Category: Baseball

The Mets lost Game 2 of Thursday's doubleheader against the Baltimore Orioles, 7-3, to get swept on the day and lose the series.

Here are the takeaways...

-Two batters into Game 2, the Mets started things off the same way they started Game 1 -- with runners on second and third and nobody out. Unlike in the first game, though, New York didn't waste this golden opportunity to score and pushed across two runs on two productive outs by Juan Soto (RBI groundout) and Pete Alonso (sacrifice fly) to make it 2-0 early.

-After a scoreless first inning that required 32 pitches and ended with a lineout with the bases loaded, spot starter Brandon Waddell went back out for the second and wasn't so lucky. Back-to-back doubles by Cedric Mullins and Alex Jackson gave the Orioles their first run of the game, cutting New York's lead in half. Then, with two outs, Jordan Westburg homered to put Baltimore on top, 3-2.

Waddell pitched a 1-2-3 third to end his outing. He allowed three runs on four hits and a walk while striking out two.

-Brett Baty tied the game with a two-out single after Soto began the inning with a walk and a stolen base. The Mets were dangerously close to wasting that opportunity against Orioles starter Tomoyuki Sugano after an Alonso lineout and Mark Vientos strikeout sandwiched a Jeff McNeil walk before Baty came through. Unfortunately, it was the only hit with runners in scoring position that New York would have all game.

-Like Waddell, Justin Hagenman had a scoreless frame in his first inning of action, but things took a turn in the following frame. With runners on first and second and two outs, Colton Cowser broke the tie with a single and Ramon Urias brought home another run on Baty's fielding error at third base to give the O's a 5-3 advantage.

-Hagenman went back out for the sixth but was pulled after a leadoff double. LHP Richard Lovelady entered from there and got the lefty Jackson Holliday to ground out before getting a similar result from the righty Westburg who hit it on the ground to shortstop on the drawn-in infield. Francisco Lindor snared it on the backhand and threw home to try and nab the runner, but it was a second late as Baltimore scored once again.

Lovelady allowed a single and a walk to load the bases, which forced manager Carlos Mendoza to use a third reliever of the inning in Rico Garcia. Garcia got the groundball he needed to escape the jam, but the Mets couldn't turn the double play and another run scored.

-After stalling out for a run on five hits in the first game and going 1-for-11 with RISP, New York's offense couldn't make it up in the second game of the twinbill. Despite back-to-back hits to start the game, the Mets finished with five total hits. They also went 1-for-8 with RISP to go a staggering 2-for-19 with RISP in the doubleheader sweep.

-Brandon Nimmo was the only bright spot in the lineup, going 2-for-4 with a run scored and a stolen base out of the leadoff spot.

Game MVP: Tomoyuki Sugano

Entering Thursday's game with a .276 batting average against, Sugano was able to keep the Mets' hitters at bay through six innings to earn his seventh win of the season.

Highlights

Juan Soto drives in the first run of the game pic.twitter.com/fuW1v8wmwP

— SNY (@SNYtv) July 10, 2025

Pete Alonso with a sac fly and the Mets take a 2-0 lead in the first inning pic.twitter.com/U1f64My1jo

— SNY (@SNYtv) July 10, 2025

Brett Baty ties the game at 3-3! pic.twitter.com/OGpTk8eFC7

— SNY (@SNYtv) July 10, 2025

What's next

The Mets play their final series before the All-Star break as they take on the Kansas City Royals for three games starting on Friday night. First pitch is scheduled for 8:10 p.m. on SNY.

RHP Kodai Senga (7-3, 1.47 ERA) makes his return to the mound after a hamstring strain cost him a month on the IL. He will be opposed by former Met RHP Michael Wacha (4-9, 3.83 ERA).

There's going to be some jazz at this year's Home Run Derby.

Yankees infielder Jazz Chisholm Jr. declared for the 2025 Home Run Derby in Atlanta on Thursday and is looking to bring the same "70 percent" mentality that has served him well since he returned from the IL on June 3. Of course, Chisholm made headlines when he said that he's stopped going all out when he plays, and that 70 percent allows him to stay balanced.

Speaking with the media before Friday's series opener against the Cubs, Chisholm said he's not thinking too much about his preparation for the contest.

"I ain't trying to think that hard about it. I'm not even gonna really practice it for it, Chisholm said. "The only person that really needs to practice is my stepdad. But for me, I'm just gonna go out there, have fun.

