Category: Sports News

The margin against the Brewers was thin Friday night, and the final innings showed why.

The Rockies had a 3-1 lead, had allowed one hit through eight innings and were three outs away from taking the opener against the first-place Brewers.

They still lost.

Colorado fell 9-7 in 10 innings Friday night at Coors Field, dropping to 24-40 while Milwaukee improved to 38-23. The Rockies got one of Ryan Feltner’s best starts of the season, early offense against Brandon Sproat and Hunter Goodman’s 16th home run, but went scoreless from the fourth through the eighth before the game turned late.

Milwaukee scored four runs in the ninth to take a 5-3 lead. Colorado answered with two runs in the bottom half to force extras, but the Brewers came back with four more in the 10th. The Rockies scored twice in the bottom of the inning before the comeback ended.

Feltner settles in after high-pitch second inning

Ryan Feltner looked sharp Friday, giving the Rockies six innings of one-run baseball against a first-place Brewers lineup. He allowed one hit, walked two, struck out four and needed 81 pitches. The outing lowered his season ERA to 4.22.

Feltner hit Christian Yelich to open the game, but the only real trouble came in the second inning. Jake Bauers led off with a double, and Milwaukee used a walk, two stolen bases and Luis Rengifo’s soft groundout to tie the game. David Hamilton followed with another walk and a stolen base, giving the Brewers two runners in scoring position with Yelich at the plate.

Feltner ended the inning with one of the game’s biggest pitches: an 86.8 mph changeup for a swinging strikeout. The pitch stranded both runners and kept the game tied at 1-1.

From there, Feltner controlled the game. He did not allow another baserunner after Hamilton’s walk, retired his final 13 batters and finished the sixth at 81 pitches.

The command was a big part of it, the second inning aside. Feltner threw 56% of his pitches in the zone and finished with a 63% strike rate, using the full mix without letting Milwaukee back into counts after the second.

The pitch data backed up the line. Feltner used six pitches, led by 27 sliders, 23 four-seam fastballs and 17 changeups. The changeup produced three of his four strikeouts and four whiffs on seven swings. His four-seam fastball averaged 94.5 mph and topped out at 97.4 mph.

Rockies get to Sproat early, but fail to add on

Brandon Sproat brought plenty of velocity, but the Rockies built their lead by scoring in each of the first three innings against him.

Sproat allowed three runs on seven hits over five innings, walking two and striking out two on 87 pitches. His ERA rose to 6.17.

Jake McCarthy opened the bottom of the first with a double, stole third and scored on Tyler Freeman’s RBI groundout. McCarthy, who entered the game hitting .289 with an .805 OPS, finished 2-for-6 with a double, a run scored and a stolen base.

The Rockies answered Milwaukee’s second-inning run with one of their better offensive sequences. Ezequiel Tovar hit a 103 mph ground-rule double, Sterlin Thompson moved him to third after an eight-pitch at-bat, and Edouard Julien lined a single to left to put Colorado back in front.

McCarthy followed with a 101.4 mph single to right, prompting a mound visit before Freeman ended the inning with a flyout.

Goodman added the Rockies’ final early run in the third. After falling behind 1-2 and working the count full, he got an 81.5 mph curveball and drove it to left field for his 16th home run of the season. The ball left his bat at 106.4 mph and traveled 411 feet, giving Colorado a 3-1 lead.

Goodman, who entered the game hitting .245 with an .831 OPS, finished 1-for-3 with a homer, a walk, a stolen base and two RBI. Thompson went 3-for-5 with a double and two RBI, while Tovar and Willi Castro also doubled.

Sproat averaged 95.9 mph with his four-seam fastball and 96.1 mph with his sinker, topping out at 97.8 mph. He used six pitches, led by 24 four-seam fastballs, 20 cutters, 17 changeups and 13 curveballs.

The Rockies finished with seven hits against Sproat, including four extra-base hits. Sproat generated six whiffs on 42 swings, finished with a 59% strike rate and threw 44% of his pitches in the zone.

