DENVER — The Colorado Rockies got a win on Thursday and avoided reaching a new low and setting the record for the worst start in the modern era.
Orlando Arcia’s two-run single in the bottom of the ninth inning gave the Rockies an 8-7 win over the San Francisco Giants. It moved Colorado’s record to 13-55 — tied with the 1932 Boston Red Sox for the worst. That Red Sox team also won its 68th game.
The Rockies are aware of the record, but it is not something they dwell on.
“We look at it,” Ryan McMahon said. “I know it to a ’T.’ I think we all do, man.”
After a 9-50 start, the Rockies have made some recent headway under interim manager Warren Schaeffer. They are 4-5 in their last nine after breaking a five-game losing streak.
“I think we are just playing better baseball,” said McMahon, who drew a walk in the ninth inning and scored the winning run.
“As long as you focus on that when you are out in the field, the record takes care of itself. We can’t get it all back in one day. We have to take it pitch by pitch, day by day.”
The poor start was “bad, man,” he continued. “I think that almost made it a little bit easier, because you don’t want to think about it. You want to just focus on what you are doing every day when you get here and keep trying to win more games.
“To do what we did today, not give up, keep fighting. I think overall, that’s just big. You can look back at that. You can remember we’ve come back from situations like this before and that It kind of helps you keep going.”
Arcia has been part of winning organizations in Milwaukee and Atlanta in his 10-year career, and has played in the postseason each of the last seven years.
“We’re not focusing on what happened in the past,” said Arcia, acquired May 28 after being released by Atlanta. “We’re taking it day by day. We’re just trying to look to the future. I told my people I came here to do a job, and to come out and play and help this team win however I can.”
The Yankees secured the series sweep over the Kansas City Royals with a 1-0 win on Thursday night at Kauffman Stadium.
Here are some takeaways...
- With Aaron Judge receiving his first day off of the season, the Yankees' offense wasn't able to get much of anything going against Royals right-hander Seth Lugo -- managing just two walks and a hit while striking out twice over the first five innings.
New York finally started a bit of a rally in the sixth when Trent Grisham lined a single and Paul Goldschmidt drew a two-out walk -- but after a pitching change and a 28-minute rain delay, Kyle Isbel ranged into the left-center gap and made a terrific catch to rob Cody Bellinger of extra-bases.
- Fortunately for the Bombers, Will Warren was up for the task of matching Lugo. The rookie right-hander worked around back-to-back singles leading off the second and then a one-out triple in the fifth as he cruised through the first five innings as well.
Warren came back out of the sixth despite sitting through the delay, but Aaron Boone pulled him out a man on and the red-hot Vinnie Pasquantino coming to the plate. Tim Hill entered and got him to easily ground out -- closing the youngster's final line at four hits and a walk over 5.2 shutout innings.
It was a much-needed, efficient outing for Warren after he issued four free passes in back-to-back starts.
- Hill was helped out by some strong defense in the seventh -- first Anthony Volpe ranged to his right and unleashed a throw from deep in the hole to gun down Salvador Perez at first, then Pablo Reyes came charging in from second and shoveled to first with a glove flip to erase Jac Caglianone with the second out.
- The Yanks were finally able to break the tie during the next half-inning, as Goldschmidt lined one off the first baseman's glove and Reyes came in to score on an error by the catcher after stumbling down the line.
- Jonathan Loáisiga delivered a scoreless eighth then Devin Williams closed the door in the ninth to secure the three-game series sweep and shutout victory -- it was New York's league-best fourth 1-0 win of the season.
- Judge came off the bench and pinch-hit with a man on and nobody out in the top of the eighth, but he was punched out on strikes on a questionable call at the bottom of the zone.
- J.C. Escarra received the start behind the plate and enjoyed himself a strong showing -- singling to lead off the third and then cracking a two-out double to right-center in the ninth.
Game MVP: Pablo Reyes
Reyes made a nice play in the field and scored the game's lone run on a wacky play.
Mets top prospect Jett Williams continues to rake at the Double-A level.
After smashing two home runs on Wednesday, Williams kept the ball in the ballpark but instead was causing havoc on the bases, going 3-for-4 with a double and two triples. He drove in two runs, came in to score three times and drew a walk. Oh, and he stole a base for good measure, his 18th this season.
