The Giants will be without their best defensive first baseman for the foreseeable future.
San Francisco placed Dominic Smith on the IL on Saturday with a right hamstring strain after the 30-year-old made an incredible hustle play with third baseman Matt Chapman to end the top of the fourth inning in a crucial 5-1 win over the Los Angeles Dodgers on Friday night at Oracle Park.
After Chapman dove into the 5-6 hole and popped up with a throw to first, Smith stretched out and did the splits to ensure the Giants got the out â but it cost him.
Giants manager Bob Melvin said they are deeming it a âmoderateâ sprain until further evaluation Saturday night, adding it will be at least a 10-day IL stint.
Sitting at 75-72 and a half-game back of the third and final NL wild-card spot, the Giants have 15 games to continue trending upward. Melvin believes itâs a long shot that Smith will be a part of that challenge.
âWell, heâs not a speedster,â Melvin said. âHamstrings typically take a couple of weeks. I know heâll be itching, so it just kind of depends on what we need him to do. Our doctors will have more clarity today.â
Jerar Encarnacion will take Smithâs roster spot, but the Giants will stick with Wilmer Flores and Rafael Devers interchanging at first base during Smithâs absence.
Devers has played first base for the Giants 20 times this season since being traded to San Francisco.
âI think heâs way more comfortable now than he was early on,â Melvin said of Devers. âBut he looks like heâs fine out there. The only thing I worry about is the ankle thing he had going on, but I think heâs past that now. And talking to him yesterday, he was ready to play first base today.â
The Giants have won 13 of their last 18 games, and theyâll have to find a way to keep the momentum going without Smithâs impact both defensively and offensively.
âHeâs been great, both offensively and defensively, hitting in the middle of the order and getting big hits for us,â Melvin said. âI think this is probably as comfortable as heâs been in a long time with the team, too. Heâs well-received here and respected here. Youâre going to have certain injuries over the course of the season that are impactful.
NEW YORK â Jacob deGrom received a gift in his Citi Field return: not just a video tribute but a six-run lead before he threw a pitch.
A montage of the slender starâs highlights flashed across the ballpark video board Friday night as he started to throw long toss to Lynard Skynyrdâs âSimple Man,â his old warmup song. He tipped his cap as âWelcome back Jacobâ flashed in large letters.
âI looked at it for a second, then I had to kind of look down, gather myself and continue playing catch to get ready for the game,â he said after pitching the soaring Texas Rangers over the skidding New York Mets 8-3.
A two-time Cy Young Award winner who went 82-57 in nine seasons for the Mets, DeGrom gave up three runs in the third inning on a homer and a pair of sacrifice flies but steadied to retire his final 15 batters. He allowed four hits over seven innings and is 12-7 with a 2.82 ERA in a season in which he earned his fifth All-Star selection and first since 2021.
âThe mound felt the exact same,â he said.
DeGrom had not been to Citi Field since leaving the Mets in December 2022 for a $185 million, five-year contract with the Rangers. His return was a focal point since the schedule was issued in July 2024.
âI wanted a chance to pitch here,â he said.
DeGrom went back to the batting cage behind the dugout while the Rangers knocked out rookie Josh Tong after two outs in a 22-minute top of the first. DeGrom averaged 98 mph with his fastball, topping at 99.6 mph. He induced 14 outfield putouts, three more than his previous career high.
âThey just hit the bottom of the baseball,â he said. âThey go up.â
DeGromâs 2.14 regular-season ERA at Citi Field is the second-lowest for a pitcher since 1920 throwing at least 500 innings at a ballpark, trailing only Sandy Koufaxâs 1.37 at Dodger Stadium.
âHe was a show. He was the guy that people came to the ballpark to watch him pitch,â Mets manager Carlos Mendoza said.
DeGrom, who turned 37 in June, won the 2014 NL Rookie of the Year and 2018 and â19 NL Cy Youngs with the Mets. He is the franchise leader in ERA (2.52), WHIP (.998) and strikeouts per nine innings (10.91) among pitchers with at least 500 innings.
Given his time in New York, deGrom felt strange to face former teammates Pete Alonso, Brandon Nimmo and Jeff McNeil.
âHeâs always going to come after you with everything heâs got and always respected that about him when he was here,â said Nimmo, who gave his old pal a pat on the back after the pitcher beat him to the first-base bag for the final out of the sixth.
His parents, sisters, wife and kids were in the ballpark.
