The Matt Allan comeback tour continues. 

The hard-throwing right-hander was back on the mound for the St. Lucie Mets on Saturday night, and he looked very strong again -- allowing just two hits and striking out three across 3.2 scoreless innings of work.

Allan hit the second batter he faced in the bottom of the first and allowed a stolen base, but he quickly retired the next two on just six pitches to strand the man in scoring position.

He picked up his first punch out of the evening to finish a perfect second, and then worked around a one out double in the third, before finishing his outing with a man on first and two outs in the fourth.

Allan threw just three more pitches than last time (47) and he topped out at 96 mph.

The 23-year-old former top prospect has now racked up eight strikeouts and 7.1 scoreless innings of work over his first two appearances since returning from a six-year absence due to numerous different arm injuries.

The organization plans on taking things slowly with him this year to keep him healthy. But if he continues pitching like this, there’s no reason that he won’t take the next step in his journey soon enough.

“Given everything Matt’s gone through, every time he takes the ball we’re happy,” David Stearns said last week. “He deserves to be happy and he deserves to enjoy it. Let’s get to the next outing and then after that let’s get to the next one and we’ll go from there.

“What I will say is what he is doing right now is really impressive -- he is demonstrating why he was so sought after in the draft, and why he has kept pushing so hard for the last five years to get back to this point.”

Sproat bounces back

Top pitching prospect Brandon Sproat has had a rough time in Triple-A thus far -- but on Saturday night he put together easily his best effort.

The right-hander used his full arsenal as he struck out six while allowing just two hits and two walks across 4.1 innings of one-run ball.

Sproat is now down to a 4.35 ERA through three starts this season.

The Mets will look for him to be a bit more efficient before they are ready for him to make the leap up to the big-league level, but Saturday's outing was certainly a step in the right direction.

On a day that the Yankees lost a rotation piece for a few weeks, they can breathe a sigh of relief after Will Warren pitched arguably his best game as a big leaguer on Saturday.

Against a formidable Giants team, Warren allowed just two runs on two hits and two walks in five innings pitched en route to his first major league win.

"Big accomplishment. Waiting a while to get that one off the table," Warren said after the game. "So fun. I'm just glad the team won."

Saturday was Warren's eighth start of his career, and the third this season, but the 25-year-old can finally say he has a big league win under his belt. Not bad for a pitcher who was not pegged to make the team out of spring training.

Of course, injuries to Gerrit Cole, Luis Gil and Clarke Schmidt helped facilitate Warren breaking camp with the team, but a strong spring made him the perfect candidate to start the year with the team and he's been solid since earning the spot. Of his three starts this year, two of them saw him give up two runs or fewer. And for Saturday, it was especially important for Warren to give the Yankees a good outing after Marcus Stroman was unable to pitch out of the first inning and manager Aaron Boone had to burn a few relievers in their loss on Friday. But the Yankees skipper was more impressed with how he pitched instead of how long.

"I'm really excited for him. Just did a good job mixing his pitches, for the most part dictating counts," Boone said. "I felt like he had a lot of ahead-in-the-count. I thought he had a lot of useful pitches throughout, even when he was ahead. And then a couple situations where he really had to make a pitch. He did it."

The only blemish to Warren's day was in the second inning when Heliot Ramos smoked a double and Wilmer Flores followed with a two-run home run to give up the Yankees' early lead. Both Warren and Boone felt the elements helped the Giants in that area a bit but after Flores' home run, Warren settled in nicely.

Warren would retire the next 10 batters in a row and 11 of his final 12. The young right-hander credited Austin Wells and the game plan for his outing, while Boone points to Warren's execution of his pitches as a big reason for the win.

"Overall, I just thought the slider was good," Boone said. "I thought there was a little more life to the sinker and I thought he did a good job of mixing his sinker with his four seamer too."

