Category: Baseball

In the first of 13 meetings between the Brewers and Cubs this season, the Brewers set the tone for these matchups. Though the Cubs were riding a 15-game home winning streak and had their ace on the mound, it didn’t faze the Brewers at all. They scored eight runs off of Shota Imanaga as they rolled to a 9-3 victory in the season opener.

Early on, Imanaga looked strong for the Cubs. He got through the first with just eight pitches. Jackson Chourio flew out on the first pitch of the game, Brice Turang struck out on four pitches, and William Contreras grounded out. Meanwhile, Brandon Sproat had an opposite start. Eight of his first 11 pitches were balls as he walked the first two batters. He recovered, but not without a little tension. Two fly balls were deep on a windy day but remained in the ballpark and were easy fly outs. They were sandwiched with a strikeout of Alex Bregman, and the game remained scoreless.

Christian Yelich put the Brewers ahead with the first pitch of the second inning. With the wind blowing out, Yelich hit a no-doubt home run. It had an exit velocity of 109.3 mph and hit off the right field scoreboard. The Brewers took the early 1-0 lead.

The bottom of the second inning began with an odd sequence. On the first pitch of the at-bat to Michael Conforto, Contreras challenged the ball call. The ABS replay on the TV broadcast showed that it was barely a strike —it just clipped the tip of the corner of the strike zone — but it was never shown in the ballpark. The umpire said that the call was upheld, but the Brewers retained their challenge. This led to some confusion on if the Brewers had 1 or 2 ABS challenges. Sproat finished the at-bat by striking out Conforto, and it was confirmed later by MLB that the Brewers retained both challenges. It was a nice recovery for Sproat, who retired the side in order in the second, and struck out two.

After both starters traded mostly clean third innings, the Brewers unleashed their offense in the fourth. Contreras led off the inning with a single, then advanced to second on a Yelich ground ball that Nico Hoerner made a great play on. That didn’t deter the offense as Andrew Vaughn hit an infield single to put runners at the corners. Bauers cashed in the first run of the inning with a single up the inning, increasing the lead to 2-0.

Imanaga still had a chance to limit the damage after striking out Luis Rengifo. Sal Frelick didn’t let that happen, hitting a double into the left field corner to score both Vaughn and Bauers, increasing the lead to 4-0.

Joey Ortiz kept the inning going by drawing a walk, and Jackson Chourio brought in another run with another single up the middle, and the lead was up to 5-0.

Imanaga remained in the game to start the fifth inning, but the Brewers kept piling on. Yelich drew a one-out walk, and Vaughn hit a double into the left-field corner that put runners at second and third. Bauers then ended Imanaga’s day with another no-doubt home run off the right-field scoreboard, and the rout was on at 8-0. It had a slightly slower exit velocity of 106.2 mph, but a longer distance at 419 feet. Imanaga finished the day at 4 1/3 innings pitched with eight runs, nine hits, and three walks allowed. He only struck out two in the game.

Meanwhile, Sproat had recovered from a long first inning with three quicker innings, and had not allowed a hit going into the fifth inning. He also had a healthy 55-pitch count. He couldn’t keep the Cubs down, though. After Carson Kelly singled to lead off the inning, Dansby Swanson hit one out to left field and the Cubs were on the board, 8-2. Hoerner followed that with a walk, and Busch hit a double to deep center to score him. Sproat recovered by getting Bregman to ground out, but that was the end of his day. Unfortunately, the fifth destroyed his final line for the day. He allowed three runs in 4 2/3 innings, with three hits and three walks while striking out five. Shane Drohan finished the fifth with a strikeout of Happ.

The Brewers got one back in the next inning. After Turang drew a walk and Contreras singled (both with two outs), Yelich hit a fly ball down the left field line that fell just fair in front of Happ. The bounce let Yelich reach second, pushing the lead back to 9-3.

From there, the Brewers brought in Blake Perkins to tighten up the defense — with Chourio moving to left and Bauers moving to first base. The bullpens took over, and while they did bend, they did not break. Drohan pitched the remaining 4 1/3 innings of the game, allowing four hits but no runs while striking out five. He earned the win instead of a save since he finished the fifth for Sproat. For the Cubs, Ethan Roberts allowed the run and three hits in the sixth inning, but that was all in 1 2/3 innings of work. Ty Blach limited the Brewers’ offense to one hit in the final three innings of the game, striking out two.

Overall, it was a balanced day for the Brewers’ offense. Eight of the nine starters recorded a hit, with only Turang going hitless — though he did draw a walk and score a run. Chourio, Contreras, Yelich, Vaughn, and Bauers all had two-hit days, and Yelich and Vaughn also drew walks to reach base three times. Bauers drove in four of the nine runs as he extended his on-base streak to 19 games. The Brewers went 6-for-9 with runners in scoring position, compared to an 0-for-9 day for the Cubs.

With the win, the Brewers move within a half-game of the Cubs for first place in the division, and hold a one-game lead in the loss column. They also head into tomorrow’s game with Jacob Misiorowski on the mound, who will face Ben Brown of the Cubs. First pitch is at 6:40 p.m.

Jays 6 Yankees 7

The Jays turned in one inning. Going into the seventh, the Jays were up 5-3. Adam Macko is in and gets the first two outs of the inning, but, with Aaron Judge coming up, John Schneider goes with a right-hander, Yariel Rodriguez. Understandable, Judge is much better vs lefties. And I like getting Macko out while he can feel really good about himself. Faced three batters, got three outs. A great start to a career. Rodriguez had faced eight batters and allowed one hit since coming up.

But he had nothing tonight:

• Judge single.
• Bellinger home run. Tie game.
• Trent Grisham walks and steals. Now would have been a good moment to pull Yariel.
• Jazz Chisholm homers and we are down by two,
• Then he got the last out. Some about horse and barn doors.

I am understanding that we have a bullpen day tomorrow. Hopefully with Spencer Miles doing 3-4 innings, but still we are going to use 5 or more pitchers tomorrow. But, Yariel didn’t have it and, well, tomorrow is tomorrow’s problem.

We had a shot in the ninth. David Bednar in for the Yankees and he does the near impossible, he walks Ernie Clement. Jesús Sánchez, pinch-hitting for Myles Straw, doubles on the sixth pitch of the at bat, to score Clement and become the tying run at second.

Brandon Valenzuela struck out on four pitches.

Yohendrick Piñango walks on six pitches.

George Springer takes three straight balls and swings at a pitch low and inside. 3-0 count, he should have been taking. Next pitch, very low, swings. Next pitch, even lower, swings. George’s job is to be the calm veteran. It was just an awful at bat,

Vladimir Guerrero up. Takes two balls. Swings at a pitch on the outside edge. Gameday has it as a strike, but he should be waiting for a middle middle strike. Pitch five was well outside, he swung. I mean, it was likely smart to be looking for something off the plate, the way Bednar is throwing, but no need to chase that far out. Pitch six was at the top of the zone, a strike, Vlad grounds it to second.

Beyond that, Patrick Corbin wasn’t sharp, 4 innings, 6 hits, 3 earned, three walks, 3 strikeouts. We were pretty lucky that he only gave up the 3 runs.