âThey were here when I made my debut so they wanted to come back up for this and be a part of it,â he said of the adults.
DeGrom smiled when asked how heâd feel about the Mets eventually retiring his No. 48, saying it wasnât his decision but would âbe a huge honor.â
DeGromâs final two seasons in New York were shortened by injuries. He limited to 26 starts in 2021-22 because of right side tightness, his â21 season ended before the All-Star break by right forearm tightness and his 2022 debut delayed until August by a right shoulder injury.
DeGrom opted out of his Mets contract after the 2022 season, giving up a $30.5 million salary, for 2023. He made just six starts and had Tommy John surgery for the second time that June 12.
âYou try not to let doubt set in.â he said. âEvery day you get to put this uniform on, Iâm thankful for that.â
He didnât return to the big leagues until Sept. 13 last season.
âTaking the mound for the three starts last year was huge for me,â he said. âI was able to say, hey, I got back out there. Now I can prepare like a normal offseason.â
DeGrom has been his old self this year, with a 97.5 mph fastball velocity that is second in the major leagues behind Paul Skenesâ 98.2 mph for those throwing at least 1,000 pitches. DeGrom retired Baltimoreâs first 18 batters on June 25 before Colton Cowserâs leadoff single in the seventh.
He is 96-64 with a 2.55 ERA and 0.99 WHIP, best among pitchers with at least 1,000 innings since the live ball era started in 1920.
âJust the way heâs bouncing back off his starts, thereâs no reason why he wonât pitch in his 40s,â Bochy said.
DeGrom might generate Hall of Fame consideration if he pitches five or six more years at this level.
âMaybe. Weâll see,â he said. âMy goal is to just keep it going.â
With 14 games remaining in the regular season, the Mets are looking to hold off a handful of teams for the final Wild Card spot in the National League.
Here's everything you need to know ahead of play on Sept. 13.
Mets: 76-72, 0.5 games up on Giants for third Wild Card
Next up: vs. Rangers, Saturday at 4:10 p.m. on SNY (Brandon Sproat vs. Patrick Corbin) Latest result: 8-3 loss to Rangers on Friday Remaining schedule: 2 vs. TEX, 3 vs. SD, 3 vs. WSH, 3 @ CHC, 3 @ MIA Odds to make playoffs: 73 percent *Mets hold tiebreaker over Giants by virtue of winning the season series, while Reds hold tiebreaker over Mets
Giants: 75-72, 0.5 games back of MetsÂ
Next up: vs. Dodgers, Saturday 9:05 p.m.(Logan Webb vs. Clayton Kershaw) Latest result: 5-1 win over Dodgers on Friday Remaining schedule: 2 vs. LAD, 3 @ ARI, 4 @ LAD, 3 vs. STL, 3 vs. COL Odds to make playoffs: 16.6 percent
Reds: 74-73, 1.5 games back of Mets
Next up: @ Athletics, Friday at 10:05 p.m. (Hunter Greene vs. Luis Severino) Latest result: 3-0 loss to Athletics on Friday Remaining schedule: 2 @ ATH, 3 @ STL, 4 vs. CHC, 3 vs. PIT, 3 @ MIL Odds to make playoffs: 9.9 percent
Diamondbacks: 73-74, 3.0 games back of Mets
Next up: @ Twins, Friday at 7:10 p.m. (Ryne Nelson vs. Joe Ryan) Latest result: 9-8 loss to Twins on Friday Remaining schedule: 2 @ MIN, 3 vs. SF, 3 vs. PHI, 3 vs. LAD, 3 @ SD Odds to make playoffs: 1.6 percent
Cardinals: 72-75, 4.0 games back of Mets
Next up: @ Brewers, Saturday at 8:15 p.m. (Sonny Gray vs. Jacob Misiorowski) Latest result: 8-2 loss to Cardinals on Friday Remaining schedule: 2 @ MIL, 3 vs. CIN, 3 vs. MIL, 3 @ SF, 3 @ CHC Odds to make playoffs: 0.5 percent
Here's what to know about the game and how to watch...
