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The Mets needed just nine outs to grab a win over the Nationals as the fans stood to stretch on Sunday afternoon in Washington. And carrying a 7-1 advantage, thanks to a five-run top of the first inning, things should have been comfortable.

The Nats’ five-run seventh made things tight, but it wasn’t fatal as the 98.6 percent win probability was still at 83.5 percent come the bottom of the ninth, per ESPN Analytics. 

With closer Edwin Diaz unavailable after pitching on Saturday, it was up to Ryne Stanek to end it.

“You get to the seventh inning with a pretty comfortable lead there and not be able to finish things off is frustrating,” manager Carlos Mendoza said after Stanek managed to get just one out and allow two runs in the 8-7 loss. “Got to move on.”

Sunday’s script was similar to his blown save on Friday: A leadoff extra base hit (this time a double), a groundout, a single to tie the game on a grounder, a walk to put the winning run at second, and an error from first baseman Pete Alonso to score the winning run.

What went wrong for Stanek? “Execution,” Mendoza said, pointing to the 0-2 pitch that he left up in the zone for a leadoff double in the ninth. “Got too much over the plate and they put it in play and found a hole down the line. Not putting guys away. He’s getting ahead and not finishing hitters.”

Stanek felt like he executed a lot of pitches, but the results weren’t there for him.

“The only thing I can control is executing pitches. I felt like I did an alright job with that. The results just didn’t go my way,” he said. “The main thing over the course of a long season is you just go execute as best you can, and more times than not the ball’s gonna bounce your way.”

In the seventh, Jose Butto was the first man out of the bullpen, entering with the lead at five and a runner on first and one out. After making short work of Dylan Crews on four pitches for a strikeout, Butto allowed back-to-back singles on the next six pitches to score another run.

“Sinker got too much of the plate, couldn’t finish hitters, got a ground ball that found a hole,” Mendoza said.

The big blow came when Riley Adams smacked a 405-foot three-run homer to right center. “Got behind the nine-hole hitter, 3-1 count, and left a four-seamer there to a guy that’s a pretty good four-seam fastball hitter.”

The next step for the bullpen: get back on the horse.

“You just go back to work. That’s the job,” Stanek said. “They get paid to play ball, too. You go out there and you execute your game plan. A couple balls fall or squeak through or whatever happens, that’s out of your control. You go out there and you execute and you move on, go to the next day and execute the next day and that’s it.”

The skipper said the veteran reliever will continue to get opportunities.

“He’s been in the league for a long time and he’s been through it before,” Mendoza said of Stanek. “As long as he’s healthy and feeling well, we’ll get him back on track. The velo’s there, he’s getting ahead, he’s just not finishing hitters. It’s part of it. 

“We’ll watch some film and make some adjustments and he’ll be alright.”

The Mets’ bullpen, which had been a strength early in the year, has been touched up in the series. Could this be a result of some heavy workloads recently?

“Probably, we’ve been using these guys pretty hard,” Mendoza said. “And when you look at the usage, especially today, the guys who pitched were the guys that we had available, we just couldn’t finish the game.

“We will continue to take care of those guys, and guys will continue to get opportunities and they will get the job done.”

For Stanek, the bullpen’s struggles are “a little surprising” because they have “thrown the ball so well” to start the year, but bad runs happen.

“You’re not gonna be perfect,” he said. “It’s just a blip on the radar over the course of a full season. We play 162 and we scuffle for a couple and you forget about it and move on to the next day.”

Cleveland fan ejected for heckling Red Sox star Jarren Duran about suicide attempt​ originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia

Jarren Duran has found plenty of support from his Boston Red Sox teammates and others outside baseball since he revealed in a Netflix documentary that he attempted suicide three years ago.

His openness has also exposed him to hecklers, though.

Duran said a fan in the front row Sunday near the Red Sox dugout in Cleveland said “something inappropriate” to him after the All-Star left fielder flied out in the seventh inning of a 13-3 victory over the Guardians.

Duran stayed on the top step of the dugout and glared at the fan as the inning played out. During the seventh-inning stretch, before the singing of “God Bless America,” Red Sox teammates and coaches kept Duran away from the area as umpires and Progressive Field security personnel gathered to handle the situation.

The fan tried to run up the aisle, but was caught by security and taken out of the stadium.

“The fans just said something inappropriate. I’m just happy that the security handled it and the umpires were aware of it and they took care of it for me,” Duran said.

After the game, the Guardians released a statement apologizing to the Red Sox and Duran. The team said it has identified the fan and is working with Major League Baseball on next steps.

“We recognize the gravity of the behavior at issue here and take very seriously conduct of this nature,” the statement said. “We strive to provide the best experience to visiting players and fans, and that fell short today.”

Duran said it was the first time he was heckled by a fan about his suicide attempt and mental health struggles since the Netflix series “The Clubhouse: A Year With the Red Sox” was released on April 8.

“When you open yourself up like that, you also open yourself up to the enemies. But I have a good support staff around me, teammates, coaches. There were fans that were supporting me, so that was awesome,” he said.

Boston manager Alex Cora was in the opposite corner of the Red Sox dugout but lauded security for how the incident was handled.

Cora was even prouder of Duran’s restraint. Duran was suspended for two games last season when he directed a homophobic slur at a heckling fan at Fenway Park when the fan shouted that Duran needed a tennis racket to hit.

“There’s a two-way street. That’s something I said last year. We made a mistake last year and we learned from it. We grew up, you know, as an individual and as a group,” Cora said.

The incident dampened what had been a solid game and series for Duran. He went 4 for 6 with an RBI and had at least three hits in consecutive games for the second time in his career.

In Saturday’s doubleheader nightcap, Duran had Boston’s first straight steal of home plate in 16 years.

