roped a triple to right field with two outs to plate two Halos. 2-0 Anaheim before you got a chance to sit down with your popcorn.

Again with two outs, the Angels got off the hook with a seeing-eye single from Nick Madrigal plated another to tack on another run, and Logan O’Hoppe singles to plate Madrigal, and it’s 4-0 Angels.

Shane McClanahan struck out seven, but allowed eight hits and walked one.

In the top of the fifth, Jonathan Aranda struck again, providing Tampa bay with a crooked number of the single variety to cut the deficit in half.

In the eighth, Chandler Simpson defied gravity with a home run-robbing catch in his first start in center field this season.

In the ninth, the Rays threatened with another Aranda RBI single. Junior Caminero walks to load the bases,

Cedric Mullins pinch hits for Ryan Vilade, and that was all she wrote. Mullins would strike out swinging, stranding the tying run at third base.

We do it again from Angel Stadium on Saturday at 10:07 PM EST, with Griffin Jax and Rafael Soriano as the probable pitchers.

As Carlos Mendoza put it after the Mets' 7-5 win over the Braves on Friday night, the game got "risky" in the second inning.

With the Mets up 2-0 off the back-to-back blasts from Bo Bichette and Juan Soto, starter Nolan McLean struggled. He allowed two runs on three walks and two hits. And more strikingly, the young right-hander threw 42 pitches.

"That was his last hitter there," Mendoza said of how close he was to pulling McLean in the second. "Again, after 42 pitches, you’re getting in that tricky spot where you’re uncomfortable. Talking to Nolan after that second inning, he had a break, we had a long one offensively. If we had a quick three outs, I don’t think Nolan goes back."

“You don’t ever really prepare to go throw 40 pitches in an inning,” McLean said. “Once you get that tired out there, you’re trying to piece it together and get those outs, get back in the dugout and try to recover.

“I was pretty tired. Was able to kinda work out of it with minimal runs, minimal damage, which I was happy about.”

The issue for McLean in that inning, and the game as a whole, was his control. The rookie said he was not able to land his offspeed pitches in the zone and credited the Braves hitters for fouling off good pitches. 

Mendoza echoed those sentiments.

"He was missing big time arm side with all of his pitches," he said. "He got pretty tricky there in the second inning, 42 pitches. But he was able to minimize the damage, got out of it and we asked for a couple of more there. It was risky, but we needed him. He lost the strike zone and got behind hitters."

To McLean's credit, he settled in. With a 6-2 lead, he allowed just two more baserunners before he was pulled after the fourth inning. 

"He competed, he went back out there and was able to give us two more," Mendoza said. 

McLean wound up throwing 93 pitches (55 strikes), allowing the two runs on three hits, four walks, while striking out six. But the 24-year-old isn't satisfied with just grinding through four innings. He was hoping to go back out for the fifth and was visibly upset when Mendoza told him he was done while in the dugout between innings.

But McLean understands the decision and knows what he must do moving forward.

“I gotta do a better job of, later in the count when they are fouling it off, just keep challenging them,” he said. “Just some pretty close misses there and, then obviously, there were a few walks for bigger misses.”

While it wasn't pretty, McLean and the Mets will take these wins, knowing they have to climb back to .500 after the hole they dug themselves earlier this season. 

“We’ll take ugly victories over clean losses," McLean said. "So anyway we can get in the win column as many times as we can, that’s what we’re trying to do."

After Friday's win, they sit 4.5 games back of the final wild card spot and hope to keep chipping away at that deficit when they face off against the Braves again on Saturday.

Athletics 6, Rockies 4

Graphic via FanGraphs.

He’s back: Lawrence Butler, +0.38 WPA

Tough day in the bullpen: Zach Agnos, -0.39 WPA

Game thread comment of the day

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The Athletics started their weekend series against the Colorado Rockies on the right foot, beating their NL West counterparts 6-4 thanks to some solid pitching and timely hitting. The win secures the team’s 34th win of the season and they remain in striking distance of a playoff spot and the AL West lead. They’re now just a game under .500 and can get back to that mark tomorrow with another win.