Mets Notes
Francisco Alvarez cracked two hits in Friday's loss, including a home run, for his first multi-hit game since returning from the IL. He is now slashing .286/.362/.571 for a .933 OPS in 29 games since the All-Star break
Left-hander Patrick Corbin, a familiar former NL East foe with Washington, makes his 28th start for the Rangers on the year. He has a 4.36 ERA and 1.321 WHIP with 119 strikeouts and 45 walks over 142.1 innings on the year.Â
Pete Alonso owns Corbin: 17-for-49 (.347) with five home runs for a 1.164 OPS. Francisco Lindor does well against him, too: 13-for-44 (.295) with three homers for a .841 OPS
RANGERS
METS
Josh Smith, SS
Francisco Lindor, SS
Wyatt Langford, LF
Juan Soto, RF
Joc Pederson, DH
Pete Alonso, 1B
Jake Burger, 1B
Mark Vientos, 3B
Josh Jung, 3B
Brandon Nimmo, LF
Alejandro Osuna, RF
Starling Marte, DH
Jonah Heim, C
Francisco Alvarez, C
Cody Freeman, 2B
Jeff McNeil, 2B
Michael Helman, CF
Jose Siri, CF
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Andrew Friedman, Dodgers president of baseball operations, spent $1.5 billion the past two offseasons. It paid off with a World Series title last year. (Brandon Sloter/Getty Images)
The âDodgers are ruining baseballâ discourse that dominated last winter included pleas for a salary cap from the owners of the Baltimore Orioles, Colorado Rockies and Pittsburgh Pirates.
Congratulations, gentlemen, your teams are in last place. For you, the Dodgers are a handy scapegoat.
But the discourse also included this take from the owner of the New York Yankees: âIt's difficult for most of us owners to be able to do the kind of things that they're doing,â Hal Steinbrenner told the YES Network. âWe'll see if it pays off.â
So far, it has not paid off.
The Dodgers will make the playoffs, but the collection of players they bought to fortify their World Series title defense has fallen far short of expectations.
What happens in October could determine whether the spending spree that so annoyed rival owners might instead be remembered as Andrew Friedmanâs terrible, horrible, no good, very bad winter.
Tanner Scott stood in front of his locker late Friday night, at the latest low point in a miserable season. He had just given up a game-winning grand slam to a good-fielding catcher who walked to the plate batting .217.
Scott, the Dodgersâ $72-million closer, has an earned-run average of 5.01. He has pitched half as many innings as Clayton Kershaw and given up four more home runs.
âItâs terrible,â Scott said. âIâm having the worst year of my life. Iâve got to be better.â
Itâs not just him. As a whole, the Dodgersâ signing class of 2024-25 has to be better.
Of 11 key players that signed new contracts to stay with the Dodgers or free-agent contracts to join them, none have a WAR of even 2, according to Baseball-Reference.com. The Angels last winter signed two free agents with a higher WAR than any of those Dodgers signees: starting pitcher Yusei Kikuchi and closer Kenley Jansen.
Dodgers closer Tanner Scott, foreground, watches a game-wining grand slam hit by the Giants' Patrick Bailey (background). (Godofredo A. VĂĄsquez / Associated Press)
Friedman, the Dodgersâ president of baseball operations, respectfully declined to review his offseason.
âWeâll wait until after the season,â he said. âAll weâre focused on is these next few games and October.â
The most valuable of the winter signees by WAR, according to Baseball-Reference.com: Hyeseong Kim, whom the Dodgers have bounced uneasily between the infield and the outfield, between the starting lineup and the bench, between the major leagues and minor leagues.
Then comes Kershaw, who should top 100 innings on Saturday. The only Dodgers pitcher to throw more innings: Yoshinobu Yamamato.
When Friedman said he believed in his players, it was not just an obligatory quote. He really did. He believed in them so much that the Dodgersâ only additions at the trade deadline were a backup outfielder and a setup man.
Beyond Kershaw, the Dodgersâ pitching signees last winter included Scott, Blake Snell, Roki Sasaki, Blake Treinen and Kirby Yates. It is difficult to envision the Dodgers including them all on a postseason roster, and not just because Sasaki still is working his way back from injury.
âFrom a pitching standpoint, we have a very realistic chance to have the most talented 13-man pitching staff weâve ever had,â Friedman said. âWe felt that way in July, coupled with that we were most likely â well, hopefully â going to be in position to have tough conversations with guys who have a legitimate chance to make it, but wouldnât.â
He wouldnât say which 13 pitchers he had in mind, and in fairness that could change with the next injury.
