Category: Baseball

Blue Jays 9 Royals 2

Let’s get the bad news out of the way off the start. Jameson Taillon came out of the game after the second inning with right elbow discomfort. Why is it always the throwing arm that gets the discomfort? Oh right, because they are doing something very unnatural with the throwing arm. Taillon gave up 2 hits, 1 earned run (on a Bobby Witt homer), with a strikeout.

John and Pete must be saying to each other, ‘When is it going to get easier?’

But, amazingly, the Jays are back to .500. 71-71,

Other than the injury, it was a great night. We scored four in the top of the first, and the game was never in doubt from there on out.

In that first inning, Brett Bateman was hit by the first pitch of the game. An out later, Vladimir Guerrero lined a single to right (101.7 mph). Then Kirk lined a single to left, scoring Bateman. Kazuma Okamoto singled in Vlad. An out later, Ernie Clement doubled in the last two runs of the inning.

We got one more in the second. Myles Straw started it with a single. Two outs later, Vlad singled (102.7 mph), and Kirk doubled in Straw.

There were three more runs in the sixth. Clement led off with a single, and Nathan Lukes singled, giving us runners on the corners. Straw put down a sac bunt, scoring Clement, making it 6-1. Bateman walked, and George Spinger doubled in both, 8-1.

And Sean Keys hit his second MLB home run in the ninth.

We had 13 hits, with 3 doubles and a home run. Vlad, Kirk, Clement and Straw had two each. Vlad had three balls hit at over 100 mph; the one he hit hardest was a 115.8 mph lineout to third. I don’t know how you catch something moving that fast. Springer also had two hits over 100, 108.4 and 110.7.

If we can continue to hit like that, we’ll enjoy the rest of the season.

The game became a bullpen day:

• Joe Mantiply threw two innings, allowing just 1 hit with a strikeout.
• Braydon Fisher pitched the fifth, allowing a walk.
• Brendon Little got the sixth, giving up a walk, getting a strikeout and throwing a ton of pitches (31).
• Michael Lorenzen threw the last three innings, getting a rare three-inning save. He allowed 3 hits and a run with two strikeouts. He saved us from using more arms, a good thing at this time of the season (he also put a bullseye on his back; the team might send him down since he won’t be able to pitch for a couple of days.

If the stupid Tigers could have held on to a lead in either game of their doubleheader, we would be in a tie for the last spot. But we are one game back.

There was a cute moment, went Sal Perez was caught between first and second and he and Vlad hugged it out. Vlad had a very good day with the glove.

Jays of the Day: Kirk (0.15 WPA) and Clement (0.13).

No one gets the Other Award.

Tomorrow we have a rare weekend night game. 7:00 Eastern. Max Scherzer, who was amazing in his last start, vs. Seth Lugo (6-8, 5.03).

Yankees center fielder Trent Grisham exited Friday's game against the San Diego Padres early due to right hamstring discomfort, the team said.

Grisham appeared to have trouble running in for a bloop single that scored a run in the second inning, and immediately went to the trainer in the dugout at the end of the frame. 

He did not return to the field in the bottom of the third inning, as Heliot Ramos came in to play right field with Spencer Jones sliding over to center.

Grisham had walked in his lone at-bat prior to leaving the game against his former team.

The 29-year-old dealt with a right hamstring strain earlier this season, missing nearly three weeks from June 13 to July 2. 

Overall across 121 games, Grisham has hit .211 with a .703 OPS, 18 home runs, and 59 RBI.

SAN DIEGO — Perhaps this will settle the problem of whether the Yankees should start Trent Grisham or Spencer Jones in center field — and how to open a roster spot — once Aaron Judge returns. 

Grisham exited Friday’s game against the Padres in the bottom of the third with right hamstring discomfort — the same hamstring that landed him on the injured list earlier this season, though he indicated it was in a different spot — an inning after he was unable to come up with a fly ball in front of him that landed for an RBI single. 

The center fielder will likely undergo imaging to determine the severity of what he is dealing with, but it could ultimately land him back on the injured list with three weeks left in the regular season. 

“It seems like an injury,” manager Aaron Boone said after a 3-2 loss in 10 innings at Petco Park. “Not sure yet if it’s an IL or not, but certainly could be.” 

Grisham said he first felt the hamstring when he was caught stealing in the top of the second. But after he could not get to the ball in the bottom of the frame, he returned to the dugout, tapped director of sports medicine and rehab Mike Schuck on the back and headed down the stairs with him toward the clubhouse. 

“It’s disappointing, for sure,” said Grisham, who insisted the hamstring had not bothered him since he came off the IL in early July. “But that’s part of the game. We know what we’re signing up for. Hopefully it’s nothing too problematic.” 

When the Yankees took the field again in the bottom of the third, Heliot Ramos entered the game in right field, with Jones moving to center — the arrangement they would likely go with if Grisham needs an IL stint, at least until Judge gets back as early as next week. Jasson Domínguez could be in play if they need a stopgap outfielder to take Grisham’s roster spot in the interim. 

Grisham had been scuffling at the plate lately, coinciding with a surge from Jones, creating questions of who would play center field once Judge returns. Depending on the results of his tests, that may ultimately be moot.

Game Summary

The Diamondbacks are nothing if not consistent. Unfortunately, D-Backs fans would perhaps prefer a different sort of consistency. The Snakes scored 1 run for the 4th game in a row have gone hitless with RISP for just as many games. This is their longest streak of RISP ineptitude this season, breaking a tie with 2 other streaks of 3 games.

The offense felt like they were a step behind Houston starter Cristian Javier from the jump and they never could climb out of the hole. The team struck out 13 times, blowing away their previous season high of 8 Ks in a single game, but they also drew 7 walks which is their new season high in that metric. To be honest, though, it didn’t feel like the walks were great at bats by the hitters. They weren’t battling in the box and taking close pitches or fouling off a bunch of balls in the shadow zone, the D-Backs were simply not swinging at pitches way out of the strike zone on those particular plate appearances.

Gabriel Moreno was the top offensive contributor on the night, with a pair of walks and homer on his box score, but he also had the most negative plays if WPA actually calculated events outside the batter’s box. Gabi’s whiff on a throw home from Max Kepler that would have prevented the third Astros run from scoring was the first blemish on his night and then an absolutely epic TOOTBLAN put a nice bow on his Jekyll and Hyde evening.