Zeros early

Tonight’s pitching matchup featured a pair of young starters just beginning to make their mark on the league. It was lefty Gage Jump for the Athletics while fellow southpaw Sean Sullivan was making his major league debut for the Rockies.

Jump, one of the organization’s best young pitchers, came into this contest riding high after two quality starts in a row. He ran into some trouble in the first when he allowed back-to-back one-out singles but managed to wriggle out of it. He allowed another single in the second before getting into his rhythm.

From the third on Jump was dominant. He turned in 1-2-3 innings in the third, fourth, and fifth, retiring 10 straight at one point tonight. Considering how much the ball was flying earlier in the week during the Brewers series, Jump did a great job keeping the Rockies off the board for five full frames this evening.

On the other side Sullivan was keeping up with Jump. The A’s got a double in the second that was stranded and put two runners on in the third, but they couldn’t cash in on that early opportunity either. Those three innings were all we would see of Sullivan as the Rockies didn’t want to push their luck and ask him to go through the Athletics’ lineup a second time.

The scoring begins

Righty Jeff Criswell replaced Sullivan and had a scoreless fourth before Seth Halvorsen entered this contest for the fifth. He managed two outs before Shea Langeliers stepped up to the plate and hit the second pitch he saw over the center field wall for a solo shot:

That big fly was Langeliers’ 18th of the year and gave the Athletics the first lead of the game. But the A’s were done there. Next to the plate was first baseman Nick Kurtz and he decided to go back-to-back with Langeliers with his own home run, his 16th on the year:

The power stroke is officially here. That big fly was Kurtz’s fifth long ball in his past five games. It also doubled the A’s lead and gave Jump some breathing room.

Speaking of Jump, he finished the fifth rolling after punching out the side and was sent out to start the sixth given a chance to keep it going. But a leadoff single broke his streak. Then another single and a five-pitch walk brought Mark Kotsay out of the dugout, and the manager decided to pull his starter before things got any hairier.

• Gage Jump: 5 IP, 5 H, 3 ER, 1 BB, 6 K, 75 pitches

No need to push the young lefty when he was clearly beginning to lose it. Right-handed Justin Sterner replaced Jump, coming into a bases-loaded, no out situation with the Rockies’ home run leader stepping to the plate. He punched out Hunter Goodman before a sac fly brought in the Rockies’ first run of the evening, charged to Jump. Then it was the big hit for the Rockies, a three-run home run to turn a 2-1 A’s lead into a 4-2 Rockies lead. Two of those runs would also be charged to Jump, putting a bad finish on an otherwise quality outing. Jump is lined up to take on the Pirates next week.

Now facing a deficit, the A’s offense needed to get to work. A leadoff walk to the just-activated Jacob Wilson started the bottom of the sixth. That was followed by a Zack Gelof one-out single (which extended his hitting streak to 16 games) to put two runners on. Up to the plate stepped third baseman Max Muncy and he delivered a huge two-run double that knotted this game back up at 4 apiece:

Much needed hit right there. Muncy would finish the night 2-for-4. This game would need to be decided in the final frames tonight.

The endgame

Following Sterner out of the Athletics’ bullpen was right-hander Mason Barnett, who had a perfect top of the seventh.

The bats meanwhile managed to push a run across in the bottom of the seventh with a little help from the Rockies’ defense. With two outs and runners on the corners Kotsay sent the runner on first, hoping to draw the throw to second base and allow the runner at third to make an attempt for home plate. Instead Butler nearly got picked off at third, but luckily a bad throw from the catcher sailed past the third baseman into left field, allowing Butler to come home and give the A’s the late lead:

Hey, take what they give you right?

Barnett came out for another inning of work in the eighth and got two outs but also allowed a double, putting the tying run in scoring position for the Rockies. Enter lefty Hogan Harris. Asked to get one major out, Harris did his job inducing a ground ball to escape the jam. Breath out.

