Category: Baseball

Yankees rookie George Lombard Jr. left the second game of Saturday's doubleheader against the Red Sox early due to right knee discomfort, but luckily appears to have avoided the worst.

After the team's 9-2 win, manager Aaron Boone said Lombard underwent imaging, and while they are still waiting on the results, he said "it looks like a day-to-day situation," per MLB.com's Bryan Hoch.

The shortstop appeared to tweak his right knee during his at-bat in the second inning, in which he later singled, but remained in the game and hit again in the bottom of the third (line out).

He was then replaced on defense in the top of the fourth inning, with Jose Caballero sliding over to short and Amed Rosario coming in to play 3B.

In 23 games since being called up, Lombard is hitting .253 with two home runs and six RBI. Defensively, he's had some issues with seven total errors.

This was a very disapponting loss. The score was 2-2, I went to take my dogs out real quick, came back and it was 2-6. Holderman was so great for us the first few months of the season, and has been an absolute mess as of late. I guess that’s just how most relievers go.

The lineup was mostly lifeless today outside of an early 2 run HR from Angel Martinez. It’s becoming harder and harder to justify leaving Ralphy Velazquez in AAA, he is clearly one of the 9 best hitters in the organization. This team needs a spark badly. They really could not afford to lose this series, hopefully they can salvage the sweep tomorrow.

The good news is the we have ace Parker Messick on the mound tomorrow against Seth Lugo, who has a 4.61 ERA this season. I don’t want to say this game on August 30th is must win, but it is pretty darn close to being a must win game.

The Colorado Rockies had a chance to steal a win in Atlanta this afternoon after, but ultimately it turned out to be Atlanta who came out on top. The Rockies pitching staff performed well for the first seven innings, but it came down to some late-inning weird outfield defense that allowed the Braves to snatch a 2-1 victory.

Agnos & Co.

Zach Agnos was called upon right before first pitch to start in place of Ryan Feltner, who was dealing with an illness overnight and was unable to play.

Agnos last started in June, but today was reminiscent of his first-career start in Arizona. He threw 42 pitches across 2.2 innings — likely because he threw two innings in relief just three days ago — but only allowed two hits with one walk and one strikeout.

He was relieved in the third inning by Nick Frasso, who threw 1.1 additional innings. Frasso did not allow a hit, and also walked one and struck out another. Brennan Bernardino pitched a 1-2-3 fifth on nine pitches, while Jimmy Herget allowed just one hit and a strikeout in 1.2 innings.

Herget was put into a unique situation, though, as his outing was interrupted by an injury to home plate umpire Ron Kulpa. Kupla was hit in the mask on a back swing by Ozzie Albies, and was ultimately lifted as a precaution for a possible concussion. 13 minutes later, Herget hit Albies with a pitch, putting men on first and second, but Mike Yastrzemski grounded out 1-6-3.

Michael Harris II — who hit a bunt single to lead off the inning — moved to third on the play, and Herget was relieved for Jaden Hill (more on Hill’s outing later).

“I thought that they were awesome,” manager Warren Schaeffer said after the game. “Having to do that today, I thought that they were exceptional. Every guy left it all out there.

Offensive breakthrough in the sixth

On the other side, Martín Pérez also had an excellent outing.

The veteran entered the game with a 22.1-inning scoreless streak at Truist Park, and nearly ended his outing with one. He lasted 5.2 innings, but eventually had that scoreless streak snapped at 27.2 innings by Will Castro.

Pérez got two quick outs with McCarthy bunt grounding out and Carrigg lining out to start the inning, but then Hunter Goodman walked, and TJ Rumfield singled. Connor Norby to load the bases, and then Castro singled to score Goodman. Unfortunately, due to his speed, Rumfield was held up at third.

“His changeup was really good, and our right-handed hitters had no response for it today,” Schaeffer said. “We couldn’t make an adjustment to that. But we grinded and pushed that run across. It’s just tough to win a 1-0 ballgame.”

Old friend Brent Suter came out to relieve Pérez and got Mickey Moniak to ground out to second and end the threat of more runs.

Late-inning heartbreak

The Rockies had a 1-0 lead heading into the eighth inning, but were unfortunately unable to hold onto it.

Jaden Hill, who came in to get the final out of the seventh, returned for the eighth. He got two quick outs from Drake Baldwin and Ronald Acuña Jr., but then Matt Olson singled to right, and Mauricio Dubón singled to center to move Olson to third. Michael Harris II doubled to left, which scored Olson and Dubón.

The opposing team scoring two runs is never great. But it’s even less great when there are some weird mental blunders in the outfield that allow runners to take extra bases and/or score runs. The biggest one was the Harris double. If Beck had thrown the ball to Ezequiel Tovar to try to get Dubón at the plate instead of Connor Norby to try to get Harris, the Rockies might’ve had a shot of keeping the score tied.

“There was a bang-bang play there (at second base),” Schaeffer said. “The second baseman needs to be aware that there’s also a runner running, so he could’ve thrown it off the plate, for sure.”

Jordan Romano entered to get the final out in the eighth down 2-1 instead of up 1-0, and was able to get Yastrzemski to ground out to second.