The pitching staff did well again, but not well enough to let a single run by the offense stand up. Merrill had one rough inning, but other than that was almost completely spotless. Outside of the 3-run third, Merrill didn’t allow an Astro to reach 2nd base. The bullpen did well, too, with JMart looking awesome outside of his incredibly poor ABS challenge. Martinez averaged over 102mph on his Sinker and 4-seamer! Merrill’s second straight good start is key if this is what we can expect down the stretch. Hopefully his month-on-month-off season continues through September.

Loss Probability and Box Score

Outside the Box Score

• Geraldo Perdomo made a slick play at short to record the first out of the game for Merrill Kelly. The Astros speedy leadoff hitter hit a chopper to short and Gerry made an excellent backhand on a short hop before gathering and firing quickly to first for the out.
• Ketel’s first action at 2B since returning from the Restricted & Injured Lists was a little shaky. Ketel fielded the ball on the far side of second base, planted and threw but the ball went several feet to the home plate side of first base. Fortunately the Astros hitter wasn’t hustling up the line and Tim Tawa could cooly apply the tag to record the out.
• Perdomo got a 2-out walk in the 3rd and then stole second. His jump didn’t appear to be too great but the throw to second was way short and the fielder opted to come up to catch the ball rather than wait on the hop.
• Merrill Kelly gave up a homer to Yainer Diaz to lead off the 3rd on a hanging slider that was in the middle of the strike zone. Diaz blasted it at 100mph EV into the Crawford Boxes.
• Merrill have up an RBI double to Isaac Paredes in the 3rd that landed within a foot of the left field foul pole. Really close to being nothing more than a strike, but even if it was foul, there was a definite them of hard contact against Merrill in the 3rd: 101, 100, 69, 102 were the EVs to start the inning. The 69mph hit belonged to Yordan Alvarez. Go figure.
• Jose Altuve was credited with a sac fly in the third, but it was very nearly an inning-ending double play. Altuve popped it into shallow left right along the left field line by the wall and the stands, a pretty tricky spot. Kepler made a running, shoe string catch then threw home as Yordan Alvarez tagged and went for home. Kepler’s throw bounced a couple times but it was on target and well ahead of the runner, but Gabi whiffed the catch and Alvarez slid home safely for a 3-0 lead.
• Gabi got that run back that he allowed with his whiff of Kepler’s throw home when he tattooed high cutter into the Crawford Boxes for a leadoff homer in the 4th. Exit velocity was, to this point, a game high 105.1.
• The D-backs young players have seemed very hesitant to challenge, but Waldy broke the trend, at least for now, by challenging a called strike 3 that was actually off the outside corner. Unfortunately, it only flipped the box score from ꓘ to K as he struck out swinging on a pitch even further outside the strike zone a couple pitches later.
• Ketel Marte’s double in the 6th was about the luckiest double this he’ll have this year. A high pop up into shallow left field (almost exactly where Altuve hit his sac fly to Kepler earlier in the night) land just inside the fair line as the left fielder overran it and then had to reach back and whiffed the catch. The ball then bounced high into the air and landed in the stands along the left field line for a ground-rule double.
• The Astros catcher whiffed on both his challenges, giving Houston a rare (to my understanding) ofer in the challenge department. 
• Justin Martinez foolishly challenged a pitch in the 7th. The official ruling confirmed the ball landed more than 3” off the plate inside. Yikes.
• Gabi got a leadoff walk in the 8th, then advanced to second on a wild pitch. They gifted the DBacks a runner in scoring position and Gabi threw it away with a horrible TOOTBLAN. Ketel hit a grounder up the middle between Gabi’s secondary lead and second base. Gabi froze, then decided to try and run back toward second. The Astros SS charged and fielded the grounder and made the quick tag of Gabi before throwing to first to complete the double play. TOOTBLANs are inherently ridiculous (getting out like a nincompoop is ridiculous) but that version was way more nincompoopish than what is standard.

Comment of the Game

A fairly average showing tonight in the GameDay Thread with a total of 271 comments at time of publishing. Only a single comment crossed into Sedona Red territory and that was a greeting rather than commentary on the game so no COTG winner this evening.

Coming Up

The Diamondbacks face the ’Stros tomorrow at 4:15pm televised nationally on FOX. Brandon Pfaadt (7-2, 3.49 ERA) will get the ball for the good guys and young right-hander Ethan Pecko (1-0, 6.23 ERA) will get the ball for Houston.

Scoreboard Watching

• Cubs beat the Marlins to keep the Fish 3 games back of AZ.
• Padres are tied with Yankees 1-1 at home after 7 innings. Currently tied with AZ pending the results of their game.
• Cardinals won in Colorado 7-6. They are very much back in the hunt at 3 games behind AZ.

Iowa right-hander Andrew Wantz was activated off the temporarily inactive list.

Iowa second baseman Hayden Cantrelle went to the development list.

Knoxville right-hander Brody McCullough went to the development list.

Knoxville right-hander Luis Martinez-Gomez comes off the 7-day injured list.

Iowa Cubs

The Iowa Cubs were broadsided by the Columbus Clippers (Guardians), 7-1.

Braxton Garrett wasn’t bad tonight, allowing two runs on three hits over 4.2 innings. Both runs scored on a third-inning home run. Garrett struck out five and walked three. Garrett still got the loss.

Edward Cabrera had a rough relief appearance in a rehab assignment. Cabrera gave up four runs, three earned, on three hits over two-thirds of an inning. His defense did him no favors, but he didn’t do any favors for his defense either. Cabrera walked two and struck out one.

Iowa had just two hits tonight and second baseman Ben Cowles had both of them, going 2 for 4 with an RBI double in the third inning.

Cowles double.

Knoxville Smokies

The Knoxville Smokies got in the eyes of the Chattanooga Lookouts (Reds), 8-3. The win moved the Smokies back in to a tie for first place in their division with 8 games to play. Of course, the Smokies have already clinched a playoff spot from winning the division title in the first half.

Luis Martinez-Gomez came off the IL and went three innings. He allowed two runs, one earned, on two hits. He walked two and struck out three.

Grayson Moore allowed one run on two hits over 1.2 innings and got the win. Moore struck out one and walked no one.

Right fielder Alex Ramírez hit a solo home run to lead off the bottom of the first inning, his 14th on the year. Ramírez went 1 for 5.

Shortstop Alex Madera was a perfect 4 for 4 with a double. He drove in two and scored two. Madera also stole a base.

DH Andy Garriola doubled twice in a 3 for 5 night. Garriola scored two runs.

Madera’s home run.