The A’s added on a much-needed insurance run in the bottom of the eighth. Lawrence Butler, who didn’t even start this game, delivered his second hit of the night to drive in Muncy and give the A’s some breathing room for the ninth:

It was then up to Harris to finish the Rockies off. The lefty finished off the bottom part of the Colorado lineup with ease, collecting two punch outs and securing the win for the Green & Gold while earning his sixth save of the season.

A slightly stressful win but a win nonetheless. Don’t let Jump’s final line tell you he had anything but a great start tonight. The offense managed to do just enough to squeak out the win against the worst team in the league, and the bullpen was (almost) perfect to secure win #34 for the squad. They did what they needed to do tonight and now they need to do it two more times.

We do it all again tomorrow evening, same time same place. The A’s are shaking things up and will send right-hander Joey Estes to the mound for his first appearance with the big league team this season. Estes has made 12 starts with the Aviators this year and has a 5.95 ERA. Not great numbers but on the plus side he has plenty of experience pitching in Las Vegas Ballpark. The Rockies meanwhile have lefty Kyle Freeland going for them in the middle contest this weekend. The 10-year veteran has gotten hit hard this season as he’ll carry a sky-high 7.81 ERA into tomorrow. More homers incoming?

TORONTO — Max Fried still has a ways to go before he is pitching for the Yankees again, but he will take another important step in his comeback on Saturday.

The left-hander is set to throw a light bullpen session after another round of imaging on his left elbow bone bruise showed enough healing to clear him for the next step in his ramp-up, manager Aaron Boone said Friday.

“I think it’s just a touch and feel [bullpen on Saturday] and then hopefully progress on the mound and see where that leads,” Boone said before an 8-5 loss to the Blue Jays.

Fried, who last pitched on May 13, has been asymptomatic since he started playing catch late last month. He had gotten out to throwing from 120 feet before going for more tests to get the green light to take the next step.

“Doesn’t mean he’s been cleared to get into that next point of a game — I think there’s still got to be some improvement [in his MRI exam],” Boone said. “But he’s doing well.”

In a best-case scenario, Fried is still likely more than a month away from returning, needing to get through multiple bullpen sessions and live batting practices before a rehab assignment might come into play.

But if the Yankees can get him through those steps healthy, they will gladly welcome him back to strengthen what is already a potent rotation.

J.C. Escarra led off the fifth inning with a double, marking the first hit by a Yankees catcher since May 30. In between, Escarra, Austin Wells and Ali Sánchez had combined to go 0-for-26.

Wells (cervical headaches) is hitting, throwing and going through treatment, feeling “great” as he works toward a return, according to Boone.

The catcher is first eligible to return from the IL on Tuesday, though Boone said the Yankees would decide after this weekend if they want him to play in any rehab games first.

The lore of The Miz just keeps growing.

Brewers flame-thrower Jacob Misiorowski kicked off his start against the Phillies by striking out the side — and breaking one of his own records in the process of the 6-0 win.

The young right-hander hit 104.5 mph on the radar gun with a foul-tip strikeout of Philadelphia leadoff hitter Kyle Schwarber.

It was the hardest-thrown pitch by a starter in the pitch-tracking era, which dates to 2008, surpassing the 103.4 mph heater he fired in late May against the Cardinals.

Misiorowski finished the inning by punching out Trea Turner and Bryce Harper swinging on 103.5 mph and 104.1 mph fastballs, respectively, to cap a ridiculous opening frame.

He didn’t slow down there.

Misiorowski continued dominating the Phillies lineup, striking out 15 batters while allowing only one baserunner — a fourth-inning single by Schwarber — in a complete game shutout.

The outing continued what has been a ridiculous start to the 2026 season for Misiorowski, who made his MLB debut for Milwaukee exactly one year ago to the day.

Heading into Friday’s game, Misiorowski had posted a 1.50 ERA with a major league-leading 116 strikeouts across 13 starts, putting him squarely in the National League Cy Young conversation.

Last summer, with his stardom rising quickly, Misiorowski was placed on the NL All-Star team after just five outings and 25 2/3 innings.

That decision didn’t go over well around much of the baseball world — especially in Philadelphia.

