Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (left) has averaged 32.8 points per game in the NBA Finals [Getty Images]
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 35 points as the Oklahoma City Thunder came from behind late on to beat the Indiana Pacers and level the NBA Finals.
The Thunder won 111-104 at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis to tie the best-of-seven series at 2-2.
They trailed by seven points entering the fourth quarter but outscored Indiana 31-17 in the last period, closing with a 12-1 run in the last three minutes.
"I knew what it would have looked like if we lost tonight," said Gilgeous-Alexander. "I didn't want to go down not swinging."
Thunder coach Mark Daigneaul gave Gilgeous-Alexander, this season's Most Valuable Player, a break late in the third quarter rather than his usual rest early in the fourth.
The Pacers led 101-97 with less than four minutes remaining, but Gilgeous-Alexander scored 15 of the Thunder's final 16 points and ended the game with 10 free-throws from 10 attempts.
Jalen Williams scored 27 points and made seven rebounds for the Thunder, while Alex Caruso added 20 points off the bench.
Pascal Siakam led the Pacers with 20 points and Tyrese Haliburton 18.
"We just didn't execute at the end of the game," said Siakam. "We didn't get easy shots. The easy shots that we got, we missed them. And they made them."
The Thunder host game five at Paycom Center in Oklahoma City at 19:30 local time on Monday (01:30 BST, Tuesday).
Following 27 years of agony and torment, South Africa has vanquished its demons in ICC knockouts after toppling Australia by five wickets in the topsy-turvy World Test Championship final at Lord’s.
The best-of-seven Stanley Cup Final has now become a best-of-three.
It’s been an incredibly exciting and close championship series to this point, with both the Panthers and Oilers earning a win on home ice and a win on the road to this point.
Now the series scene shifts back to Edmonton, as the Cats and Oilers will be fighting to be the first team with a chance to win the Stanley Cup when they return to South Florida after the weekend.
To this point, the Final has been extremely evenly matched and incredibly competitive through the first four games.
It’s been a bit of a throwback series, as there have an eye-popping 32 goals scored through the first four games, yet all but one of the four Final games have been decided in regulation.
One change we can probably expect to see with the Oilers is the re-insertion of Calvin Pickard as the starting goaltender.
Pickard replaced Stuart Skinner for the second straight outing on Thursday night for Game 4, entering a game Edmonton was trailing 3-0 only to turn aside all but one shot as the Oilers came all the way back and won 5-4 in overtime.
Pickard now holds a stellar 7-0 record during the postseason, though his corresponding statistics – a 2.69 goals against average and .896 save percentage – aren’t nearly as impressive.
As for Florida, Panthers Head Coach Paul Maurice spoke to the media prior to the team taking off for Edmonton on Friday.
When asked about potential roster changes, Maurice said he wasn’t anticipating making any.
He said the Panthers are healthy, which is about as good a compliment you could pay at team at this stage of the season.
Here are the Panthers projected lines and pairings for Game 5 in Edmonton:
Photo caption: Jun 6, 2025; Edmonton, Alberta, CAN; Edmonton Oilers defenseman Jake Walman (96) checks Florida Panthers left wing Matthew Tkachuk (19) during the second period in game two of the 2025 Stanley Cup Final at Rogers Place. (Perry Nelson-Imagn Images)
Dodgers pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto reacts after giving up a grand slam to San Francisco's Casey Schmitt in the third inning of the Dodgers' 6-2 loss Friday night at Dodger Stadium. (Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)
The billing couldn’t have been bigger. Dodgers vs. Giants. Yoshinobu Yamamoto vs. Logan Webb. One of the game’s oldest rivalries, pitting what were supposed to be two of the game’s top pitchers.
On Friday night at Dodger Stadium, however, only one right-handed ace showed up.
In the first meeting of the season between the Dodgers and Giants, Webb did his thing, giving up just two runs on two hits over seven spectacular innings.
Opposite him, Yamamoto was no match, floundering in a five-run, 4 ⅔-inning start that sent the Dodgers to a 6-2 defeat — leaving the teams tied atop the National League West with identical 41-29 records at the 70-game mark.
The evening was a study in pitching excellence (or, in Yamamoto’s case, a lack thereof); serving as a reminder that, for as good as Yamamoto has become in his second major league season, there are tiers to his talent he has still yet to reach.