The Rockies had a chance in the ninth, but weren’t able to break through again. Didier Fuentes came in to close, and immediately walked Castro. Moniak struck out, and then Troy Johnston entered as a pinch-hitter for Jordan Beck. He singled, and was replaced by pinch-runner Ryan Ritter. Tovar was pinch hit for by Zac Veen, who struck out on three pitches, and McCarthy battled through but ultimately lined out to right to end the game.

Up Next

The Rockies have one more game tomorrow morning against the Braves, hoping to avoid the sweep. Mason Adams will be making his second big-league start against Tyler Mahle. First pitch is at 11:35am MT.

See you then!

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This is how I’d like to remember Matt “Tugboat” Wilkinson.

Toot-tootin’ off the mound after inducing an inning-ending double play to close out 6 scoreless, blaring that horn like he just navigated an oil tanker through the Strait of Messina. 

While the brief for tugboats is to guide larger ships in and out of harbors, our boy Tugboat didn’t find himself in many tight spaces in game 1 of Saturday’s doubleheader against Arizona.

Stylistically the southpaw, with an “old-school” mix of low velocity and dense offerings, isn’t afraid of contact. He struck out just four but held D-Back bats to just three singles, keeping them hitless in just one at-bat with a runner in scoring position. At one point, he retired 12 in a row from the 2nd through the 5th in just his third Major League appearance, and first in front of a San Francisco crowd.  

The problem for Tugboat was that he wasn’t the only tugboat putzing around the harbor.

If Wilkinson, at 23 years old, is Baby Tug, Merrill Kelly is Papa Tug. A 37 year old bucket of rust that has been pushing opposing line-ups around since before baby Tug could float. Kelly’s been doing this for a long time, he knows how to pitch — or, he knows how to pitch against the Giants. Based on Baseball Savant’s Run Value metric, Kelly is considered one of the worst pitchers in the Majors, but his -22 Run Value has nothing to do with the Giants. In back-to-back outings in May, Kelly held them to 5 runs over 13 IP while recording two wins. Going into Saturday’s start, he was 10-5 with a 3.26 ERA over 23 starts dating back to 2019. He’s thrown at least 6 complete over his  last 7 contests (including this afternoon). He hadn’t allowed more than 3 runs to the Giants, or been handed a loss by them, since June 2023. 

So no, game 1 against the Diamondbacks wasn’t a dance of jet-skis. This was a contest of adjustments, of light bumps and pushes and prods, of low-90s fastballs, of change-ups, of routine grounders and lugubrious lofts to the outfield. While Wilkinson kept pace through six scoreless, it was only a matter of time before his rival arm inched ahead. Ask a Giants fan, no one does manages batters better than Kelly. He scattered two singles over 7 innings. He walked four, but that’s by design. The veteran right-hander has taken up residency on the edge of the zone. A citizen of the corner. He wants the batter to get impatient, to second-guess, nudging them one way, his way, until they chase or try to do too much with a heavy offering. 

Bryce Eldridge’s at-bat in the 1st is a perfect example of this. Three change-ups wilting below the zone had the rookie looking for it before Kelly zipped in a 2-strike four-seam fastball, perfectly located at the knees. 

Any rumblings of trouble were promptly subdued by the ground ball. The worry of a lead-off walk to Turner Hill in the 2nd was erased by Drew Cavanaugh rolling into a double-play. Walks in the 5th and 6th were followed by a strikeout and another groundout. The most pressure the Giants offense put on Kelly was in the 4th when Jung Hoo Lee’s one-out single scooted Eldridge over to third. But again, a change-up falling out of the zone fetched a lunging swing from Hill, rolling a grounder to Ildemaro Vargas at second who cut down Eldridge at the plate. Another groundball ended the inning. 

As Papa Tug remained steady as the game progressed, Baby Tug started to fret. Maybe the high pitch-count got to him, or the pressure of 0-0 score in the 7th — a frame Wilkinson, who’s three games into his Major League career, had never pitched in before — but the rookie took the hill in that late frame looking like another pitcher than the previous six. Command and composure had evaporated while in the dugout. He threw 9 pitches and 8 of them arrived wide of the zone, generously handing out his first two walks of the game. At 90 pitches and 6+ IP, Wilkinson’s day was done, but his pitching line wasn’t. Ryan Walker came on in relief, and elicited poor contact from Nolan Arenado, but the groundball wasn’t hit hard enough or at anyone to turn a double play. Then, just as abruptly as Wilkinson’s feel for the zone, Walker lost sight of the plate. Another walk loaded the bases — that’s three in total for those counting at home, and each one came around to score when pinch hitter, Lars Nootbarred a 2-2 fastball 432 feet from the plate. 

A well-pitched game dunked into the pond. 

Wilkinson just ran out gas while Kelly proceeded to strike out two and retire the side in the 7th. 

Arizona would add three more against MLB debuter Seth Lonsway while Jung Hoo Lee celebrated his bobble-head day with an inconsequential (but nice!) RBI single in the 8th. 

7-1 final. And since this game was such a blast, let’s play another. See ya in a bit.