Williams' great day at the plate helped the Binghamton Rumble Ponies rout the Richmond Flying Squirrels, 11-0. The Mets' No. 1 prospect raised his batting average to .298, which is the highest it's been since May 2.
In 52 games with Binghamton, Williams is slashing .298/.407/.530 with an OPS of .937 to go along with 16 doubles, four triples, six home runs and 23 RBI.
If the infielder continues to hit like this, a promotion to Syracuse may be in the works sooner rather than later.
Williams wasn't the only Mets prospect to have an offensive outburst on Thursday -- as Ryan Clifford launched a solo shot in the third inning en route to going 2-for-5.
The homer was Clifford's 12th of the season and the fourth in his last six games.
Brandon Sproat takes loss with Syracuse
Sproat made his 13th minor league start on Thursday and while he was solid, he wasn't efficient enough to leave with a chance for victory.
The young right-hander threw 89 pitches (61 strikes) across 5.1 innings but allowed three runs on five hits and two walks while striking out three batters.
Sproat was chugging along, allowing one run -- via a ground out -- through the first four innings but the fifth inning saw Scranton/Wilkes-Barre take advantage of their speed.
After Bryan De La Cruz led off with a single, the outfielder stole second and third with one out. Sproat then allowed the go-ahead run on an Ismael Munguia single. A wild pitch allowed Munguia to advance to second before Jorbit Vivas singled him home with two outs.
It was a tough luck loss for Sproat, whose offense behind him mustered up just one run in the 6-1 loss.
Drew Gilbert, one of the Mets' top prospects, went 0-for-3 with two strikeouts on the night.
Sproat now has a 3-5 record with a 5.31 ERA with Syracuse this season.
Tyrone Taylor has been terrific for the Mets this season.
With Jose Siri remaining sidelined due to a tibia injury, the veteran outfielder has gotten his opportunity to start just about every day in centerfield and he’s taken full advantage of it.
Even on days he doesn’t start, he keeps finding ways to make his mark.
On Wednesday night, Taylor entered the game as a late-inning defensive replacement and he gunned down Luis Garcia Jr. trying to score on a single to center, helping keep David Peterson’s shutout alive.
A few hours later, he was back in the lineup for Thursday's series finale -- and he came through again.
With a man on first and two outs in the sixth, Taylor ranged deep into the right-center gap and layed out to make a tremendous diving grab to rob Garcia of an extra-base hit and keep Washington off the board again.
These are just the latest additions to what’s been a season-long highlight reel for Taylor.
“At this point nothing surprises us with him,” Carlos Mendoza said. “As soon as the ball was hit, looking at him and [Juan] Soto and how far both of them went into the gap, I thought it was going to be at least a double.
“He kept closing the gap and then for him to make that spectacular play like that, it’s not the first time we’ve seen it from him but that goes to show you he’s elite out there -- he’s a special player and a special defender, one of the best in the game.”
Statically, Taylor is up there among the best in baseball -- he’s currently ninth among CFs with four defensive runs saved and ranks in the 89th percentile with three Outs Above Average, according to Baseball Savant.
If he’s able to stay healthy and can keep this rolling, there’s no reason he shouldn’t at least be in the mix to take home his first career Gold Glove award come season's end.
“He works so hard at his craft and is such a good defender,” Brandon Nimmo said. “He’s really saved a lot of games and a lot of runs for us. Just look at this game and how we ended up winning by one run, that catch was extremely important, what an amazing play.
"You know you’re getting the best effort Tyrone has every single game -- he’s doing great, I couldn’t be more proud of the center fielder and the baseball player he is.”
Patrick Reed made the third double-eagle of his career Thursday. He’s still only seen one of them go in.
Reed raised his hands to the sky, wondering what happened when he unleashed a 3-wood from 286 yards in the fairway of the par-5 fourth hole at the US Open.
The last time an NHL goaltender won the Hart Memorial Trophy as the league’s most valuable player and the Vezina Trophy as its top netminder in the same season, the year was 2015. And the winner that season was likely Hockey Hall-of-Famer Carey Price of the Montreal Canadiens. However, Winnipeg Jets star goalie Connor Hellebuyck became the fifth and latest goaltender to do so, taking home the 2024-25 Hart and Vezina Trophies Thursday night.