Ninth inning undoes strong pitching stretch

The Rockies were in good shape after Ryan Feltner exited. Jaden Hill handled the seventh, working around a two-out walk with a strikeout and a forceout.

Senzatela struck out David Hamilton, Christian Yelich and Jackson Chourio in order in the eighth, pushing Colorado within three outs of a win. He entered the ninth with a 1.26 ERA, but the inning changed quickly.

Milwaukee opened the ninth with a single, then reached again on a comebacker and a throwing error by Senzatela. Instead of recording at least one out, the Brewers had runners at the corners with nobody out.

Jake Bauers followed with a 111.8 mph RBI single to center to cut the lead to 3-2.

Senzatela got the first out by striking out Garrett Mitchell with a 92.3 mph cutter, but Sal Frelick followed with a 106 mph double to tie the game.

Andrew Vaughn then came off the bench and bounced a single through the drawn-in infield, scoring two runs and giving Milwaukee a 5-3 lead.

Senzatela finished with 1.2 innings, allowing four runs, three earned, on four hits with four strikeouts. His ERA moved to 1.98. Brennan Bernardino entered and got Yelich to ground out to end the inning.

Rockies answer in bottom of ninth

The Rockies did not let the game end in the bottom of the ninth against Trevor Megill.

Colorado loaded the bases after Thompson reached on a strange play near first base, Kyle Karros followed with a 101.7 mph single to right off a 96.6 mph four-seam fastball, and Freeman singled to left.

Chad Stevens worked a bases-loaded walk to score Thompson and cut Milwaukee’s lead to 5-4. Goodman followed after an ABS challenge overturned a ball call and made the count 0-2. He still got a 98.5 mph four-seam fastball in the air, hitting a sacrifice fly to right at 96.6 mph and 323 feet to score pinch-runner Braxton Fulford and tie the game at 5-5.

Troy Johnston came up with runners on the corners and two outs, but flew out to left to send the game to extra innings.

Brewers take control in extras

Juan Mejia took over in the 10th with Yelich starting the inning at second as the automatic runner. Mejia got the first out by striking out Chourio, but back-to-back walks to Brice Turang and Gary Sánchez loaded the bases.

The walks set up the inning. Bauers doubled to center to give Milwaukee a 7-5 lead, and Mitchell and Frelick followed with run-scoring singles to make it 9-5.

Mejia allowed four runs, three earned, on three hits and two walks in one-third of an inning. His ERA rose to 6.67.

“Walks kill you. Especially late in the game. Walks always kill you,” Warren Schaeffer said after the game.

Seth Halvorsen entered with runners on first and second and one out, but walked Joey Ortiz on four pitches to load the bases again. He avoided further damage, striking out Hamilton on three straight sliders after starting him with a ball, then getting Yelich to ground out on a 96.7 mph four-seam fastball after falling behind 3-0.

The Rockies had one more push in the bottom of the 10th against Aaron Ashby. Johnston started the inning at second, Castro was hit by a pitch and Tovar walked to load the bases. Thompson followed with a two-run single to center, scoring Johnston and Castro to cut Milwaukee’s lead to 9-7.

That was as close as Colorado got. Brett Sullivan grounded into a double play, moving Tovar to third but clearing the bases, and McCarthy struck out on a foul tip to end the game.

Interesting notes

Feltner has allowed one run over 12 innings in two starts since returning from the injured list, with six strikeouts and two walks.

Goodman’s homer was his 16th of the season. It came off an 81.5 mph curveball from Sproat and traveled 411 feet with a 106.4 mph exit velocity.

The Rockies finished 3-for-16 with runners in scoring position, while the Brewers went 6-for-15.

Milwaukee had the edge in stolen bases, finishing with three to Colorado’s two.

The Rockies had three two-out RBI, while the Brewers had four.

Colorado scored in each of the first three innings, went scoreless from the fourth through the eighth, then scored two runs in both the ninth and 10th.

Milwaukee scored eight of its nine runs in the ninth and 10th innings.

Up next

The Rockies and Brewers continue the series Saturday at Coors Field, with first pitch scheduled for 7:10 p.m. MDT.