It's a great story for a pitcher who was thrust into the rotation last year due to injuries and didn't execute. In six games (five starts) in 2024, Warren allowed four or more runs four times. He pitched to a 10.32 ERA and a 1.90 WHIP.

But that experience makes this season and his first win mean even more.

"Learned a lot, been through a lot of tough outings but I think, that's what makes this one even sweeter," Warren said. "You learn from it, move on and try to get better each day." 

Warren added, "There's a lot of guys in this clubhouse you lean on and learn from, as well as breaking down each outing every week. I don't know how much better I've gotten. I think it's still the same. I think it's the process of knowing what to do, when to do and executing it."

The Yankees hope Warren's first major league win leads to much more. With Stroman being placed on the IL, Warren -- who could have potentially be demoted to make room for the returning Schmidt -- will be in the rotation to stay, at least for now.

The Mets’ offense has gotten off to a slow start this season. 

Other than Pete Alonso, who has been their biggest catalyst to this point, New York hasn’t been able to get much going consistently and it’s mainly been carried by its dominant early-season pitching.

Francisco Lindor has shown some positive signs but he doesn’t look like himself. Juan Soto has been his usual on-base machine, but he isn’t hitting for much power. Brandon Nimmo is starting to turn things around, and Mark Vientos is struggling mightily.

This team has been generating a ton of opportunities, but it simply hasn’t been able to come up with that big hit when it’s needed it the most -- like it did so often during last year’s run to the NLCS.

That was again the case in Saturday afternoon’s loss to the Athletics.

Left-hander David Peterson threw well but he was outdone by former Mets prospect J.T. Ginn who limited them to just one run on four hits while walking two and striking out six across 5.1 innings of work.

“Man, he was really good,” Carlos Mendoza said. “He was effective. The movement on his pitches was unbelievable today. That sinker was really good then the cutter, nothing was straight -- everything was in to righties then away, same to lefties.

“He made some big pitches when he needed to. We created a little bit of traffic on the bases, but we couldn’t string together a rally. He was really, really good today.”

New York's lone run came on a Nimmo homer and it left eight men on base, finishing an ugly 0-for-8 with runners in scoring position.

That marked the ninth time through 14 games that the Mets have finished with three runs or fewer scored -- and they haven’t exactly faced some big-time pitching aside from Sandy Alcantara and the opening series in Houston.

While times are tough, the skipper remains confident that they’ll break through soon.

“We have too many good hitters in that lineup not to,” he said. “Right now, we have Pete being the one who is pretty much carrying us -- but the fact that we are creating traffic and we’re getting guy on-base, they’ll step up.

“I like Nimmo’s at-bat, Vientos is just not getting results but he continues to hit the ball hard and he’s not chasing which is a good sign -- like I said, one through nine, we have a good offense and they’ll come through.”

The hope is that it'll start in Sunday's series finale against old friend Luis Severino.

The Mets (9-5) were defeated by the Athletics 3-1 on Saturday afternoon at Sutter Health Park.

Here are some takeaways...

- David Peterson took the mound after leaving his last outing with a stomach issue, and he got off to a terrific start. The lefty retired the first six batters before Luis Urias led off the third with a hit -- but he was quickly erased on a pickoff and Brett Baty made a terrific diving stop to escape the inning facing the minimum.

Then, Peterson's issues the second time through the order resurfaced. Jacob Wilson led off the inning with a double and scored the first run of the game on a Tyler Soderstrom knock. After another run scored on a fielder's choice with the bases loaded, Peterson was able to limit the damage thanks to a groundout.

He bounced back nicely in the fifth, working around a two out double, and then was helped out by a Hayden Senger caught stealing to finish his day strong. Peterson put together his second quality start of the year, allowing just two runs on seven hits while striking out five and issuing no walks.

- The Mets were unable to get to right-hander J.T. Ginn over the first five innings, but then Brandon Nimmo demolished a solo homer to deep right field leading off the sixth. Nimmo has gotten off to a bit of a slow start, but he's now gone deep in back-to-back games, giving him four on the year.

