Category: Sports News

Heading into Tuesday's game against the Washington Nationals, the Mets had scored five runs in an inning just twice all season. And both of those times came before the team's 12-game losing streak, in which the offense disappeared. 

Following their disappointing sweep to the Colorado Rockies over the weekend, it was time for the team to find a way to score and get a win in a big way. Bo Bichette stepped up and got it going early with a leadoff home run, but no one else was able to follow with a hit. That is, until the fourth inning.

That's when New York was finally able to flip the switch, breaking out for seven runs in the fourth for their biggest inning of the season. Two runs scored on a hard hit grounder by Marcus Semien that got by Jorbit Vivas (and was ruled an error), another two on Carson Benge's single, one more on Bichette's sac-fly, and then Juan Soto delivered the blow with a two-run home run. 

The Mets held on to the 8-0 win as the scoring outburst was exactly what they needed amid their rough stretch. After the game, Soto said he hopes the huge fourth inning will serve as a confidence boost for the team going forward.

"Win a game, actually," Soto said. "Just give a little confidence to the lineup and remember what we are capable of."

Starting pitcher Clay Holmes agreed, saying it was nice to see the offense have that type of inning after all they've been through.

"It's huge," Holmes said. "I think, it's hard to not in those times when it feels like everything's not going your way, to just have something go your way. When you feel that, you know it's a matter of time and it's nice to see. 

"A lot of confidence in those guys. To see that type of inning and know that it's there, it's just fun to be a part of."

Soto didn't think the team felt a sense of relief after Vivas' error allowed them to score, but instead helped them turn it on and take advantage, even if they got a little bit of luck. He added that it was "cool to see" everyone stringing good at-bats together and appreciated everyone's effort.

"No, not relief," Soto said. "Things got to come together to come through. After the error, we just capitalized... Sometimes you just need a lucky rock in the middle of the field and it gets you going."

While the team will look to keep the momentum going on Wednesday, Holmes acknowledged the team's position (10-19) and discussed how performances like Tuesday's win can help them slowly begin to turn the season around.

"I think it'd be crazy to say you don't really know the situation as a player," Holmes said. "You know we haven't been playing well. You know the expectations here in New York. You're aware of it. Sometimes, the hard part is trying to do too much in situations of pressing and maybe trying to do things you don't need to.

"It's really just, you got to have a relaxed focus of who you are and what you can do and show up every day and do it. If you try to climb out of a hole in one day, it rarely ever works. So I think just in the setting, you're aware where you're at, but it should focus you in on who you are and what you need to do to help the team win.

Juan Soto is dealing with left forearm tightness, and it would be easy to fear the worst in what’s been a train wreck of a Mets season.

And one game in which the Mets offense finally awoke — for one inning, anyway — and a home run from Soto were hardly enough to ease the nerves.

Still, Soto insisted the discomfort in his forearm is not a big deal after he served as the DH in an 8-0 win over Washington at Citi Field and hit his second homer of the season.

It came after Carlos Mendoza said Soto felt tightness for the first time after throwing Friday.

The discomfort led to an MRI, which was clean, and Mendoza said Soto — who has been limited to DH duty since coming back from a calf strain — could be in left field “in the next few days.”

Tuesday, at least, he felt good enough to help the Mets pile on the Nationals, and afterward, Soto said the outburst by the Mets, most of which came in a seven-run fourth, let the Mets “remember what we’re capable of.”

But they proved during his 15-game absence due to the strained right calf earlier in the season that they cannot withstand his loss for any length of time.

And they might not be all that great even when Soto is in the lineup.

A healthy Soto, though, gives the Mets a chance.

He entered Tuesday just 3-for-15 with six walks and no extra-base hits since his return from the calf injury.

The 104 mph shot out to left-center on a sinker from Zack Littell was Soto’s first home run since April 1 and certainly would have been of greater value while they were being embarrassingly shut down by the Rockies last weekend instead of up 6-0 on the Nationals, but the Mets will take it.

And the Mets hope it’s a sign that Soto is close to finding his rhythm at the plate.

After struggling without their star, they lost Francisco Lindor to a calf strain the same day Soto returned.

Soto added his calf is now “100 percent,” and he didn’t seem overly concerned about his arm, saying he felt “comfortable right now.”

He’ll keep receiving treatment for the forearm, as well as continue a throwing program, and his swing is unaffected.

Soto hasn’t played in the outfield since April 3 and has often said he prefers to play defense rather than be limited to DH.