Milwaukee is scheduled to start Jacob Misiorowski, who enters with a 6-2 record, 1.65 ERA and 108 strikeouts. Schaeffer declined to name Colorado’s starter after Friday’s game, saying, “Not yet,” though Zach Agnos could be part of the pitching plan.

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Iowa Cubs

The Iowa Cubs were chicken against the Toledo Mud Hens (Tigers), 8-4.

Rough start for Jordan Wicks, who took the loss after allowing six runs on seven hits over 4.2 innings. Two of the hits were home runs. Wicks walked two and struck out five.

Left fielder Chas McCormick hit a solo home run in the second inning, his seventh on the year. McCormick was 1 for 4.

First baseman Jonathon Long cranked a solo home run in the seventh inning, his third on the year. He was 1 for 4 with a walk.

Third baseman James Triantos tied the game 3-3 with a two-run double in the bottom of the third. Triantos went 2 for 4.

Matt Shaw played the whole game in center field and went 1 for 4 with a walk. He also scored on Triantos’ double.

Triantos’ home run.

Triantos’s two-run double.

Knoxville Smokies

The Knoxville Smokies usurped the Birmingham Barons (White Sox), 8-7 in 11 innings.

Starter Dawson Netz threw the first three innings and allowed one run on three hits. Netz walked four and struck out two.

Marino Santy had 2.2 innings and allowed just one unearned run—the automatic runner in the tenth—on no hits. Santy walked three (one intentionally) and struck out three.

Tyler Santana relieved Santy in the bottom of the tenth with the bases loaded and two outs. He got a fly out to end that threat and then went on to pitch the eleventh, where he gave up one run. But the Smokies scored twice in the bottom of the eleventh and got the win. Santana’s final line was one run (which was earned) on one hit over 1.1 innings. Santana struck out one and walked no one.

Third baseman Jefferson Rojas doubled in the winning run in the bottom of the eleventh. Rojas was 2 for 6 in this game with a double and a steal. He scored three times.

Catcher Owen Ayers hit a three-run home run in the fifth inning, his eighth of the season. Ayers went 3 for 4 with a double and the home run. He also walked and stole a base. Ayers had five total RBI tonight.

Shortstop Karson Simas was 3 for 5. He scored once and drove in one.

An automatic double for Ayers.

Ayers’ three-run home run.

An RBI triple for Hayden Cantrelle, who went 1 for 4 with a walk.

Ayers’ fifth RBI of the night came in the tenth.

Rojas’ walk-off.

South Bend Cubs

The South Bend Cubs split a doubleheader with the Quad Cities River Bandits (Royals), losing game one 13-8 and winning the second one 4-3.

The River Bandits hammered South Bend’s Jostin Florentino for four runs in the first inning. Florentino was finished after only one inning having allowed the four runs on six hits. He walked none and struck out one.

Brayden Spears then gave up five runs in the second inning to put the game out of reach. Spears allowed five runs on seven hits over 2.2 innings. Spears struck out two, walked two and hit one.

South Bend trailed 9-0 after two innings and almost tied it up with an eight-run third inning. DH Kane Kepley went 1 for 3 with a walk and a double. He scored once and had one run batted on.

Second baseman Alex Madera tripled home two in the third. He was 1 for 4 and scored one run.

Here are the highlights of the eight-run third.

Mason McGwire made his first start for South Bend in game two and got his first Midwest League win. McGwire pitched five innings and allowed three runs, two earned, on three hits. McGwire struck out four and walked one.

Kenyi Perez pitched the final two innings without allowing a run for the save. Perez did not give up a hit, but he walked one and hit one batter. Perez struck out five.

Catcher Miguel Useche hit a two-run home run in the second inning. It was his fifth of the season. Useche went 1 for 3.

Left fielder Jose Escobar was 2 for 3 with a double and one run scored.

Center fielder Miguel Olivo was 2 for 2.

Useche’s home run.

A diving catch for center fielder Olivo.

Myrtle Beach Pelicans

The Myrtle Beach Pelicans got kenneled by the Charleston RiverDogs (Rays), 9-8.