Phillies lefty Christopher Sanchez, who didn’t make the team despite being 7-2 with a 2.49 ERA across 107 2/3 innings at the time, was among the players who had a case for the spot Misiorowski filled.

Ironically, Sanchez is now one of the few arms in the senior circuit pitching near Misiorowski’s level, having posted a 1.54 ERA with 113 strikeouts, setting up an intriguing NL All-Star Game starter debate and Cy Young race.

It wasn't necessarily pretty, but the Mets held on for a huge 7-5 win over the NL East-leading Braves on Friday night and Devin Williams was a big part of it.

Bo Bichette smashed two home runs and drove in six runs for the Mets, but Nolan McLean wasn't efficient enough to go deep and the bullpen faltered a bit as Atlanta's dangerous lineup chipped away at New York's lead. And with two outs in the eighth and runners on second and third, manager Carlos Mendoza called on his closer to get a four-out save.

Williams has yet to get more than three outs in a single outing as a Met. He didn't even do it with the Yankees a season ago until the playoffs, so this is uncharted territory for the Mets skipper. But after Eli White hit a sharp single off of third baseman Brett Baty that scored a run, Williams got Rowdy Tellez -- who represented the go-ahead run -- to fly out and send the game into the ninth.

"We got to a point now where they’re built up, equipped for it," Mendoza said of his rationale to use Williams for a four-out save. "Once you get in that situation, you’re trying to avoid another high-leverage guy, which was [Luke Weaver]. We get to a point where a four-out save was in play. I thought today, where we were in the game, where we were in the lineup, matchup-wise, that was the decision there."

After getting Austin Wynns to line out on the first pitch of the ninth, the at-bat of the night occurred. Mauricio Dubon and Williams battled for 14 pitches before the Braves outfielder singled, allowing the tying run to come to the plate.

But Williams didn't back down. He struck out Michael Harris II on four pitches and got Matt Olson -- who homered earlier in the game -- to strike out on a foul tip on four pitches to end the game.

"Pretty impressive at-bat by Dubon there, but that’s what makes Devin who he is," Mendoza said of the ninth. "He knows that even after that long one, he’s got two pretty good hitters coming up. He’s gotta execute, stay on the attack, not get behind in the count. That’s what he did. He went right after them. Huge save for us."

“It was a pretty gutsy performance by Devin there," McLean said. "Coming back-to-back and two-ups tonight, that’s big time.”

Friday was Williams' sixth career save of four or more outs and his first since May 28, 2023. It's also a continuation of some recent domination from the Mets closer.

He's now allowed just one run over his last six outings (6.1 IP). He's also unscored upon in 15 of his last 17 appearances dating back to April 26. His 37 strikeouts this season are the seventh-most among NL relievers. 

While Williams will more than likely not be available on Saturday, he delivered a big win to start the weekend series as the Mets continue to climb out of their early-season hole.

The Mariners are finishing out their long road trip with an interleague set against the Nationals and things got off to a tough start with a two-hour-plus rain delay, their second of the season (glares in the general direction of Minnesota). Rain delays historically haven’t been kind to the Mariners, but today they overcame the long delay thanks to a strong start from Bryce Miller, backed by an offensive explosion led by Dominic Canzone and Colt Emerson.

After a tough loss in Baltimore yesterday, the Mariners were on the right side of a big inning today, jumping on Nats starter and former Mariner Zack Littell in the second inning. It started with what I’m terming an Arozarena Double (single, stolen base) followed by a walk to Luke Raley, who’s really trying to lean into that Three True Outcomes label lately. Dominic Canzone apparently has a grudge against Nationals Park – which, fair – because he then tried to laser this ball through the center field wall for a rare Dominic Canzone Triple, which unfortunately immediately triggers a #CycleWatch for Canzone.

Miles Mastrobuoni brought home Canzone from third because Miles “Mister Bunny/Master Boney” Mastrobuoni knows how to do his job, to make it 3-0 Mariners, but the suffering would not end there for Littell, as Jhonny Pereda wore him out with a nine-pitch at-bat that ended in a line-drive single (with batflip, natch), bringing up Colt Emerson. Emerson got a fastball up in the zone and was able to pull it over the wall for his fifth home run: an impressive feat for a player whose power was never a highlight in his prospect scouting report.