Nolan McLean might be pretty good.

The Mets rookie right-hander pitched another gem Saturday in a 6-2 win over the Astros, as New York snapped a three-game losing streak. McLean pitched seven innings without allowing an earned run, his second consecutive shutout appearance.

Beyond McLean, this game had a little bit of everything that could make a Mets fan smile, even towards the end of a lost season. The game featured an RBI from Juan Soto RBI in his return from the IL, Jared Young continuing to be a bright spot with a three-hit, three-RBI day, Francisco Alvarez breaking out of a slump, and AJ Ewing making the difficult look easy defensively.

McLean relied heavily on his fastball and cutter to great effect, drawing mostly soft contact. He cruised the first five innings on 65 pitches while only needing one strikeout to keep the Houston lineup in check. McLean walked Daulton Varsho in the opening of the seventh, but a fielder’s choice and two more strikeouts helped him escape unscathed.

While things ultimately went the Mets’ way, things started off bumpy. Brett Baty got the start in left field and instantly failed the first test. Jeremy Pena sent McLean’s very first pitch down the left-field line, where Baty misplayed the ball off the wall, allowing Pena to reach third base. Yordan Alvarez scored Pena on a sacrifice fly to put the Mets in an early hole.

The Mets answered back in the bottom of the first with Young’s RBI single that scored Francisco Lindor. Young’s hit came on an 0-2 count against the Astros’ lefty opener Bennett Sousa, who was promptly removed from the game in favor of Cristian Javier.

The game remained tied 1-1 with McLean humming along and Javier looking strong until the fifth inning. That’s when Lindor sent a double off the right-field wall, then Soto scored him with a line-drive single. Soto had fouled a pitch off his leg and took time with the trainer before stepping back in the box and making his presence felt. Carson Benge singled to advance Soto before Young scored them both with a triple.

Daniel Duarte relieved McLean in the eighth inning, giving up a solo home run to Yordan Alvarez, which cut the Mets’ lead to 4-2. But Francisco Alvarez had an answer when he sent a two-RBI double into the gap in the bottom of the eighth to give the Mets their final 6-2 advantage. Alvarez entered the game with just two hits in his last 27 at-bats.

Kodai Senga relieved Durarte for the ninth and immediately gave up some hard-hit balls. Not to fear, Ewing was all over center field, showing off the speed on a liner from Varsho, then making a crashing catch in the wall to retire Christian Walker. Taylor Trammell lined out to end the game.

The Mets are back Sunday at 3:10 PM EDT in the rubber match with Houston. Zac Thornton is scheduled to take the mound for New York as he looks to build on his three consecutive quality starts.

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Win Probability Added

What’s WPA?

Big Mets winner: Nolan McLean, +26% WPA
Big Mets loser: Bo Bichette, -8% WPA
Mets pitchers: +28% WPA
Mets hitters: +22% WPA
Teh aw3s0mest play: Jared Young’s RBI triple in the fifth, +18% WPA
Teh sux0rest play: Jeremy Pena’s double in the first, -9.1% WPA

Yunior Marte dedicates emotional MLB debut to late brother after Giants' win originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

SAN FRANCISCO — Yunior Marte was emotional coming off the mound after his dominant MLB debut on Saturday, and for good reason.

The 23-year-old right-handed pitcher allowed three hits, one earned run and two walks, and struck out three through 4 2/3 innings to put the Giants in good position for their 7-2 win in Game 2 of Saturday’s doubleheader against the Arizona Diamondbacks at Oracle Park.

The NBC Sports Bay Area TV broadcast cut to his family and friends, who held on tight to a Dominican flag as they, too, celebrated Marte’s debut with great pride and joy. A few hours later, Marte walked into the Giants’ clubhouse with a scorecard and a couple of game balls, which he shared will be dedicated to someone special to him.

“I’m going to dedicate the baseballs and scorecard to my family, but especially my brother who passed away last year,” Marte said through interpreter Erwin Higueros. “One of his biggest dreams was that he wanted to see me debut in the big leagues.”

Marte disclosed that his brother was just 25 years old and passed away from sickle cell disease.

He made his brother proud in his first big league start, and he could get another chance to do it again this season with San Francisco.

“I think he’s got what we want,” manager Tony Vitello said postgame. “I mean, you don’t have to be big and physical to be successful. I mean, I think there’s some really good examples the last couple series we’ve played. But he’s big and physical, and he’s not really developed. I mean, I got an argument with [Giants infielder Osleivis] Basabe when we took him out because, to me, I say he looks like he’s a teenager and kind of fresh in the face and still growing into his body, but of course it’s a big body too. So that was Basabe’s argument. So he’s big and physical. He’s got good stuff.

“I don’t think he’s anywhere close to where his ceiling is, but more than anything, he’s got that personality and the panache that you want in the big leagues, but you probably need that, too, to survive and be at your best. So we’ll see if the future holds for him. But yeah, I think it’s not going to be the last time he gets to pitch at Oracle.”

Despite the emotions consuming Marte on Saturday, Vitello shared that the 23-year-old tried to keep things light in the dugout and focus on having fun. At one point, Vitello said Marte was dancing in the dugout before going out to the mound.