Where Webb got soft contact and quick outs, needing just 98 pitches to complete his seventh seven-inning outing of the season, Yamamoto labored through hitters’ counts and long at-bats, issuing a career-high five walks while finding the strike zone on just 56 of his 102 pitches.
San Francisco's Casey Schmitt, right, celebrates with Wilmer Flores, center, and Mike Yastrzemski after hitting a grand slam in the third inning Friday. (Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)
Where Webb limited traffic and escaped rare damage, giving up just two hits while walking only three batters, Yamamoto toiled through self-inflicted trouble; none worse than when he walked the bases loaded in the third, before giving up a tie-breaking grand slam to Casey Schmitt.
Most of all, where Webb played the part of a contending team’s staff ace, lowering his earned-run average to 2.58 (fifth-best in the National League), Yamamoto faltered in a way that’s become uncomfortably familiar of late, his ERA rising to 2.64 despite an almost flawless opening month.
In his first seven starts, Yamamoto was 4-2 with a 0.90 ERA, a 0.925 WHIP and only one game in which he gave up even two earned runs.
“Right now, he’s pitching like the best pitcher in the world,” catcher Will Smith said on May 2, after Yamamoto pitched six shutout innings against the Atlanta Braves.
Since then, Yamamoto has been on a different planet — and not a good one.
Over his last seven outings, the 26-year-old Japanese star is 2-3 with a 4.46 ERA. In that span, he has more starts of less than five innings (two) than of seven full innings (one). He has given up three or more runs four times. And Friday was the second in which he was scored on five times, tying his MLB career-high.
The most consistent problem during that slump: Poor command.
Yamamoto has walked 17 batters in his last 38 ⅓ innings. And when he isn’t issuing free passes, he is putting himself in bad counts, like when Willy Adames opened the scoring Friday by getting ahead 2-and-0 and hitting a down-the-middle fastball to right for a solo home run.
Dodgers catcher Will Smith scores past Giants catcher Andrew Knizner during the second inning Friday. (Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)
Another potential factor in Yamamoto’s recent struggles: He has been forced to pitch on less rest between starts.
Over his first seven starts, Yamamoto pitched on at least six days of rest — mirroring the once-per-week schedule he had in Japan.
Since then, however, each of his outings have come on only five days’ rest.
Yamamoto has downplayed that factor in the past. And last year, he actually had slightly better numbers on five days of rest (2.97 ERA in 11 starts) than six (3.07 ERA in starts).
Still, for a Dodgers staff that has been shorthanded — leaving the club without the luxury of starting Yamamoto only once a week — it has been a marked drop-off, coming at a time when their once three-game lead in a competitive NL West has quickly evaporated amid a grueling stretch of the schedule.
The Dodgers’ lineup, of course, didn’t help Yamamoto much, either.
After scoring on an Andy Pages sacrifice fly in the second, when a throw home beat Smith but was dropped by Giants catcher Andrew Knizner while trying to apply a tag, the team’s only other production against Webb came via Teoscar Hernández, who lined the Dodgers’ first hit to right in the fourth before homering for a second-straight game on a solo blast in the seventh.
By then, however, Webb had already put the game on ice, becoming the latest starting pitcher this month to handle the Dodgers’ star-studded lineup (opposing starters have a 2.43 ERA against the Dodgers in June, and are averaging almost six innings per start).
It made Yamamoto’s clunker all the more costly, highlighting an extended slide in production that continues to plague the team’s only healthy ace.
And their hottest commodity happens to be one of their best players.
Right wing Bryan Rust, 33, has three years left on a contract that pays him $5.125 million annually - and his no-movement clause expired this summer. He had a career year for Pittsburgh last season, registering career-highs in goals (31) and points (65) despite missing 11 games due to injury.
Rust has a unique tool set as a player. Known for his work ethic, he is a hybrid power forward and grinder, a menace on the forecheck, and is capabale of being deployed in all situations. He is also a regular penalty-killer, has the hands of a goal-scorer, and can play a hard-nosed game.
The easy and logical path might be to move Rust if he can get the Penguins a good return. While that might be understandable and justifiable, that doesn't mean it's the right move.
In fact, there is a very big reason why Rust should be considered near-immovable barring the perfect deal. And it comes down to the Penguins' youth movement.
Penguins Facing Big Decision With Star Forward The Pittsburgh Penguins will be a team to watch very closely this off-season. After missing the playoffs for the third year in a row, there has naturally been speculation that the Metropolitan Division club will make changes to their roster.