The 32-year-old Hellebuyck was far and away the league’s best goalie this year. He appeared in 63 games for the Jets this year, posting a 2.00 goals-against average and a .925 save percentage. The Vezina win was the second consecutive honor for Hellebuyck, and the third of his nine-year NHL career. Hellebuyck put up a 47-12-3 record this season, becoming the seventh NHL goalie in league history to generate 45 wins or more, and the first goalie to do it since Washington Capitals netminder Braden Holtby did so in 2015-16.
Certainly, Hellebuyck’s post-season numbers weren’t nearly as dominant. He went 6-7 in 13 playoff games, generating a 3.08 GAA and an .866 SP. But no one could deny he was the league’s premier netminder through the regular season. Fellow Vezina finalists Darcy Kuemper of the Los Angeles Kings and Tampa Bay Lightning star Andrei Vasilevskiy also had solid seasons, but neither could compare to Hellebuyck.
The bigger honor, obviously, is the Hart. Only seven other goalies in league history have won the MVP award, and Hellebuyck had to beat out finalists Leon Draisailt of the Edmonton Oilers and Nikita Kucherov of the Lightning. While these two players had amazing seasons in their own right, it’s hard to deny that Hellebuyck was extremely valuable to the Jets winning the NHL’s Presidents’ Trophy as the league’s top regular-season team. That’s the definition of the Hart award, and Hellebuyck is a deserving recipient.
With his third Vezina, Hellebuyck joins NHL legends Dominik Hasek, Patrick Roy and Martin Brodeur as the only goaltenders to win the best goalie award at least three times since the league altered the Vezina voting process prior to the 1981-82 campaign. Hasek won the Vezina six times, Brodeur won it four, and Roy won it three. So Hellebuyck still has plenty of time to climb up that list. And there’s no good reason why he can’t do it.
Obviously, Hellebuyck wants more playoff success than he wants regular-season success at this point in his career. He’s signed to a contract that still has six seasons left at a relatively reasonable average annual value of $8.5 million. If he’d wanted to, he could’ve left Winnipeg and signed with a different team for considerably more money. But the Jets are still one of the most competitive teams in the league, and Hellebuyck is bound to get another chance at winning in the post-season next year.
For the interim, though, he’ll have to be content with being recognized as hockey’s pre-eminent goalie, the NHL’s most valuable player and an icon-in-the-making. Hellebuyck did everything the Jets asked of him this season, and the results he delivered earned him a special combination of awards few hockey players ever achieve.
INDIANAPOLIS — Oklahoma City has been here before.
Just a month ago, the Thunder trailed the Nuggets 2-1 and had to win Game 4 on the road to stay in that series. They did it in a grinding, at times sloppy game, where Cason Wallace and Aaron Wiggins sparked a fourth-quarter run and comeback that gave OKC the win and showed they could win gritty, tough games.
Indiana is a very different team — don't expect Game 4 of the NBA Finals to be a grinding and slow affair — but having done this before gives Oklahoma City confidence that it can do it again.
"We've been here before. Got to bounce back. Get the car back on the road," Wallace said.
"Yeah, it feels a lot similar," Shai Gilgeous-Alexander added. "Obviously losing Game 1 on a buzzer-beater, winning big Game 2, being up in Game 3 and losing the lead. There's a lot of similarities...
"But at the end of the day, we have to be who we are and who we've been all season. I think we got back to that in that series. If we want to give ourselves a chance in this series, it has to be the same thing."
Being themselves meant a couple of things to the Thunder. One was not turning the ball over, something they did 19 times in their Game 3 loss. Three of those were backcourt turnovers.
"Yeah, we turned the ball over at a high rate the last game," Wallace said. "We got to turn that over."
The Thunder also played more in isolation in Game 3 than they would have liked, with the assists and ball movement that had defined their run to the NBA Finals fading in the face of more intense and focused defensive pressure from the Pacers.
"I think we played on their terms more than we played on our terms of how we wanted the game to be and to flow," Alex Caruso said." I think that was apparent just with the runs that they went on when they played well."
A large part of disrupting the Thunder's flow and limiting their assists has been the impressive Pacers' transition defense.
"Some of it's been our transition, I think. I think we do a lot of damage there that we haven't gotten in this series so far," Thunder coach Daigneault said.
The Pacers have been here, too — they have led every team these playoffs by 2-1. They also won Game 4 in every round.