“Normally you think your job is to calm a guy down, but he was talking to me like I was his college roommate before he went out on the mound, and then he kind of pitched like that too,” Vitello said.

Marte admitted he was “a little nervous” at the beginning of the game.

Especially after witnessing the Giants greatness on the field beforehand, as the organization honored Jeff Kent with a number retirement ceremony.

But once he toed the rubber, he felt relaxed and comfortable.

Alongside guys like Barry Bonds and Buster Posey was former Giants pitcher Juan Marichal, a 10-time MLB All-Star and forever-time legend in the Dominican Republic as MLB’s first Hall of Famer from the country. Marichal spoke to Marte and gave him some pointers about the big leagues, advising him to enjoy the moment above all else.

On top of the adrenaline that comes with an MLB debut, now you’re pitching in front of one of your biggest idols and other Giants icons. But Marte met the moment, and he remembered to enjoy every second of it.

He described the moment as “chevere,” a Dominican saying that essentially means “really cool.”

The night couldn’t have gone any better for the young righty, who will continue to live more than just his dream as he honors his late brother.

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In terms of dazzling, Nolan McLean has done so more in other starts this season. He’s generated more strikeouts. He’s produced more swings and misses — the flashy numbers that can fill a boxscore. 

But in terms of dominance, in terms of looking like the Mets ace of the future — a label he has thrived with — and powering them to a win, this was vintage McLean on Saturday, pitching the Mets to a 6-2 win over the Astros at Citi Field. On an afternoon when the Mets welcomed Juan Soto back from a 31-game absence and watched him drive in the go-ahead run, McLean scattered two hits across seven innings and allowed only an unearned run.

He didn’t record his first strikeout until the fifth inning, but he only walked one batter and has allowed just one earned run across three starts since his Aug. 8 dud. 

And the Mets moved to 14-9 in their last 23 games, adding to a promising stretch that is likely far too late to impact the postseason picture but will give them something to build on for next year. 

Along the way, and really since his ERA peaked at 4.40 on May 25, McLean has clawed back into National League Rookie of the Year contention. It might not be enough to top the Cardinals’ JJ Wetherholt or the Reds’ Sal Stewart or even Mets teammate Carson Benge, but he has built a strong first full season in the majors. 

The Mets trailed 1-0 after just two batters, as Jeremy Peña doubled into the left field corner, the ball skipped between Brett Baty’s legs and the Astros designated hitter ended up at third — scoring when Yordan Alvarez collected a sacrifice fly.

McLean, who didn’t record his first strikeout until the fifth inning, settled down from there, though, and didn’t allow another runner to reach second base the rest of the game while retiring 20 of the next 24 batters. 

He only forced Houston hitters to whiff on six of his 40 swings, but McLean avoided the major swings — and the home runs — that have caused other starts to unravel. After Baty’s gaffe, the Mets responded in the bottom of the first when Francisco Lindor walked, advanced to second on a balk and scored on Jared Young’s single.

In the fifth, Soto delivered a vintage moment in his first game back, shifting the tenor in the Mets’ favor — something that hasn’t happened much this year — for good by driving in Lindor. 

After Bo Bichette flew out and Carson Benge singled, Young drove in his second and third runs of the game with a triple down the right field line, continuing to play his way into 2027 conversations. Alvarez pulled the Astros within a run in the eighth inning, hammering a Daniel Duarte cutter 436 feet over the right-center fence for his 37th home run, but Kodai Senga recorded the final three outs when called upon in the ninth after the Mets added a pair of insurance runs in the eighth. 

And everything, really, connected back to McLean’s latest game. That has become a constant since he debuted in August 2025 and immediately became the centerpiece of the Mets’ pitching future. There have been obstacles — like earlier this season. There have been adjustments, too. 

All of that over the past month has cobbled together to turn this stretch into a return to normalcy for McLean. Saturday became the latest reminder.

After a late scratch of the Rockies’ starting pitcher, the Braves were hoping to secure a series win against the Colorado bullpen with Martin Perez on the mound.

The game started slowly, with scattered baserunners but no runs, exactly what you’d expect in a matchup between Martin Perez and the Rockies bullpen in 2026. The Braves loaded the bases with two singles and a walk from the top of the order in the third, but cleanup hitter Mauricio Dubon flied out to end the threat. It wasn’t until the sixth that a team got a runner past first base and it was the Rockies. Perez had pitched well through 5.2 innings with 6 strikeouts on 83 pitches, but went walk-single-walk-single to allow the first run of the ballgame and leave the bases loaded. Suter was able to record the crucial out and keep the score at 1-0. Martin was great overall, which makes that sixth even more disappointing, as those were his first two walks of the game.

The offense continued to flounder against the Rockies’ pen and Suter got the seventh and was able to work a scoreless frame, as four soft grounders led to a single, double-play, single, and groundout. former Brave Jimmy Herget got the ball for Colorado in the seventh and allowed a swinging bunt single to Harris before there was a game delay due to the home plate umpire being hit in the mask with a foul tip, checked for a concussion, and ultimately replaced.