While that’s not an option for the time being, Soto said he’s making the most of it as he attempts to get back into form by taking extra swings in the cages.

And for a Mets team that’s seen almost nothing but bad news, it’ll take any positive they can get.

It’s another night here at BCB After Dark: the grooviest dive for night owls, early risers, new parents and Cubs fans abroad. Come on in and sit with us for a while. There’s no cover charge. The dress code is casual. We still have a few good tables. Bring your own beverage.

BCB After Dark is the place for you to talk baseball, music, movies, or anything else you need to get off your chest, as long as it is within the rules of the site. The late-nighters are encouraged to get the party started, but everyone else is invited to join in as you wake up the next morning and into the afternoon.

Last night I asked you if the Cubs should sign catcher Carson Kelly to a two-year extension. The slight majority of you thought it was a good idea, as 51 percent of you said yes. Thirty-one percent were against it and the rest of you were “If he’ll sign for cheap,”

On Tuesdays I don’t do movie stuff, but I’m sure I can find some music in here somewhere.

International Jazz Day is April 30 and it’s almost here. As mentioned before, Chicago is the host city of this day that we all celebrate the most American of art forms. Here’s a piece from International Jazz Day in 2023 featuring pianist Emmet Cohen and vocalist Cyrille Aimée. Joining them are Philip Norris on bass and John Lumpkin. This is Frederick Loewe and Alan Jay Lerner jazz standard “Almost Like Being in Love.”

Feel free to sing along if you want.

Welcome back to those who skip all that jazz.

Last night we got to see Moisés Ballesteros start behind the plate for the first time this year. At the plate, he was great with his first career grand slam. Defensively, I thought he looked shaky. So did Al in his recap, noting that he had a passed ball, let Ty France steal a base on him and made a bad ABS challenge. I’m going to let the ABS challenge slide a little bit since I thought the pitch was close enough to challenge. The only problem was that Matthew Boyd had made an ill-advised challenge earlier in the game and that meant the Cubs were out of challenges. So I guess Ballesteros should have known that the Cubs were down to one challenge. Also, Matthew Boyd shouldn’t be allowed to challenge pitches anymore.

Of course, those two bad ABS challenges came back to bite the Cubs when Ben Brown had clearly struck out Ty France with two out in the fifth inning, only for home plate umpire Dan Merzel badly blow the call. That’s exactly what the ABS system was designed to fix, but the Cubs couldn’t use it. France ended up walking and the Padres ended up scoring two runs in the inning. The Padres beat the Cubs by two runs.

But that’s an aside. What I want to ask you is do you think Moisés Ballesteros should keep catching? The scouting report on Ballesteros throughout the minor leagues was that he was a great hitter but that he really wasn’t good enough behind the plate to catch. So far in his major league career, he’s lived up to his scouting report. He looks like an elite hitter but a poor catcher.

Is it worth it to try to keep Mo Baller behind the plate? Or would you rather he just concentrate on hitting and maybe getting an occasional start at first base? If Ballesteros is as good a hitter as he’s shown us so far, he’s definitely a good enough hitter to stick at DH. Might he be even better if he didn’t have to work on improving his defense behind the plate. Maybe! It’s certainly no guarantee because he’s already pretty darn great, but I’ve always believed (and many scouts agree with me) that hitting skills of catchers develop late because they spend so much time working on their defensive responsibilities. Maybe that’s what happened to Carson Kelly.

The other reason to make him a full-time DH is that catchers get hurt. It’s a brutal life back behind the plate from foul balls and whatnot. Not only that, but constantly getting up and down out of a crouch can damage the knees.

On the other hand, if Ballesteros can manage to be even a below-average defensive catcher, that makes him a lot more valuable than if he were just a full-time DH. Also, as far as I know, Mo Baller still wants to catch. There’s something to be said for letting a young star do what he wants.

The Cubs faced this same dilemma with Kyle Schwarber a little over a decade ago. Eventually, the Cubs tried to play him in left field. That worked for a while, but he was certainly well below-average out there. Nowadays, Schwarber just serves as the DH almost exclusively and no one is second-guessing that choice.

(Before anyone suggests it, I believe that Ballesteros would be much worse than Schwarber ever was in left field. He can play first base and not be terrible, but with both Busch and Ballesteros being left-handed hitters, that doesn’t work well for the Cubs.)

I’m also going to give you the option of trading Mo Baller and making this issue someone else’s problem. I don’t think many of you will vote for it, but I’ll throw it out there for anyone who wants to bring it up.