"Seventy percent, don't do too much. Just hit a couple homers. Hopefully, I win it by doing that.  I'm just gonna enjoy the time out there."

Chisholm will have his stepfather, Geronsands, toss to him. He's already traveled to New York from the Bahamas to be with the Yankees infielder.

"He thows to me all the time. When I was a kid, he's been throwing to me," Chisholm said of his stepfather's credentials. "He throws to me all the time in the Bahamas Derby. So, ain't nothing new to us."

Chisholm is confident in his ability to do well in Atlanta, even at 70 percent, because he's done well in the aforementioned Bahamas Derby using a similar mentality. That derby is in the middle of the offseason when he's not swinging like he would in spring training, and he's going to tap into those memories next week, while also enjoying the festivities and hitting as many homers as he can.

"I don't really try to go out there and try and hurt myself. Just go out there having fun," Chisholm said of his confidence competing at 70 percent. "Hit a couple. Might catch a couple that will go further than the others, but just try to be accurate and consistent, more than trying to hit the ball further than [Pirates outfielder] Oneil Cruz."

When asked who he felt the biggest threats are in this year's Home Run Derby, Chisholm said it's Cruz and the Braves' Ronald Acuna Jr.

But he'll have to worry about more than those two. Chisholm will also be competing against the Athletics' Brent Rooker, the Mariners' Cal Raleigh, the Rays' Junior Caminero, the Nationals' James Wood, and the Twins' Byron Buxton.

Chisholm is the seventh different Yankee to participate in the Derby. He joins Tino Martinez (1997), Jason Giambi (2002-03), Nick Swisher (2010), Robinson Cano (2011-13), Aaron Judge (2017) and Gary Sanchez (2017).

We'll see next week if Chisholm's 70 percent is good enough to make him the fifth Yankee to win the Home Run Derby (Martinez, Giambi, Cano and Judge).

It's been an up-and-down season for the second-year Yankee. After a hot start to the year, Chisholm went through a cold spell before missing time with an oblique injury. But since he's been back, Chisholm has been one of the best home run hitters in the American League. His 10 long balls since his return from the IL on June 3 are only eclipsed by Judge and Raleigh, who both have 13.

Entering Friday's game, Chisholm has 17 home runs.

Kobe Bryant was in a great mood as the Lakers assembled in El Segundo for their 2009 media day.

And for good reason. The Lakers had just won their 15th NBA title a few months earlier and were favored to win No. 16 at the conclusion of the upcoming season (spoiler alert: they did).

The Times' article covering that preseason kickoff event described Bryant as "beaming" as he posed for photos and filmed various promotional videos, including one intended for use at Dodger Stadium.

Read more:Dodgers used Kobe Bryant's 'Job's not finished' quote in World Series run. Vanessa says they got it done

At one point, Bryant stood with a baseball bat ready to take a swing. At another, he placed an oversized, blue foam finger over his hand. Throughout the process, the reigning Finals MVP wore his full Lakers uniform.

"Let's go Dodgers!" he said into the camera.

On Thursday, the Dodgers unveiled a Bryant bobblehead that seems to have been inspired by that day nearly 16 years ago. The late Lakers legend is wearing his basketball uniform, holding a bat and standing in a batter's stance.

And he is beaming.

The second half promotional items are now live! Which ones are you most excited for? 
 
🎟️: https://t.co/36IUWLyXz9pic.twitter.com/KwSZjK8KvG

— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) July 10, 2025

The Dodgers will be giving away the bobblehead to the first 40,000 ticketed fans when they play the Toronto Blue Jays on Aug. 8 at Dodger Stadium.

Bryant and daughter Gianna were among the nine people who died in a Jan. 26, 2020, helicopter crash in Calabasas. During a pregame ceremony honoring Bryant on his birthday (Aug. 23) that year, every Dodgers player and coach took the foul line wearing a gold Lakers jersey featuring either No. 8 or No. 24, the two numbers he wore during his Hall of Fame career.

The team also honored Bryant by giving fans special Dodgers jerseys designed in his honor at one game each in 2023 and 2024.

Sign up for more Dodgers news with Dodgers Dugout. Delivered at the start of each series.

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.