âYou could take any collection of them,â Friedman said. âIâm just saying that, when we submit our playoff roster, I think those 13 arms will be the most talented â stuff, execution, talent, differing looks, right-left. I just think it will be the deepest, best staff weâve had.â
Beyond Kim, the Dodgersâ position player signees last winter included infielder-outfielders Tommy Edman and Kikeâ Hernandez and outfielders Michael Conforto and Teoscar Hernandez.
Edman and Kikeâ Hernandez spent much of the season on the injured list. Teoscar Hernandez fell from a 4 WAR player last year â when his one-year contract looked brilliant â to a 1 WAR player this year.
Conforto homered Friday for the Dodgersâ only run. However, of the 191 players with at least 400 plate appearances entering play Friday, he had the lowest WAR.
âOn the position player side, our with and without [Max] Muncy numbers are crazy,â Friedman said. âHeâs a huge part of our lineup. But, even with that, the level of our offensive performance for two months is something that I would have said would have been an impossibility, even with an injury here or an injury there. What I thought wasnât possible has been very possible, and has played out.
Dodgers third baseman Max Muncy reacts after being hit by a pitch during the eighth inning Friday. (Godofredo A. VĂĄsquez / Associated Press)
âLooking back, it has contributed to the situation weâre in right now, and the difficulties. I still look ahead and see the names in the lineup, and the depth, and feel really good about it. So weâre going to find out if thatâs right or not.â
During Muncyâs first stint on the injured list this season, the Dodgers ranked last in the majors in runs. During his second stint, they ranked next-to-last in the National League.
It did not feel good for the Dodgers when Muncy was forced from Fridayâs game after a pitch hit him on the forearm. Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said X-rays were negative, and the team will see how he is Saturday.
Friedman assembled a championship roster last year, his second in five years, so maybe this past winter will count as an expensive blip.
Or, perhaps, not even that.
The Dodgers count October as part of their schedule. They have not missed the playoffs in 13 years. Under Friedman, they have advanced to the World Series with a 92-win team and failed to get out of the first round with a 111-win team.
October is what matters, no matter how poorly a player might have performed in the regular season.
Of the Dodgers that threw at least 60 innings last season, the one with the highest earned-run average made the final pitch of the year. Of all the things that Los Angeles remembers about Walker Buehler last year, his 5.38 ERA is not one of them.
There almost were too many incredible moments to count from the Giantsâ thrilling 5-1 walk-off win over the Los Angeles Dodgers on Friday night at Oracle Park.
Here are the best stats from the Giantsâ win that put them just .5 games back in the NL wild-card race:
Patrick Baileyâs Walk-Off Slam
Patrick Bailey is the first player in MLB history with a walk-off inside-the-park home run AND a walk-off grand slam in a season
(worth noting: Roberto Clemente had both in one on a walk-off inside-the-park grand slam 7/25/56, but not the separate Bailey has!) https://t.co/RroQBsER6S
Today Patrick Bailey 7/15/2022 Mike Yastrzemski 9/3/1973 Bobby Bonds 4/25/1969 Jack Hiatt 5/26/1959 Leon Wagner 6/16/1952 Bobby Thomson 5/8/1925 Billy Southworth https://t.co/XNApdEsz6Z
Not only was McCrayâs outfield assist the fastest of the Statcast era in Giants history, but it ranks No. 9 all-time in MLB during that same span. The previous Giants record was held by Austin Slater, who had a 99.6 mph throw on July 24, 2018.
Justin Verlanderâs Still Got It
This is the first time Justin Verlander has allowed 1 or 0 runs over a three-outing span since 2022, when he had two such spans
Only others age 42+ to do so in a 3-start span, last 125 seasons:
2022 Rich Hill 2015 Bartolo Colon 2008 Randy Johnson 2004 & â05 Roger Clemens 1982⌠https://t.co/7ksbAGdy5A
With his outing Friday, Verlander also became the first MLB pitcher age 42 or older to record at least two starts in the same season of at least seven innings with one or fewer runs allowed since Bartolo Colon in 2018.
After former Giants outfielder Michael Conforto hit a game-tying home run off Verlander in the seventh inning, the veteran pitcher saw his scoreless innings streak of 18 innings snapped. The streak began Aug. 26 and was Verlanderâs longest since a 19-inning scoreless streak from May 10-21, 2022.
San Francisco's Patrick Bailey flips his bat after hitting a walk-off grand slam in a 5-1 win over the Dodgers in 10 innings Friday night at Oracle Park. (Ezra Shaw / Getty Images)
It mightâve been more frustrating, had it not been so predictable.