Many may scoff at the idea that veteran presence in the locker room outside of 87 is necessary for the Penguins given the stage they're in. But, the reality is that Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, Kris Letang, and Erik Karlsson were all similar in that they made the NHL roster either immediately or quickly enough that going through several stages of development in professional hockey was not required.
For many young players the Penguins are acquiring - either through the draft or by trade - that will not be the case. The vast majority of them will need to follow a path of development that sees them work their way up through junior or college hockey before moving onto ECHL or AHL hockey, all prior to earning their way onto the NHL roster.
Having Rust around is valuable for that reason. Unlike the aforementioned players, he is someone who has been there. Done that. Experienced that. And for young guys trying to earn spots, he's a huge presence in that locker room.
Rust can relate to and connect with this crop of prospects and young players in a way that even Crosby cannot to an extent. Everything Rust has accomplished at the highest level of hockey was earned through his hard work and his grind as an AHL player who turned into a bottom-six grinder and, eventually, into a top-six goal-scorer.
It took years - and a process of development - for Rust to reach his peak potential. Young players can learn a lot from a player like that who has been in their shoes and can help guide them through that process.
The Penguins have other tradeable assets that should net them good returns in Karlsson and Rickard Rakell. They should trade some of these players if they can get a good return.
But, in a rebuild - especially a rebuild on-the-fly, which is still the goal for the Penguins - you simply cannot trade everyone. A team needs some valuable veterans like Rust around to help usher in that new generation of players who will make an impact in the near future.
If the package is a can't-refuse offer, of course, the Penguins should consider it. But - barring that "perfect" deal - Rust is one of the few veterans who should stay put in Pittsburgh for the foreseeable future.
INDIANAPOLIS — Oklahoma City did to Indiana what the Pacers have done to everyone else all playoffs and season long.
Indiana led by seven entering the fourth quarter in a game where it had largely been in control but it could never quite pull away. Then, with its season hanging in the balance, Oklahoma City played at its peak. The Thunder defense held the Pacers to one bucket from the floor in the final five minutes of the game, while Shai Gilgeous-Alexander took over and scored 15 points in the fourth quarter.
“We got stagnant, their second shots were a big problem,” Pacers coach Rick Carlisle said postgame, referencing the four offensive rebounds the Thunder had in the fourth quarter.
The result was only the second clutch game the Pacers lost this postseason, a 111-104 Thunder win that ties the series up at 2-2.
What has been a highly entertaining, well-played Finals will see Game 5 Monday night in Oklahoma City. It also feels like a series that is going to go seven games.
The Pacers have focused their defense this series on denying Gilgeous-Alexander the ball, then when he does get the rock and drives they make it hard to get his teammates involved and get their offense flowing. They did that in Game 4. The problem was that SGA took on the challenge and scored 35 on the night.
This is the loss Indiana will regret if it does not win the series, on the night the Thunder were just 3-of-17 from beyond the arc (Indiana was 11-of-36, just 30.6%, but they still outscored OKC by 24 from beyond the arc). While Pacers fans in the building (and online) want to complain about foul calls the Thunder shot just five more free throws than the Pacers, and that was bolstered by some intentional fouling at the end.
Thunder coach Mark Daigneault made the first big adjustment of the series, returning to the double-big starting lineup of Chet Holmgren and Isaiah Hartenstein, which had been effective throughout the Western Conference postseason.
It didn’t work — for the first time this series it was Indiana getting off to the fast start leading 20-12 behind fast starts from Pascal Siakam and Myles Turner (the Thunder starting five was -2 for the night).
Indiana had the ball moving a step ahead of Oklahoma City’s rotations and it was getting great looks. Indiana was also knocking down its jumpers (only six of their first 24 points came in the paint).
Despite the hot start by the Pacers and some cold shooting from 3 by the OKC, the Thunder were hanging around, and at the end of a high-scoring first quarter, the Pacers were only up one, 35-34.
Midway through the second quarter, Obi Toppin was hit with a flagrant foul on Alex Caruso for what was a non-basketball play (but might have been just a hard playoff foul in another era). Hartenstein had a few words for Toppin after that, but nothing came of it.
Obi Toppin was charged with a Flagrant 1 foul on this play.
Indiana led 60-57 at the half and the difference was 3-point shooting: The Pacers were 7-of-19 from 3, while the Thunder were 1-of-10. The Thunder were 6-of-21 on shots outside the paint in the first half.