Braydon Fisher got five outs, giving up one it. Macko three straight outs. Hoffman finished the game, giving up just a hit in the inning.

We did score some:

• Three in the fourth: Vlad and Kazuma Okamoto singled. Two outs later, Clement homered. He had a day.
• One in the fifth: Springer homered.
• One in the sixth: One out singles from Lenyn Sosa and Daulton Varsho puts runners on the corners (Sosa just beat out Judge’s throw). Clement ground out 6-4, to pick up his fourth RBI of the day,

And, of course, the one in the ninth.

We had nine his and three walks. Springer had two (but two and a walk would have been better). Straw and Schneider had 0 fors (of the starters).

Jays of the Day: Clement (0.42 WPA), Sanchez (0.21), Fisher (0.11), and Macko (0.10, getting a JoD in his first game).

Other Award: Rodriguez (-0.72), Corbin (-0.17), and Valenzuela (-0.17). Springer, despite the homer, and Vlad get honorary ‘Other Awards’ for those terrible ninth inning at bats.

WASHINGTON — The opponents on this road trip aren’t particularly daunting, giving the Mets a wide opening to continue their recent surge.

Monday night they avoided a letdown following the euphoria of winning the Subway Series, attacking throughout against the Nationals.

‘The Mets won 16-7 in 12 innings for a sixth victory in seven games.

The Mets scored 10 runs in the final inning, piling on against Jorbit Vivas, a position player, after they had built a comfortable cushion.

“When you win games, you start to kind of feel what it feels like, and you just try to keep that going,” Bo Bichette said. “It’s fun to win. It’s fun to come to the park right now.”

Carson Benge’s RBI single in the 12th inning brought in the go-ahead run after Hayden Senger’s sacrifice bunt had advanced the automatic runner.

Vidal Bruján’s suicide squeeze brought in Benge for an insurance run.

Brett Baty delivered the dagger with a two-run single.

But the Mets kept going. Marcus Semien, A.J. Ewing, Benge and Bichette all had hits that brought in runs to complete the onslaught in the inning.

“It was back and forth, and we never got down,” manager Carlos Mendoza said. “We kept punching, and even when we didn’t score in a couple of extra innings there, the pitching staff gave us a chance and the guys came through.”

Huascar Brazobán survived the 10th and 11th innings.

After Joey Wiemer’s infield hit in the 11th brought in a run to tie it 6-6, Baty at first base executed a tight throw on a grounder to nail the lead runner Wiemer at second.

The ensuing batter, Vivas, doubled, but the Nationals never scored the winning run.

“I was just trying to turn a double play there and [the throw] snuck by Wiemer,” Baty said. “I was just trying to get two outs there.”

Home runs by Baty and Bichette were the hits that resonated the loudest, but Tyrone Taylor, Juan Soto, Benge and Luis Torrens all were instrumental offensively on a night the Mets rallied from a 3-2 deficit in the middle innings.

The Mets carried a 5-3 lead into the seventh, but couldn’t hold it.

After Brooks Raley surrendered a run in the seventh, Tobias Myers allowed an RBI double to Curtis Mead in the eighth that tied it.

Myers had recorded a big out an inning earlier, entering with the bases loaded to strike out José Tena.

The Mets (21-26) play another three games against the Nats before heading to Miami for three this weekend.

Christian Scott had a third straight start in which he failed to pitch at least five innings.

The right-hander was removed after allowing three earned runs on four hits and three walks with five strikeouts over four innings.

He threw 81 pitches.

“In order to get deeper in games, I have to get ahead and stay ahead,” Scott said.

Torrens’ RBI double in the second gave the Mets a 1-0 lead.

The run was unearned after Taylor singled and advanced two bases on James Wood’s double error.

Wood misplayed the ball and then overthrew second attempting to nail Taylor.

Scott got two fast outs in the bottom of the frame before drilling Jacob Young in the ribs (Young departed the game).

Tena’s RBI double tied it, and Drew Millas’ single — following a walk to Vivas — put the Nats ahead 2-1.

Scott encountered additional heavy traffic in the third and allowed another run on Wiemer’s RBI double.

Brady House singled to begin the rally and Daylen Lile walked with two outs.

Lile stumbled rounding third base on Wiemer’s double and had to retreat, potentially costing the Nats a run as Scott retired the ensuing batter, Tena, for the third out.

Baty’s homer leading off the fourth pulled the Mets to within 3-2.

It was the third homer this season for Baty, who crushed Jake Irvin’s first-pitch sinker 451 feet to center field.

The Mets rallied in the fifth to take a 4-3 lead.

Torrens reached on an error by first baseman Luis García Jr. and Benge walked — both runners advanced on Bichette’s flyout — before Soto stroked a two-run single.

Bichette’s homer in the seventh widened the Mets lead to 5-3.

It was a needed contribution for Bichette, who began the day with a paltry .531 OPS.

“I’m pretty sure he’s going to get going here,” Mendoza said. “And he’s going to carry us for quite a bit.”

The Guardians dominated the Tigers tonight, winning 8-2.

The game began inauspiciously with a Riley Greene double giving Detroit an early 1-0 lead. But, Cleveland went to work on Tigers’ starter Framber Valdez in the 3rd. Brayan Rocchio tripled

Angel Martinez grounded out, then Jose walked… the Chase DeLauter grounded out just softly enough to score Angel and force Jose out at second. Then Rhys Hoskins stepped in to deliver the go-ahead double:

Of course, when playing Framber Valdez, you have to be careful not to hurt his fragile ego by scoring too many runs.

Slade Cecconi continued to get Tigers out quickly, while the Guardians played with fire and scored another couple runs off Valdez in the fifth on a Rocchio walk, an Angel Martinez single, and a Jose single… followed by a DeLauter grounder and a Hoskins sacrifice fly. Goodbye, Framber. See ya later.

Speaking of Angel, no one told the Tigers not to throw him pitches a foot outside the zone:

Leading up to this pitch, Bazzana bunt singled:

Steven Kwan drew one of his three walks on the night, and Hedges sacrificed them over. Martinez’s single followed his AL player of the week award today:

Then, José doubled and followed his double with a homer in the 8th inning:

Slade ended up going 7 and 1/3rd, giving up two runs. It made him very happy:

Matt Festa closed the 8th out and then Peyton Pallette limped his way through the 9th, walking a batter and hitting another, forcing Stephen Vogt to warm up Cade Smith. I just don’t know how long they will continue to carry Pallette. He is very similar to what 2021 Trevor Stephan was. The problem is that this is not the 2021 Guardians. This group is a clear playoff contender. But, that’s a concern for another day. A big win and no inner circle of trust relievers used!

The Guardians are now five games over .500 and Travis Bazzana looks so real, folks. Let’s sleep well tonight

The Yankees desperately needed something positive Monday night and, the offense delivered. After a brutal 2-7 road trip that ended with another frustrating series loss in Queens, the Yankees returned to the Bronx looking for any sign of life.

Behind a huge night from Paul Goldschmidt, timely power from Cody Bellinger and Jazz Chisholm Jr., and a stressful but successful finish from David Bednar, the Yankees managed to hold off Toronto 7-6 to open an important four-game series against the Blue Jays.