Highlights from a three-run sixth inning.

South Bend Cubs

The South Bend Cubs creamed the Cedar Rapids Kernels (Twins), 14-3.

Starter Alfredo Romero allowed two runs on three hits over 3.1 innings. One run was unearned. Romero walked three and struck out four.

Cole Reynolds took over for Romero and got the win because Romero didn’t go five innings. Reynolds pitched 3.1 innings and gave up one run on four hits. He struck out three and walked no one.

The Kernels literally could not get center fielder Alexey Lumpuy out, as Lumpuy was a perfect 5 for 5 with three doubles and a stolen base. Lumpuy drove in four runs and scored once.

Shortstop Angel Cepeda went 3 for 4 and was hit by a pitch. Cepeda scored three times and drove in one.

Third baseman Matt Hallbach was 2 for 3 with two walks. He scored four runs and had one run batted in.

Right fielder Leonel Espinoza went 2 for 4 and scored once.

Everyone in the starting lineup had at least one hit except catcher Justin Stransky, but Stransky had a big night anyway, going 0 for 1 with a bases-loaded walk and three sacrifice flies for four total RBI. I can’t remember anyone getting four RBI without a hit.

Here are highlights from a four-run first inning.

A three-run double from Brennan Hudson, who was 1 for 5.

Lumpuy’s fifth hit and third double drove in a run.

Myrtle Beach Pelicans

The Myrtle Beach Pelicans caught the Columbia Fireflies (Royals) in a jar, 7-2.

Riely Hunsaker pitched the first five innings and surrendered two runs on four hits. One of the two runs was unearned. Hunsaker struck out four, walked two and hit one.

Luis Mata pitched the next two innings and got the win. Mata gave up no runs on no hits, but he did walk one while striking out one. Mata also hit a batter.

DH Juan Tomas hit a solo home run in the fifth inning, his first for Myrtle Beach and sixth overall. Tomas was 1 for 4 with a walk and two runs scored.

Catcher Jose Silva went 2 for 4 with a stolen base. He scored once.

Highlights.

At Citi Field on Friday was a team that had been dismantled at the trade deadline, clearly a shell of the postseason threat it aspired to be and a club that might not mind the losses mounting considering the draft implications. 

That team faced the Mets, who have played their cleanest baseball in garbage time. 

The Giants sold at the trade deadline, batted a player named Turner Hill cleanup in the series opener and are still bottoming out, 10-19 since offloading every piece they could. 

The 2026 Mets have been a similar and different team, respectively: a big-money bust that threw in the towel, wiped itself off and now is emerging as fresh-faced and competitive. 

In a September matchup featuring two disappointments that are trending in opposite directions, the Mets used five home runs — two from Francisco Alvarez — and a gritty night from Nolan McLean to hold off the Giants, 10-6, in front of 29,377 who have been cheering for a team with more life since Aug. 3. 

The Mets (64-77) are 13 games under .500 but 17-11 since unloading nearly the entirety of their bullpen plus Clay Holmes, Freddy Peralta and Tyrone Taylor. 

Each victory brings them a bit closer to possible offseason frustration: Their first-round draft pick would be docked 10 spots (as it was last year) unless they are bad enough and lucky enough to land a top-six selection. 

David Stearns would argue each victory brings them closer to the team they want to be. 

“I am encouraged by what we’ve seen,” the president of baseball operations said before the game. “We’ve seen continued progression from a lot of players who are going to be here next year and for many years beyond. 

“And that is very encouraging for me and I think lifts the organization as a whole as we head into an offseason and, ultimately, construct our team for ’27.” 

Somewhere in the front of their rotation next season will be McLean, who clearly has the stuff to be an ace but showed Friday that he can be effective without his top execution. The National League Rookie of the Year contender — who acknowledged he wants the award but is not focused on it — battled through six innings in which he somehow allowed two runs while letting up six hits and walking four. 

“Lucky” was how McLean described his night after managing just two 1-2-3 innings — the second and sixth, the latter of which he punctuated with a fist-pump upon getting Christian Koss looking at strike three — and in each other frame he had to survive, the biggest struggle coming in the fifth. 

The Giants loaded the bases without an out, were a swing away from making a lopsided game interesting, but watched McLean strike out Jung Hoo Lee and induce a ground ball double play from Drew Cavanaugh on a play that Marcus Semien made a nice sliding grab and shovel pass to Francisco Lindor. 

“The thing about him that I have always appreciated,” interim manager Andy Green said, “is he can put himself into some nasty jams and then he finds a ridiculous amount of confidence to work his way out of it.” 

The Mets bullpen bent, notably when Rafael Devers clubbed a three-run home run against Austin Warren in the eighth. 

But they had a cushion because the Mets’ attack racked up more home runs (five) than singles (four). 

Mark Vientos — reminding that even in a season plagued by injury and inconsistency, he can still crush lefties — continued his strong work off the injured list with a three-run shot against Matt “Tugboat” Wilkinson in the first inning. 

Alvarez and Bo Bichette added a pair in the second to help capsize Wilkinson. 

Lindor added a two-run shot in the sixth and Alvarez tacked on with his 15th of the year in the eighth. 

“I just want to go out there and finish in the best possible way as I can, both offensively and defensively,” Alvarez, who is still trying, said through interpreter Alan Suriel.

The Mets are giving Jonah Tong his chance.

Interim manager Andy Green told reporters Friday night after the team's 10-6 win over the San Francisco Giants that Tong will be called up and start on Monday when they face the Marlins in Miami.

Green was asked about the decision to bring in Robert Stock to pitch in the eighth inning, leading him to share the plan to have Tong rejoin the rotation.

"I think we kind of rearranged our rotation coming out of the off-day," Green said. "We knew the three guys that were going to go this series. We have, we'll say it now, Jonah will start the first game against Miami. Sean [Manaea] will start the next one and then we'll figure out where we are on that last day in Miami, which gave Robert a long time down and us the opportunity to use him in that capacity."

Green had hinted at Tong being considered for the opportunity earlier in the week, and now the 23-year-old will get prove he deserves it.

Tong last pitched in the majors on June 2 against the Seattle Mariners, allowing four earned runs on five hits in bulk relief (3.1 IP). In his brief stint with the Mets earlier this season, he went 1-1 with a 3.60 ERA over 10.0 IP (all in relief).

Meanwhile, it's been an up-and-down year for Tong in Triple-A, as he's gone 5-6 with a 4.54 ERA with 126 strikeouts across 23 starts. But he has impressed recently, pitching to a 0.84 ERA with 23 strikeouts over his last four starts, including a seven-inning one-hitter on Aug. 29.