In the third quarter, the Pacers played like sharks smelling blood in the water — the crowd could sense it, their defensive pressure seemed to ramp up and the shots kept falling. Indiana led by 7 after three and Pacers fans were ready to celebrate being closer to an NBA title than the franchise had ever been.
Then came the Thunder’s fourth quarter and everything is even again.
Friday's series opener between the Yankees and the Red Sox was a heated one -- and not just because of the action on the field.
After Aaron Judge tied the game at 1-1 with his solo shot off of Garrett Crochet in the ninth, the Red Sox would pull out the victory in the 10th inning, thanks in part to some questionable umpire calls in the Yankees' half of the inning.
With Anthony Volpe on second as the ghost runner, the shortstop took off for third but was initially called safe. Boston challenged and it was overturned, eliminating the potential threat.
With two outs, DJ LeMahieu lined the ball over the first baseman's head that looked to clip the first base foul line -- first base umpire Jeremie Rehak called it foul, which LeMahieu could not believe.
Yankees skipper Aaron Boone challenged, and after a lengthy wait the call on the field stood.
That drew Boone's ire as he was ejected for arguing.
“It looked like Anthony on the slide, the ground caught his arm, so he couldn’t extend like he normally would’ve otherwise, he’s safe easily," Boone said of the 10th inning after the game. "And then fair ball down the line, and [they] don’t have the courage to overturn. That’s it."
"It looked to me the ball didn’t go foul until after it bounced," LeMahieu said. "They reviewed it, but obviously frustrating. We’re fighting for baserunners right there."
LeMahieu would ground out and make a comment to Rehak as he got to first base. Rehak would eject LeMahieu, the first time the veteran infielder has been ejected in his career.
When asked what he told Rehak to get him ejected, LeMahieu said he didn't curse or anything, and that he's definitely said worse things to umpires in the past without being ejected.
"I just said that was a brutal call. He was like, ‘What did you say?’ I said that was brutal. And that was it," he said.
"I want the courage to overturn the call," Boone later added. "A quarter of the ball is on the line. It takes a lot of something…a lot of imagination to say that’s fair. Whatever, it’s over with. Not saying we score there. In the end, they outlasted us tonight."
Boone said he already spoke to Michael Hill, MLB’s senior vice president of on-field operations, before the media arrived at his office in the visitors' clubhouse about the 10th inning, but kept the contents of the conversation to himself.
He also walked back his "courage" comment, saying he's still heated, but Boone is right, though. While the calls in the 10th did not go the Yankees' way, the Red Sox simply outlasted them, and it started with their ace.
Crochet shut down the Yankees for 8.1 innings before Judge's home run gave New York life, but in the end it wasn't enough as the Yankees dropped their record in extra innings to 1-4 (0-4 on the road). In those four road extra-inning games, the Yankees have played six innings in extras this season and have yet to score with the automatic runner.
The Volpe caught stealing eliminated that chance on Friday and Boone defends the decision, citing, again, how the ground did not allow his shortstop to extend further than usual. But the longtime Yankees skipper complimented his players for fighting back on a day where they weren't at their best.
"On a night we get in at four in the morning, they’re coming off an off day. We’re short down there. The compete from our guys tonight I thought was awesome," Boone said. "It was an awesome game to be in. The Red Sox played well. Obviously, Crochet was great. We did enough to hang around and almost pulled it off. Really loved the way the guys competed on a tough day."
The Yankees are now 1-3 against the Red Sox this season, but look to get back in the win column on Saturday at Fenway Park.
Mets catching prospect Kevin Parada has had a bit of a rough season.
The former first-round pick is hitting just .212 with a .286 on-base percentage through 46 games.
Of late, though, he seems to be finding a groove -- Parada lifted a solo homer for the second straight game on Friday night, helping Binghamton beat the Richmond Flying Squirrels 6-5.
He also picked up a single earlier in the game and drove in the go-ahead run in the 10th.
Parada is now hitting .309 with seven home runs and 16 RBI over his last 21 games.
Ryan Clifford also enjoyed himself a nice day at the plate -- reaching twice with a single, double and driving in a run with a fielder’s choice.
After going hitless over the first three games of the month, the 21-year-old slugger is now riding a seven-game hitting streak.
He has four homers, a .408 on-base percentage, and a 1.066 OPS in June.