Paul Goldschmidt wasted no time giving the Yankees life Monday night, launching a leadoff home run into right-center field to open the game. Goldschmidt’s fifth homer of the season immediately gave the Yankees a 1-0 lead and some early juice.

Ryan Weathers cruised through the early innings before the game suddenly flipped in the fourth. After Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Kazuma Okamoto reached on singles, Ernie Clement got just enough of a two-out, three-run homer into left-center field that gave Toronto a 3-1 lead.

The Yankees answered immediately in the bottom half of the inning, showing some fight. Anthony Volpe reached on a double after an out call was overturned and later scored using a nifty slide on a sacrifice fly from J.C. Escarra. That trimmed the deficit to one before Goldschmidt delivered again with two outs. The veteran first baseman lined a game-tying double into center field that scored Max Schuemann and tied the game at 3-3.

Unfortunately for the Yankees, the tie did not survive long. George Springer jumped on a Weathers offering in the fifth inning and launched a solo homer into left-center field to put Toronto back ahead 4-3.

Toronto added another run in the sixth inning after Lenyn Sosa and Daulton Varsho singled to chase Weathers from the game. Paul Blackburn relieved the left-hander and allowed Sosa to score on a Clement fielder’s choice.

Weathers’ final line was 5.1 innings of 5-run ball with 7 strikeouts and no walks. Outside of the two big mistakes, Weathers’ stuff otherwise looked impressive throughout the night.

The score held at 5-3 until the seventh inning. In the bottom of the frame, the Yankees offense decided it was not going quietly into the night. Yariel Rodríguez replaced Adam Macko, who looked sharp in his Major League debut.

The Yankees quickly lit Rodríguez up like a Coney Island booth. Aaron Judge singled before Cody Bellinger launched a ball 402 feet into the Yankees bullpen, tying the game at 5-5. However, the Yankees were not done there.

Trent Grisham worked a walk while pinch hitting for Amed Rosario before Jazz Chisholm Jr. lofted a ball down the left field line that provided a little music off the foul pole. Chisholm’s fifth home run of the season gave the Yankees a 7-5 lead and had the dugout, crowd, and several living rooms around the country rocking.

The bullpen must prefer the water in the Bronx. In relief of Weathers, Paul Blackburn worked 1.2 scoreless innings before Fernando Cruz struck out the side in the eighth inning. Aaron Boone then handed the ball to closer David Bednar for a chance at redemption, hoping the veteran right-hander would have a short memory.

Bednar walked the leadoff hitter and a collective tightening could immediately be felt throughout Yankee Stadium. Pinch hitter Jesús Sánchez then doubled into right field, scoring Ernie Clement all the way from first base and trimming the lead to 7-6. Groans could be heard, but overall the boos held.

With no outs, the Blue Jays attempted to advance the runner, but after a few failed tries Bednar finally got Brandon Valenzuela swinging on a nasty splitter. A long battle with Yohendrick Piñango then resulted in a walk and a mound visit from pitching coach Matt Blake before George Springer stepped to the plate.

Needing a strikeout or ground ball, Bednar quickly found himself in a 3-0 count with his pitch count already climbing. After getting Springer to swing through two splitters, Bednar went back to the pitch one more time and got the veteran outfielder swinging again for a massive second out.

With two outs, Vladimir Guerrero Jr. stepped to the plate representing the tying run. Bednar again fell behind 2-0 before battling back to even the count at 2-2. After the at-bat eventually ran full, Guerrero rolled a ground ball to Jazz Chisholm Jr. that resulted in a routine 4-3 putout and finally slammed the door shut.

It was a gutsy and badly needed win for the Yankees and, for one night at least, all was right in Yankee land. Blackburn picked up the win and Bednar gets his 11^th save as the Yankees improved to 1-0 against Toronto in the series.

The Yankees will send Will Warren to the mound tomorrow night as he faces Blue Jays ace Dylan Cease. First pitch is once again scheduled for 7:05 p.m. Eastern in the Bronx.

Box Score

The Mets and Nationals played an absolute slog of a game that lasted a little over four hours, but the Mets won 16-7 in the end. And hey, that beats the alternative.

The Mets got on the board first when Luis Torrens doubled on a ball that just passed over third base as it made its way down the left field line, driving in Tyrone Taylor in the process. But the Nationals answered with a pair of runs off Mets starter Christian Scott in the bottom of the inning. Jose Tena drove in a run with a double to tie the game, and later in the inning, he scored on a Drew Millas single to give the Nationals a 2-1 lead.

Washington added a run in the bottom of the third and really should’ve scored another. Joey Wiemer, who entered the game in place of Jacob Young after the latter took a fastball from Scott to the ribs, doubled in a run to extend the lead. Daylen Lile looked like he would’ve scored a fourth run for the Nationals, but he stumbled as he rounded third base and had to retreat. Scott escaped the inning without further damage.

Brett Baty hit an absolute shot of a solo home run in the top of the fourth to cut the Nationals’ lead in half, and a two-run single from Juan Soto put the Mets back in front in the top of the fifth.

While Scott only went four innings, Austin Warren threw a pair of scoreless innings, and Bo Bichette finally notched his first extra-base hit in forever with a solo home run to left-center in the top of the seventh. The Mets had a 5-3 lead.

Unfortunately, that wasn’t enough. Brooks Raley had his worst appearance of the season—and one of his worst as a Met—in the bottom of the inning. He served up a leadoff double to James Wood, issued back-to-back walks to load the bases, and gave up a sacrifice fly that got the Nationals within one.

Tobias Myers took over for Raley and go out of the inning with the lead intact, but Myers gave up a run of his own in the bottom of the eighth when Curtis Mead doubled to tie the game.

Luke Weaver got into trouble in the bottom of the ninth, too, but he managed to get through the inning and send the game to extra innings. And after the Mets failed to score with the free runner in the top of the tenth, thanks largely to Mark Vientos grounding into an inning-ending double play, Huascar Brazobán kept with the late-inning bullpen theme. He loaded the bases with one out, but he induced a weak ground ball for a force out at home plate for the second out before getting a strikeout to end the inning and send the game to the eleventh.

Marcus Semien gave the Mets the lead with a one-out sacrifice fly just a few feet shy of the left field fence in fair territory, as pinch runner Vidal Bruján, who entered the game as the free runner for a massive baserunning upgrade from Vientos, had advanced to third when Brett Baty lined out to center to begin the inning.

Once again, that was unfortunately not enough. Brazobán came back out for the bottom of the eleventh, and the cheapness of the Manfred runner was really apparent. The Nationals’ free runner advanced to third base on a soft tapper, and another weak ground ball allowed him to score the tying run.

Brazobán got the second out of the inning on a fielder’s choice grounder to first that Baty, who moved over to first after Vientos was lifted in the top of the inning, turned into an out at second base. Jorbit Vivas doubled, though, to put runners on second and third with two outs. Brazobán managed to keep the game alive again, though, when he induced a 6-3 ground ball to get the game to the twelfth.