The Pelicans wasted a strong start from Noah Edders, who gave the Birds five scoreless innings on just two hits. He walked one and struck out three.

Jordan Henriquez got called upon for the two-inning save. The eight inning went fine when he retired the side in order. But he went in the ninth with an 8-5 lead and he gave up four runs to take the loss. The final line on Henriquez was four runs on four hits over 1.2 innings. He walked two and struck out two.

Catcher Logan Poteet hit a solo home run in the third, his eighth on the year. Poteet went 2 for 4 with the home run, a walk. and a stolen base. He scored twice.

Right fielder Eli Lovich cracked a two-run home run in the seventh, also his eighth of the year. Lovich was 2 for 4 and scored twice.

Shortstop Alexis Hernandez was 2 for 4 with a double and a walk. He scored one run.

ACL Cubs

Got rocked by the Rockies, 15-4.

Too often this season, the New York Mets have been the slumping team that opponents are looking to beat up on. Those roles were reversed Friday night in a 5-0 win over the San Diego Padres.

San Diego has now lost 10 of its last 11 games, while the Mets have won six of their last eight, thanks in large part to New York’s starting pitcher Christian Scott. The Florida product pitched five 2/3 shutout innings against a Padres lineup that is last in baseball in runs scored. Jared Young and Luis Torrens each hit home runs to lead the Mets’ offense.

Scott allowed a base runner in each of the first three innings but was able to keep San Diego off the board. Fernando Tatis Jr. singled in the first, Ty France singled in the second, and Rodolfo Durán walked in the third. All three Padres were stranded as Scott appeared to settle in as the game went on.

Scott retired the side in order in the fourth and fifth innings, then ran into a bit of trouble in the sixth. He walked Durán before striking out Tatis Jr. and getting a popout from Gavin Sheets. Manny Machado singled to center, advancing Durán to third base and ending Scott’s night at 98 pitches. Huascar Brazobán entered in relief and struck out France, ending the threat and securing Scott’s shutout appearance. Scott, who is coming off Tommy John surgery, has allowed just one run across his last three starts.

Brazobán, Luke Weaver, and A.J Minter were solid out of the bullpen for the Mets, combining with Scott for the team’s third shutout win of the season.

Young started things for New York’s offense with a solo home run off San Diego starting pitcher Michael King to lead off the second inning. Young worked a full count before hitting King’s center-cut changup 422 feet. That’s Young’s third home run in his last six games.

The Mets were back for more in the third inning with multiple extra-base hits and another run scored. Torrens doubled off the wall before advancing to third base on a flyout from Carson Benge. Bo Bichette tripled to the right-field corner to score Torrens. Tatis Jr. fumbled the ball in the corner, and Bichette’s good read allowed him to easily get to third. The Mets could have added another run when Juan Soto grounded the ball to second baseman Sung-Mun Song, who didn’t field the ball cleanly. Soto put his head down in frustration before realizing Song’s mistake had given him a chance to beat out the throw, score Bichette, and keep the inning going. None of that happened as New York settled for the 2-0 early lead.

New York went up 4-0 with Torrens’ two-run homer in the top of the fifth inning. Brett Baty reached on a single before Torrens took King deep to centerfield. The homer was Torrens’ first of the season.

Bichette added a double with two outs in the eighth inning, but Padres reliever David Morgan struck out Soto to strand him. Bichette is showing signs of awakening from his season-long slumber with six hits combined in his last two games. He had six hits in the nine games previous to his current outburst. Soto finished hitless for the 11th time in 46 games played this season.

The Mets tacked on in the ninth inning against San Diego’s closer, Mason Miller, who was only in the game to get his first work in a week due to the Padres skid. AJ Ewing knocked a one-out single, then stole second and third base. Baty brought him home with an RBI single.

Saturday’s game (10:10 PM ET) sets up nicely for New York. The Mets have Nolan McLean on the mound going against former Met Griffin Canning, who has a 0-4 record and a 7.16 ERA through six appearances this season.

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Win Probability Added

What’s WPA?