Kevin Parada homers for the second-straight game 💣
Parada in his last 21 games: .309 AVG, 7 HR, 16 RBI
Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander leaves the court after Game 4 of the NBA finals.Photograph: Michael Conroy/AP
The Oklahoma City Thunder stormed back from a 10-point second-half deficit to beat the Indiana Pacers 111–104 on Friday night, evening the best-of-seven-games NBA finals at two games apiece.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 15 of his 35 points in the fourth quarter, including nine straight during a crucial stretch as the Thunder pulled ahead for good.
Oklahoma City shot just 3-for-16 from beyond the arc, a season low, and Gilgeous-Alexander finished without an assist for the first time all season. But Jalen Williams added 27 points, Alex Caruso had 20 and Chet Holmgren posted 14 points and 15 rebounds.
Pascal Siakam led the Pacers with 20 points. Tyrese Haliburton added 18 and Obi Toppin scored 17, including a highlight-reel dunk that gave Indiana their first double-digit lead of the series late in the third quarter.
The Pacers started fast and led most of the night, but couldn’t hold off the Thunder, who tied the game three times in the fourth before Gilgeous-Alexander’s step-back jumper with 2:23 left put them in front for good.
Game 5 is Monday in Oklahoma City, where the Thunder will try to protect their reclaimed home-court advantage in what is now a best-of-three series.
Starling Marte received the start against Tampa Bay right-hander Taj Bradley on Friday night, and he ended up being the catalyst for the Mets’ offense.
After reaching in the second, Marte stepped to the plate with the bases loaded and one out in the fourth, and he lined a single right back through the box off Bradley -- bringing in New York’s first run of the game.
An inning later, he came through again, this time delivering a two-out, two-run bases-loaded single to put them in front for the first time.
After the Rays retook the lead, Marte had another opportunity to deliver with two on and one out, but righty Edwin Uceta won an eight-pitch battle and struck him out with a changeup out of the zone to end the threat.
He drew a walk in the bottom of the ninth, but was stranded in scoring position.
Overall, Marte reached base four times on the night with three knocks and a walk while driving in a season-high three runs, but the rest of the team was unable to follow suit -- finishing an ugly 2-for-16 with RISP.
“He put together really good at-bats,” Carlos Mendoza said. “Against tough right-handed pitching, he hit three bullets -- Uceta got him in the second-and-third situation in the eighth, but that was a really good at-bat to working the count to 3-2. I feel like offensively, he’s in a really good place right now.”
Marte certainly has put himself in a good spot after his rough start to the season.
Finally settling into his new part-time role with the club, the 36-year-old slugger is hitting .323 with two homers, three doubles, eight RBI, and a .391 on-base percentage since the beginning of May.
This week, The Hockey Show was on location at the Stanley Cup Final.
Hosts Roy Bellamy and David Dwork gave their instant reaction following Game 4, the latest epic battle between the Florida Panthers and Edmonton Oilers.
The game saw the Panthers jump out to a 3-0 lead only for Edmonton to come all the way back and take a 4-3 lead during the third period.
Florida tied the game in the final seconds, but it turned out they were only delaying the inevitable as the Oilers ended up winning in overtime.
Now the series, and The Hockey Show, heads back to Edmonton for Game 5, with the best-of-seven tied at two games apiece.
Also on this week’s episode, Roy and Dave were joined by their fellow Professional Hockey Writers’ Association – Florida Chapter members, Jordan McPherson and Alex Baumgartner, to discuss this year’s NHL Awards winners.
Clay Holmes was in the midst of another terrific outing on Thursday night.
The Mets' big right-hander cruised his way through the first three innings before allowing a leadoff solo homer to Jonathan Aranda in the top of the fourth.
He put together a scoreless top of the fifth and was handed a four-run lead as the Mets’ offense rallied against Tampa Bay starter Taj Bradley -- but then his night came to an end.
Holmes was questionably pulled after throwing just 79 pitches on the evening.
Postgame, manager Carlos Mendoza explained that the plan from the beginning was to have him limited to just 85 pitches after he had a physically tough outing his last time out on the road in Colorado.
“Coming out of that inning in Colorado where he threw six innings he felt it,” he said. “We know that today was an outing we were going to keep him at that pitch count -- we will continue to watch him and make adjustments as we go, but that’s part of his development.
“We’re playing the long game here -- before the game we know that’s what he had today.”