- Other than that, Ginn threw extremely well against the team that selected him back in the second round of the 2020 Draft. The 25-year-old right-hander worked around baserunners in numerous innings but allowed just one run on four hits and two walks while striking out six in 5.1 innings of work.

- Jose Butto allowed a run in the seventh to increase the deficit to two, and the Mets were unable to get to the Athletics' high-powered backend arms -- Tyler Ferguson and Mason Miller, who touched 103 mph as he secured his fourth save of the season.

- Francisco Lindor, Juan Soto and Pete Alonso walked three times, but went a combined 0-for-9 on the day.

- Baty enjoyed a strong day out at second base and he also came up with a much-needed base hit, lining a single in the fourth. The youngster has been losing out on more and more playing time as he's been stuck in a brutal rut at the plate, going 4-for-30 with 12 strikeouts.

- Jose Siri was forced out of the game after fouling a ball off his lower left leg on the first pitch of his first at-bat in the top of the second. Tyrone Taylor took over in his place, and the team said shortly after that he is day-to-day with a shin contusion.

Game MVP: J.T. Ginn

The youngster was certainly fired up to face the organization that traded him, and he held them to just one run.

Highlights

Two strikeouts for David Peterson in the first inning 👏 pic.twitter.com/3VflNB77zP

— SNY (@SNYtv) April 12, 2025

Jose Siri goes down in pain after fouling a ball off his leg pic.twitter.com/8n1NdaoLTY

— SNY (@SNYtv) April 12, 2025

David Peterson gets his first pickoff of the season for the second out! pic.twitter.com/tRrpgn5OLE

— SNY (@SNYtv) April 12, 2025

BRANDON NIMMO SOLO HOMER! 💣 pic.twitter.com/f4xWYRLDy7

— SNY (@SNYtv) April 12, 2025

Whats next

Kodai Senga (1-1, 1.80 ERA) takes the ball against old friend Luis Severino (0-2, 4.74 ERA) in the rubber game on Sunday at 4:05 p.m.

With their 7-3 loss to the Carolina Hurricanes on Saturday afternoon, the New York Rangers have officially been eliminated from playoff contention. 

Despite their season quite literally being on the line, the Rangers showed no sense of urgency to start the game as they looked completely out of sorts. 

Carolina took a commanding 4-0 lead in the second period, putting the Rangers in desperation mode. 

The Rangers provided some pushback in the third period to keep the game close. However, it was too little. 

From winning the Presidents’ Trophy just one year ago to missing the playoffs entirely, it’s been a true fall from grace for the Blueshirts. 

“You can't just show up and expect it to go the same way it did last year,” Vincent Trocheck said. “We earned it last year. We certainly didn't earn it this year.”

There’s a feeling of frustration and disappointment not only because they missed the playoffs, but because this team had so many opportunities to make the most of the season and ultimately couldn't salvage their chances. 

Even with all the talent in the world, the Rangers couldn’t even squeak the postseason. The Rangers disappointed the fans and they disappointed themselves.

“It's disappointing for everybody,” Peter Laviolette said. “It certainly wasn't anybody's plan coming into the year, especially coming off of last year. Yet here we are. We had opportunities in the last 20 games to make our own noise and make our own way and we didn't do that. It's on us. We needed to be better…

“I think there's always expectation here. I think every year this team has gone in expecting to be successful, expecting to win a Stanley Cup. The disappointment is real.”

The Rangers have two games remaining with nothing to play for but pride.

The Yankees' offense exploded for eight runs, including a five-run fifth inning, on 11 hits that pushed them to an 8-4 win over the San Francisco Giants on Saturday afternoon in the Bronx.

With the weather misty, cold and windy again, the Yankees shook off the elements thanks to solid pitching and timely hitting.

Here are the takeaways...