Tyler Soderstrom caps huge night with ‘special' walk-off hit in Athletics' win originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

When the Atlanta Braves intentionally walked Miguel Andujar to get to Athletics left-hander Tyler Soderstrom in the 11th inning on Thursday night, they got the matchup they wanted with southpaw Aaron Bummer on the mound.

And Soderstrom made them pay.

The 23-year-old collected his fourth RBI of the night on a walk-off single, scoring Brent Rooker from second base and sending the crowd at Sutter Health Park home happy with a 5-4 win and series victory over Atlanta.

SODERSTROM WALKS IT OFF 🙌 pic.twitter.com/IuQjUF0jyn

— Athletics on NBCS (@NBCSAthletics) July 11, 2025

The walk-off hit was the first of Soderstrom’s young MLB career — a surreal moment for the former first baseman-turned-left fielder who has made major strides at the plate this season. His hero moment in extras came after he hit his 16th homer of the 2025 MLB season in the first inning with a three-run shot to right center field, and the 2020 first-round draft pick is now slashing .370/.414/.704 over his last seven games.

SODEY POP 🎇 pic.twitter.com/wqulbaRKul

— Athletics on NBCS (@NBCSAthletics) July 11, 2025

As part of the A’s young-and-upcoming homegrown core, Soderstrom reflected on playing and growing alongside teammates like Lawrence Butler, whom he rose through the team’s farm system with.

“It’s super fun,” Soderstrom told Chris Townsend and Steve Sax on “A’s Cast” after the win. “I’ve played with some of these guys like [Butler] since Low-A, so it’s cool to be up here in the big leagues, sharing these experiences with them. Getting my first walk-off hit tonight was super special. Something I always dreamed of, for sure.”

After A’s starting pitcher Mitch Spence surrendered five home runs to the Braves and was optioned to Triple-A Las Vegas following Wednesday night’s 9-2 loss, JP Sears took the mound for Thursday’s rubber match and allowed three earned runs across five innings while striking out six and walking none.

Another member of the A’s young core, first baseman Nick Kurtz, took the MLB rookie home run lead with his 15th blast of the season — a solo shot in the eighth that tied the game 4-4 and ultimately allowed the Green and Gold to go to extras with Atlanta.

NICK KURTZ TIES IT UP 🔥 pic.twitter.com/VXEI4XYXyU

— Athletics on NBCS (@NBCSAthletics) July 11, 2025

It was just one of several clutch moments Kurtz has delivered for the A’s this season, and the team certainly hopes there’s more to come from the first baseman and the rest of the roster as the season’s halfway point nears.

“It’s a great feeling, especially with All-Star break coming up, to kind of grind through that one — come up early, then lose the lead and then be able to come back late was awesome,” Kurtz told Townsend and Sax. “Sodey had a great game, came up huge when we needed him. So it’s great team win. …

“[The front office] has done a great job drafting guys, and it’s kind of cool, because a lot of those guys who were drafted came up together, know each other really well and are best friends. Then me joining and coming into the fold made it really easy to just kind of go along with the group. And it’s been really fun.”

As the A’s approach their final series before the MLB All-Star break with the Toronto Blue Jays coming to town, the youthful group, now 39-56, will look to carry some momentum into the second half and continue building upon what they’ve accomplished so far together.

“We’re always trying to win these games, trying to stay hot and have some momentum going into the All-Star break and ready to roll for the second half,” Soderstrom told Townsend and Sax. “So just continue to learn and just get better. …

“We feel like one through nine, you see the lineup, all the young guys in there for the last couple of weeks. So we’re all really confident in each other. We’ve played together for a while now. So one through nine, we can get it done.”

Tyler Soderstrom caps huge night with ‘special' walk-off hit in Athletics' win originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

When the Atlanta Braves intentionally walked Miguel Andujar to get to Athletics left-hander Tyler Soderstrom in the 11th inning on Thursday night, they got the matchup they wanted with southpaw Aaron Bummer on the mound.

And Soderstrom made them pay.

The 23-year-old collected his fourth RBI of the night on a walk-off single, scoring Brent Rooker from second base and sending the crowd at Sutter Health Park home happy with a 5-4 win and series victory over Atlanta.

SODERSTROM WALKS IT OFF 🙌 pic.twitter.com/IuQjUF0jyn

— Athletics on NBCS (@NBCSAthletics) July 11, 2025

The walk-off hit was the first of Soderstrom’s young MLB career — a surreal moment for the former first baseman-turned-left fielder who has made major strides at the plate this season. His hero moment in extras came after he hit his 16th homer of the 2025 MLB season in the first inning with a three-run shot to right center field, and the 2020 first-round draft pick is now slashing .370/.414/.704 over his last seven games.