New York has been patient with Tong's development this year after he was rushed to the big leagues at the end of the 2025 season and struggled.

This game was out of control for KC very quickly. Daniel Lynch IV made his fifth start as a Royal, and the broadcast played an interview with manager Matt Quatraro who said, “I don’t think we’ve seen the best of him as a starter, yet.” I’m more afraid we haven’t seen the worst; the Royals ultimately lost 9-2.

Honestly, you could blame almost any position group for this loss. Lynch was obviously bad. He allowed five runs in five innings, the first time he’s pitched that deep into a game. And perhaps there’s something to be said of the recovery that actually saw him record 10 straight outs to finish his outing. But he also allowed 7 hits, 1 walk, and struck out no one. So.

Nolan Hoffman came on in relief for the sixth inning and immediately gave up three more runs to make sure the Royals didn’t even consider coming back in this one. He pitched a second scoreless inning, and Easton McGee had a scoreless inning but allowed a run in the ninth to finish the game off. Neither of them are considered among the Royals’ best current relievers, but both are supposed to be competing for a role in next year’s ‘pen. It isn’t going well.

The offense seemed like it might have something going in the first inning against Jameson Taillon. Carter Jensen struck out looking, but Bobby Witt Jr. smoked a home run at 106.7 MPH. Jac Caglianone lined out to second at 110 MPH. Salvador Perez lined out to third at 104.5, they were obviously seeing Taillon well. Or so it seemed. The Royals didn’t get a runner to second base again until the bottom of the eighth when Carter Jensen doubled off of old friend Michael Lorenzen. Taillon also only pitched two innings, leaving with an injury after the completion of the 1-2-3 second on nine pitches.

Vinnie tacked on a solo shot with two outs in the ninth, which probably felt good because he has slumped a little in his last six games after the hot start off the IL.

It was just a bad night for Royals’ baseball all around. Tomorrow might be better, but perhaps don’t hold your breath. Seth Lugo (5.03 ERA, 4.56 SIERA) will go for the Royals. Max Scherzer (6.16 ERA, 5.03 SIERA) will go for the Blue Jays. Scherzer’s numbers look bad, but he was absolutely fantastic his last time out against the Mariners. The game will start at 6:10 PM Central.

There are a lot of games left to be played. There is no doubt that one win at this point of the season won’t decide anything. With that being said, Friday night went a long way for a Chicago White Sox team that has been floundering in the deep end for a few weeks now.

When teams fall on tough times, it’s usually due to their stars falling flat, and the White Sox have been no different. Munetaka Murakami has been looking like Bob Uecker the player, and nobody else has really picked up the slack offensively. The team had scored just 14 runs over the last six games heading into Friday night, which is a big reason why the team has gone 2-4 during that time.

To this point in the season, the stars of the South Siders have shown up when they’ve been most needed, and tonight was no different. Sure, Murakami still looks more lost than Chuck Noland in Castaway, but everyone else pulled their weight.

A win would set the tone, and the tone was set loudly in the very first inning. Miguel Vargas was just the second batter in the game when he took a pretty decent fastball out to right center field to put the White Sox on the board first:

In the second inning, the second batter again did some damage once again. Braden Montgomery smoked a cutter out to right-center to double the lead, again setting the tone that their offense would not be standing pat again:

Say what you want but I’ve seen enough, I’m calling Braden Montgomery a star now.

In the fourth inning, the White Sox escaped a bit of a jam when faced with a possible turning of the tides, as Erick Fedde wriggled out of a first-and-third jam with two outs. The White Sox rewarded him by putting the Twins away courtesy the other Montgomery, who clubbed a two-run homer to double the lead to four.

Inasmuch as the game was not even halfway through, we all knew the Twins were going to wilt. They always have, and always will.

The biggest spark of the night didn’t come from the power bats, but the arms on the mound, led by one Mr. Erick “Fightin’” Fedde. If he keeps pitching like he did on Friday night, even the Pope will soon be wearing his jersey. Sure the Twins stink, but five innings of three-hit ball with no runs allowed is a great stat line no matter the opponent.

With an exhausted bullpen, Hagen Smith came up big once again, covering two innings and also not allowing a run. With just two games left until a crucial day off before a 13-game stretch without a break ahead, the ability to rest most of the bullpen arms tonight was certainly a welcome sight.

Of course, Grant Taylor had to mess around in the ninth and not only lose the shutout, but see the tying run come to the plate. Luckily, he was able to bow his neck and coax a fly out from Luke Keaschall, keeping a dangerously-placed sinker in the park to end the game on a high.

Tonight, the White Sox looked much more like the team that fans have fallen in love with by just refusing to quit and continuing to attack each and every inning. Tonight’s win brought may have brought more of a sigh of relief than jubilation, but a win’s a win and the magic number is down to at least 19.

As adamant as our fearless leader Brett Ballantini is that the Cleveland Guardians are a trash team who have no shot at coming back, they are not eliminated yet. A loss would’ve pushed the division lead down to just two games and with a series in Cleveland next week, it would certainly have brought out the nervous nellies of Chicago.

Instead, we can all take a deep breath and thank our lucky stars the Minnesota Twins are in our division.

MVP
Erick Freakin’ Fedde: W, 5 IP, 3 H, 2 BBs, 2 Ks

Runners-Up
Colson Montgomery: 1-for-4, HR, 2 RBIs, R, 2 Ks
Braden Montgomery: 1-for-3, R, HR, RBI
Tristan Peters: 2-for-3
Hagen Smith: 2 IP, 2 H, 3 K, 19-of-26 strikes

Cold Cat
Munetaka Murakami: 0-for-4, K

Runners-Up
Chase Meidroth: 0-for-3, E
Kyle Teel: 0-for-3, 0-for-1 CS

It wasn’t Nolan McLean’s sharpest outing, but the Mets gave him enough run support in a 10-6 victory over the Giants in this opening game of the series that it didn’t matter and McLean managed to battle his way through six innings.

McLean worked around a walk to Rafael Devers in the first and it was already clear he was missing arm side early; it was the first of four free passes McLean would issue on the night. Meanwhile, the Mets got started against Tugboat Wilkinson right away in the bottom of the frame. Francisco Lindor led things off with a single and then with one out, Bo Bichette walked to advance Lindor to second. Mark Vientos then belted an opposite field three-run homer to get the Mets out to an early lead and set the tone for what was to come.