Duran went 7 for 15 with three RBIs as Boston took two of three games in the weekend series. Six of his hits in the series came against lefties after Duran was just 3 for 31 against southpaws coming into the weekend.

“I’ve been getting some good swings on lefties lately, just hitting it right at guys. I’m trying to stay with my process and it just happened to work good for me this series. So I’m just going to keep at it,” said Duran, who has hit safely in 13 of his last 14 games and is batting .323 (20 for 62) with eight extra-base hits, including a home run, and six RBIs during that span.

NEW YORK (AP) — Max Fried won his fifth straight start, Austin Wells capped a six-run third inning with a three-run double off suddenly wild Kevin Gausman and the Yankees routed the Toronto Blue Jays 11-2 on Sunday in a doubleheader opener.

Fried (5-0) allowed a first-inning RBI groundout and six hits in six innings. He has given up one run over 20 2/3 innings in three starts following Yankees losses, and New York has won all six of his starts.

Anthony Volpe homered off Paxton Schultz, and Oswaldo Cabrera drove in a pair of runs with one of the Yankees’ six doubles.

Gausman (2-3) threw 53 pitches in the third, getting just two outs and walking five — one shy of his career high for a game. Cody Bellinger hit a sacrifice fly, Jazz Chisholm Jr. and Volpe forced in runs with consecutive walks and Wells doubled off the right-center wall for a 6-1 lead.

Gausman was ejected by plate umpire Chris Conroy as he walked to the dugout when he was removed after 2 2/3 innings. Toronto manager John Schneider was tossed two innings later for arguing a called strike from Fried to Vladimir Guerrero Jr.

Gausman threw the most pitches by anyone in an inning since Pittsburgh’s Cam Vieaux’s 56 in an eight-run eighth against Milwaukee on July 1, 2022, according to the Elias Sports Bureau. Gausman threw seven pitches to Cabrera, eight to Bellinger and nine each to Volpe and Wells.

Ben Rice caught for the first time this year when moved by the Yankees from DH to behind the plate in the ninth inning.

Key moment

Wells fouled off an 0-2 fastball and a pair of full-count fastballs before doubling on another fastball.

Key stat

Playing a day after his 33rd birthday, Yankees slugger Aaron Judge went 2-for-4 and raised his major league-leading batting average to .412.

Up next

Yankees RHP Clarke Schmidt (0-1, 7.45 ERA) and Blue Jays RHP Chris Bassitt (2-1, 1.88 ERA) were scheduled to start the second game.

When Tyler Glasnow left the mound last week at Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas, because of leg cramps, it was a dreary reminder of the injury struggles he has endured with the Dodgers.

Glasnow missed the postseason, and consequently the Dodgers’ World Series title run, after an elbow sprain last season. After four starts in 2025, was he in danger of seeing his season derailed again?

On Sunday, Glasnow suffered another setback. Warming up before the second inning against the Pittsburgh Pirates — after giving up back-to-back solo home runs in the first — he doubled over to his side after releasing his last pitch. Manager Dave Roberts rushed out to the pitcher’s mound, followed by a trainer.

Glasnow’s day was done. The team announced he left because of right shoulder discomfort.

The Dodgers overcame the departure, collecting nine runs and 14 hits to win 9-2 and claim the series over the Pirates. Often used as a bulk relief pitcher, Ben Casparius took over and excelled — tossing 3⅔ innings no-run ball, striking out five to help bridge the gap to the rest of the bullpen that combined for eight scoreless innings.

Pirates starting pitcher Bailey Falter, who entered Sunday with a 5.19 earned-run average, faltered Sunday. The Dodgers (18-10) tagged Falter for six runs (four earned) and forced Pittsburgh (11-18) to move to the bullpen in the fifth after Teoscar Hernández hit his 200th career home run — a solo shot for his eighth of the season — to give the Dodgers a 6-2 lead in the fifth.

Andy Pages also continued to mash at the plate. The Cuban outfielder entered the series hitting .183 and left his 10-for-12 barrage against the Pirates with a .277 batting average. Pages collected at least three hits in each game. He had four hits, including a two-run home run Sunday, tallying a career-high four RBIs.

Despite the victory, attention will shift to how the Dodgers handle their pitchers.

If Glasnow’s injury is deemed longer-term, he could join Blake Snell on the injured list — with both starters now battling shoulder injuries.

Glasnow signed a four-year, $115-million deal — including a 2028 team option — with the Dodgers after the team acquired him from Tampa Bay in December 2023.

After his injury last season, Glasnow experimented with his hydration, much like his mechanics — being one of the pitchers publicly encouraging using technology to retool pitch shapes, increasing spin and movement. Glasnow previously stated that he chugs pickle juice to help subside cramps. The lanky, 6-foot-8 starter took it one step further Saturday and received an IV to help pump fluids into him before his start against Pittsburgh.

As with last season, pitching health has been an issue for the Dodgers. If Glasnow is sent to the injured list, he’ll be the 13th Dodgers pitcher and sixth starter to miss time this season.

Right-hander Tony Gonsolin is set to return from the 60-day injured list and make his first start since 2023 against the Miami Marlins this week. The Dodgers have spots in the rotation to fill Tuesday and Wednesday against the Marlins — and with Glasnow potentially out of action, they may need another spot starter to avoid consecutive weeks with bullpen games.

Landon Knack pitched Saturday for Oklahoma City, while Justin Wrobleski started Sunday — leaving right-hander Bobby Miller as the only fully rested option should the Dodgers make a roster move for a mid-week start.

Clayton Kershaw likely will be the next starting pitcher off the injured list as he makes his third rehabilitation start for triple-A Oklahoma City on Tuesday. Kershaw is eligible to be activated off the 60-day injured list on May 17.

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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.