And then the Mets scored ten runs in the top of the twelfth, as they scored five against Nationals reliever Paxton Schultz before Washington decided to give up on the game and put a position player on the mound. There was confusion among the umpires about whether or not that was allowed, which delayed the inning for a few minutes. But the Mets scored five more as they teed up on position player-turned pitcher Vivas.

That was—thank goodness—finally enough. Craig Kimbrel pitched the bottom of the twelfth and gave up a run, but he managed to finish the game without allowing more.

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Win Probability Added

Big Mets winner: Bo Bichette, +29% WPA
Big Mets loser: Mark Vientos, -42% WPA
Mets pitchers: -24% WPA
Mets hitters: +74% WPA
Teh aw3s0mest play: Nasim Nuñez grounds into a force out in the tenth, +18% WPA
Teh sux0rest play: Curtis Mead doubles in a run in the eighth, -35% WPA
What’s WPA?

The Mets couldn't hold a late two-run lead, but timely pitching in extra innings kept them alive before scoring 10 runs in the top half of the 12th for a 16-7 win over the Nationals in Washington on Monday.

The top of the 12th was the highest-scoring single inning of extra-inning baseball for a National League team in 107 years. For the Mets, it meant a sixth win in seven games and a third straight to see them improve to 21-26 on the season. Washington fell to 23-25.

Here are the takeaways...

- The Mets entered the game with the 11th-worst average with RISP (.242) and sixth-worst OPS with RISP (.679). They went down swinging in their first two chances in the first inning as Mark Vientos flailed at a 0-2 low-and-away breaking pitch and Brett Baty fanned on a 1-2 fastball above the zone.

Luis Torrens came through pulling a double down the third base line to score Tyrone Taylor from third on a 3-2 sweeper that stayed over the plate.

Bo Bichette got a chance with runners on first and second and nobody down in the fifth against Nats lefty reliever PJ Poulin, but hit a can of corn to right. Torrens and Carson Benge were aggressive to move up to put two in scoring position for Juan Soto, who shot the first pitch through the left side of the infield for a two-RBI single to give the Mets a 4-3 lead.

Bichette got the instant RBI chance to start the 10th and lined one down the line in right that James Wood tracked down in foul ground, advancing the runner to third. After Soto was walked intentionally, Vientos sharply hit into a 4-6-3 inning-ender.

Baty got the chance in the 11th with Vidal Brujan in as a pinch-runner at second, but his sharp liner to center only advanced the runner to third. Marcus Semien, 0-for-4 with two strikeouts to that point, plated the run with a sac fly to the wall in the left field corner to give them a one-run edge.

Hayden Senger, batting for the first time and Taylor on second in the 12th, laid down a perfect sacrifice bunt and Benge bounced an infield hit off pitcher Paxton Schultz's glove (98 mph off the bat) for the go-ahead RBI. After a single and a Soto intentional walk, Brujan got his first at-bat with the bases loaded and dropped down a bunt that just found the grass for an RBI and his first hit as a Met. Baty lined a 3-2 pitch through the right side of the infield to plate two, and with hustle put two in scoring position. Semien added an RBI single to right to make it a five-run inning off Schultz.

Nats manager Blake Butera then tried to bring in a position player to wave the white flag. The umpires at first tried to stop the change, but after checking with the league on the rules, they allowed the change as Jorbit Vivas entered. A.J. Ewing greeted the infielder on the hill with an RBI single to left on the first pitch. Against Vivas: Taylor flied out to the warning track in left, Senger loaded them with a single to right, Benge clobbered a ball to center to plate two more runs, Bichette scored two more with a double, and Soto popped out in foul ground. 

The Mets finished the day 9-for-20 with RISP and eight men left on base. Of course, with four hits in six chances against Vivas, who started the day as Washington's second baseman. 

Meanwhile, the Nats, baseball’s highest-scoring team, who entered batting .243 with RISP, went 4-for-16 in scoring chances with 19 left on base.

- Baty made up for his strikeout in his first at-bat, taking the first pitch of the fourth inning and hitting it a ton: 451 feet to center field (111.2 mph) for a solo home run off Nats' starter Jake Irvin. He finished 2-for-6 with three strikeouts.

- Taylor, Sunday's hero, got the start against a righty and got in scoring position in the second when he dropped a single to right before Wood made a pair of errors on the play, allowing him to reach third with two down in the second. (Wood’s miscue gave the Nats 45 errors on the year, most in baseball.) Taylor dropped in an opposite-field double that just stayed fair with two down in the fifth off lefty Mitchell Parker, but was left stranded. He finished 2-for-6.

- Bichette, who was hitless and got picked off at first after leading off the third with a walk, broke out of his homer slump by clobbering a high, hanging Parker curveball 409 feet into the Mets' bullpen in left. It was his first extra-base hit in 71 at-bats since his last homer 17 games ago against the Nats. He finished 3-for-6 with a walk, adding a 12th-inning single and then later a double.

- Austin Warren was first out of the Mets’ bullpen that was handed a lead and delivered a 1-2-3 fifth and got around a leadoff walk for a clean sixth, lowering his ERA to 0.61 on the year. 

Things didn’t start well for Brooks Raley in the seventh: A sweeper over the plate that Wood went for a double into the right field corner and back-to-back walks put the go-ahead run on first and brought pitching coach Justin Willard to the mound. Raley traded two outs for a run, with CJ Abrams lining a sac fly line to the edge of the track in center and Daylen Lile popping out on the infield. 

Tobias Myers got the call to put out the fire, and after issuing the Mets’ seventh walk of the night to load the bases, he blew a high fastball past Jose Tena to preserve the lead. Myers couldn't hold the lead in the eighth: Wood smoked a two-out single to right and came around to score when Curtis Mead got a fastball in and shot it into the right-center gap for a game-tying double. 

Luke Weaver, looking to extend the game in the ninth, allowed a single through the right side of the infield to Abrams and hit Joey Wiemer to put two on with one out. But a strikeout and a pop-out on the infield sent the game to the 10th.

Huascar Brazobán cleanly fielded the bunt to start the 10th and got the out at first. After walking Wood to put runners on the corners, Carlos Mendoza came out to talk strategy. Brazobán would walk the bases loaded, forcing the infield to come in against the speedy Nasim Nuñez. But the Mets escaped: Vientos fielded a hard-hit grounder to cut down the runner at the plate and Brazobán got Abrams to swing through at a pitch off the outside corner to leave the bases loaded.

It would be Brazobán, who threw just 11 pitches in the eventful previous inning to try and get the win, but he was burned by soft contact as a comebacker advanced the runner and an infield single tied the game. After a fielder's choice on a heads-up play by Baty cut down the runner at second, Vivas ripped a double to put two in scoring position. A bouncer to Brujan at short ended the threat.

Craig Kimbrel had to wait around a while to pitch the bottom of the 12th and allowed an RBI single to Wood and then a two-out double, but got the final out, closing the game in a breezy 4:08 and stranding two more in scoring position for good measure. 

- Christian Scott, who tossed a 13-pitch, 1-2-3, first inning, struck out the first two batters in the second before drilling Jacob Young with a 2-2 93 mph heater in the ribs, forcing Washington’s center fielder and Scott's teammate at Florida out of the game. Scott would for that mistake: He left a 0-2 cutter over the plate to Tena, who grooved it for an RBI double into the left-center gap, walked Vivas, and, after a mound visit, gave up an RBI single to center when Tena. A third strikeout ended the frame with New York down 2-1.