Staked to a three-run lead, McLean retired the Giants in order in the second. The Mets piled on and added to their lead in the bottom of the second. With one out, Francisco Alvarez launched a solo homer to extend the Mets’ lead to 4-0. Nick Morabito then drew a walk and Wilkinson’s nightmares continued as he balked Morabito over to second. The Giants definitely did not pitch well, but they were not helped out by their defense either. Francisco Lindor reached on a fielding error by shortsotp Christian Koss to prolong the inning and then Juan Soto grounded into a force out at second that plated Morabito to give the Mets a 5-0 lead. Soto promptly stole second and then Bo Bichette socked a ball over the fence in left field right into the outstretched hands of an elated fan for the Mets’ second homer of the inning and third of the night. Mark Vientos then also hit a ball hard, but right at the shortstop Koss who fielded it this time. But the Mets had opened up a massive 7-0 lead for McLean to work with.

The Giants got on the board against McLean in the top of the third. McLean struck out the first batter he faced, but then walked Christian Koss. Drew Gilbert followed with a single to advance Koss to third and then Rafael Devers—who provided most of the firepower for the Giants this evening—laced a double into the gap in right center to score both runners and cut the Mets’ lead to 7-2. McLean bounced back to strike out Bryce Eldridge (his fourth strikeout on the night), but then he walked Turner Hill to prolong the inning. Marcus Semien helped McLean out with a nice play on a Jung Hoo Lee grounder to end the inning.

Both teams took a brief break from scoring during the middle innings. Wilkinson lasted just three innings and Yunior Marte came in the game in long relief for the Giants in the fourth and worked around a walk to pitch a scoreless frame. The Giants loaded the bases against McLean in the fifth on a Rafael Devers double, a walk by Bryce Eldridge, and a single by Turner Hill. But McLean escaped the jam by striking out Jung Hoo Lee and inducing a double play grounder off the bat of Drew Cavanaugh; Semien made another really nice play on this ball, flipping it to Lindor as he fell and Lindor made a nice turn to keep the Giants off the board in the inning. McLean came back out for the sixth and was pushed to a career-high 105 pitches. He ended his night with an exclamation mark, striking out Christian Koss for the third out and screaming in triumph as he walked off the mound toward the dugout. It was not smooth sailing for McLean; he had to battle, but he navigated his way through a quality start to ultimately earn his eleventh win of the season.

The Mets once again stretched their lead to seven runs in the bottom of the sixth in Marte’s third inning of relief. Jared Young walked to lead off the inning and then Marte bounced back to retire the next two batters, but then Francisco Lindor sent an absolute no-doubter into the upper deck down the right field line for the Mets’ fourth long ball of the night.

The Giants scratched out a run against Jefry Yan in the top of the seventh. Jonah Cox, pinch hitting for Drew Gilbert, singled to lead off the inning. Yan then leapt into the air after striking out Devers, but walked Bryce Eldridge to advance Cox to second. Turner Hill then notched an RBI single to chip away at the Mets’ lead. Yan logged a second strikeout in the inning and then the Giants pinch hit Andrew Knizner for catcher Drew Cavanaugh, prompting Andy Green to turn to Austin Warren. Warren came though, striking out Knizner to end the inning.

The Mets threatened to extend their lead again in the bottom of the seventh, once again due to some shoddy Giants defense. Bo Bichette blooped a single to lead off the inning and then Mark Vientos hit a sharp grounder to third that hit off Osleivis Basabe’s bare hand and trickled away, allowing everyone to reach base safely. Marte managed to escape the inning unscathed (or at least not further scathed than he was already), but Basabe did not. He was pinch hit for in the top of the eighth by Grant McCray, who Warren struck out looking. Warren retired the next batter he faced as well, but the Giants mounted a two-out rally against him. Christian Koss and Jonah Cox hit back-to-back singles and then Rafael Devers turned on an inside pitch from Warren and hit it a long way, giving the Mets a taste of their own medicine and cutting the Mets’ lead to a much more manageable 9-6. Andy Green then yanked Warren from the game before this game that had been well in hand could get away, bringing in Robert Stock to make his first appearance of the season in relief. Stock gave up a double to Eldridge and Turner Hill hit one on the nose as well, but luckily his liner made its way into Carson Benge’s glove to end the inning with the Mets’ lead still in tact, earning Stock his first hold of the season.

Francisco Alvarez provided one last bit of cushion with his second homer of the night in the top of the ninth—a solo shot and his 15th of the season to push the Mets’ run total into double-digits. Kodai Senga worked around a two-out walk to pitch a scoreless ninth to polish off the dinger-fueled victory for the Mets at Citi Field.

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Win Probability Added

What’s WPA?

Big Mets winner: Mark Vientos, +21% WPA
Big Mets loser: None!
Mets pitchers: +12% WPA
Mets hitters: +38% WPA
Teh aw3s0mest play: Mark Vientos’ three-run homer in the bottom of the first inning, +21.6% WPA
Teh sux0rest play: Turner Hill’s single to load the bases for the Giants in the fifth, -5.8% WPA

Zebby Matthews hadn’t given up any long balls in his last two starts, so he made up for it with three here. Still, not exactly a TERRIBLE outing for him… but it kinda was for the offense. Inning-by-inning notes:

1: Kody Clemens gets a hit / nothing special comes of it

Miguel Vargas slugs a homer, on a pretty good low pitch / Harrelson sure was a homer, that was one annoying b***h (oops I guess it is his birthday today happy birthday dude)

2: Leadoff single from Josh Bell, into no-man’s land it fell, offense doesn’t follow well

Homer #2 off Zebby, that pitch right over the plate / ChiSox in their Connect jerseys, red with black stripes I do hate

3: Alright, enough of this poetry s**t. Up ‘til now the Twins had at least been working mediocre pitcher Erick Fedde, but this inning they go down on eight pitches. That doesn’t help the cause, this approach has some flaws.

1-2-3 for Zebby Matthews, that is what you want to see / very much because the bullpen smells like sickly doggie pee

4: Josh Bell takes a one-out walk, Lewis hits a dying quail / this advances Bell to third, at scoring the team does fail

Leadoff walk for Benintendi, followed by a long home run / Makes it four to nothing ChiSox, so the Twins are likely done

5: Once again the Twins do nothing here, the consequences seem pretty clear, they couldn’t hit this guy Erick Fedde if they even tried / Something tells me their playoff hopes just died

At least the Sox went down real quick, to not prolong this game of Ick

6: Lefty Hagen Smith relieving, Clemens with a leadoff single / Inning ends on double play, nothing makes your senses tingle

Taylor Rogers, our old friend, he walks a guy who don’t come in.