After the break, Ozzie battled from being down 0-2 and was ultimately hit in the shin pad by a slider, taking first. Yastrzemski produced some karma for the Rockies, as a swinging bunt to the pitcher produced a double-play, leaving Harris on third with two outs for Austin Riley. Austin walked and Lane Thomas got his second plate appearance after pinch-hitting for Dom Smith earlier in the game. Austin stole second to put two runners in scoring position, but Lane struck out looking to end the inning, with Atlanta still looking for that elusive first run. Suter continued to pitch into the eighth and worked another scoreless frame, doing tremendous work out of the bullpen, even as the offense was quiet.

Singles from Olson and Dubon presented another opportunity with runners on the corners and two outs in the eighth for Harris. Money Mike came through with a double off the glove of a diving Colorado outfielder, scoring Olson and Dubon for a 2-1 lead.

Didier Fuentes got the save opportunity in the ninth inning with a one run lead. He walked the leadoff batter, but struck out Moniak for the first out. He nearly struck out the next batter, but the pinch-hitting Johnston was given the benefit of the doubt on a borderline checked swing in the absence of a third base ump and then singled. Didier struck out Veen for the second out and got an easy lineout for the final out, securing the save and the series win.

Join us again tomorrow as the Braves go for a sweep at 1:35 PM ET.

Mets prospect Jonah Tong had arguably his best start of the season for Triple-A Syracuse on Saturday, coming one out away from a seven-inning no-hitter.

The right-hander allowed just two walks through 6.2 IP in the first game of a doubleheader (which is only seven innings long in the minors), before surrendering his first and only hit of the night to Lehigh Valley's Kameron Misner in the bottom of the seventh inning.

He locked back in and struck out Carter Kieboom to end the game, finishing with one hit allowed and eight strikeouts over 88 pitches.

Since allowing five earned runs on Aug. 5, Tong has been lights out in his last four starts with a 0.84 ERA over 21.1 IP. He's struck out 23 batters, walked 10, and allowed just 11 hits and two earned runs in that span. Overall, he finished August with a 2.39 ERA over 26.1 IP.

With rosters expanding for major league teams this week, it's possible that Tong's recent performances have earned him another shot in the rotation. In three major league games this season (all in relief), Tong went 1-1 with a 3.60 ERA and seven strikeouts over 10.0 IP.

Jonah Tong take a bow! Coming up one out away from a no-hitter, Jonah Tong delivered an INCREDIBLE performance! 👏

7.0 IP | 0 R | 0 ER | 1 H | 8 K | 2 BB pic.twitter.com/dHgtJHCpOW

— Syracuse Mets (@SyracuseMets) August 29, 2026

San Diego Padres infielder Luis Rengifo suffered an injury during a game against the Tampa Bay Rays on Saturday, Aug. 29, at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Florida.

Rengifo has a right knee sprain, according to the Padres. He will receive treatment and will return to San Diego, where he will be evaluated further.

The Padres will finish out the weekend series against the Rays on Sunday, Aug. 30 before starting a three-game series against the Cincinnati Reds on Monday, Aug. 31.

How did Luis Rengifo get injured?

Rengifo was carted off the field after attempting to throw to home plate in the bottom of the seventh inning.

The throw was off target and went past home plate. Rengifo could not put weight on his right leg and was clearly in pain.

The Rays have tied the game... on whatever this was. #padres extremely sloppy, again pic.twitter.com/DDLPflhm9n

— Padres Central (@PadresCentral_) August 29, 2026

The Rays went on to secure the 7-6 victory over the Padres after scoring four runs in the bottom of the seventh.

The eight-year veteran signed with the Padres as a free agent at the end of June after the Milwaukee Brewers released him. He spent the first seven years of his career with the Los Angeles Angels.

Rengifo has scored 37 runs while driving in 36 runs and hitting four home runs this season.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Padres' Luis Rengifo carted off field during game vs. Rays

Amed Rosario and Ali Sánchez are supposed to provide depth, part-time players who help the Yankees when given an opportunity. 

The duo hurt them Saturday afternoon. 

Rosario’s baserunning mistake and Sánchez’s passed ball cost the Yankees multiple runs in their 6-0 loss to the Red Sox to start a crucial day-night doubleheader in The Bronx. 

They were key plays in a game manager Aaron Boone said the Yankees performed “poorly.”

Rosario’s gaffe — he failed to score from second base on Heliot Ramos’ double that eluded Ceddanne Rafaela in deep center field — prevented the Yankees from scoring the tying run in the fourth inning. Rosario was looking to tag up on the play rather than go halfway and was thrown out by a wide margin at the plate. 

“Difficult read there, but at the end of the day, I just have to get myself in a better position, trying to give myself a chance there to score if you have an opportunity,” Rosario said through an interpreter. “I just put myself in a bad position to score.” 

“If I’m in a better position,” he later added, “I definitely score there.” 

Sánchez’s passed ball with two outs in the fifth enabled the Red Sox to extend the lead to 2-0. Rosario had a hand in that run scoring as well. With one out and Adley Rutschman on first base, he caught an Andruw Monasterio line drive, but his throw to first base to double up Rutschman was wild, hit the runner and enabled him to advance to second base. 