Scott got stung with two down again in the third, after a one-out single and a two-out walk, the starter left a heater up and away to Wiemer, who slammed it for an RBI double to right. Scott would strand two in scoring position (thanks to Lile tumbling around third on the double, preventing him from scoring) to limit the damage.

After throwing 52 pitches to get the last six outs, Scott surrendered a one-out walk but got a scoreless fourth with another strikeout to close his day. His final line 4.0 innings, three runs on four hits and three walks with five strikeouts on 81 pitches (49 strikes). His ERA stands at 4.12 for the year.

- Benge fell behind 0-2 but stuck with it to rip a fastball up in the zone the other way for a single to lead off the game. He smashed a liner his second time up (97.7 mph off the bat), but right at the first baseman to end the second. The rookie finished 3-for-6 with a walk and three runs batted in.

- Soto took what the Nats defense gave him: dropping a bunt down the third base line for a one-out single to put two men on, but was left standing. He finished 2-for-5 with a strikeout and two intentional walks.

- Torrens bounced a ball to first to start the fifth and saw it bounce under Luis Garcia Jr.’s glove for an error, the Nats' 46th of the year and third of the night. He ended up 1-for-3 with an RBI. MJ Melendez pinch-hit for the catcher in the ninth and weakly grounded out to the pitcher.

- Ewing was a tough-luck strikeout victim his first time up when third base umpire Chris Segal called him out on a check swing. He got himself a single the other way with two down in the 11th to finish 2-for-6 with a pair of strikeouts.

- Vientos was hitless in five times up with a strikeout.

Highlights 

Juan Soto drops a bunt single pic.twitter.com/XPlYXFt12G

— SNY (@SNYtv) May 18, 2026

Tyrone Taylor gets to third base on a single after two errors on the same play by James Wood pic.twitter.com/b3nzJCKHLL

— SNY (@SNYtv) May 18, 2026

Luis Torrens keeps it fair as his RBI double gives the Mets a 1-0 lead! pic.twitter.com/AD7X94Pety

— SNY (@SNYtv) May 18, 2026

Brett Baty DESTROYS one to deep center!

451 feet! pic.twitter.com/vyCTId5jCg

— SNY (@SNYtv) May 18, 2026

A 2-run single for Juan Soto and the Mets lead 4-3! pic.twitter.com/rElh46EGli

— SNY (@SNYtv) May 19, 2026

BO BICHETTE!

He blasts a homer to snap his streak of 71 at-bats without an extra-base hit! pic.twitter.com/srWUYtAWrW

— SNY (@SNYtv) May 19, 2026

Another extra-inning infield RBI single for Carson Benge! pic.twitter.com/3yuoaGUNEQ

— SNY (@SNYtv) May 19, 2026

VIDAL BRUJAN!

A bases-loaded bunt single to push the lead to make it 8-6 Mets!

It's his first hit as a Met! pic.twitter.com/1LQY8trbpk

— SNY (@SNYtv) May 19, 2026

Brett Baty drives in 2 more!

The Mets lead 10-6 in the 12th! pic.twitter.com/ZeInLcDqAR

— SNY (@SNYtv) May 19, 2026

Upcoming schedule

The Mets and Nats are back in action again for a 6:45 p.m. first pitch on Tuesday night.

Nolan McLean (2.92 ERA, 0.955 WHIP in 52.1 innings) gets the start for the visitors. Left-hander Foster Griffin (3.53 ERA, 1.137 WHIP in 51.0 innings) starts for Washington

After blowing Sunday’s Subway Series finale against the Mets, David Bednar found himself in another mess Monday in The Bronx against the Blue Jays.

Called upon to protect a two-run lead in the ninth after serving up a game-tying homer to Tyrone Taylor at Citi Field, the slumping Yankee closer nearly suffered another meltdown before he and the Yankees held on in a 7-6 win.

“Find a way to get it done,’’ Bednar said afterward. “You have to learn to get punched in the face and how to respond.”

This one was far from easy.

Ernie Clement led off with a walk against the closer, and Jesús Sánchez, hitting for Myles Straw, chopped a double down the right field line to make it a one-run game before Bednar whiffed Brandon Valenzuela.

Yohendrick Piñango walked before Bednar fell behind George Springer 3-0 — and then threw three consecutive splitters to strike him out.

Asked how many pitchers would do that, Jazz Chisholm Jr. said: “I don’t know many, especially in a situation that could load the bases. That took some guts.”

And Bednar followed it up by getting Vladimir Guerrero Jr. to ground out to end it.

It stopped the Yankees from falling a season-high four games back in the AL East and losing for the eighth time in 10 games.

“After the leadoff walk I said, ‘That’s not gonna happen again,’ ” Bednar said. “I had to dig deep and get gritty. The guys needed me to do my job. It wasn’t pretty.”

But Aaron Boone will take it.

“He didn’t flinch,’’ the manager said. “He kept making pitches [against] two really tough customers. … He showed who he is, his mettle. He doesn’t give in.”

Their offense finally erupted against Toronto’s bullpen, as Cody Bellinger and Chisholm both hit two-run homers in the bottom of the seventh, and the Yankees held on.

It was a good way to start a key homestand against a pair of division rivals, with first-place Tampa Bay following the Blue Jays to the Stadium.

And both homers had some drama.

Bellinger’s hit the top of the wall in right-center and bounced into the Yankee bullpen, while Chisholm stood at the plate and watched as he sent an opposite-field shot down the left line that hit the foul pole for his fifth homer of the season.

The Yankees got off to a fast start when Paul Goldschmidt hit his third leadoff homer of the season in the bottom of the first against lefty Patrick Corbin.

Ben Rice followed with a booming double to left to set the Yankees up for a potential big inning, but Corbin rebounded to retire Aaron Judge, Bellinger and Amed Rosario to get out of it.

The Yankees then had the bases loaded with two outs against Corbin in the second, but Rice grounded out to leave them 0-for-5 with runners in scoring position through two innings.

That failure to capitalize on chances hurt the Yankees in the fourth.

Ryan Weathers, who took a no-hitter into the seventh inning in his previous start, retired nine of the first 10 hitters he faced Monday before Guerrero and Kazuma Okamoto singled to open the fourth.

Weathers got the next two hitters, but Ernie Clement pulled an 0-2 changeup just over the wall in left for a three-run shot that put the Yankees in a 3-1 hole.

The Yankees got a run back in the bottom of the inning, sparked by Anthony Volpe’s second hit of the game. Volpe doubled with one out and stole third before J.C. Escarra hit a fly ball to right.

The shortstop tagged up on the play, and Straw’s throw home was in time, but Volpe made a nifty slide to avoid Brandon Valenzuela’s tag at the plate.

Max Schuemann then drew a walk, stole second and moved to third on Valenzuela’s second error of the night. He scored on a Goldschmidt double to tie the game at 3-3.

Toronto took the lead again on another two-out homer off Weathers, this one a solo shot from Springer in the fifth.