7: Culpepper two-out single, he steals with speedy feet / Big Jenkins called out on strikes, his bat right now is beat

A new pitcher, Garrett Acton, I don’t know who this dude is / Well despite a two-out single, ChiSox threat just does not fizz

8: Bryan Hudson for the White Sox, he has a low ERA / Clemens with a one-out single doesn’t make the bad guys pay

I guess Garret Acton, he had been on the Rays / he quickly sits three hitters, and that deserves some praise

9: Josh Bell, hits it well, home run totals they do swell / Twins on, hope still strong, a sad flyout means Game Gone.

The loss leaves the Twins 3.5 games out of the WC spot (outcome of tied Guardians/Tigers game yet to be determined). There are four teams ahead of them.

COTG goes to Zach for stories about his gram. Thanks to everyone who participated on the first night of a holiday weekend.

Tomorrow’s game at 6:10 features our own Taj Bradley against (alas, a lefty) Robbie Ray. Wake up Robbie, I think I’ve got something to say to youuuuu…

Catch y’all next time!

Box Score

Great American Ballpark? A hot, late summer night? Runs.

Following a 50-minute rain delay, neither Shane Drohan nor Rhett Lowder, the game’s starting pitchers, had it. Big numbers went on the scoreboard early, and by the end of the third inning we’d seen 10 runs and five lead changes. But Milwaukee struck a heavy body blow in the top of the fifth and handed the game over to their bullpen, who locked things down and led them to the finish line.

Lowder worked around a Jake Bauers walk in the top of the first. In the bottom of the inning, the Reds got the scoring started with some small ball. Dane Myers reached on an infield single, and the next batter, Elly De La Cruz, knocked him in with a well-placed grounder that got into left field. Drohan efficiently got through the rest of the inning — Sal Stewart lined out on the first pitch he saw, and three pitches after that Tyler Stephenson grounded into a 5-4-3 double play to end the inning — but the Reds had an early lead.

Milwaukee, though, had an immediate answer. With one out, Brice Turang, who was moved down in the lineup today after struggling badly in the Chicago series, jumped on the first pitch and lined a single to center. The next batter, Garrett Mitchell, fell behind 0-2 but got a slider too close to the zone and crushed a double into the right field corner. Turang held at third, but scored when Cooper Pratt grounded into an RBI fielder’s choice. With two outs, David Hamilton then came through with a grounder just inside the first base line that went into the corner—Hamilton ended up with a triple, and Mitchell scored, giving the Brewers a 2-1 lead. Sal Frelick very nearly increased that lead when it looked like he homered to center, by Myers got up and pulled back a home run, robbing the Brewers of two runs.

Cincinnati carried that momentum into bottom of the second. Drohan walked the leadoff hitter, Eugenio Suárez, and after a JJ Bleday flyout, Matt McLain snuck one just over the wall in left-center — it actually bounced off the top of the high wall out there and went over for a two-run homer that restored the Reds’ lead. Drohan got the next two to get out of the inning, but the Brewer offense was behind again.

Not for long, though! Bauers walked again to start the third — he’d seen nine pitches over two at-bats and walked twice — to get Milwaukee going. Fielder’s choice groundouts by Jackson Chourio and Christian Yelich gave the Reds two outs, but William Contreras kept the inning alive with a walk. That led to Turang’s second plate appearance, and the struggling Brewer came through again with a deep fly ball that bounced off the base of the wall in right field. Both runners scored on what was a double for Turang, and the Brewers were back on top.

Once again, not for long! With one out in the bottom of the third, De La Cruz singled. Drohan retired Stewart but walked Stephenson before Suárez came through with a two-out, two-strike, three-run homer, the kind of hit that can be a real backbreaker. Cincinnati led 6-4, and we’d already had five lead changes through six half-innings.

Could the Brewers muster another immediate answer? Hamilton picked up his second hit with a one-out single, and after a Frelick flyout, advanced to second on his 26th stolen base of the season. But Bauers, despite a long battle, struck out and the inning was over — the first zero on the scoreboard since the top of the first.

Drohan was in need of a quick, clean inning, as he was approaching 70 pitches as the bottom of the fourth started. He got it: McLain grounded out, and Héctor Rodríguez and Edwin Arroyo struck out, and the Reds were held off the board for the first time all night.

Chourio got the Brewers off on the right foot in the fifth with a base hit through the right side. Yelich was next, and he fell behind 0-2 but then took four straight balls out of the zone and Milwaukee was set up nicely with runners on first and second and nobody out. Contreras was next and hit what should’ve been a rally-killing double play… but De La Cruz booted it at shortstop, everyone was safe, and the Brewers had the bases loaded. (To give De La Cruz some benefit of the doubt, it was a 107-mph ground ball. Still a play he should’ve made, and it was ruled as such.)

That was the end of the line for Lowder, who was pulled in favor of lefty Sam Moll, who entered with Turang and Mitchell due up. Moll got ahead of Turang 0-2 with some help from ABS, but the next three pitches missed way wide and the one after that rode up and in and got Turang on the inside of the back elbow. Chourio trotted home to make it 6-5, and the Brewers were still in business… and Turang was fine after a brief visit from the trainer and a jovial Pat Murphy.

Sensing a chance to take control of the game, Murphy chose at that point also to play the matchup, and removed Mitchell in favor of bases-loaded-specialist Luis Lara, who came in 4-for-9 on the season with the bases jacked. It didn’t work out this time: Lara worked to a full count but took a pitch that just clipped the low inside corner, and lost a challenge trying to get it. Really close pitch, but Lara was the first out of the inning. The Brewers still had a golden opportunity to tie the game or retake the lead, though, and they did that emphatically when Pratt went with a ball that was about a foot outside and drove it into the right-field corner for a bases-clearing triple. On the next pitch, Moll’s sweeper nearly hit Hamilton (who was showing bunt), it got past Stephenson, and Pratt raced home from third. Brewers up 9-6.

Moll got the Reds out of the inning, but the damage was done, and the Brewers were then able to hand the game over to their bullpen, which has generally been bad news for trailing opponents lately. The first man out was Chad Patrick, who worked around a one-out De La Cruz single to put up a zero in the fifth.