The Dodgers starting to turn a corner, only to stumble to the kind of maddening late-game loss that has come to define their season.
Entering this weekendâs series against the San Francisco Giants, the team had won four straight games. It had started to stack better offensive performances from its slumping lineup. It had begun to believe that better health and improved pitching could spark a surge to carry it through the rest of the campaign.
Then, they came out of an off day looking flat at Oracle Park.
Then, reality once again smacked them square in the face.
The Dodgersâ 5-1 loss to the Giants might have ended in a familiar way, with Tanner Scott giving up a walk-off hit â this time, a grand slam to Patrick Bailey in the bottom of the 10th â for the third time in the last eight days.
But on this night, the embattled $72-million closer was far from the only person culpable for a slice of the blame.
The Dodgers (82-65) did not hit on a cool night along the San Francisco Bay, with a seventh-inning home run from Michael Conforto accounting for the entirety of their scoring.
They did not back up another gem from Yoshinobu Yamamoto, letting his latest dominant outing (seven innings, one run, one hit, 10 strikeouts) go to waste.
Mostly, they squandered an opportunity to continue the momentum they had finally built with this past weekâs long-awaited winning streak. They let the game come down to Scottâs unreliable left arm, and reignited long-standing doubts about their ability to maintain any level of consistent play.
âWhen you score one run and youâre in a tight ball game, then thereâs just no margin [for error],â manager Dave Roberts said in another somber postgame address. âWhen youâre playing these close ball games, where any flare, any mistake costs you, thatâs a tough quality of life too. So itâs not just those guys in the 'pen.â
Indeed, the Dodgersâ loss was set in motion long before Scott threw an elevated fastball that Bailey lined to left for his walk-off slam.
It started with their inability to hit Justin Verlander, who pitched seven innings of one-run ball with a heavy dose of curveballs and sliders. It escalated when they came up empty in a string of scoring opportunities, going 0 for 5 with runners in scoring position. It's a problem theyâve tried to address in recent days, including with reps of simulated situational at-bats in batting practice.
Dodgers starting pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto delivers in the second inning Friday. (Ezra Shaw / Getty Images)
Little by little, the turning points began to snowball. And ultimately, it all ended in an avalanche of orange Giants jerseys celebrating at home plate.
âWe had opportunities to get a hit, to drive some runs in,â Roberts said. âWe had some chances late to put up a crooked number. We just couldnât come through.â
In the first and third innings, the Dodgers couldnât capitalize upon one-out walks. In the fourth, they had two on with no outs, and yet still came up empty.
Yamamoto, fresh off his near no-hitter in Baltimore last week, made sure they stayed in it. He gave up one run in the first inning on a Willy Adames double, which plated Rafael Devers from first base after Andy Pages bobbled the ball for an error. But after that, he retired the final 20 batters he faced, lowering his ERA to 2.66.
Conforto, meanwhile, tied the score in the seventh, hitting only his 11th home run of the season to straightaway center.
From there, however, the horrors of the Dodgersâ horrendous play over the second half of the season quickly returned. They were handed a winnable game, and found a way to give it away.
They left another runner stranded in the eighth, after Max Muncy was hit by a pitch in the right forearm that eventually forced him to exit the game (but isnât expected to keep him out going forward, after postgame X-rays came back negative).
They caught a break in the bottom of the ninth, when Giants pinch-runner Grant McCray was thrown out at home plate by Pages on an aggressive send on a shallow fly ball to center. But then they gave it right back in the top half of the 10th, when catcher Ben Rortvedt (once again filling in for Will Smith, who continues to nurse a bone bruise on his right hand) made his own out on the bases trying to advance as the automatic runner from second to third base.
It all set the stage for the bottom of the 10th, when Scott was thrust into the kind of situation that has haunted him repeatedly of late.
Matt Chapman led the inning off with a ground ball against Blake Treinen, moving the winning run over to third base with left-handed hitter Jung Hoo Lee due up next. At that point, rookie southpaw Jack Dreyer had already pitched in the eighth and ninth inning. Fellow lefty Alex Vesia was down after making back-to-back appearances in his return from the injured list earlier this week.
Thus, Roberts came to the mound, and summoned Scott into the game.