Weathers allowed one more run in the sixth, giving up singles to Lenyn Sosa and Daulton Varsho with one out. Sosa scored on a force-out off Paul Blackburn, who replaced Weathers.

SAN DIEGO –– The Padres, it has felt in recent years, always just seem to be there.

Lurking in the standings. Looming the playoffs. Lingering on the heels of a Dodgers dynasty that –– in at least some subtle ways –– has been aided by their rival’s ever-present push.

There is no mistaking the success of the two Southern California franchises, of course.

And there has certainly been no love lost in what has become baseball’s most heated rivalry of late.

But having the Padres as a foil, as an annoying antithesis and competitive intradivision counterpart, has nonetheless been a good thing for the Dodgers during their historic ascent over the last half-decade.

“When you have a team like that … trying to take us down, it’s not pressure, because we’re not gonna feel pressure just because of that, but we do have to feel like we gotta keep our foot on the gas pedal,” veteran infielder Miguel Rojas said. “It’s definitely a good thing that we have a team in the same division, that is not letting us get our guard down.”

Early on this season, that familiar dynamic is playing out again.

Ahead of their first meeting of the year at Petco Park on Monday night, the Padres trailed the Dodgers by just a half-game in the National League West.

Granted, no one is paying much attention to the standings at this point. And before this week’s series opener, the Dodgers downplayed the significance of what remains little more than a mid-May divisional matchup.

“It’s always an eventful series coming down here and playing these guys,” manager Dave Roberts said. “But I certainly wouldn’t consider it a measuring stick.”

Then again, it’s impossible to ignore what is shaping up to be another intriguing NL West battle between the teams.

“I think we would expect a good race throughout the season,” Roberts said.

As has been the case so often in recent years, the Padres are right there once again.

“I think that we bring out the best in them, and they bring out the best in us,” he noted on the eve of this week’s series. “So I think it’s good for us. I think it’s good for baseball. I think it’s good for Southern California.”

Prior to this decade, the Dodgers and Padres rarely occupied the same plane.

In their first 51 years together in the NL West, there were only two seasons (1996 and 2006) in which they finished as the top two teams in the division.

Since 2020, however, that has been the case five times, including each of the past three campaigns. And in October, they have collided in three memorable NL Division Series meetings.

Chief among them was the Padres’ 2022 NLDS upset, which served as a look-in-the-mirror moment for a Dodgers squad that felt it failed to match the Padres’ intensity in that stunning four-game elimination.

Then came the Dodgers’ come-from-behind triumph over San Diego in the 2024 NLDS, an emotional launching point in the team’s path to back-to-back World Series titles.

“Coming back against San Diego in that series –– it was only five games, but it felt like a 162-game season,” Kiké Hernández said during last year’s playoff run, pointing to that as the moment the Dodgers (who were once defined by their October failures) learned how to better navigate postseason baseball. “You get this feeling of like, ‘Nothing can go wrong. We’re not losing’ … That’s sort of similar to the mentality we have as a group.”

There was no postseason rematch last fall, when the Padres were knocked out in the wild-card round while the Dodgers once again returned to the mountaintop.

But in the regular season, the Padres came as close as ever to unseating the Dodgers atop the division, holding first place as late as Aug. 23 as the Dodgers toiled through a second-half slump.

That’s the kind of thing, Rojas said, that has quietly benefited the Dodgers during the rise of their dynasty.

“What the last three years have taught me is, you gotta feel that sensation that you play with in the playoffs, within the (regular) season at some point,” he explained. “And (games against) the Padres are the same way. We go to the Padres, and we feel like, ‘OK, we need to win this series.’ Those are the kinds of things that prepare you for what is coming next.”

Hostilities between the sides have only added fuel to such fire.

From Manny Machado throwing a ball in Roberts’ direction during the 2024 NLDS. To a flurry of hit batsmen during a series at Dodger Stadium last June that led to a benches-clearing melee at which Roberts and then-Padres manager Mike Schildt were in the center. To even a string of back-and-forth jabs players from both teams have lobbed at each other through the media; so much so, one Dodgers player on Monday declined answering a question about the Padres, quipping they didn’t want to get themselves in trouble.

“This series,” Roberts said, “gets emotional, gets heightened.”

For the Dodgers, that has been a good thing in recent years, giving the team labeled as baseball’s biggest villain an antagonist of their own with whom they can sharpen iron.

“It’s just another three games in the regular season. You have to see it that way, so you don’t overreact,” Rojas said. “But it’s definitely a different series, for sure.”

SAN DIEGO –– Another day, another round of discouraging pitching injury news for the Dodgers.

This time, manager Dave Roberts said Monday that both Tyler Glasnow and Brusdar Graterol had “flare-ups” in their backs recently.

For Glasnow, it likely means he will miss at least several more weeks. For Graterol, the prognosis might be much more grim.

Glasnow is almost two weeks removed from a back spasm episode that landed him on the injured list, and was initially expected to incur only a minimum 15-day absence.

Instead, Roberts said Glasnow’s back flared up on him again recently. General manager Brandon Gomes added that he is “gonna take a few days off from throwing, completely kind of reset and re-evaluate.”

Gomes noted that the team still has “no concern long-term” with Glasnow’s recovery, and framed his situation as simply being “a little slower on the front end than we expected.”

Still, with Glasnow set to remain out for the foreseeable future, the Dodgers are planning to insert newly-acquired veteran left-hander Eric Lauer into their rotation at some point next week; ensuring they will maintain a six-man group to balance workloads for the rest of their starters.

“Part of the thinking is to not create this domino effect of chasing our tails,” Gomes said. “(We’re) trying to maintain a similar schedule as we’ve had, and when we can get guys extra days’ rest, do it.”

The news on Graterol was significantly more worrying, following his move to the 60-day IL on Sunday.

After missing all of last year recovering from shoulder surgery, then starting this year on the injured list after struggling to regain his typical velocity during spring training, Graterol was pulled off his minor-league rehab assignment this week with what could be a serious lower back injury.

While the team is still consulting with doctors to determine Graterol’s next steps, Gomes acknowledged that surgery could be on the table for the hard-throwing reliever. 

“He’s worked really hard,” Gomes said, “so we’re trying to exhaust all options.”

The Dodgers had previously been hopeful of getting Graterol back somewhat soon, especially amid all the other injuries currently impacting their bullpen (from Edwin Díaz to Brock Stewart to Jack Dreyer and Ben Casparius, who was also transferred to the 60-day injured list Monday).

Instead, they have been forced to continue cycling fresh arms through their relief corps. 

The latest reinforcement: Five-year veteran Jonathan Hernández, who signed on Monday and added to the active roster a day after being released from a minor-league contract with the Philadelphia Phillies.

“Never,” Gomes quipped when asked if he was surprised by the team’s latest wave of pitching injuries. “We’ve dealt with this in the past. It’s the reason why you try to go in with as much depth as you can, knowing that things can happen. You hope that they don’t pile up all at the same time, which has happened as of late. But we’ll keep navigating it. We’ll work through it.”