Milwaukee was back at it in the sixth. Bauers led off by punching a single through the left side, advanced on a balk, and after a Chourio strikeout and a Yelich groundout, scored when Contreras ripped a double into the gap. After a pitching change, Lara struck out to end the inning, but Milwaukee’s lead was up to four.

Patrick walked Bleday with one out in the bottom of the sixth. After a McLain flyout, Rodríguez put up quite a fight, and after nine pitches drew another walk with two outs. But a visit from Chris Hook calmed things down, and the newly promoted Carlos Jorge, off the bench for his first major league at-bat, flew out to left to end the inning.

Pierce Johnson was the new Cincinnati pitcher in the seventh. Frelick ripped a two-out double, but nothing came of it, and the Brewers did not score in their half of the seventh. The Reds picked up a run off of Antonio Senzatela in the bottom of the inning, after Myers doubled and Stephenson knocked him in with a single, but a double play ended the inning with the score at 10-7.

A Yelich single went for naught in the top of the eighth. Aaron Ashby was the Brewer pitcher in the bottom of the inning, and he walked Bleday with one out but struck out the next two batters to end the inning. The Brewers brought Trevor Megill on to close the door, and he did so emphatically by striking out the side in order.

It was a big day for the Brewers offense, and in particular, a big day for one struggling brewer: Turang. He went 3-for-4 with a two-run double, two runs scored, and an RBI hit-by-pitch. Pratt also had a big night — just one hit, his three-RBI triple, but he got on with a walk, too, scored a run, and stole a base. Every other Brewer except Lara (who came in late) had at least one hit (Hamilton had two, including his RBI triple). On the pitching side, Drohan struggled on the evening, but it was another solid night for the bullpen: Patrick, Senzatela, Ashby, and Megill combined for five innings of one-run ball.

Another solid bounce-back win for the Brewers puts them in good position to win another series. Game two is tomorrow night at 5:40 p.m.

The Orioles and Red Sox faced off for the second game of their four-game series, and once again the Orioles were unable to give starter Shane Baz any run support. Baz and Red Sox starter Ranger Suarez dueled and ended with similar results, the only difference being one first-inning run. That was enough to decide the entire game and send the Orioles to their fourth straight loss.

Baz was fantastic tonight. That’s all there was to it. On the first pitch of the game, Roman Anthony flew out. On the second pitch, Mickey Gasper hit Baz’s fastball onto the flag court. Not a great way to start, but Baz more than made up for it. He followed with a strikeout of Adley Rutschman and a flyout by Wilyer Abreu to get out of the inning.

Over the next 5.1 innings, Baz did have traffic on the bases. But only twice did a runner get into scoring position, and both times it happened when a fielder made an error behind him. In the third inning, Eli White singled with one out. Anthony followed with a ground ball to Jackson Holliday that looked at best like an inning-ending double play, at worst a ground ball out that moved up the runner. But Holliday just…didn’t catch the ball. It hopped right past his glove and into right field. Holliday looked at his glove accusingly, but I don’t think the glove was the problem.

Baz picked his teammate up by getting the next two batters, ending the inning on a Rutschman groundout. He had to throw a few extra pitches, but beyond that no more damage was done.

With the Orioles still down one run, Gasper started off the sixth inning with a single to left field. Leody Taveras tried to field the ball in some weird sideways fashion and it kicked away from him. Get in front of the ball! What on earth? Gasper moved up to second on the error.

Again, Baz got out of it. He struck out Rutschman for the second time in the game, then worked around a walk and got the final two outs. It was a very nice job by Baz after the leadoff runner reached second base.

Baz started the seventh inning with a Jarren Duran groundout, then allowed a single to Trevor Story. It was his fourth hit allowed. Not bad. Craig Albernaz went to the bullpen and called for Logan Hoppe. Hoppe got himself into a little trouble. He walked Anthony, then barely clipped Gasper with an 0-2 pitch to load the bases.

That brought Rutschman to the plate, and I know I wasn’t the only one envisioning a grand slam to break the game open. But on a 3-1 pitch, Hoppe fired 100.9 mph to the plate. Adley got the bat on it but flew out harmlessly to end the inning. He ended the game 0-for-4.

Josh Walker pitched a little bit of a messy eighth. He struck out the side but also allowed a hit and a walk. Cam Sanders took over for the ninth and pitched a 1-2-3. It was an all-around great game for the pitching staff. Baz’s pitching line: 6.1 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 2 BB, 6 K. The bullpen combined for 2.2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 5 K.

Unfortunately, the hitters did not hold up their end. Not even close. They couldn’t get anything done against Ranger Suarez. In fact, pretty much the only guy who didn’t look like a disaster was leadoff man Blaze Alexander. The team had six hits altogether, and Alexander had three of them. He and Mayo hit back-to-back singles with two outs in the third, but were stranded. Mayo’s was an infield hit.

After Carlos Narváez was hit by a pitch in the fifth inning, Alexander again singled with two outs. Again, the runners were stranded. And in the eighth inning, Alexander led off with a single but was erased on an inning-ending double play by Luis Robert. Blaze tried to stir up some emotions after that. He and second baseman Nick Sogard exchanged words after Alexander’s totally normal slide, and Alexander went after him a bit.

The benches cleared, and Alexander tried to get the crowd to make some noise. But his passion didn’t do much other than give us a bit of spice in what was otherwise one of the dullest games imaginable. I also enjoyed when the cameras caught Colton Cowser saying something to Rutschman in the middle of the mob of players, neither looking much interested in a fight.

Up by a run in the ninth inning, the Red Sox sent in closer Aroldis Chapman, probably my least favorite baseball player. Last night, Chapman allowed two runs but held on for the win. I was hoping for something similar with big bats coming up to the plate. But Pete Alonso, Gunnar Henderson, and Encarnacion-Strand went down without a fight.

Orioles lose, 1-0. They have lost every game since reaching .500 on the road trip and are now 69-73. Game three of the series is tomorrow at 7:05 with Chris Bassitt on the mound opposite Sonny Gray. Woof.

Ranger Suarez was everything this team needed on Friday night.

Seven innings. Zero runs. Ten ground ball outs. No serious threats from a Baltimore lineup that came in buzzing after Thursday’s seven-homer drama. Suarez just went out there and made them pound the ball into the ground, inning after inning after inning. It was the best start he’s had since coming back from the IL in late July, and it felt like a statement—not just from him, but from the rotation. When this guy is right, he is really, really right.