SODEY POP 🎇 pic.twitter.com/wqulbaRKul

— Athletics on NBCS (@NBCSAthletics) July 11, 2025

As part of the A’s young-and-upcoming homegrown core, Soderstrom reflected on playing and growing alongside teammates like Lawrence Butler, whom he rose through the team’s farm system with.

“It’s super fun,” Soderstrom told Chris Townsend and Steve Sax on “A’s Cast” after the win. “I’ve played with some of these guys like [Butler] since Low-A, so it’s cool to be up here in the big leagues, sharing these experiences with them. Getting my first walk-off hit tonight was super special. Something I always dreamed of, for sure.”

After A’s starting pitcher Mitch Spence surrendered five home runs to the Braves and was optioned to Triple-A Las Vegas following Wednesday night’s 9-2 loss, JP Sears took the mound for Thursday’s rubber match and allowed three earned runs across five innings while striking out six and walking none.

Another member of the A’s young core, first baseman Nick Kurtz, took the MLB rookie home run lead with his 15th blast of the season — a solo shot in the eighth that tied the game 4-4 and ultimately allowed the Green and Gold to go to extras with Atlanta.

NICK KURTZ TIES IT UP 🔥 pic.twitter.com/VXEI4XYXyU

— Athletics on NBCS (@NBCSAthletics) July 11, 2025

It was just one of several clutch moments Kurtz has delivered for the A’s this season, and the team certainly hopes there’s more to come from the first baseman and the rest of the roster as the season’s halfway point nears.

“It’s a great feeling, especially with All-Star break coming up, to kind of grind through that one — come up early, then lose the lead and then be able to come back late was awesome,” Kurtz told Townsend and Sax. “Sodey had a great game, came up huge when we needed him. So it’s great team win. …

“[The front office] has done a great job drafting guys, and it’s kind of cool, because a lot of those guys who were drafted came up together, know each other really well and are best friends. Then me joining and coming into the fold made it really easy to just kind of go along with the group. And it’s been really fun.”

As the A’s approach their final series before the MLB All-Star break with the Toronto Blue Jays coming to town, the youthful group, now 39-56, will look to carry some momentum into the second half and continue building upon what they’ve accomplished so far together.

“We’re always trying to win these games, trying to stay hot and have some momentum going into the All-Star break and ready to roll for the second half,” Soderstrom told Townsend and Sax. “So just continue to learn and just get better. …

“We feel like one through nine, you see the lineup, all the young guys in there for the last couple of weeks. So we’re all really confident in each other. We’ve played together for a while now. So one through nine, we can get it done.”

The Mets know that they need to upgrade the bridge to Edwin Diaz before the trade deadline, and that a returning Brooks Raleywon’t be able to do it alone.

In the first game of Thursday’s split doubleheader in Baltimore, the Orioles provided the latest reminder that Ryne Stanek is not the guy for the eighth inning during a pennant race or postseason game. Stanek allowed a two-run home run to Gunnar Henderson that undermined a David Peterson gem and decided the game.

But while the Orioles spoiled an afternoon for the Mets, they are positioned to help with that exact problem. According to league sources, Baltimore is close to being open for business with all available players.

The Orioles traded a reliever on Thursday, but that situation was unique -- righthander Bryan Baker went to Tampa Bay for a Competitive Balance round draft selection, the 37th overall pick. Baltimore, sources say, wanted that pick and was therefore motivated to make that particular deal before this weekend’s draft.

Having said that, the O’s are said to be ready or near ready to talk seriously about relievers like Andrew Kittredge -- he in particular could appeal to the Mets -- as well as righty Seranthony Dominguez and lefty Gregory Soto. Rivals do not believe that Baltimore will trade closer Felix Bautista.

All of these pitchers, along with starter Tomoyuki Sugano and the returning Zach Eflin, would help fill the Yankees' needs, too. But the Yanks have long been skeptical that Baltimore would ever give them a fair deal; it’s known around these parts as the “Yankee Tax.”

O’s center fielder Cedric Mullins is another rental player who fits the Mets. The team is looking to upgrade that position before the deadline.

The Mets will send four players to Atlanta for the 2025 MLB All-Star Game after all.