• CHECK OUT THE LATEST MLB STANDINGS AND YANKEES STATS

“I think a good throw gets us a double play there,” Rosario said. 

Still, there were two outs with Rutschman on second base and light-hitting outfielder Eli White at the plate. But Carlos Rodón missed badly with a 2-2 slider that Sánchez couldn’t catch. It was supposed to be a back-foot slider, and it ended up high and away. The slow-footed Rutschman narrowly beat Sánchez’s throw to Rodón at home. 

“I think Ali’s been pretty good behind the plate — obviously, the passed ball is a ball we have to catch,” Boone said. 

Sánchez agreed. 

“I just have to catch the ball,” said the backup catcher, who struck out twice in as many plate appearances in Game 1 of the twin bill. 

The Yankees could have options if they so choose. Anthony Volpe could be the right-handed-hitting infielder they need. He has been getting reps at second base, and Saturday he was starting at third. Rosario has not hit lefties at all, with a .192/.244/.367 slash line. 

It’s no secret the Yankees were looking for a catcher ahead of the Aug. 3 trade deadline. They never landed that player, losing out to the rival Red Sox for Rutschman. But they did sign veteran catcher Mitch Garver to a minor league contract in early August. 

Garver has an opt-out clause in the contract that expired Friday. He is said to be looking at major league options while he’s with Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. The 35-year-old Garver appeared in 50 games for the Mariners, hitting .175 with four home runs and 15 RBIs and a .596 OPS. 

In the case of both Rosario and Sánchez, Saturday could at least make the Yankees consider other options. 

The Mets won the second game of their three-game series against the Houston Astros on Saturday by a score of 6-2.

Here are the key takeaways...

-- Nolan McLean continued his case for NL Rookie of the Year with another superb outing at Citi Field. The right-hander went seven innings and allowed an unearned run on two hits and three walks while striking out four to earn his 10th win of the season and improve his ERA to 3.06.

It was the fourth time McLean has gotten through seven innings this season and the first time since June 17 against the Cincinnati Reds. The rest of New York’s pitching staff has done it a total of six times.

It was also the fourth straight outing the rookie has allowed one earned or fewer, something he’s done 14 times this season.

-- Offensively, the Mets’ biggest contributor was Jared Young who drove in three runs as part of a 3-for-4 game. The first run he drove in came in the first inning on a fly ball single that tied the game. Young then had a two-run triple in a three-run fifth inning that extended New York’s lead. He singled to lead off the eighth and came around to score on a Francisco Alvarez two-run double.

-- In his first game off the IL, Juan Soto went 1-for-4 with an RBI and run scored as the designated hitter. He appeared to be in pain after fouling a ball off his shin in the fifth inning, but after shaking it off and getting back in the box he singled home Francisco Lindor who doubled before him.

-- Other notable performers: Marcus Semien (2-for-4 with a run scored, stolen base) and Brett Baty (2-for-3 with a double) while Carson Benge went 1-for-3 with a walk and a run scored and is hitting .333 in August.

-- Daniel Duarte came in for relief of McLean in the eighth inning of a 4-1 game and gave up a solo homer to Yordan Alvarez for his only blemish.

-- Kodai Senga then pitched the ninth in a non-save opportunity after New York scored twice in the eighth and after allowing a leadoff double to Jose Altuve retired the next three batters in a row to finish things off.

Game MVP: Nolan McLean

The right-hander looked fabulous once again and is putting together a fantastic rookie campaign.

Highlights

Jared Young brings the Mets right back even pic.twitter.com/Nbv3xdQ3i3

— SNY (@SNYtv) August 29, 2026

Juan Soto returns to the lineup with an RBI single! pic.twitter.com/32xn3fkOl1

— SNY (@SNYtv) August 29, 2026

Jared Young drives in two with a triple!

He has 3 RBI on the day! pic.twitter.com/TSAkKy8FzB

— SNY (@SNYtv) August 29, 2026

Nolan McLean ends the 7th with two strikeouts 👏 pic.twitter.com/HE0je0Orso

— SNY (@SNYtv) August 29, 2026

What's next

The Mets and Astros close out their series with a rubber game Sunday with first pitch scheduled for 3:10 p.m.

LHP Zac Thornton (3-4, 2.88 ERA) goes for New York while Houston has yet to announce a starter.

It wasn’t a no-show performance from Carlos Rodón. 

It wasn’t what the Yankees hoped for, either. 

In the opener of a day-night doubleheader, Rodón limited the Red Sox damage, but only managed to go 4 ²/₃ innings in a dismal 6-0 loss Saturday in The Bronx. That was problematic, considering Game 2 starter Max Fried was expected to have a limited pitch count in his first start coming off the injured list with a bone bruise in his left elbow. 

Because of that, the Yankees opted against using any of their high-leverage relievers, and Ryan Yarbrough was tattooed for four ninth-inning runs as the Red Sox put the game away late. 