Unfortunately the Mets’ bullpen wasn’t able to pick him up, as Paul Blackburn and Max Kranick were knocked around -- allowing Tampa to retake the lead for good with a combined six runs on four hits.
The big knocks came from former Mets farmhand Jake Mangum and catcher Danny Jansen.
“Getting the four-run lead there I thought it was the right opportunity,” Mendoza said. “The secondary pitches from Blackburn were up in the zone -- the changeup was flat and the sinker didn’t have much movement, he left everything up.
“We didn’t make a play there and the inning changed completely. Kranick’s execution, I feel like the conviction of his pitches -- that 2-2 slider had too much of the plate to Jansen that got him the [two]-run homer.”
That was just Blackburn’s second relief appearance this season, and the sixth of his career.
“It’s been tough,” the righty admitted. “It’s completely different routines, I just haven’t found a routine for the bullpen -- it’s a lot of trial and error when you got down there, I haven’t been down there for a long time so it’s just trial and error.”
Manager Carlos Mendoza described it as "relatively good news" for the right-hander who will be re-evaluated in two weeks.
"It’s a grade 1 hamstring strain," Mendoza said. "I feel like relatively good news here. It’s a low grade, so we’re looking at probably two weeks, 14 days before we re-evaluate again. Hopefully, he’s symptom-free and we’ll get him back up again. Talking to the trainers, they feel like we got some good news here."
However, the timetable for his return to the mound is still unclear.
"It depends on the player," Mendoza said. "So it’s two weeks of very little physical activity. Hopefully, I gotta get with the trainers, we keep the arm going, but he’s gotta be symptom-free before we start ramping him up, so could be four, five, six [weeks], who knows. But, again, it’s a low grade, which is good news."
After the Mets went through a laborious rehab process with Senga last season following a calf and a shoulder injury, the team feels confident that they will get through this process without any issues.
"We got some really good trainers and systems in place," the skipper said. "Now that we went through [that] with Senga, I’m pretty confident that the communication, the feedback -- we’ll continue to listen to him. He’s very meticulous about what he does when it comes down to rehab, his mechanics and the throwing program. I feel like we’re in a good place and I’m not anticipating any issues."
President of baseball operations David Stearns spoke about Senga prior to the diagnosis and also touched on the 32-year-old's rehab process from a year ago and how it can help this time around.
"Senga, as a lot of players, but particularly Senga, he wants to be involved in the process," Stearns said. "And I think it’s important that we get on the same page as him from the jump and that we’re all bought into what this process is going to look like. I think we got there last year, but anytime you’re going through this multiple times, I certainly know Senga a lot better now than I did last year.
"Our medical staff has now worked through a rehab progression and a rehab process with him already on multiple occasions, so I think we feel pretty comfortable that whatever this turns out to be, we’re gonna be able to work very productively with him to get him back healthy."
The Mets snapped their six-game winning streak with a 7-5 loss to the Tampa Bay Rays in the series opener on Friday night at Citi Field.
Here are some takeaways...
- The two teams were scoreless through three but then went back-and-forth trading runs in the middle innings. Tampa Bay broke through first as Jonathan Aranda jumped on an 0-2 slider and crushed it deep into the Coca-Cola Corner for the first run of the game.
- The Mets then answered back in each of the next two innings, taking advantage of some Rays sloppiness. First, they used a Taj Bradley fielding error to spark a two-run rally capped off by a Starling Marte RBI single and a Tyrone Taylor fielder's choice.
An inning later, Bradley lost command, as three walks and another error chased him from the game. Former Mets farmhand Eric Orze entered and made his way two-thirds of the way through the inning before Marte came through with another two-out RBI knock.
Marte finished with three knocks and a season-high three RBI on the night.
- Other than the Aranda homer, Clay Holmes threw relatively well -- the big right-hander allowed just that one run on three hits while walking two and striking out three across five innings of work, but was questionably pulled with just 79 pitches.
He's now down to a strong 2.87 ERA and 1.17 WHIP over 14 outings on the year.
- Unfortunately, the bullpen was unable to back Holmes up -- Paul Blackburn and Max Kranick combined to allow six runs on four hits, with the big ones being a Jake Mangum two-run single and Danny Jansen two-run homer to put the Rays back in front.
Kranick has now allowed four earned runs over his last four outings between the majors and Triple-A.