âHe had three days off [before this],â Roberts said. âI felt it was the time to run him out there.â
At first, the decision seemed to work. Scott pitched Lee carefully to work a full-count. Then, he snapped off a slider that appeared to induce a putaway foul-tip.
But as Lee waved at the pitch, and home plate umpire Bill Miller initially signaled for strike three, third base umpire Chad Fairchild quickly overruled the call, motioning the ball had instead bounced off the ground and into Rortvedtâs glove â even though replays showed that Rortvedt had secured it without the ball hitting the dirt.
âObviously we looked at the replay, it didn't hit the ground,â said Roberts, who was left helpless in the dugout on what was a non-reviewable play.
âI thought I got it clean, it definitely didn't bounce,â Rortvedt added. âBut I think the way I caught, it might have been a trap.â
Either way, the at-bat continued. The next pitch was a slider out of the zone, putting Lee on base as disaster began to stir.
The Dodgers elected to intentionally walk the next batter, right-handed hitting Casey Schmitt, to bring Bailey to the plate. Scottâs first pitch to him was a slider in the dirt. The next: A 96.5 mph fastball just above the zone that Bailey timed up for a grand slam to end the game.
âGave up a bad pitch to a hitter that can hit fastballs [and] it cost us again,â said Scott, who has a 5.01 ERA in his debut Dodgers season with nine blown saves, four losing decisions and 11 home runs allowed (tying his total from the past three years combined).
âIâm tired of it happening,â he added.
Dodgers pitcher Tanner Scott watches after San Francisco's Patrick Bailey hits a game-ending grand slam in the 10th inning of the Dodgers' 5-1 loss Friday at Oracle Park. (Godofredo A. VĂĄsquez / Associated Press)
Roberts tried to give the closer a vote of confidence afterward, saying âwe've just got to continue to try to give him confidence and, when the time's right, run him out there and expect good things to happenâ â even though, the manager also acknowledged, it might be time to finally use Scott in lower-leverage sequences of games.
Rortvedt also took blame for the decisive pitch selection, even though he insisted the location of the fastball was one that âno one's supposed to hit.â
That didnât seem to give Scott much solace. He was so dumbfounded by his latest late-game implosion, he openly wondered if he was simply tipping his pitches.
âTheyâre on everything, it sucks,â he said. âI have no frigginâ clue right now. ... Iâm having the worst year of my life.â
The Dodgers, of course, arenât having a banner year as a team, either. They might not have ceded ground in the National League West standings on Friday, remaining 2½ games up on the San Diego Padres after that clubâs own stunning loss at home to the Colorado Rockies. But, the Dodgers did lose all the momentum they had carried into this rivalry series; putting Scott in a position he has so often struggled, thanks to their earlier inability to put the game away.
Sasaki's next steps
Roki Sasaki could rejoin the Dodgers' big-league roster before the end of the regular season. But first, he'll have to pass one more minor-league rehab test.
Roberts said Sasaki, the rookie right-hander who finally rediscovered his 100 mph fastball last week after missing most of the season with a shoulder injury, will make one more start with triple-A Oklahoma City next week after experiencing a calf issue in his start last week.
If Sasaki comes through that outing OK, Roberts said he hoped to see Sasaki back in the big leagues, where he hasn't pitched since posting a 4.72 ERA in eight starts to begin the season.
"I donât know in what capacity," Roberts said of Sasaki's role, which would likely be in the bullpen if he were to make the postseason roster. "But Iâm hopeful that weâll see Roki here before seasonâs end. ... From my understanding, Roki is in a good place to do whatever it is to help the team."
Luis Gil was terrific for the Yankees again on Friday night.Â
The right-hander stepped up and delivered six hitless innings to help New York take the opener of a huge three-game set with the division rival Boston Red Sox.Â
Gil was forced to work through traffic at times, but he navigated it well.Â
He retired first four hitters he faced before Masataka Yoshida reached on an error in the bottom of the second, and after he advanced into scoring position on a wild pitch, the youngster got a pop out to strand him there.Â
He then issued a one out walk to Ceddanne Rafaela in the bottom of the third, but a fly out and groundout helped him escape without any damage from the top of the order.Â
Gil put together a perfect fourth, but had to battle again in the fifth.Â
He was hurt by some questionable calls on back-to-back free passes to lead off the inning and then balked them into scoring position, but was able to retire the next three to get out of the frame with the no-hitter still in-tact.