Thanks for stopping by tonight. We’ve enjoyed having you. Please get home safely. Call a ride if you need to. Recycle any cans and bottles. Tip your waitstaff. And join us again tomorrow night for more BCB After Dark.

Every once in a while, you get a picture (like that one up there of Jarren Duran) that so perfectly encapsulates how the night went for the offense, you just have to use it.

But tonight, we got two:

After a three game winning streak that included several signs of life from the lineup, they regressed right back into the puddle of ineptitude at the plate we’ve seen far to often this year. Their best chance to score came in the first inning when Willson Contreras hit a one out double, but after failing to get that run home, they had only one at bat with a runner in scoring position the rest of the night. That’s pretty much all you need to know.

If you’re feeling generous, you can say they were facing Trey Yesavage, who’s an excellent young pitcher and will be a thorn in the side of AL East opponents for years to come. But on the other hand, he was making his first big league start of the year coming back from injury and looked hittable early on before getting stronger as his outing progressed. At the very least, the bats should have made him work harder and generated some chances. While nobody expects this offense to be good, there’s been far too many nights this season where they’ve resembled a corpse.

Going into the game, the story was Payton Tolle, and specifically if he could back up his outing against the Yankees from last time out. The answer to that was a resounding “no,” as unlike Yesavage, he got worse as his outing progressed. Tolle lasted just 4.2 innings and walked four on his way to giving up three hits and three runs.

He also looked like a guy running out of gas, which is notable because he lasted just 68 pitches, had his velocity dipping before Chad Tracy yanked him mid inning, and mentioned that he needed to be quote “better about my recovery, and get better sleep” in the postgame show. Unfortunately, there was no follow up question, because I’d love to know specifically what he was talking about there.

Three Studs

Willson Contreras: His first inning double was the only extra base hit of the night. Normally a 1-4 effort won’t land you here, but the pickings are slim.

Marcelo Mayer: He went 1-3 at the plate, but that single extended his hitting streak to seven games, and he’s batting .391 over that stretch.

Ryan Watson: Mopped up the last five outs of the game and prevented any other relievers from being used after him. This puts the Red Sox in better position going into the rubber game of the series tomorrow.

Three Duds

Jarren Duran: 0-4 from the top of the lineup. He’s now batting .172 with a .487 OPS.

Carlos Narvaez: 0-3 with a strike out, and two of the fruitless at bats came with a man on base.

Payton Tolle: Unfortunately, he has to end up here given the short nature of his outing and the large step back he took from the Yankee game.

Play of the game:

Here’s something crazy: I think you can make a solid argument that the best play of the game for both teams may have actually been the same play. (I can’t ever remember thinking that in a game before.) For the Blue Jays, the reasons it’s Kazuma Okamoto’s two-run single are obvious. But for the Red Sox, Roman Anthony made a beautiful throw and nailed a runner at second base on a ball hit over his head. Given what’s been happening with some of his throws this year, this is no small thing, and on a night where literally everything else was underwhelming and forgettable, Anthony’s arm looking like it did a year ago should give fans a reason to smile.

So far this year the Yankees have regularly teetered on a knife’s edge from game to game. They typically do enough to win a game but routinely give themselves enough opportunities to give it away. The late innings following a quotidian quality start from Cam Schlittler were typically dicey for the Yankee bullpen, but a couple heroic plays allowed them to stay a whisker’s length ahead of the Rangers. Schlittler outdueled the legendary Jacob deGrom to earn the win, and big insurance home runs from Austin Wells and Aaron Judge proved essential to give New York a series victory.

The Bomber bats arrived to the ballpark early in an opening half-inning which, but for a difference of a few feet, could have plated three runs but scored only one. A two-out walk to Aaron Judge (not so easy to get away with these days!) set the table for a wall-scraping double by Cody Bellinger which missed clearing the right center fence by a few feet. Judge still scored without a play from first base. Jazz Chisholm Jr. followed with a deep drive to center, but a stupendous play from Evan Carter saved extra bases and ended the inning.

The Yankees’ gloves proved similarly available from the jump. Bellinger flagged down a tricky fly ball from leadoff man Brandon Nimmo, and Trent Grisham then somersaulted forward to take a base hit from Josh Jung. Schlittler allowed a third hard-hit ball, this time a double to Corey Seager, before wriggling free on a strikeout.

The tone was set for excellent defense early, and both teams added to their own highlight reels. Texas’ Josh Smith sprawled out at second base to cut down a hustling Ryan McMahon to finish the second, and in the third, left fielder Alejandro Osuna snagged a well-struck liner from Grisham. The center fielder himself got back in the act in the home fourth, covering a ton of ground to catch a hard-hit Pederson smash off a hanging curveball from Schlittler.