MLB announced Wednesday that Mets southpaw David Peterson will join the All-Star Game roster as a reserve pitcher, taking the place of Giants starter Robbie Ray.

It's the first time Peterson has been named to the All-Star Game but it's well-deserved in what is becoming a career year for the 29-year-old. Including Wednesday's performance against the Orioles, Peterson has pitched to a 6-4 record and a 3.06 ERA.

Peterson will join NL All-Star Game starter Francisco Lindor and reserves Pete Alonso and Edwin Diaz in Atlanta next week. This will be the second season in four years that the Mets have had at least four participants in the All-Star Game. The other was the 2022 Mets team that sent Alonso, Diaz, Starling Marte and Jeff McNeil.

Yankees starter Clarke Schmidt will undergo Tommy John surgery on Friday, manager Aaron Boone told reporters Thursday.

Schmidt was dealing with right forearm tightness during his outing on July 3 and exited the game against Toronto after three innings and 55 pitches. He was then placed on the IL with what the team called right elbow tightness.

On Saturday, the initial MRI on his right elbow revealed that the pitcher is dealing with a torn UCL as the team was waiting for further testing to confirm the unfortunate news. Schmidt will now be out for the remainder of the season, as he's the second Yankee to need TJS this season, joining Gerrit Cole on the sidelines.

“Earlier on in the game it felt okay,” Schmidt told reporters after the start. “As the game progressed, it sort of tightened up a little bit on me. I felt like the whole night I was kind of guarding it a little bit on the breaking balls, really not ripping them or trying to get a lot behind them."

The 29-year-old has pitched to a 3.32 ERA across 14 starts this season, including a strong June with a 1.95 ERA across five outings. Overall, Schmidt went 4-4 and totaled 73 strikeouts over 78.2 IP on the year.

It'll be his second time having Tommy John surgery after getting the procedure in April of 2017 while at the University of South Carolina. That didn't stop New York from drafting the right-hander with the No. 16 overall pick in the first round of the 2017 MLB Draft. He owns a 23-24 record with two saves over 97 games and 67 starts to go along with a 3.82 ERA and 384 strikeouts over six seasons in the bigs.

The Yankees called up Cam Schlittler in place of Schmidt to start on Wednesday, and he looked "under control" in his MLB debut, allowing three runs on four hits over 5.1 strong innings.

The Dodgers have been here before.

This time last year, in a season that bore so many similarities to their current one, a first-place and highly touted Dodgers team temporarily lost its way.

Amid a deluge of pitching injuries (sound familiar?) and the absence of one of its hottest early-season hitters (Mookie Betts, who suffered a broken hand close to the same time Max Muncy went down with a knee injury this year), the club stumbled backward into the All-Star break, going 2-8 in its final 10 games of the first half and 1-5 in a Philadelphia/Detroit road trip that exposed undeniable flaws in its star-studded roster.

Twelve months later, another pre-All-Star-break tailspin has struck the now defending champions.

The Dodgers have lost six games in a row, swept in back-to-back series by the Houston Astros and the Milwaukee Brewers. Their romp through June and the first days of July (when they won 20 times in a 30-game stretch) has been stalled by sudden regression lately, with lackluster offense and a worn-down pitching staff contributing to the organization’s longest losing streak since April 2019.

Now, as he did then, manager Dave Roberts has downplayed any alarm.

“I think it is under the ‘it’s just baseball’ type thing,” Roberts said Wednesday after the Dodgers’ most deflating loss of their skid yet. “You never like to lose six in a row. It seems like we’re pitching OK. The defense at times has been really good. It’s just that right now we’re scuffling offensively, to have that big inning or to build an inning and get that big hit.”

But, also like back then, frustration is mounting as the Dodgers approach the trade deadline.

“We can’t really feel sorry about ourselves, because there’s a lot of season left, and we know what we’re looking for,” veteran infielder Miguel Rojas said. “We’re looking to win another championship, and playing this kind of baseball is not gonna get us there.”

By “this kind of baseball,” Rojas means this kind of offense.

During the last week, a Dodgers lineup that leads the majors in scoring on the season has suddenly scored the second-fewest runs (10 total, and more than two in just one of their last six contests) of the league’s 30 teams. In that time, they are batting a paltry .190 with only four home runs, a whopping 61 strikeouts and an on-base percentage of .269.