Big Mets winner: Christian Scott +25% WPA
Big Mets loser: Carson Benge, Marcus Semien -6% WPA
Mets pitchers: +34% WPA
Mets hitters: +16% WPA
Teh aw3s0mest play: Luis Torrens home run in the fifth, +13.4% WPA
Teh sux0rest play: Marcus Semien grounds into double play in the fourth, -3.8% WPA

SAN DIEGO — Christian Scott’s reemergence is among the Mets’ most positive developments in this so far disappointing season.

A rotation in need of arms, preferably powerful ones, has found a potential keeper in Scott, who Friday night posted a third straight tantalizing start, helping the Mets to a 5-0 victory over the Padres at Petco Park.

In winning their second straight, the Mets (28-35) received much of the offensive firepower they needed on home runs from Jared Young and Luis Torrens, giving Scott the space he needed for his second straight win after going 15 starts to begin his major league career without one.

“My body feeling good is a huge part of it,” said Scott, who missed last season rehabbing from Tommy John surgery. “It’s easy to have confidence when things are going well, but it’s tough to have that when the stuff starts to hit the fan. It’s just keeping the confidence as best I can for the good ones and bad ones.”

Scott came within an out of completing six innings for the first time this season, but was removed following Manny Machado’s single with two outs. Scott pitched 5 ²/₃ scoreless innings, allowing three hits and two walks over 98 pitches. His ERA dropped to 2.50.

“I was hoping he would get Manny because that was his last batter,” manager Carlos Mendoza said. “[Scott] executed a sweeper there and he was able to foul it off and then [Machado] got a fastball that he hit it up the middle, but it was like, ‘He’s done his job.’ ”

• CHECK OUT THE LATEST MLB STANDINGS AND METS STATS

In Scott’s previous two outings, both against Miami, he combined to work 10 ²/₃ innings, allowing only one earned run. Scott’s start was his 17th straight to begin his major league career with four or fewer runs allowed, extending his franchise record. Eight of those starts have occurred this season.

“He commanded pretty much all of his pitches,” Torrens said. “He attacked the zone with the same type of game plan that we prepared with, but also he’s been able to just prove the type of pitcher that he is.”

Young’s homer leading off the second against Michael King gave the Mets their first run. The homer was Young’s third in his last six games — he began the night with an .899 OPS since returning from the injured list May 26.

Bo Bichette’s RBI triple in the third extended the Mets lead to 2-0. Torrens doubled with one out before Bichette hit a shot just inside first base that reached the right field corner, where Fernando Tatis Jr. had trouble fielding the ball. Bichette raced to third.

Bichette was coming off a 4-for-4 performance Wednesday in Seattle. The Mets are still waiting for Bichette’s bat to arrive with a flurry following a disappointing two-plus months to begin the season. Bichette finished the night 2-for-4, but still owns an anemic .609 OPS for the season.

Torrens’ two-run blast in the fifth gave the Mets a 4-0 lead. Brett Baty singled leading off the inning, and Torrens cleared the center field fence with one out for his first homer of the season. This could be Torrens’ final weekend as the starting catcher, with Francisco Alvarez potentially set to conclude his minor league rehab and rejoin the Mets on the next homestand following surgery to repair a torn meniscus in his right knee.

Scott walked Rodolfo Duran leading off the sixth and got two outs before Machado’s single to center spurred a pitching change. Huascar Brazobán struck out Ty France to end the threat. The Mets received a scoreless seventh from Brazobán before Luke Weaver and A.J. Minter finished it.

Weaver extended his streak of scoreless appearances to 14. He has pitched 16 innings over that stretch and allowed only nine hits and four walks.

Baty stroked an RBI single in the ninth after A.J. Ewing singled and stole both second and third base.

A less-controlled-than-usual Matthews manages to last longer than we (or I) expected, and he’s helped by some Cuddyer/Rosario-style cannon shots from the outfield. Inning-by-inning notes:

(Rain Delay): Hey, remember when rain delays might have Kris Atteberry interviewing a baseball book author or something interesting like that?

No. It’s a 1991 game. I like hearing Herb Carneal and John Gordon as much as anybody, but this is LAZY, WCCO.