Even though the Mariners had knocked out Littell by the second inning, the third inning was more of a bummer, comparatively, not only because the Mariners didn’t score but also because Randy Arozarena appeared to injure himself on a routine groundout to first, looking like he maybe tweaked a hamstring trying to beat out the throw. Victor Robles replaced Randy in the bottom of the inning, playing right as Luke Raley shifted to left, making his first return to Nationals Park, and immediately made a nice inning-ending catch.

The first Nats run off Miller came in the fourth, when Miller made the mistake of falling behind Nats slugger James Wood in a 3-1 count. Miller then compounded his mistake by hanging a slider in Wood’s lefty loop zone for a no-doubt homer that at least was a solo shot. Miller almost made things harder for himself with an ill-located splitter to Luis García Jr., but thankfully the yard held it, and Miller was able to escape the inning without further damage.

The Mariners were able to get that run back in the fifth and then some, doing some damage with two outs. Cole Young started with a one-out single, moving to second on a seven-pitch walk to Julio Rodríguez. With two outs, Victor Robles worked a walk to load the bases, with Young eventually scoring on a wild pitch by Nats bulk pitcher Riley Cornelio (pause for Beavis and Butthead jokes). Luke Raley then brought in Julio and Robles with a big two-out single that would put this game functionally out of reach; a pair of solo homers later in the game from Canzone and Josh Naylor pushed the score to double digits.

Miller, with his pitch count in good shape, earned an opportunity to pitch in the eighth to try to set a career high, but fell behind leadoff man Dylan Crews 3-0 before serving up a sinker that didn’t sink, prompting Dan Wilson to get up new bullpen addition Michael Rucker. Miller rebounded, however, to get his next three outs, completing eight innings for the first time in his career.

For Miller, who has a near-encyclopedic recollection of his outings, it was a satisfying step forward.

“The last time I had a low pitch count after seven was 2024 in Milwaukee, and I lost the battle then,” joked Miller.

Today, with the Mariners bullpen thin in the middle of a long road trip, Miller got the green light to go back out and push deeper into a game than he had, making things easy on new callup Michael Rucker, who pitched a scoreless ninth. It was a statement game against a team that’s been averaging over five runs a game, and a statement game for Miller, who’s making a case along with Emerson Hancock to be considered the ace of the Mariners rotation. Big Tex > Big thunderstorms.

Only the Houston Astros this season could deliver angst and high drama after posting a whopping 9 runs in the first inning.    What should’ve been a contest set on cruise control, quickly became a roller coaster affair, between dueling bullpens.   Houston would hang on for a 10-8 win.     

Royals starter Luinder Avila would be chased after throwing 49 pitches, the highest volume for any pitcher in an inning this year.    Avila now owns that dubious distinction.    Swimming in the same stormy waters was Tatsuya Imai, who in his 9th start would also get bounced in the opening frame while being charged with 5 runs.    The inning would take 47 minutes to complete.   

Steven Okert would come on initially in relief to quiet the noise.    Okert would go 2 1/3 IP, his longest outing since August of 2021.     In total, the Astros would utilize six different relievers; Okert, Blubaugh, Pearson, De Los Santos, King and Josh Hader.    Hader would close the door, registering his 2nd save of the year.        

The Astros first inning fireworks began with a leadoff single by Jeremy Pena, followed by back-to-back home runs from Yordan Alvarez and Christian Walker.    The entire order would bat around.    Alvarez would then reappear with the bases loaded, launching a grand slam off of reliever Mason Black.    It would be the first time an Astros player would have multiple homeruns in the same inning since Jeff Bagwell accomplished the feat in June of 1994 verses the Dodgers.    Alvarez would account for 6 of the 10 runs scored.    He now leads the A.L. with 54 rbi’s.   