But before Suarez could take over, Evil Mickey had to do his thing. (I cannot take credit for Evil Mickey, that goes to @rockmeannadeus on X)

Mickey Gasper stepped in on the second pitch of the game and sent one over the wall. That was the whole ballgame. One swing. One run. 1-0 final. That’s all Ranger Suarez needed, and Suarez knew exactly what to do with it. Roman Anthony tried on the first pitch of the game—he lined out to center, but it almost felt like it had to be Mickey.

The game got seriously chippy in the 8th. There was already some residue from Thursday—Jahmai Jones had a late but legal slide that didn’t go unnoticed—and when Blaze Alexander slid into second on the inning-ending double play, he made very sure to go right at Nick Sogard. Intentionally. Blatantly. Dugouts and bullpens emptied, words were exchanged, nobody got tossed, but it was the kind of thing that sits with a team for a few innings. Cam Sanders—the Orioles reliever in the 9th—tried to keep it going, exchanging words with the Sox dugout on his way back to his own, but Jarren Duran and Ceddanne Rafaela very much wanted all the smoke.

Then Aroldis Chapman came in and closed it clean. No drama. No Encarnacion-Strand two-run shot like Thursday. Just three outs and a handshake line. Chapman learned from last night. Good night.

September baseball. Stress filled, but mega important. I’d argue these wins against the Orioles are more important than any we could have taken against the Yankees. There’s no shot at winning the division so beating teams ahead of us isn’t the most critical. Taking wins against teams behind you, staying ahead in the Wild Card race, and hitting your weight—aka beating teams you should be beating—that’s what matters down the stretch. Two more games in this series, and they continue to get more and more pivotal for the chances of October baseball in Boston.

Studs

Ranger Suarez

Best start since his IL return. Seven shutout frames, 10 ground ball outs, made a dangerous lineup look completely harmless. When Suarez is locating and keeping hitters off-balance, he is a legitimate top-of-rotation arm. Tonight he looked like that guy again. Welcome back, Ranger.

Mickey Gasper

Second pitch of the game. Home run. Walks to the dugout. That’s the whole review. Evil Mickey is not to be trusted, and Baltimore found that out before the count even hit 0-1.

Duds

Blaze Alexander

There may be some carryover from Jahmai Jones’ late slide Thursday, but that doesn’t excuse what Alexander did. He slid into second on the double play and went directly, intentionally at Nick Sogard. Blatantly bad. If you want to send a message, fine, but own it—don’t act surprised when the benches clear.

The Offense Otherwise

I get Shane Baz has been throwing the ball better as of late, but five hits? What is up with Friday night offense not at Fenway?

Play of the Game

Gasper. Second pitch. You already know.

The Mets blasted five home runs to take the series-opener over the San Francisco Giants, 10-6.

Here are the takeaways...

-- Mark Vientos continued his hot hitting since returning from the injured list, blasting a three-run home run to right field against LHP Matt Wilkinson in the bottom of the first inning to give the Mets a 3-0 lead. It's his second home run in four games and No. 13 on the year. 

-- Francisco Alvarez kept it going in the second inning, launching a solo home run on a high fastball to right-center field as the Mets took a 4-0 lead. New York continued to apply pressure against Wilkinson, as Juan Soto drove in Nick Morabito on a fielder's choice to first base and then Bo Bichette joined in on the fun with a two-run homer to left field to go up 7-0.

-- Nolan McLean powered through 6.0 IP and tossed a career-high 105 pitches, allowing two runs on six hits with seven strikeouts and four walks.

The right-hander cruised through the first two innings before running into trouble in the third. He walked the nine-hitter Christian Koss, let up his first hit of the night to former Mets prospect Drew Gilbert, and surrendered a two-run double to Rafael Devers as the Giants trailed, 7-2. McLean walked another Giant  before Marcus Semien helped him out with a nice backhand stop for the third out.

After letting up back-to-back singles in the fourth inning, McLean locked in and retired the next three Giants. He needed to pull off another trick in the fifth inning with the bases loaded and no outs, escaping with a strikeout and 4-6-3 double play. Surprisingly, McLean came back out for the sixth inning and capped off his night with a 1-2-3 frame, expressing his emotion on the inning-ending strikeout.

-- Francisco Lindor extended the lead with two-run homer in the sixth inning, making it a 9-2 game. 

-- Jefry Yan allowed a run over 0.2 IP of relief in the seventh inning, as Austin Warren had to come in and get the third out. The game took a turn in the eighth when Devers ripped a three-run HR to cut the Mets' lead to 9-6. Warren was replaced by Robert Stock, who let up a double before getting a lineout.

-- Alvarez responded in bottom of the eighth with a solo home run off Yunior Marte, pushing the lead to 10-6. 

-- Kodai Senga closed things down in the ninth inning, issuing just one walk over 10 pitches.

Game MVP: Francisco Alvarez

It's the third multi-home run game of the season and the eighth of Alvarez' career, as he's up to 15 total home runs this year.

Highlights

Mark Vientos goes the other way for a three-run blast! 🔥 pic.twitter.com/aB4jeLuDoG

— SNY (@SNYtv) September 4, 2026

Francisco Alvarez hits a solo shot! 💣 pic.twitter.com/ggTsggJQw5

— SNY (@SNYtv) September 4, 2026

Juan Soto grounds into a fielder's choice and a run scores for the Mets pic.twitter.com/tuq8i03oq7

— SNY (@SNYtv) September 4, 2026

Bo Bichette has the Mets' third home run in the first two innings! pic.twitter.com/CgRYk6wIam

— SNY (@SNYtv) September 4, 2026

Semien ➡️ Lindor ➡️ Morel for the double play! pic.twitter.com/ooNxnPx7Xk

— SNY (@SNYtv) September 5, 2026

Nolan McLean is PUMPED as he strikes out Christian Koss to get through six innings! pic.twitter.com/olA4vnEBlZ

— SNY (@SNYtv) September 5, 2026

Francisco Lindor gets ALL of this one!

A two-run blast! pic.twitter.com/Iivqev8nmY

— SNY (@SNYtv) September 5, 2026

FRANCISCO ALVAREZ'S SECOND HOME RUN OF THE NIGHT! pic.twitter.com/oz0zfy5bav

— SNY (@SNYtv) September 5, 2026

What's next

The Mets and Giants continue their three-game series on Saturday at 4:10 p.m. on SNY.

Zac Thornton (3-4, 2.93 ERA) makes his 12th start of the year against RHP Anthony Molina (2-0, 3.77 ERA)