Category: Sports News

“Hey,” Starling Marte said to Juan Soto, grabbing him by both shoulders and forcing him to turn around. “This is what we do.”

It was the afternoon of May 1, and Soto had just hit his second home run of the game. He returned to the dugout, high-fived a few teammates, and appeared ready to move on with his day.

Marte, a smiling presence in a hoodie lurking behind Soto, saw the chance for a teaching moment. He nudged his younger teammate, then took hold of his upper body and spun him forward. Soto looked at the camera, flashing a pair of peace signs and a forced smile. Not good enough, not at Citi Field in the post-OMG era. Marte slapped Soto’s helmet; that induced a broad smile and ended the moment on high note.

“Whenever any of us hits a home run, we pose in front of the camera,” Marte said through an interpreter Sunday at Yankee Stadium. “When he hit that home run, he was about to just kind of go put his stuff back, and I pushed him. I said, ‘Hey, this is what we do.’ So now, if you ever see when he hits a home run, he's there posing.”

It was a small lesson, but indicative of the way that Marte has proven invaluable during Soto’s transition from the businesslike Yankees to the vibey Mets. Without fanfare, the veteran has devoted considerable time and energy into serving as an elder statesman to Soto and other young Mets.

“He’s a quiet leader,” says manager Carlos Mendoza. “He’s not going to go out of his way in front of people, but he will go out of his way when nobody sees it. That’s what makes him a special person. He’s very calm, and when he speaks -- man, people listen.”

Soto and Marte are both natives of the Dominican Republic and have known one another since Soto’s minor league days. When the Mets signed Soto, it meant pushing Marte, a two-time All-Star, into a job as a part-time designated hitter.

“I had to talk to him about his role,” Mendoza says. “We’re signing a player for the right field position, so you have to have that conversation right away. Right away, he understood. The first thing he said was, ‘I want to be a Met. I want to win with the Mets.’ That went a long way for me. After that it was, what can I do to help Juan?”

Says Marte: “Since we've known each other for a long time, I felt like it was my responsibility once he signed to try to make him feel more comfortable. Obviously, he's been on big-market teams and teams with a lot of guys before, but now he's new here, and a lot of us have been here together for quite a while.

“Maybe when he got here, he didn't feel as comfortable because he didn't have that same type of familiarity with all of us. So I took that responsibility to bring him into the group and try to make it feel more comfortable.”

Soto was not available for comment prior to Sunday’s game, but another of Marte’s acolytes, Mark Vientos, praised his leadership and ability to spot small advantages and tendencies within a game.

“He has helped me out a lot,” Vientos said. “He’s a team leader. It’s year fourteen for him, and he’s still at it with the same mentality. The game is super slow for him.”

Like Vientos, Soto is a young man who appreciates tough and honest mentorship. Unlike Vientos or anyone else in the game, he carries not only the largest contract in the history of American sports to his new job in Queens, but the weight of unfathomable expectations from a fan base whose very identity shifted after his arrival.

Folks in the organization believe that Soto has made significant progress settling in -- smiling more of late, and getting closer to the theatrical flow that has long made him the most exciting hitter in baseball.

“I see him talking to teammates all the time, sitting down with his teammates,” Marte said. “It's nice to see because that's what you want with a guy who's gonna be here for so long. I expect to see a lot more of that going on this year and for the next 15 years.”

On Friday night at Yankee Stadium, Soto even brought back a modified version of his famous shuffle, which has been missing for most of the season.

“I mean, it wasn't with too much swag,” Marte said with a smile. “I think once he starts to feel himself a little more, you're gonna start seeing it really coming out.”

Whenever it does, the team will know that Marte helped to bring it out -- and that Soto’s inevitable success as a Met will form part of Marte’s own legacy here, long after he is gone.

Andrew Friedman gave a longer answer Sunday morning when asked about the Dodgers’ recent — and, by the feel of it, familiar — pitching woes so far this year, the club’s president of baseball operations bemoaning another wave of injuries that has left the pitching staff shorthanded.

But the gist of his answer was in the two words he uttered at the start of his response.

“Not fun,” he said.

In the Dodgers’ 6-4 loss to the Angels later in the day, it became even less so.

Read more:Dodgers release Chris Taylor, parting ways with another veteran

As things currently stand, Tony Gonsolin is effectively the No. 2 pitcher in the Dodgers’ rotation, thrust into such a prominent role with Tyler Glasnow, Blake Snell and Roki Sasaki injured. But in a four-run, four-inning start, Gonsolin was derailed by his own physical issue, battling a bloody thumb in a three-run first inning that put the Dodgers behind the eight ball.

The Dodgers rallied, erasing what grew to a 4-0 deficit on Shohei Ohtani’s RBI single in the fifth and Will Smith’s tying three-run home run in the seventh. But then a banged-up bullpen gave the Angels the lead right back, with Travis d’Arnaud going deep in the eighth against Anthony Banda — himself forced into a high-leverage role lately, despite a disappointing start to the year, because of injuries to Blake Treinen, Evan Phillips and Kirby Yates (who became the latest pitcher to hit the injured list on Sunday with a hamstring strain he suffered the night before).