A Jazz Chisholm throwing error then pushed Trevor Story into scoring position with one out in the sixth, but Gil got a strikeout and groundout to again escape the inning and end his night without any damage.
He finished with four walks and four strikeouts across six hitless innings, bringing his ERA to an outstanding 0.99 in five career starts against the Sox.Â
âWhere we are in the division right now, everything is so tight,â Gil said through a translator. âAll of the games are so important for us and we want to just do the best we can and keep things right there and just find a way to contribute.â
Gil certainly has done his part of late -- including tonight, heâs now allowed just one earned one over his past two outings, both of which have come against divisional opponents in the Sox and Blue Jays.Â
He's now down to a 2.83 ERA on the season.Â
Aaron Boone went as far as saying this is the best heâs been since returning from the IL.Â
âHe started losing the strike zone a bit,â the skipper said. âBut his stuff was good and he was able to get big outs. To buckle down in the fifth and hold them at bay there was big, hopefully this is another springboard for him.â
Would Jacob deGrom like to see the Mets retire his No. 48 at Citi Field?Â
âThatâs not my decision,â the right-hander said.Â
If he were to have stayed when he hit free agency, that answer would be much clearer.Â
After leaving for Texas, though, it remains to be seen where the organization stands.Â
DeGrom will go down as one of the greatest pitchers in franchise history.Â
While his lone ring came with the Rangers, he took home the NL Rookie of the Year, a pair of Cy Young awards, and made four of his five career All-Star appearances in his nine years donning the orange and blue.Â
And he was arguably the most dominant starting pitcher in the game during that stretch -- accumulating a 2.52 ERA, 0.99 WHIP and 1,607 strikeouts following his big-league debut back in 2014.Â
Injuries derailed things towards the end of his tenure in the Big Apple, which led to the two sides going their separate ways, but thereâs no taking away the countless dominant efforts deGrom put forward in a Mets uniform.Â
The 37-year-old said it would be a huge honor if he were to join the legendary group.Â
âEvery time I took this mound for the Mets, I left it all out there,â deGrom said. âThere were obviously some times where I got injured, but you canât really control that, so when I was on that mound I felt like I left it all out on the field.â
It's not easy what Jonah Tong is attempting to do for the Mets.
Last month the young right-hander was pitching for Double-A and now he's going up against Jacob deGrom at Citi Field, thrusted in a pressure-filled playoff race and trying to help his team overcome its losing ways.
Forget about difficult, that's just unfair.
And even though manager Carlos Mendoza said Tong is mature for his age, he's still just 22 years old and deserves all the grace in the world following his rough start on Friday night.
"Keep your head up, keep going," Mendoza said about his message to Tong. "Thereâs no other way around it. Flush that one out and just keep moving forward."
Tong, of course, has the talent and potential to be a successful starting pitcher in the league. Look no further than his MLB debut just two weeks ago and you'll see a pitcher with the stuff that can be dangerous for a long time.Â
However, it's obvious he still needs time to continue to develop into the starting pitcher that he has the talent to be. But asking him, along with the two other rookies in the rotation, to be the savior of a flailing team with sky-high expectations that have not been met this season isn't the proper way to foster and nurture that talent.
After the loss, a clearly emotional Tong didn't have a lot to say. Still, he managed to get out that he didn't give the start that he wanted and even thought of the bullpen, saying that it "hurts" to know that his outing put "more stress" on a beleaguered group -- quite selfless for a 22-year-old.
"Heâs a competitor," Mendoza said. "Obviously he cares a lot... He'll get through that one."
The question now becomes what will the Mets do next?
While he didn't confirm or deny that Tong would make his next start, Mendoza reiterated that New York could get creative. What's most sad about the situation, though, is despite how poorly his outing went on Friday, Tong remains one of the better options the Mets have at the moment due to massive failures elsewhere on the roster.
"Itâs just life, so take it one step at a time," Tong said. "I mean, Iâm always grateful for opportunity."
Among the players giving the right-hander advice was David Peterson who Tong said told him, "Keep your head up. The sunâs gonna rise tomorrow."
Wherever Tong makes his next start, he'll have time to learn from this one and hopefully grow from it.
"(I'm) gonna have some time to reflect on this and get ready for the next one and just go from there," he said.