The veteran deGrom settled into the contest after that iffy first inning, improving as the game went along. After retiring the heart of the Yankee lineup in order to close out the sixth inning, he received congratulatory handshakes from his teammates, but departed on the hook for the loss thanks to Schlittler’s brilliance. Cam issued a rare walk before closing out the fifth, then allowed a pair of runners to reach to start the sixth—including a second base on balls. That set the stage for his finest work of the night.

Schlittler started with a strikeout of the threatening Seager with a 98-mph fastball. Two pitches later, he induced an infield fly from Joc Pederson. Finally, he faced Jake Burger. Austin Wells successfully challenged a called ball, bringing the count from 2-0 to 1-1. That excellent challenge lowered the pressure on Schlittler, who needed just one more pitch to send Burger out for delivery on a pop to right.

That closed the line on yet another stellar performance from Schlittler, who picked up eight total strikeouts, scattering three hits and two walks. He threw 91 pitches in the effort and now has a 1.51 ERA. Folks, he is simply sensational.

His catcher isn’t half bad either. After making that great call to overturn a ball and help out his pitcher, he provided further aid by taking lefty reliever Jalen Beeks to the skies. Wells cranked a fastball out to right field for his third homer of the year, providing a crucial insurance run in the seventh inning.

The Rangers threatened again in the bottom half, but once again were turned away emptyhanded. Brent Headrick worked around a leadoff single and a dreaded-two out walk to the number-nine hitter, striking out Nimmo to strand a pair.

Texas came back in the bottom of the eighth with pitchforks in hand. Fernando Cruz allowed the first two men to reach in front of Pederson, who bucked his usual convention as a power hitter by dropping down a bunt. Cruz fielded the bunt before tumbling to the turf, then regained his bearings and fired a bouncing throw to McMahon at third, who fielded the peg for an absolutely stunning first out. What could have—and maybe should have—been a cataclysmic blunder was instead turned into a highlight-reel play.

Cruz sensed his moment from there, striking out Burger on a succession of nasty splitters. He then worked ahead of pinch-hitter Ezequiel Duran, and shut out his lights with one last split-finger to quell another Ranger rally.

In a game like this, one more run from the Bombers threatened to be backbreaking for Texas. What better to get it than with a comet from the captain? Judge greeted Cole Winn with a 112.7 mph, 424-foot home run to the second deck in left for his 12th home run of the season, giving the Yankees a 3-0 mandate. That final tack-on run would, perhaps unsurprisingly, prove indispensable in short order.

No one ever promised that the bottom of the ninth inning would be easy. David Bednar took over for the save, but an errant throw from McMahon immediately told the viewing audience that this frame would be a struggle. Habitual Yankee nuisance Danny Jansen made the error sting with a triple to belatedly put Texas on the scoreboard. Grisham landed awkwardly on his leg during the play, but stayed in the game after getting a look from the training staff.

After a line shot from Jung sailed into left to score Jansen, the Yankee lead was suddenly whittled down to a single tally. The tying run was in scoring position and the winning run was also aboard. Disaster once again loomed with Bednar on the mound. Needing to induce a roller, he delivered a 1-0 splitter to Seager. The two-time World Series MVP pounded it on the ground to Chisholm, who initiated the 4-6-3 double play that, at last, ended the night.

Everybody has permission to breathe again. The Yankees are 20-10 on the season, ranking as the first American League team to reach 20 wins this year.

Tomorrow promises to be a very exciting afternoon for the Yanks, as they go for the sweep deep in the heart of Texas. Top prospect Elmer Rodriguez is slated to make his MLB debut against veteran Nathan Eovaldi. First pitch for this circle-the-calendar affair comes at 2:35 PM on YES.

Box Score

ARLINGTON, Texas — A young, hard-throwing right-hander who calls New York home, emerging as one of the game’s best pitchers? 

That was once Jacob deGrom. It is now Cam Schlittler. 

And on Tuesday night at Globe Life Field, the two squared off, with Schlittler outdueling deGrom to lead the Yankees past the Rangers for a 3-2 win. 

Schlittler tossed six shutout innings, scattering three hits and two walks while striking out eight and lowering his ERA to 1.51 on the way to the Yankees’ 10th win in their past 11 games. 

The Yankees (20-10) had their hands full with deGrom but got to him for a run in the top of the first on Cody Bellinger’s RBI double before the former Mets ace completed six strong innings of his own. 