“Could’ve been in earlier counts, been in the strike zone a lot more. First-pitch strikes could’ve been better, a bit more efficient, gone deeper,” Rodón said. “We have two games, and you want to keep the work on the bullpen light in the first one. I fell behind a little bit too much and wasted pitches. I could’ve been better with that.” 

The most frustrating part came in the fifth. With a runner on second and two outs, Nick Sogard reached on an infield hit. Ahead 1-2 on ninth-place hitter Eli White, Rodón couldn’t put away the light-hitting outfielder. He missed his spot with a slider by a large margin, and it went off catcher Ali Sánchez’s glove, enabling Adley Rutschman to score. 

“Better executed pitch, probably different result there,” said Rodón, who allowed three hits, two earned runs and a walk while striking out five. 

Rodón wound up walking White and hitting Jahmai Jones to load the bases and end his day. Yerry De los Santos got out of the jam. 

Rodón put the Yankees in an early hole by allowing a first-inning homer to Wilyer Abreu. The Red Sox outfielder slammed a 2-2 fastball over the wall in right field for his 23rd homer of the season. 

It has been a season of stops and starts for the southpaw. Due to offseason surgery on his throwing elbow, Rodón didn’t make his 2026 debut until May 10. He then missed seven weeks with left elbow inflammation, returning Aug. 18.

In his three starts, he has yet to allow more than two runs, but he hasn’t pitched past the fifth inning, either. 

“Health-wise, I feel pretty good. Velo was pretty decent this afternoon,” Rodón said. “Obviously, I want to be a little more consistent with command and getting ahead.”

You could look at the final tally of 8-3 and feel like the Royals had this in control all along. You’d be so very, very wrong. The inning that we’re going to spend the most time on is the sixth inning, but let’s get there chronologically.

Daniel Lynch IV got the start for the Royals. This is a decision the Royals have made out of desperation, but it has yet to bite them on the butt. Today had all the markings of a game where it would happen. He had a quick first inning despite Isaac Collins misplaying a routine groundout. The Royals stranded Salvador Perez after a leadoff double in the second, and things started to get very, very bad.

Lynch walked Jo Adell to lead off the bottom half of the inning. Jo Adell walks less than 5% of the time. Angel Martinez followed with a home run to left field, and the Royals were down for the first time in this series. But then Lynch walked David Fry, and Bobby Witt Jr. got a throwing error on a potential double-play ball that probably still should have been caught by Isaac Collins at second. Fortunately, the Royals got the double play right on the next play, and the damage was limited. But would they score any runs? And would Lynch prevent any more scoring?

Lynch worked around a leadoff bunt single in the third but gave up a one-out double in the fourth, and that was it for him. That left his line at 3.1 innings with 3 hits, 2 walks, and 3 strikeouts. That simply isn’t good enough. It’s remarkable he didn’t give up even more runs. That’s thanks to the Royals’ beleaguered bullpen that simply didn’t allow another baserunner until the ninth. But that wouldn’t have mattered if the offense hadn’t figured some things out.

First, they finally got to Foster Griffin in the fifth. Nick Loftin doubled off the top of the wall in left, Tyler Tolbert got an infield single, and Isaac Collins ripped a double down the third base line to tie the game. The Royals stranded him there, though. And we didn’t yet know how good the bullpen was going to be. So it was easy to expect the Royals to eventually blow it.

Then the top of the sixth happened. And everything changed.

Colin Holderman came on in relief. Holderman came into the game with a 2.25 ERA and 20 shutdowns to only 5 meltdowns in 52 relief appearances this season. Bobby Witt Jr. didn’t care. He smoked a single back up the middle at 110.3 MPH. Jac Caglianone celebrated the removal of Griffin by ripping a single to right at 111.8 MPH. Adell had the ball in his glove before Bobby touched second, but he was going to third or dying trying. Were it anyone else on the team, it would have been an incredibly stupid choice. But it’s Bobby, so he was in there, and it wasn’t even close.

Salvador Perez came to the plate, and I had just enough time to post on social media that I would pinch-hit Vinnie Pasquantino for him before he smashed a ball into the left-center gap at 107.6 MPH. Had he hit it much softer, it would have only been a sacrifice fly; instead, it was an RBI double, and the Royals had the lead with runners at second and third with no one out. Nick Loftin – what else? – hammered a grounder up the middle at 103.8 MPH. This time, Brayan Rocchio was in front of it. But Loftin had hit it so hard that when it took a little funny bounce, it popped up off the ground straight into the air, and Loftin beat it out for an infield single, loading the bases.

John Rave was tasked with pinch-hitting for Tyler Tolbert with a righty on the mound. The Guardians chose to stick with Holderman. Holderman pitched away, away, away until finally John Rave found himself looking out there too hard and chased a sinker off the edge to hit a routine grounder to José Ramírez. Who promptly let it go between his legs in his hurry to try and turn a double play. The Royals now had a two-run lead, but the bases were still loaded, and there was still no one out. Isaac Collins avoided a double play on a routine ground out, but that’s the best we could say. So Josh Rojas pinch-hit for Matthew Lugo (who honestly looked terrible at the plate in both of his at-bats, ending in strikeouts). The Guardians countered by summoning left-hander Erik Sabrowski from the bullpen.