The root causes of that malaise are easy to identify: The Dodgers have been without several key regulars (Muncy, Teoscar Hernández and, until Wednesday, Tommy Edman) in their starting lineup. Their three healthy superstars (Shohei Ohtani, Mookie Betts and Freddie Freeman) are hitting a combined .194. Their depth options have offered little reprieve (Michael Conforto, Hyeseong Kim and James Outman have gone five for 38 while receiving increased playing time).

Read more:'That was unbelievable.' Brewers phenom Jacob Misiorowski extends Dodgers' losing streak

And, they’ve run into two talented pitching staffs, struggling against quality opposing starters such as Framber Valdez, Freddy Peralta and rookie sensation Jacob Misiorowski, and two hard-throwing bullpens from the Astros and Brewers.

Granted, even $400-million payrolls like the Dodgers go through such dips in a season. And while the losses have piled up, the team has maintained the best record in the National League (56-38) and a five-game edge in their division.

“We’ve just got to put some at-bats together, keep playing good defense and it’ll turn,” Roberts promised. “When you’re mired in it, it’s frustrating. But we still have some pretty good players.”

The concern, however, is how quickly the offense has turned in the absence of a few key players.

Read more:With Max Muncy expected back from knee injury, Dodgers stick with trade deadline plans

Freeman and Betts were both slumping in June, but the contributions of Muncy and All-Star catcher Will Smith (the only regular who has also stayed hot during this current losing spell) helped compensate. Ohtani’s numbers at the plate have declined since he returned to pitching, but balance at the bottom of the lineup from younger bats like Kim and Andy Pages made such struggles feel moot.

This week, conversely, has highlighted what can happen when the Dodgers face good pitching at anything less than full strength –– the kind of confluence of events that could quickly derail any postseason campaign if it were to happen again in October.

"You can't replace All-Stars. You can't replace guys that have won MVPs in the postseason. You can't replace those type of things,” Betts said this week. “The next man has to step up and do what he can do. But I mean, you can't replace those guys. You can only have someone come step up and do their best."

The good news is, Edman has already returned from a broken pinky toe. Hernández is expected back in the lineup Friday from a foot contusion. And, although Muncy’s knee injury is longer-term, he is expected to return this season.

Read more:Clayton Kershaw grateful for ‘weird but cool’ All-Star selection as ‘Legend Pick’

“It’s one of those things,” Roberts said, “where we’ve got to find a way to weather it.”

Still, the questions this week has raised will loom even if the Dodgers start to heat up again (as they did last year, when they started the second half with a five-game winning streak and 26-13 run overall).

Already, the bullpen was an obvious area of need heading into the trade deadline (especially after Michael Kopech recently underwent a meniscus surgery on his right knee that forced him onto the 60-day IL). The rotation could be, too, although the Dodgers remain confident about having Tyler Glasnow (who returned to action with five solid innings Wednesday) and Blake Snell (who is beginning a minor-league rehab assignment this week) healthy for the second half.

Now, the club will have to decide whether it needs another impact bat as well, potentially adding to a shopping list that has grown much longer than the team had expected after another big offseason of lavish spending.

After all, Freeman and Betts have yet to show signs of life amid career-worst slumps. Ohtani’s workload won’t get any easier as he continues to ramp up on the mound. And there’s no guarantee how Muncy will look once he returns, with Roberts noting his bone bruise will probably linger into next year.

It all leaves the Dodgers in a familiar position: Hopeful its talented, but hardly infallible, roster possesses enough firepower to win another World Series, but knowing that — like last year, when the team acquired Edman, Kopech and starter Jack Flaherty at the deadline — more reinforcements might nonetheless be needed.

“We have to do better,” Rojas said, voicing a recognition that has reverberated throughout the clubhouse of late, as the front office evaluates its options ahead of the July 31 trade deadline. “We gotta find ways to be a complete team that we know we can be.”

Sign up for more Dodgers news with Dodgers Dugout. Delivered at the start of each series.

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.

After getting through the seventh inning without allowing a run and the Mets leading the Orioles, 1-0, cameras showed David Peterson and manager Carlos Mendoza briefly talking in the dugout. The manager didn't shake his lefty's hand to signal his outing was done and sure enough Peterson took the field for the bottom of the eighth inning.