The one piece of good news on Monday: Blake Snell’s scheduled Tuesday surgery to remove loose bodies from his elbow is expected to utilize the less-invasive NanoNeedle arthroscope, Gomes said. If all goes as planned, that means Snell could miss up to a month knocked off his timeline to return, which is typical 2-3 months for normal loose-body removals.

“Obviously, we don’t know 100% until they’re in there,” Gomes said, “but that’s what we’re expecting.”

The Yankees avoided a would-be skid after consecutive Subway Series losses on Monday when they opened their four-game series against the Toronto Blue Jays with a 7-5 win in Monday's opener at Yankee Stadium.

Takeaways

1. Ryan Weathers allowed a season-high-tying seven hits, including two home runs that surrendered the Yankees' early lead, leaving mixed feelings about his start. The southpaw followed three shutout frames by serving up a three-run homer against Ernie Clements that put the Blue Jays up 3-1 and, after New York scrapped in the bottom half to tie the game, got taken deep on George Springer's fifth-inning solo shot as Toronto pushed ahead 4-3. Weathers (3.58 ERA) flashed his stuff, striking out seven and walking none while throwing 59 strikes on 90 pitches in 5.1 IP, but he was not his best. Will he stay in the rotation as the Yankees look to welcome back ace Gerrit Cole?
2. Paul Goldschmidt owns Patrick Corbin. As New York's leadoff-batting first baseman with Ben Rice hitting second and getting the start as the Yankees' designated hitter, Goldschmidt took the Blue Jays' southpaw into the short porch in right field for a first-pitch home run that set the tone. Goldschmidt, who improved to 7-for-15 with two homers in his career against Corbin, went year for the fifth time -- and third as New York's leadoff man -- this season. He added a game-tying double in the fourth inning for his third time with multiple hits over his past four games, proving his worth as a veteran option behind Rice on the Yankees' bench this year.
3. Two-run home runs by Cody Bellinger and Jazz Chisholm Jr. in the seventh inning pushed New York ahead as the big-time swings that Aaron Boone's team needed after coming up short across both of the past two losses at the Mets. The four-run frame proved vital when the Blue Jays scored a run in the ninth inning and the Yankees had enough cushion to ultimately survive.
4. Anthony Volpe, whom New York called up last Wednesday and debuted with a 0-for-6 start across his first three games back, is heating up. He followed Sunday's 2-for-3, three-RBI effort at the Mets with a 2-for-4 game against Toronto. Volpe, who stole two bases and hustled to score a run on J.C. Escarra's sacrifice fly in the fourth inning that kept the Yankees within 3-2 of the Blue Jays, is trending up at a time when the Yankees (29-19) need a spark.

Who's the MVP?

Goldschmidt, whose leadoff homer in the first and two-out RBI with the Yankees trailing 3-1 three frames later went a long way for New York before Bellinger and Chisholm stepped up with clutch long balls later on.

Highlights

First-pitch leadoff homer for Paul Goldschmidt! pic.twitter.com/hH0UFbItCu

— Yankees Videos (@snyyankees) May 18, 2026

Anthony Volpe avoids the tag on JC Escarra’s sac fly! pic.twitter.com/8ZtaCg17f5

— Yankees Videos (@snyyankees) May 19, 2026

An RBI double from Paul Goldschmidt to tie the game! pic.twitter.com/ZVtsND5jFf

— Yankees Videos (@snyyankees) May 19, 2026

CODY BELLINGER AND WE’RE TIED IN THE BRONX! pic.twitter.com/rmPhZyiJT3

— Yankees Videos (@snyyankees) May 19, 2026

JAZZ CHISHOLM JR. OFF THE LEFT FIELD FOUL POLE FOR THE LEAD! pic.twitter.com/wVM2dbmUwO

— Yankees Videos (@snyyankees) May 19, 2026

What's next

The Yankees and Blue Jays continue their four-game series with Tuesday's 7:05 p.m. matchup in the Bronx.

New York RHP Will Warren (5-1, 3.42 ERA) and Toronto RHP Dylan Cease (3-1, 2.41 ERA) are set to start the game.

Happy Monday, everyone. The Tigers lost their weekend series against the Jays, but it’s a new week, so perhaps new opportunities lie ahead. The Tigers will start trying that today as they open their four-game home series against the Cleveland Guardians. The Guardians currently hold a tenuous lead in the AL Central, so these next four games could really shake up the division standings. For game one, the Tigers were leaning on Framber Valdez, while the Guardians had Slade Cecconi on the mound.

After a 45-minute weather delay, the game got underway. The Tigers got the Guardians out in order, which is precisely how you’d like to see the game start. In the home half, Kevin McGonigle got a one-out single. Dillon Dingler then hit into a force out, eliminating McGonigle and finding Dingler safely on first. Riley Greene then doubled, and Dingler was able to get all the way from first to home, putting the Tigers on the board nice and early. They’d have to settle for the one run, but it was a good start for the struggling team.

With two outs in the top of the second, Travis Bazzana singled. Hot on his heels, Steven Kwan walked, to put two runners on. A lineout ended the inning, though, and nipped the threat in the bud. In the home half, the Tigers went 1-2-3.

Bryan Rocchio started the third inning with a leadoff triple. With one out, Angel Martinez walked. Chase DeLauter then hit into a force out, eliminating Martinez, but bringing Rocchio home to tie up the game. Rhys Hoskins then doubled, which scored DeLauter and put the Guardians in the lead. The Tigers made an effort in the bottom of the inning, with a single by Colt Keith, followed by a Kevin McGonigle walk, but a double play swiftly put to bed any hopes of a comeback.

In the top of the fourth, Kwan took a one-out walk, his second free bag of the day. But he was eliminated in a double-play off the bat of Austin Hedges. At least this game had equal opportunity double plays. Heading into the home half, Riley Greene got things going with a leadoff single. With two outs, Riley Greene was snagged before he could get back to first, and while he was initially called safe, Cleveland asked for a review, and the call was overturned.

Rocchio was once again the one to get things going for the Guardians, as he took a leadoff walk in the fifth. Martinez singled, followed by a single from Jose Ramirez to load the bases. DeLauter grounded into a force out that eliminated Ramirez, but scored Rocchio, pretty similar to how they scored the first run of the game, honestly. After a very lengthy at-bat from Rhys Hoskins, a sac fly brought Martinez in. A groundout ended the inning, but the Tigers’ early lead was now starting to look pretty laughable. They did little to help themselves in the home half, going three-up, three-down.

Valdez was done after five innings, with an elevated pitch count and a pretty rough overall outing. His final line for the game was 5.0 IP, 5 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 4 BB, 3 K on 89 pitches. He was replaced by Brant Hurter. Bazzana got a leadoff single, then Kwan walked for the third time in the game. A Hedges sac bunt advanced both of the baserunners into scoring position. Rocchio walked, and that was it for Hurter, who gave way to Connor Seabold. Martinez then singled to bring another run in. Ramirez doubled into deep right and it almost looked like it would clear the bases, but two runs got in before the Guardians held up. Seabold was able to turn it around long enough to get the final outs of the inning, but the score was looking pretty ugly. In the bottom of the inning, the Tigers went 1-2-3.