Friedman argued the Dodgers’ injury problems this year don’t compare to the dire straits they navigated en route to last year’s World Series title. Unlike then, the team hasn’t suffered any season-ending losses. In the big picture, they remain confident they’ll have enough depth to mount a title defense.

And yet, the team hasn’t discovered the secret to better health. Their rotation problems are giving the bullpen an unsustainably grueling workload. And figuring out how to better protect the club’s expensive stable of arms is “by far the No. 1 thing that keeps me up at night,” Friedman said.

“I mean, everything from my brain is about what we can do, like, how we can solve this,” Friedman added, the self-described “deep dive” the organization took into pitching injuries this offseason having yet to yield better results. “It's like a game of Whack-a-Mole, and things keep popping up. … The definition of enough depth, I think is a fool’s errand. I don't know what enough depth means. I think more is always better with pitching depth.”

But, with the team ranking 21st in the majors with a 4.18 team earned-run average, what they have currently certainly isn’t enough.

“It is what it is, I guess,” manager Dave Roberts said. “You just sort of have to deal with things as they come up.”

Gonsolin’s bloody thumb was the latest unexpected dilemma, arising when the pitcher picked at some dead skin on his thumb after his pregame warm-up and “took some good skin with it,” he said. “Just wouldn't stop bleeding."

After Gonsolin gave up a leadoff home run to Zach Neto on a sunny afternoon at Dodger Stadium, trainers came to the mound to check on his right throwing hand. As they examined him, applying a skin adhesive to address the problem, the television broadcast zoomed in on streaks of blood covering the backside of his pants.

While Gonsolin said he didn’t want to use his bloody thumb as an excuse, his struggle to command the baseball quickly became obvious. With one out, he walked Yoán Moncada, looking visibly uncomfortable as he sprayed the ball wide of the zone. In a 2-and-0 count to his next batter, Taylor Ward, Gonsolin threw a fastball over the heart of the plate. Ward crushed it for a two-run homer.

Read more:Clayton Kershaw shaky in his season debut as Angels take series win over Dodgers

“I just couldn't execute pitches,” said Gonsolin, whose 4.05 ERA still ranks second among the Dodgers’ current five-man rotation. “I'm not going to blame my thumb or whatever. Just didn't pitch good today."

Gonsolin did settle down from there, giving up just one more run the rest of the way. But his pitch count never got back under control, requiring 97 throws to get through four innings.

It was already the 14th time in 47 games that a Dodgers starter failed to work into the fifth, and left them with just 13 combined innings from their starters in this weekend’s series sweep by the Angels.

“We were fortunate to get him through four, but still, you know, with what we went through this series with the starters, there's a lot of innings our ‘pen had covered, and that's unfortunate,” Roberts said.

Indeed, all those short starts have had a cascading effect on the team’s relievers. And pitchers like Banda have had to compensate as a result.

Sunday’s outing marked Banda’s 21st appearance this season, becoming the fifth Dodgers reliever to reach that mark. Entering the day, no other team had more than three.

After pitching a clean seventh, Banda returned for the eighth and was bitten again by a common problem. In a 3-and-1 count against d’Arnaud, he threw a center-cut sinker that d’Arnaud crushed to left. It was Banda’s fifth home run given up, tying the total he allowed in 48 appearances over last season. It raised his ERA to 4.37, more than a run above his mark last season. 

“I think that there's a lot of sinkers that are not sinking, they're not commanded. He's getting into some bad counts. There's times where he's not landing his slider,” Roberts said of Banda’s struggles. “So I think it's just a compilation of things.”

And this time, the Dodgers couldn’t answer, suffering their first three-game Freeway Series sweep to the Angels since 2010, and first three-game sweep at home to anybody since 2023.

“I think, to be honest, we just didn't pitch well this series,” Roberts said.

Until the pitching staff gets healthy, it’s a shortcoming that will continue to threaten the Dodgers.

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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.

Some of the Mets' top young talent was on display Sunday afternoon...

Mauricio reaches three times

Ronny Mauricio was activated from the IL on Saturday and optioned to Triple-A. 

Mauricio found himself inserted into the Syracuse lineup right away -- batting second and playing second base during Sunday’s contest with the Lehigh Valley IronPigs. 

He was called out on strikes during his first at-bat, but was able to reach base during his next turn up, lining a single for his first Syracuse knock in nearly two seasons. 

The speedy infielder got things started in the fifth, reaching on a single before scoring on a double, and then made things happen again an inning later. After beating out a fielder's choice to prolong the frame, he stole second and then scored on a Jared Young single. 

Mauricio was lifted for a pinch hitter in the bottom of the eighth. 

After struggling to get back into a groove during his rehab assignment at High-A and Double-A, Sunday’s showing was certainly a positive sign for the 24-year-old. 

He’ll look to build off that before potentially working his way back to the big-league level. 

Williams, Clifford surging with the Rumble Ponies

Jett Williams and Ryan Clifford have been on a tear of late for Binghamton, and both played a huge role in Sunday afternoon’s win over the Hartford Yard Goats. 