1: Apple’s game preview has “U Got The Look” for Zebby (he doesn’t walk a lot of guys) and “When Doves Cry” for the bullpen ‘cuz it sucks.

Original choice on one Prince title, kinda cliched on the other.

Zebby promptly walks Bobby Witt, Jr., only the fastest guy on the team. He steals but didn’t need to; he would have scored on the subsequent Vinnie Pasquantino double anyways. Then it’s Jac Caglianone’s turn to put one in the gap.

Two stung liners to second, and a two-out Klobberin’ Kody Klemens single. He doesn’t score because all the Twins fell asleep during the boring rain delay radio filler. Royals 2-0

2: Apple tells us that during the “rain delay,” no actual rain fell at Target Field. I know none did where I am in Saint Paul. So thanks, Twins, for 75 minutes of Stoopid provided by whatever AI bot is making your weather decisions.

Zebby walks the #8 hitter with one out and realizes “I’m pitching to the #8 and 9 guys” and gets the GIDP.

Another two-out hit, this an Austin Martin double. He doesn’t score either. I told you the Twins are all sleepy like me they should call it a Royals win now so we can all go to bed

3: Short delay when Bux hits the wall after catching a long hard fly. He is OK, we think.

Zebby finishes this inning with 41 pitches thrown, a nice rebound after the earlier wildnessyness.

Bux maybe not OK. Tristan Gray now pinch-hitting. He drops a bunt down the third base line, and Alex Jackson (who led off with a single) takes third on a Wacha airmail throw to first. He’ll score on a Brooks Lee FC. Visiting fans’ team 2-1

4: Apple graphic shows that in Royals history, the only player to make it to the majors faster than Caglianone was Bo Jackson. Boy, THAT takes me back. Anyways, BoJac knows Zebby; he takes the 3-2 walk after the earlier double. Then Isaac Collins singles. Then Michael Massey does… but Martin’s throw beats Caglianone by a millimeter. Wow, can’t believe Zebby got out of this one.

1-2-3 for the Twins. We so TIRED

5: 1-2-3 for Zebby too. I have to get a sammich. I so hungered.

AND for the Twins, too. They also hungered. For BED.

6: Another good frame for Zebster.

OH NO! A Brooks Lee leadoff homer! I mean, yay for him, but if this game goes to extra innings I will curse his favorite hamster. Clemens follows with a double. So does Josh Bell! Then Orlando Arcia singles to right, and Caglianone’s throw to the infield is WAY offline, so Bell scores and Arcia takes second. A Keaschall lineout. Then a passed ball sends Arcia to third. Wacha has Martin down 1-2… and Sal Perez lets another one get by! (He’s a very good catcher, this usually doesn’t happen.) Arcia scores!

Actually, those were officially scored as wild pitches and not PBs, but that’s because a bad person instead of me is the official scorer. Hard-throwing Steven Cruz finishes the inning, but it’s Twins 5-2

7: Zebby still in there, and he walks Collins on four pitches. He gets the next hitter, then steps off/throws to first one too many times, and it’s an automatic balk. (I hate this rule.) Gets Nick Loftin, then Kyle Isbel singles to right… and Martin throws out the runner at home! Again! Crazy!

Tristan Gray has a one-out double but does not score because the Twins are sleepy again.

8: Here we go bullpen time. Anthony “The Last Waltz” Banda pitching. Boy does he love throwing sliders. It works on Starling Marte but not Witt, Jr., who doubles into the right-center gab. Then it works on PH Lane Thomas, and Perez goes down on one pitch. Yay!

RHP Beck Way making his MLB debut at age 26. His debutante inning goes fine.

9: Travis Adams in for the Twins with his 8.18 ERA in 11.0 IP. Leadoff hit by Caglianone, one-out hit by Michael Massey, sending Caglianone to third and putting the tying run at the plate in PH Maikel Garcia. He groundout RBIs, and Isbel pops out. Whew! Twims wim! (Yes we spell it wrong on purpose here sometimes.)

Studs: Zebulon, Martin (duh), two hits apiece for Gray and Clemens, 2 RBI for Lee. Duds: the Twins’ fuggin’ weather department.