- The Mets had three golden opportunities to answer back -- first in the seventh when Brett Baty came off the bench and drew a four-pitch walk to load the bases with two outs, but Edwin Uceta got Ronny Mauricio to weakly pop out to end the inning.
Uceta retired the next three batters after allowing a leadoff double to Francisco Alvarez in the eighth. Juan Soto had his chance representing the tying run and he scorched a 110.8 mph fly ball to deep right, but it was caught on the warning track.
The Mets then got the winning run to the plate with a single and a walk against closer Pete Fairbanks in the ninth, but a Baty groundout and Mauricio strikeout ended the game.
New York finished an ugly 2-for-16 with runners in scoring position on the night.
Game MVP: Danny Jansen
The veteran catcher's two-run homer ended up being the difference in the ballgame.
The Yankees offense could not figure out Garrett Crochet for eight innings, but Aaron Judge's ninth-inning homer forced extras before the Red Sox walked it off in the 10th, 2-1, on Friday night in Boston.
The Yankees were 1-for-4 with runners in scoring position and left four runners on base. The top four hitters in the lineup went a combined 0-for-14. before Judge's blast. The slugger finished 1-for-4 and struck out three times. His average has dropped to .390 on the season.
Here are the takeaways...
-The Yankees put up five runs on Crochet last weekend, but it was a different story on Friday night. Crochet got through four innings, throwing just 45 pitches while allowing one hit and one walk. He continued to cruise until the fifth. After a throwing error allowed Jasson Dominguez to reach safely, and after stealing second, a DJ LeMahieu single put runners on the corners with no outs. Austin Wells and Oswald Peraza struck out before Paul Goldschmidt grounded out to end the threat.
The Yankees would not come close to a threat again against Crochet until the ninth. With one out and Crochet still on the mound, the southpaw faced Judge for the fourth time in this game after striking out the slugger three times already. Judge fought off a pair of 100-mph fastballs but on the seventh pitch of the at-bat, Judge obliterated a 99.6 mph fastball the opposite way 443 feet over the Green Monster and onto Lansdowne Street to tie the game at 1-1.
The Red Sox lefty was pulled after giving up the homer, throwing 107 pitches (72 strikes) across 8.1 innings, allowing the one run on four hits and one walk while striking out seven batters.
-With the help of Judge's homer, the Yankees forced extras but did not do themselves any favors in the 10th. Anthony Volpe attempted to steal third as the ghost runner but was ruled out on an overturned call. LeMahieu seemingly got a two-out hit down the right-field line but it was ruled foul on the field and after a challenge, the call stood. That forced Aaron Boone to be ejected and even LeMahieu, after grounding out to end the 10th, received his first career ejection after saying something to the first base umpire.
-In the bottom half of the inning, the Red Sox moved the ghost runner to third on a ground out. And after Rafael Devers was intentionally walked, Tim Hill got Marcelo Mayer to strike out before Carlos Narvaez hit a single off the Green Monster to end the game.
- Ryan Yarbrough was better than the last time he faced the Red Sox. However, he pitched into and out of trouble early on. He stranded a pair of walks in the first, but couldn't prevent a run from scoring in the second after a Cedanne Rafaela single drove in Trevor Story from second. But after that, the southpaw settled down and matched Crochet's zeros. But that changed in the fifth. After allowing the two batters to reach on a walk and single with one out, Yarbrough struck out Devers before Boone pulled his starter for Jonathan Loaisiga.
Loaisiga struck out Romy Gonzalez to end the threat and put an end to Yarbrough's night.
Yarbrough threw 78 pitches (45 strikes) across 4.2 innings, allowing one run on four hits and three walks while striking out three batters.
-In relief of Yarbrough, the Yankees bullpen did a great job. The combination of Loaisiga, Ian Hamilton kept the Red Sox off the board until the eighth when Hamilton allowed a one-out single. Fernando Cruz was called upon to finish the ining, but after striking out Marcelo Mayer, he walked Carlos Narvaez and Roman Anthony to load the bases with two outs. But he got Trevor Story to fly out to end the threat.
The bullpen gave the team a chance but couldn't keep Boston off the board forever.
-The Yankees had just four hits, two coming from Volpe while Judge and LeMahieu rounded out the evening's offense.
Game MVP: Carlos Narvaez
Crochet made the Yankees offense look overmatched until the Judge homer, but if it wasn't for Narvaez's walk-off, it could have been a tough loss for Boston.