The speedy Williams continued setting the table for the Rumble Ponies -- reaching three times out of the leadoff spot with two singles and a double while also driving in a pair of runs and scoring two of his own.

He’s now reached in all but one game in May and has recorded a strong .945 OPS. 

Clifford was on-base three times as well in the victory -- lining a pair of singles before going the other way to drive in what ended up being the winning run with a one out double in the top of the seventh.

He’s now hitting .309 with 16 RBI and a .969 OPS in 16 May games. 

It’s certainly encouraging to see two of the top young talents in the organization getting off to a surging start, and if they are able to keep this up it might not be long before we see them bumped up to Syracuse.

Carson Benge with a three-run blast to give Brooklyn their first lead of the game at 4-2 after five. pic.twitter.com/WmJKpFgwI0

— Brooklyn Cyclones (@BKCyclones) May 18, 2025

Benge continues stellar start 

Carson Benge has certainly looked the part of a top prospect. 

The first rounder has been tearing the cover off the ball early on this year in the pitcher-friendly confines of Maimonides Park and that continued in Sunday afternoon’s walk-off win. 

Benge walked and grounded out during each of his first two plate appearances, but then demolished a go-ahead three-run homer in the bottom of the fifth to give Brooklyn their first lead of the game. 

He was intentionally walked with a man on third and one out in the sixth, but was able to do some more damage leading off the bottom of the tenth, driving in the game-tying run with a double to deep left. 

A few batters later, he scored the winning run on a fielder’s choice. 

Benge reached base in four of his five plate appearances -- helping him bring his average up to .309 with four homers, eight doubles, 25 RBI, and a .919 OPS during his first full season in the organization. 

It definitely won’t be long before Benge joins an already loaded Binghamton squad. 

Allan returns to Brooklyn

Matt Allan’s comeback tour continued on Sunday. 

The right-hander was among several Mets prospects who received promotions over the past couple of weeks and he took the mound for the Cyclones for the first time since 2019. 

Things didn’t quite go as planned, however, as he failed to escape the first inning. 

Allan walked the leadoff hitter and then was hurt by some shoddy infield defense, as a pair of errors brought in two runs, and then another walk ultimately ended his short afternoon at the ballpark. 

He retired just two of the six batters he faced, throwing a total of 33 pitches. 

Luckily for the 24-year-old, the Cyclones' offense was able to rally to pick up their sixth straight win.

It's been a bit of an up-and-down return to the mound for Allan, who has allowed eight runs while walking 13 and striking out 17 across 15.2 innings of work, but most importantly he's been able to stay healthy.

Mets manager Carlos Mendoza was asked about a number of different topics prior to Sunday night's Subway Series finale...

Marte will continue seeing opportunities

Starling Marte hasn’t quite been able to find his groove yet this season. 

Adjusting to his new role as more of a part-time player, the 36-year-old slugger is hitting just .192 with two extra base-hits and a .604 OPS through 28 games. 

Despite the struggles, Marte continues to find himself in the middle of the Mets’ lineup when they face left-handed pitching -- as is the case for Sunday's Subway Series finale against Yanks ace Max Fried.

Even with Jeff McNeil back, Brett Baty swinging a hot bat, and Luisangel Acuña providing a spark on both sides of the ball Mendoza says that Marte will continue seeing chances moving forward. 

“He’s been an elite player in this game,” the skipper said. “It’s not an easy role to be in when you’re used to playing every day, it takes time to adjust. I just have to continue giving him at-bats, he’s a good player. The way the ball continues to jump off his bat, the bat speed, it’s there -- he’ll get going here pretty soon.”

Soto’s uptick in stolen bases

Juan Soto isn’t exactly known for his blazing speed.

The superstar outfielder swiped just seven bases all of last season for the Yankees -- but things have been different over his first 45 games with the Mets, as he's already halfway to that total.

Soto has stolen a base in each of the first two games of the Subway Series, pushing his streak to three straight and giving him a total of five on the year.

He’s currently on pace for 18, which would shatter his previous career-high of 12. 

“He’s just taking advantage of opportunities,” Mendoza said. “He’s using the information and trusting it. That’s something he talked about with Antoan [Richardson] from the beginning, not only the defense in right, but becoming a better baserunner overall.

“Yesterday, that play stealing third it kind of ended up being the difference. He scores on a sac fly and we won the game by one run. It’s something that from the beginning they’ve been working on and every time the opportunity presents, we’ll take advantage of it.”

Taylor cramped up, but good to go

Tyrone Taylor was dealing with some cramping in his calf after diving head-first into second late in Saturday afternoon's victory. 

After talking things over with the training staff, Mendoza said that Taylor is good to go for the series finale, but he still elected to give him a day off -- so Jeff McNeil will start in center in his place. 

McNeil is still relatively inexperienced at the position having logged just five big-league appearances out there this year, but Mendoza says the coaching staff likes what they've seen from thus far. 

“I think he's been fine in center," he said. "He hasn't really been tested too much, but he's doing a good job of making the routine plays -- so I'm comfortable with using him out there, that's why he continues to get reps."