The Royals would add a trio of runs in the bottom of the 8th, first on a single by Michael Massey that drove in Michael Garcia.   That hit would be followed by a Carter Jensen bases loaded walk and then a Bobby Witt RBI single.     That would trim the lead to one.

In the top of the ninth, Brice Matthews would create some breathing room, adding an insurance run with a 433-foot HR.     It was Matthews’s 5th homer of the season.       

With the win, the Astros improve to 2-2 on this current road trip.    Mike Burrows is scheduled to start Saturday.  First pitch from Kauffman Stadium at 6:10pm CDT.    Burrows has lost 4 of his last 5 outings.    

Bo Bichette may have called it while talking to The Post before Friday’s game.

“I think I am good enough that my season could look how I want it to look in a week,” Bichette said. “But I also think that I am good enough to where we look up in a couple of months and I am like, ‘Oh, dang, he made it to where he wants to be.’ ”

He’s off to a good start.

Buoyed by Bichette’s two home runs, which included a grand slam, the Mets beat the Braves 7-5 at Citi Field for their second straight victory.

The barrage gave Bichette, who began the night with an anemic .607 OPS, three homers over his last two games. His six RBIs matched a career high. It’s the kind of night the Mets had in mind when they signed Bichette last winter to a three-year contract (that contains opt outs) worth $126 million.

“Individually you have a little bit more juice already, knowing that you are playing the best team,” Bichette said of the Braves, who own MLB’s best record. “Individually you are going to have to bring it if you want to win, but coming out and seeing the crowd how it was, I don’t know if I have really seen that all year, so it was exciting just walking out there in the first innings.”

Bichette’s outburst boosted the Mets on a night Nolan McLean scuffled and lasted just four innings because of an elevated pitch count. The right-hander allowed two earned runs on three hits and four walks with six strikeouts. He was removed after 93 pitches.

Juan Soto, whose go-ahead homer Wednesday propelled a victory over the Cardinals, went deep on this night to augment Bichette’s offensive heroics.

Bichette and Soto got the night started with consecutive homers in the first inning that gave the Mets a 2-0 lead. Soto, who received his silver bat award from last season before the game, cleared the right field fence for his team-leading 15th homer after Bichette had homered to left.

• CHECK OUT THE LATEST MLB STANDINGS AND METS STATS

“I feel like we haven’t seen that the whole year,” manager Carlos Mendoza said, referring to the Bichette-Soto combo. “Whether it was losing Juan because of injury, then he gets going and Bo going through a rough stretch, but if we get those two going they can carry any team.”

McLean needed 42 pitches to get through the second, an inning in which the Braves sent eight batters to the plate and scored twice, with help from three walks.

Dominic Smith’s RBI single pulled the Braves within 2-1 after Ozzie Albies walked leading off and reached second when Jared Young mishandled McLean’s pickoff throw for an error. Austin Riley walked before Mike Yastrezemski’s RBI single tied it 2-2. McLean then walked Ha-Seong Kim to load the bases before getting three straight outs without a run scoring.

Bichette’s grand slam in the bottom of the inning gave the Mets a 6-2 lead. MJ Melendez doubled against Spencer Strider with two outs to begin the rally before Luis Torrens singled and Carson Benge got drilled to load the bases. Bichette hit a fly to right that just nestled into the first row.

Bichette’s sacrifice fly in the fourth extended the Mets’ lead to 7-2. Melendez walked in the inning and Luis Torrens singled.

McLean’s performance was a step backward after two straight solid starts from the right-hander following consecutive clunkers. In his previous outing, last Saturday against the Padres, he threw a season-high 101 pitches and allowed one earned run over six innings.

Matt Olson’s homer in the fifth against Cionel Perez gave the Braves their third run.

Brooks Raley surrendered two runs in the eighth to slice the Mets’ lead to 7-5 before Devin Williams retired Rowdy Tellez with the tying runs on base for the final out.

Williams worked a scoreless ninth for his second save in as many days. The right-hander threw 33 pitches overall.

“Most teams get hot at some point during the year,” Bichette said. “We have just got to grind this one out.”