Jacob deGrom had this one circled on his calendar.Â
He looked at the beginning of the season and wanted the chance to return to Citi Field.Â
Finally on Friday night, that opportunity came.Â
The right-hander knew it was going to be a special night, and that it was.Â
He couldnât help but get emotional as the Mets took a look back at his prestigious nine-year career with the club with a tribute video before transitioning to his signature warmup song, âSimple Manâ as he played catch pregame.Â
But once the action got underway, it was business as usual.Â
âIt was really cool,â deGrom said. âThis is where it all started, coming back here I thought it was going to be a very special day -- thankful to the Mets for playing that and like I said, these fans were great to me while I was here and that was a really nice thing to do.â
Fittingly, the 37-year-old was handed immediate run support, something he lacked throughout his time with the Mets.Â
The Rangers jumped on New Yorkâs young right-hander Jonah Tong for a total of six runs on four hits and three walks in the top of the first, handing their hard-throwing ace the big advantage before he even threw a pitch.Â
DeGrom responded with a six-pitch bottom-half of the inning.Â
He worked around a one out Mark Vientos single in the bottom of the second, but then the bottom of the Metsâ order got to him in the third, as a solo homer and a pair of sacrifice flies made it a three-run ballgame.Â
But as Mets fans are very familiar with, it was lights out from there, as deGrom would set down the next 13 hitters in order to close out his night with seven strong innings.Â
He ended up taking home his 12th victory of the season after allowing those three runs on four hits and no walks while striking out just two batters on the evening.
âIt means a lot,â deGrom said. âThe fans were great to me tonight and they were great to me when I was here, I always enjoyed taking the mound in front of this crowd, so tonight was just as special.â
MIAMI (AP) â Detroit Tigers star left-hander Tarik Skubal left the clubâs game against the Miami Marlins in the fourth inning Friday night after experiencing tightness in his left side.
The reigning AL Cy Young Award winner â and favorite to repeat this year â allowed a leadoff single to Heriberto HernĂĄndez and then retired Eric Wagaman on a flyout to center field when he exited. Skubal is currently under evaluation.
After a recent stretch of dominant outings, Skubal struggled Friday, giving up four runs and four hits. Rookie AgustĂn Ramirez and HernĂĄndez hit solo homers off Skubal.
Skubal had allowed one earned run over his previous 27 1/3 innings and had thrown seven scoreless innings in each of his last two starts.
Tigers shortstop Javier BĂĄez also left early, when he fouled off a pitch that struck near his left eye in the second inning.
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) â San Francisco Giants third baseman Matt Chapmanâs one-game suspension was dropped by Major League Baseball on Friday and he instead will pay a fine for his role in a benches-clearing incident at Colorado on Sept. 2.
The Giants made the announcement ahead of Fridayâs opener in a weekend series against the Los Angeles Dodgers, saying an agreement with the Commissionerâs Office had been reached.
Chapman had faced a suspension and an undisclosed fine after he made contact with Rockies pitcher Kyle Freeland.
Freeland, Adames and Rafael Devers also were fined for their involvement. Tempers flared after Devers hit a two-run homer in the first inning and admired it before beginning his slow trot.
âLook, we didnât feel like we started it. It is what it is, deal with it going forward. Weâll see what happens in the appeal. The other ones were fines,â Giants manager Bob Melvin said the next day. âYou knew something was going to happen. We were hoping there werenât suspensions. Ended up being one, and itâs on appeal, so see where that goes.â
Devers crushed a sweeper over the right field wall and then Freeland took exception with Deversâ celebration, prompting both players to shout at each other.
BOSTON (AP) â New York Yankees slugger Aaron Judge hit his 362nd career home run on Friday night, breaking a tie with Hall of Famer Joe DiMaggio and taking sole possession of fourth place on the franchiseâs all-time list.
The 468-foot shot gave New York a 1-0 lead over Boston as the longtime rivals battle for playoff position. The Yankees entered the night with a one-half game edge over the Red Sox in the AL East, behind division leader Toronto, with both in position for a wild-card berth.
Judge reached 362 homers in his 1,130th game. DiMaggio played 1,736 games and hit his last homer on Sept. 28, 1951, at the end of a 13-year career that was interrupted for three seasons because he served in World War II.
Judgeâs 47th homer of the season raised his major league-best batting average to .324.
Judge broke a tie with Hall of Fame catcher Yogi Berra for fifth on New Yorkâs career list Tuesday night. Babe Ruth hit 659 of his 714 homers with the Yankees. Mickey Mantle (536) and Lou Gehrig (493) are the other Yankees ahead of Judge.