“[Schlittler was] going up against a future Hall of Famer like that and going toe-to-toe with him, it was impressive,” said Aaron Judge, whose majestic solo shot in the top of the ninth put the Yankees up 3-0 and proved to be the winning run. 

“Two big, tall, lanky power-pitching righties,” manager Aaron Boone said. “Obviously runs were tough to come by.”

At least until Schlittler and deGrom left the game. 

Austin Wells crushed a left-on-left homer in the seventh inning before Judge went deep in the ninth — his third home run in the past three games and ninth in the past 16 — insurance runs that proved critical as the Rangers (14-16) threatened to spoil Schlittler’s night against the Yankees bullpen. 

Brent Headrick stranded a pair of runners in the seventh before Fernando Cruz did the same in the eighth — helped in part by his own highlight-reel play in which he slid to field a bunt and threw from his rear end to third base, where Ryan McMahon scooped it like a first baseman for the forceout, the first of the inning. 

“All I knew in my mind was I’m gonna do or die there,” said Cruz, who struck out the next two batters. 

David Bednar got into more trouble in the ninth, beginning when McMahon committed a throwing error with one out. Danny Jansen followed by roping a triple into the gap — Trent Grisham banged his knee on the wall trying to make a catch, but Boone said he was “fine” — to pull the Rangers within 3-1. 

A hit batter and single later, it was 3-2, but Bednar held on by getting Corey Seager to ground into a double play to end it. 

The slick twin killing was a fitting way to close out a game in which the Yankees turned in some strong defense behind Schlittler. Bellinger and Grisham both turned in terrific catches in the bottom of the first — Bellinger a running grab into the left field corner up against the wall and Grisham a diving snag on a sinking liner — to keep a 1-0 lead intact. 

“Incredible defense all around out of those two, and then even the double play to end the game,” Judge said. 

Schlittler gave up a hard double to the next batter, Seager, but limited the hard contact from that point on, retiring 13 of the next 15 hitters. He then allowed the first two batters in the sixth to reach but buckled down and retired the next three in order to finish his night in style. 

In the process, the 25-year-old Schlittler bested the 37-year-old deGrom, who is not quite what he was in his Mets prime but still owns a 2.01 ERA. 

“He’s an elite guy,” Schlittler said. “He’s been one of the best pitchers for the last 10 years. Really cool to go up against him.” 

Schlittler is still early in his own path to achieving what deGrom has, but his teammates believe he is on the way. 

“Superstar,” Cruz said. “What he’s doing is really impressive. Throwing three pitches at one speed, but different directions, it’s something you don’t see too often in baseball. Right now he’s one of the best to step on the field.”

The Texas Rangers scored two runs but the New York Yankees scored three runs.

The Yankees got the customary two-out first inning run that the generous Rangers hand out every game. With some excellent starting pitching and some highlight-reel defense from both teams, score stays there.

Sixth inning, 1-0 game. The Rangers get the first two runners on against Cam Schlittler. 3-4-5 hitters coming up. Here’s their chance. Except, inning over in eight pitches without even advancing the runners.

Immediately after Jacob deGrom exited in a 1-0 game through six innings, Jalen Beeks gives up a home run. 2-0, a troubling deficit.

Eighth inning, 2-0 game. The Rangers get the first two runners on. Schlitter has hit the showers. 4-5-6 hitters coming up. Another chance. It’s not yet May and the Rangers ask Joc Pederson to sac bunt. Joc Pederson fails to bunt the runners over. The next two hitters K on a total of seven pitches.

The next half inning, Aaron Judge homers off Cole Winn. It’s 3-0. Lax Yankees defense helps the Rangers get a rally going. Texas gets their customary ninth inning runs to make it close. Lose on double play with tying run at second base.

1-for-10 with RISP overall. Ten left of base. Rangers lose. Series loss. Losing homestand.

See ya tomorrow!

Player of the Game: deGrom lowered his ERA to 2.01 on the year as he tied his longest outing of the season with six innings of one-run ball. It’s too bad he wasn’t perfect, I suppose.

Up Next: The Rangers and Yankees close out this series with Texas finishing up their homestand. RHP Nathan Eovaldi is set to pitch for Texas in the finale opposite right-handed top prospect Elmer Rodriguez who will be making his MLB debut for New York.

The Wednesday afternoon first pitch from The Shed is scheduled for 1:35 pm CDT and your eyeballs can view it via the Rangers Sports Network if you’re so inclined.