COTG to Minnesota1952 and nagurksi for food / mob movie references, and me for predicting that Zebby couldn’t possibly go seven innings (which we call in the sports-scribing business an “intentional reverse jinx”). Thanks everyone who was at least adding something from time-to-time; I know this one went late.

Tomorrow’s game is at 1:10 and features something called a Luinder Avila against our own Joe Ryan. Byron Buxton T-shirt giveaway, he may be playing or not. (It’s a “shoulder contusion,” day-t0-day.) Catch ya next time!

The Mets opened their series in San Diego with a 5-0 win over the Padres on Friday night.

Here are the key takeaways...

-- In a game where the Mets totaled nine hits, they made sure to make them count, with four of them accounting for all five of New York’s runs. 

-- Jared Young kicked things off with a second-inning solo home run against Michael King that traveled 422 feet and had an exit velocity of 111.1 mph to put the Mets ahead, 1-0. The cleanup hitter finished 2-for-4 and has been taking full advantage of his increased playing time since returning from the IL, hitting .313 with a .945 OPS on the season.

-- Fresh off his four-hit game against the Seattle Mariners, Bo Bichette stayed hot with two more hits, including a run-scoring triple in the third inning and a double in the eighth. Bichette is up to .230 at the plate with a .609 OPS.

-- The biggest night offensively, though, belonged to No. 9 hitter Luis Torrens, who went 2-for-3 with a double and a home run while driving in two and scoring two runs. His double came before Bichette’s third-inning triple and his home run, a two-run shot to straightaway center for his first bomb of the year, happened in the fifth inning to double New York’s lead. 

With Francisco Alvarez potentially returning from the IL on the next Mets homestand, Torrens is doing what he can to make manager Carlos Mendoza’s decision at catcher that much more difficult.

-- Brett Baty tacked on a run in the ninth inning, scoring A.J. Ewing, who singled and stole second and third base, with his second hit of the game. Baty became the fourth player of the game to have a multi-hit night and also made a nice play in the field, diving for a popped-up bunt attempt in the second inning.

-- Meanwhile, Christian Scott shut out the Padres for 5.2 innings to match his season-high and has allowed one earned run over his last three starts (16.1 IP). 

Scott made quick work of the Padres, allowing just three singles and two walks while throwing a season-high 98 pitches (67 strikes). He was pulled after Manny Machado’s single, which was San Diego’s last hit of the game.

The right-hander struck out only three and instead relied mostly on weak contact to get the job done. New York also turned a double play behind Scott to help him go deeper in the game. Scott’s ERA is now at an impressive 2.50 through eight starts, and after earning his first career win in his last start, he’s now won back-to-back games to go to 2-0 on the year.

-- The Mets’ bullpen matched Scott’s zeros for 3.1 innings as Huascar Brazoban (1.1 IP, 2 K), Luke Weaver (1 IP) and A.J. Minter (1 IP) didn’t allow a hit in their appearances. Baty’s fielding error with one out in the ninth ended a string of eight consecutive batters retired, but Minter got the final two outs with ease and gave New York a series-opening win

Game MVP: Mets pitching

Mets pitchers were on point on Friday and shut out their opponent for just the third time all season.

Highlights

Jared Young hits his third home run in nine games!

Mets take a 1-0 lead! pic.twitter.com/qZK1ZyAYrA

— SNY (@SNYtv) June 6, 2026

Brett Baty makes the diving catch! pic.twitter.com/2iOH2rapqX

— SNY (@SNYtv) June 6, 2026

Bo Bichette brings home Luis Torrens with a RBI triple! pic.twitter.com/AlUhivLhQQ

— SNY (@SNYtv) June 6, 2026

A 1-2-3 inning for Christian Scott💪 pic.twitter.com/ZHlCNkPUu7

— SNY (@SNYtv) June 6, 2026

TWO RUN HOMER FOR LUIS TORRENS!