However, after Peterson allowed a leadoff hit to Colton Cowser, Mendoza went out to the mound and took the ball from the left-hander after just 90 pitches, opting to go with Ryne Stanek to try and finish out the inning.

"You’re already in the eighth inning -- 90 pitches. He did his part," Mendoza said in his explanation of taking out Peterson.

With the right-hander Stanek in the game, the Orioles countered with the lefty-swinging Gunnar Henderson as a pinch-hitter. And he unloaded on a 2-1 slider down and in for a two-run shot that flipped the game on its head.

Stanek was unable to get out of the inning and ended up walking four batters -- he threw 31 pitches and only 11 of them were for strikes. It was the second straight outing the right-hander threw more than 30 pitches, and his ERA now sits at 4.55.

"I just wasn’t able to find my rhythm and get in sync with my body today," Stanek said.

The decision to pull Peterson was an interesting choice. He had he been cruising for the entire game and was efficient with his pitches, and removing him enabled the Orioles to deploy some of their better left-handed hitters who were not in the starting lineup against a tough lefty -- as opposed to letting Peterson go after perhaps less-threatening righties.

"Once he got through the seventh with a lefty leading off, I knew it was gonna be batter to batter," Mendoza said. "Cowser got him there going the other way and once you get to the eighth inning I had Stanek ready. It just didn’t happen today."

Mendoza also told reporters that Peterson was actually going batter to batter from the start of the seventh inning, "especially with all the righties that were there."

With the All-Star break coming up, Peterson pitching great and showing no signs of slowing down and it being the first game of a doubleheader where the second game will be a bullpen game, it made sense for Mendoza to try and get outs from Peterson for as long as he could.

"It was just one of those where we felt like against the righties there, you know – especially once he gets through the seventh and then goes back out for the eighth. We turned it over to our guys and we didn’t get the job done today," the skipper said.

Of course, had Mendoza left Peterson in the game longer than he did, who knows what would have happened instead.

"We can sit here and talk about it all we want. At the end of the day, we didn’t execute offensively," Mendoza said.

The Mets finish a three-game series against the Orioles in Baltimore when they play Game 2 of a doubleheader on Thursday at 5:05 p.m. on SNY.

Here's what to know about the game and how to watch...

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Mets Notes

• Brandon Waddell will be the opener for Game 2. Waddell owns a 3.10 ERA with 14 strikeouts over eight games this season
• Jesse Winker left Game 1 early due to back tightness and is heading back to NY for an MRI
• Brandon Nimmo has reached base safely in 12 of his last 13 games

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Alex Bregman, Red Sox have not discussed contract extension: Report originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston

Alex Bregman has fit in well with the Boston Red Sox since signing in free agency, but will he even finish the 2025 campaign with the club?

Bregman’s three-year, $120 million contract includes opt-outs after the 2025 and 2026 seasons. With the MLB trade deadline looming, it’s fair to wonder whether Boston could trade the All-Star third baseman if the two sides can’t agree on an extension before July 31, rather than watch him leave for nothing in the offseason.

According to WEEI’s Rob Bradford, Bregman and the Red Sox have yet to discuss a potential contract extension:

Per source: The Red Sox and Alex Bregman have yet to engage in talks regarding a contract extension

— Rob Bradford (@bradfo) July 10, 2025

During his Thursday appearance on WEEI’s Greg Hill Show, Red Sox chief baseball officer Craig Breslow was asked to describe his extension talks with Bregman in one word.

“I think ‘ongoing’ is always a fair summary, given this is something on our mind and it’s something on Alex’s mind,” Breslow answered.

“I’ve been pretty outspoken about what he’s provided on the field and in the clubhouse. He’s a guy we would like to have here in a Red Sox uniform for a long time.”

Bregman was an early American League MVP candidate before suffering his quad injury in May. He slashed .299/.385/.553 with 11 homers and 35 RBI to earn his third career All-Star nod despite not playing since May 23. Since being placed on the injured list, Bregman’s veteran presence has been felt in the Red Sox dugout and clubhouse.

Red Sox manager Alex Cora said Thursday that Bregman will likely return to the lineup before the All-Star break. The two-time World Series champion is expected to play in two of Boston’s three games against the Tampa Bay Rays from Friday to Sunday.

Bregman’s contract situation will be worth monitoring over the next three weeks. ESPN recently listed Bregman as one of MLB’s top trade candidates if he doesn’t sign an extension with Boston before the July 31 trade deadline.