Sure, a two-run lead was nice, but you always want more when you’ve got the bases loaded and nobody out. The Royals needed Rojas to come through, and the final swing of this highlight reel was the moment it finally felt like the Royals were really going to win this one:

He didn’t even mean to swing at it! It’s ridiculous that he made contact with it. But not only that, it dropped where he could hardly have thrown it better to drive in a pair more.

Rojas wasn’t done, though. In the eighth inning, John Rave singled in his second at-bat of the day, and Rojas decided to try a full swing and see what that felt like.

Just a silly, silly win. One of those wins that you always seem to get when you’re doing well and you lose when you’re doing poorly.

Let’s go ahead and shout out the relievers for their terrific work tonight

• Anthony Gose pitched 1.2 perfect innings, earning the win. It was his first win since 2022.
• Craig Kimbrel had a perfect sixth after the Royals took the lead.
• John Schreiber had a perfect seventh.
• Nate Pearson pitched a perfect eighth with a strikeout. That made 14 outs in a row for the bullpen
• With a 6-run lead, Alex Lange allowed a run on two hits and a strikeout.

As Josh Rojas said in the post-game interview, “This is baseball!” This is a lot more fun than the baseball we’ve watched for most of the season. The Royals have guaranteed a winning road trip now. If they hadn’t completely sunk themselves earlier this season, that would be more than enough. That said, if they can somehow pull off the sweep tomorrow, they’d find themselves 5.5 games back of a playoff spot with 24 left to play. Still really long odds, but a far cry from the 10 games back they were at the start of the month. To say nothing of the 10.5 games back they were before they started this 13-2 stretch in Anaheim of Los Angeles two weeks ago.

Winning tomorrow is going to be very difficult. I know I said last night that Seth Lugo (4.61 ERA, 4.51 SIERA) was pitching today, but I was a game early on that. He’ll pitch tomorrow afternoon. Unfortunately, even tougher than Foster Griffin will be tomorrow’s opponent, All-Star lefty Parker Messick (2.50 ERA, 3.52 SIERA). If they can win tomorrow, they get that much closer to what could be a really fun final weekend of baseball where the Royals might be battling for that final playoff spot with these division rivals at home. Wouldn’t that be something?

Robert Stock knows his reality. The journeyman right-hander — 36 years old and getting his first consistent look at starting games at the MLB level — knows that each outing doubles as an audition. 

The Mets have other options — including Jonah Tong — in the minors who could push for starts across the final month of the season. They have 26 games left after Saturday’s contest against the Astros to figure out potential roles for 2027, when they expect to compete again.

And Stock, who has flashed some good and some ugly, is scheduled to start Monday against the Rays coming off his worst outing of the year, when he allowed seven runs on 10 hits across four innings against the Brewers on Wednesday. 

With more clunkers like that one, his feel-good story from the last month — and his spot in the rotation — could be in jeopardy. 

“Luckily, they’re still giving me the ball,” Stock told The Post when asked about what the last month has meant and what the final month could mean, “so I’m gonna keep on making improvements and try and prove that it’s something that I can do — regardless of what my role is next year or even for the rest of the year. It’s just, I want to be pitching in the major leagues and so I’m gonna continue to improve.” 

At his best, Stock allowed one run across five innings against the Marlins on Aug. 2. He strung together 8 ²/₃ innings across two starts where he allowed just two runs — with only one of those earned.

But in between those promising glimpses were two brutal outings, where Stock surrendered 15 combined runs and 19 combined hits. 

He received a semi-endorsement for, at the very least, one more start from interim manager Andy Green earlier this week — that “without being fully committed,” Green anticipated handing the ball to Stock the next turn through the rotation. Tong, who struggled for most of the season, pitched 5 ²/₃ shutout innings in his last start Aug. 22 and made another start Saturday for Syracuse. 

Stock’s winding career has included stops in Korea and Mexico, as well as a stint with the Long Island Ducks. He also underwent thoracic outlet syndrome surgery earlier this year before returning and clawing his way to the majors.

Recently, he has tried to recover some of his velocity that he said he lost by being so focused on trying to throw strikes.

During his Aug. 8 start against the Pirates, his four-seam fastball averaged 96.8 mph, and that has dipped to 95.5 and 95.4 in his two most recent starts on Wednesday and Aug. 19, respectively, according to Baseball Savant. 

And Stock knows that each start now carries ramifications that could impact his immediate Mets future. 

“I have to prove that I can get guys out every fifth day, and especially through the third time through the order — I’ve had tremendous troubles doing that so far,” Stock said. 

Mark Vientos (right hand fracture) continued his rehab assignment with Triple-A Syracuse on Saturday, hitting second and serving as the designated hitter. He entered just 2-for-14 through his first five games with Double-A Binghamton and then with Triple-A. 

Carson Benge, who drove in the lone Mets run in the series opener against the Astros, entered play Saturday with a .352 average and a .955 OPS across his last 27 games — collecting the third-most hits in the majors (37) and the best average in the National League across that stretch.