HIS FIRST HOME RUN OF THE SEASON!! pic.twitter.com/B4HTO6uGfp

— SNY (@SNYtv) June 6, 2026

What's next

The Mets continue their three-game set with the Padres on Saturday night. First pitch is scheduled for 10:10 p.m. on SNY.

RHP Nolan McLean (3-4, 4.21 ERA) will face off against former Met RHP Griffin Canning (0-4, 7.16 ERA).

Despite a rain delay of over an hour, the game started off so well for the Royals. Bobby Witt Jr. took a one-out walk, Vinnie Pasquantino hit an RBI double, then Jac Caglianone drove him in with his own double. The Royals wouldn’t score again until a weak groundout in the ninth brought home Caglianone again in a 5-3 loss.

As you might imagine, Michael Wacha didn’t have one of his stronger starts of the season. But what you also need to realize is that this game featured two Royals errors and three wild pitches. The Royals played really crappy defense. On the other side, Byron Buxton was everywhere in centerfield until he crashed into the wall to rob Carter Jensen of extra bases. Austin Martin in right field gunned down two runners at home with assists from catcher Alex Jackson making excellent tags.

Of the five runs, four were earned, but the Royals’ lack of speed in the corners led to at least three different hits, and two of the wild pitches took a runner from second all the way home. Again, let’s not pretend it was only the defense. Wacha threw fewer than 10 pitches in a 1-2-3 fifth but gave up a home run and then back-t0-back double to surrender the lead before the poor defense helped put the game out of reach.

Austin Martin will be the story from the Twins’ side. In the top of the fourth, Caglianone took a one-out walk, advanced to second on an Isaac Collins single, and then Michael Massey crushed one on the ground into right. I was yelling at my TV, begging them not to send Caglianone home, but home he went on a no-signal from third-base coach Vance Wilson. Martin had everything lined up for him, and, despite Caglianone making it closer than I had dreamed possible, he was clearly out. That is at least the second time this season a runner has been thrown at home when he probably shouldn’t have gone but didn’t get a signal from his third base coach. That certainly won’t quiet the calls for coaches’ heads to roll from the Royals faithful.

Isaac Collins led off the seventh with a walk of his own, then advanced to second when Zebby Matthews disengaged from the mound for a third time without recording a pickoff. This time, the hard-hit ball into right was off the bat of Kyle Isbel, and Martin had to move laterally a bit to field it. Vance Wilson actually signalled to Collins he should head home, and that seemed more reasonable to me, but he was thrown out by even more than Cags.

Those of us who recall the 2014-2015 Royals remember that running on guys and hoping they make a mistake can be a terrific gamble, but it absolutely didn’t pay off tonight, despite how Mickey Mouse the Twins’ defense looked in the first series these two teams played. You can blame the runners – both of whom chose to slide feet-first instead of using a head-first slide to give them an opportunity to swim around the tag. You could absolutely blame the coaches, too, and I wouldn’t argue with you either way. But there’s also an element of the other team being good at their jobs that’s involved here, too.

There were certainly some bright spots in this one. Steven Cruz pitched 1.1 scoreless innings with a pair of strikeouts. Beck Way made his big league debut and struck out a pair of his own, including the first batter he faced, in a scoreless eighth inning. The Royals can use any help they can get from their bullpen.

Michael Massey continued his hot hitting with a pair of hard singles on the night. Vinnie only went 1-for-3, but he tattooed a lineout in the sixth inning. Jac went 2-for-3 with a walk, and his only out was a similarly smoked lineout in the sixth.

At this point, moral victories mean even less than they did earlier this year when you hoped they’d might lead to better play before things got out of hand. Things are out of hand. The season is lost until and unless the Royals have the kind of ridiculous winning stretch that simply doesn’t feel possible with this club, which was built to be solidly above-average with a high floor. The floor fell out, and they don’t have the top-end potential to make up for it. But I’ll take all the bright spots I can get that tell me that they might be able to find some guys to help them do better next year.

Anyway, tomorrow’s game is an afternoon match; it will start at 1:10 Central. Luinder Avila (4.44 ERA) will face off against Joe Ryan (3.20 ERA). We’ll just have to hope KC can hammer Ryan for the third straight time.