-Saturday's starter, Will Warren, already gave the Yankees more than Marcus Stroman did on Friday. Warren pitched around a two-out walk to get out of the first inning unscathed and threw just 16 pitches in the opening frame as opposed to Stroman's 46.

But the young righty couldn't keep the early lead, giving up a two-run homer to Wilmer Flores to tie things up at 2-2 in the second. Surprisingly, Flores pulled into a tie for the MLB lead with his sixth dinger of the season. After he gave up the homer to Flores, Warren settled down, sitting down 10 straight Giants with four strikeouts among them -- and aided by some stellar defense from Goldschmidt. After giving up a two-out walk to the No. 9 hitter, pitching coach Matt Blake came out to talk to Warren. The talk must have settled him down, as Warren responded by punching out Mike Yastrzemski for the third time and put a bow on the outing.

Warren was great after the Flores home run, giving the Yankees some length they desperately needed. While Warren wasn't as efficient as he'd like (91 pitches/54 strikes), he got through five innings, allowing two runs on two hits and two walks while striking out six batters.

-After scoring just one run in five innings on Friday, the Yankees got on the board early thanks to Cody Bellinger. The outfielder launched a pitch the opposite way that continued to carry all the way to the wall. The Giants' Heliot Ramos could not track the ball down at the wall as it kicked passed him for a triple, scoring Aaron Judge -- who singled -- from first. Paul Goldschmidt followed with a sac fly to give the Yankees an early 2-0 lead.

Judge would come up in the second with two outs and the bases loaded, but the captain grounded out on a 1-1 pitch to end the threat.

-Bellinger would come through again in the fifth, following Ben Rice and Judge singles with a single of his own to give the Yankees back the lead, 3-2. Goldschmidt would follow with an opposite-field double that scored another -- and would have been more if it didn't go into the stands. Jazz Chisholm Jr. walked to load the bases -- and chase starter Jordan Hicks -- and an Anthony Volpe sac fly drove in another run.

Jasson Dominguez capped off the five-run inning with a two-run single, going the other way.

-Things got dicey in the top half of the sixth. With Fernando Cruz on the mound, Chisholm had a chance to turn a double play, but his errant throw pulled Volpe off of second, allowing everyone to be safe. Cruz then walked the bases loaded with no out, but got Ramos to fly out to first base, LaMonte Wade Jr. to strikeout swinging. Flores then came up and hit a two-run single to cut the Yankees lead to 7-4.

Luke Weaver was called in to get the final out of the sixth, which he did with a strikeout of Sam Huff. Weaver work out of trouble in the seventh, getting Matt Chapman to strikeout swinging with men on second and third and two outs.

Mark Leiter Jr. worked in and out of trouble in the eighth and Devin Williams was called in for the ninth in a non-save situation. He gave up a leadoff walk and then a double before striking out the next two batters out swinging on his patented changeup. He got Ramos to groundout to end the game.

Despite some hiccups, the Yankees bullpen did not allow an earned run in four innings.

-Rice would get one of those runs back in the home half of the sixth. On the first pitch he saw from former Yankee Lou Trivino, Rice launched a blast over the right field wall at 113.2 mph, the hardest-hit ball of his career.

Game MVP: Cody Bellinger

After being unable to get runs on Friday, it was important that Bellinger got the Yankees on the board in the first and giving them the lead back in the fifth.

Highlights

Paul Goldschmidt with a sacrifice fly makes it 2-0 Yanks 🤝 pic.twitter.com/J9ctomIUeJ

— Yankees Videos (@snyyankees) April 12, 2025

Goldschmidt with a ground-rule double brings Judge home for an RBI! pic.twitter.com/EEuZAP4ogb

— Yankees Videos (@snyyankees) April 12, 2025

What's next

The Yankees and Giants complete their three-game set on Sunday. First pitch is scheduled for 1:05 p.m.

Carlos Rodon takes the mound for the Yankees while the Giants will send out Logan Webb.