The Tigers managed to get a rare 1-2-3 inning against the Guardians to start the seventh. They certainly needed it. Riley Greene got a leadoff walk in the home half, but he was swiftly eliminated in a double play, and then a McKinstry flyout ended the inning. Props to Greene, though, for being the one guy on the team with some consistent hustle.

The Guardians once again went down in order in the eighth. In the home half, the Tigers were finally able to get something done, thanks to a leadoff home run from Matt Vierling. With one out in the inning, Cecconi’s night was done. (Just a moment pause here, but Johnny Kane and Jason Benetti had a lengthy conversation about the Tropicana Field rays in this inning and mentioned “the ones that survived” the hurricane. For those who worry about animals and their welfare, please know that all 7 of the rays that lived at Tropicana Field during Hurricane Milton survived the hurricane without issue and were moved to an aquarium while the stadium was rebuilt. The phrasing made it sound like some of them died, and they definitely didn’t. Sincerely, a person who needs to check if animals die before watching a movie.) Matt Festa replaced Cecconi and got the final two outs of the inning.

Enmanuel De Jesus came in for the ninth and promptly gave up a home run to Ramirez. DeLauter then walked. Three outs in a row, including one that looked dangerously close to being a home run but got snagged on the warning track, ended the inning and sent the Tigers to their last chance to make something happen. Peyton Pallette came in from the Guardians’ bullpen and gave up a one-out walk to Dingler. Riley Greene was then hit by a pitch. Torkelson lined out to first but advanced both baserunners into scoring position. A groundout ended the inning and the game, though, and the Tigers would have to hope for better things tomorrow.

Final: Guardians 8, Tigers 2

The Los Angeles Dodgers and San Diego Padres meet for the first time this season on Monday, May 18 at Petco Park and with just half a game separating these two teams, it could make for some intense baseball in this early season NL West showdown.

The Dodgers are back in the top spot in the divisional standings after briefly being surpassed by their rivals to the south after a five-game winning streak. The Dodgers bats woke up from a slump over the final two games of their home rivalry series against the San Francisco Giants and throughout a three-game sweep of the Los Angeles Angels in Anaheim over the weekend with Shohei Ohtani seemingly turning a corner at the plate, but San Diego presents a different challenge than either of those teams.

Craig Stammen habló sobre la intensidad de la rivalidad entre Padres y Dodgers, destacando lo emocionante que es cada enfrentamiento entre ambos equipos.

Vía: @FiguezDSS#MLB#Padres#Dodgerspic.twitter.com/4N53BL0hs0

— D/S Sports MX (@dssportsmx) May 19, 2026

The Padres also have gotten off to a slow start offensively. Fernando Tatis Jr. notably has yet to hit a single home run in 193 plate appearances this season and has a .581 OPS, almost 200 points under his career low of .771 in 2023. Manny Machado and Jackson Merrill, two of the Padres' other most impactful bats, have yet to provide said impact yet, either, with Machado slugging .327 — he's never slugged below .400 in his 15 big league seasons — and Merrill's .206 batting average down significantly from when he hit .292 in his All-Star rookie season in 2024.

Both of these teams have been able to stay atop the standings due to their pitching, but in different ways. For the Padres, Michael King and Randy Vásquez have been two stabilizing presences in a rotation that has been decimated by injuries all season long. Both of them are due to pitch in this series. The Dodgers, meanwhile, relied on their starters in the first few weeks of the season, but that's changed as IL stints to Tyler Glasnow and Blake Snell have depleted their depth. But with Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Emmet Sheehan and Ohtani (and his MLB-leading 0.82 ERA) all set to go in San Diego.

The matchups are set. The stakes in the long run aren't all that high in May, but it'll be an opportunity for each side to get a look at how they match up in an NL West race that could stay this close down the stretch.

In a matchup of kitchen sink junkballers, only one team was able to make anything happen in a low-scoring 3-1 Royals loss. Seth Lugo gave up a two-run home run to Willson Contreras in the sixth inning, his 10th homer of the season, and that was 50% of the runs scored from either team the whole game. That home run now also represents 50% of the home runs given up by Lugo all season. Coincidences!

That’s not to say Lugo was bad. He wasn’t. Both these guys were throwing all their junk. MLB Statcast picked up 8 different pitch types from Lugo and 6 from Sonny Gray. Gray’s was much more effective, though. His top pitch thrown was his four-seam fastball, but the sweeper was just behind it. He got 13 swings against the sweeper and 7 whiffs!

Gray had the entire Royals offense fooled (especially Isaac Collins), except for Jac Caglianone. Cags hit a couple missiles, including a double that brought in Carter Jensen in the 7th for the Royals’ first, and only, run of the night. The Royals threatened in the fifth too, with Michael Massey on second base. On a grounder through the hole between third base and shortstop, Massey was waved home (in what seemed to me like a late signal). The play at the plate was close, but Masataka Yoshida made a good throw that beat Massey to the plate. The slide looked very awkward, and it was the kind of slide that could tweak a bad back. Massey has a bad back. Oof.

Gray finished with 6 innings pitched and a season-high 9 strikeouts among 5 hits, 1 walk, and 1 run. It was easily his best start of 2026.

Lugo did not strike out as many guys as Gray (5), but he similarly limited any scoring threats by preventing hard contact, with the one exception involving Contreras. Lugo pitched 6 innings and gave up 5 hits, 2 runs, and 2 walks amid those 5 strikeouts.

Not that it ended up mattering, but Alex Lange gave up the third run in the 7th. He gave up a leadoff double, and then Nick Sogard put down a nice bunt that was just far enough that Lange couldn’t get it. Too short for Garcia to get it in time – Sogard was safe at first. Jarren Duran hit a can of corn fly ball to left field that was deep enough to score the runner on a sac fly.

Aroldis Chapman set down the Royals in order in the ninth inning. Quietly. The game started early due to the threat of bad weather, and both teams played like they wanted to be in bed reading a book by the time the weather hit. I guess I can’t blame them. As I type this, I do see tornado warnings on the front end of the storm.

Of note: Salvy had two ABS challenges on consecutive pitches that were overturned. A 2-0 count switched to 0-2. Salvy’s pretty good at this. That and Cags’ hard contact might be the only high points for the Royals from this game. Oof.

The Royals move to 20-28. The Red Sox are now 20-27. They play each other again tomorrow at 6:40pm US Central.

When the Padres and Dodgers face-off for the first time this season, the rivalry between the two teams separated by just 123 miles were put on hold before the first pitch was thrown.

After tragedy broke out Monday morning following a shooting at a San Diego mosque that left five dead, the Padres and Dodgers held a moment of silence to honor those who heartbreakingly passed away.

Among the five dead included two teenaged gunmen, police sources told The Post Monday.

One of the victims was a mosque security guard who “played a pivotal role in assisting, this could have been worse,” said a San Diego police officer at the press conference.

The suspects, believed to be aged 17 and 19, died from self-inflicted gunshot wounds, police said during a press conference.

The Dodgers entered Monday’s game, the first of three straight, with a half-game lead in the NL West over the Padres. Despite struggles from both teams — primarily on the offensive side — the Dodgers and Padres are still considered among the beat teams in the MLB.

Los Angeles tabbed Yoshinobu Yamamoto to start game one against Padres ace Michael King.