Indiana needs to do that again on Friday night, or this will be a best-of-three series where Oklahoma City will have momentum and home court advantage.
"We're excited to play another game in front of our home crowd, approach this game the same way we approached yesterday," Tyrese Haliburton said. "Just control what we can. I think the biggest thing is just playing hard. If we can do that, we can figure everything out from there.
"There's no need to get super giddy or excited. There's still a lot of work to be done."
If the Pacers can do that work in Game 4 in front of their raucous home crowd, they will be in command of this series.
Calgary goalie and Calder Memorial Trophy runner-up Dustin Wolf has been named to the 2024-25 NHL All-Rookie Team. He joins fellow finalists forward Macklin Celebrini of the San Jose Sharks and defenceman and winner of the award Lane Hutson of the Montreal Canadiens on the team.
The other three spots went to forwards Matvei Michkov (Philadelphia Flyers) and Cutter Gauthier (Anaheim Ducks) and defenceman Denton Mateychuk (Columbus Blue Jackets).
Wolf compiled a 29-16-8 record in his rookie season with Calgary with a GAA of 2.64 and a Save% of .910. His franchise rookie wins was just one below that of Hall of Famer Mike Vernon, who in his rookie season of 1986-87 compiled a 30-22-1 record.
The California kid's achievement is magnified by the fact that he was the fourth-last pick in the 2019 draft.
It goes without saying, the 24-year-old has the starting goalie position secured in Southern Alberta going forward.
Brandon Nimmo’s early-season struggles appear to officially be behind him.
The left-handed hitting outfielder lifted another home run during Thursday afternoon’s win over the Nationals at Citi Field -- helping the Mets secure their sixth consecutive victory and back-to-back series sweeps.
Nimmo’s now gone deep three times over the last two games, and he’s driven in a total of 14 runs against Washington this season.
“You always love to have the results,” he told SNY's Steve Gelbs postgame. “It’s nice to have the process and we keep trusting it. Fortunately I’ve been here long enough that I understand how Citi Field plays early in the summer and it’s fun starting to see the ball fly now.
“It’s just about trusting the process and now we’re getting some good results.”
While some of those results certainly have to be credited to the ball carrying more -- you also have to give a tip of the cap to manager Carlos Mendoza for flipping the order around when the Mets needed a spark.
Nimmo appeared to be trying to do too much out of the cleanup spot -- but he’s quickly found himself a new home, setting the table for Juan Soto and Pete Alonso in the second spot in the order.
After picking up two more knocks on Thursday, the 32-year-old is now hitting .381 with three doubles, four homers, eight RBI, a .458 on-base percentage, and a 1.196 OPS in 12 games in the two-hole.
“It’s been really nice, I’ve been able to get on-base and contribute,” he said. “I’m just trying to help out however I can, whatever the situation dictates -- but it’s always nice hitting in front of Soto and Alonso, they’re two of the best hitters in the game.”
And it’s not just Nimmo who has been enjoying the new configuration -- as Soto is finally looking more and more like himself and Alonso continues picking up big hit after big hit when this group needs it the most.
Jeff McNeil has been on an absolute tear of late as well -- lifting a homer of his own Thursday to bring his OPS up to .911 on the season.
They'll look to keep the good times rolling during a weekend set with the red-hot Tampa Bay Rays.
Hellberg, 34, signed a one-year deal with the Penguins during the 2023 NHL off-season. During his time with the club in 2023-24, he primarily played in the AHL. In 19 games with the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins, he recorded a 9-8-2 record, a .905 save percentage, and a 2.92 goals-against average.
Hellberg also played in three games with Pittsburgh during the 2023-24 season, where he posted a 1-0-0 record, a .922 save percentage, and a 2.50 goals-against average. His time with the Penguins ended when he was traded to the Florida Panthers at the 2024 NHL trade deadline. Following the move, he had a 5-2-0 record, a .898 save percentage, and a 2.34 goals-against average in eight games with Florida's AHL affiliate, the Charlotte Checkers.
Hellberg spent the entirety of this season in the AHL with the Texas Stars. In 41 appearances, he recorded a 24-14-1 record, a 2.69 goals-against average, and a .904 save percentage. Now, he is heading back to the SHL, where he should be a nice piece of Djurgardens IF's roster from here.
Leon Draisaitl scored in overtime for the fourth time this playoffs, and the Edmonton Oilers beat the Florida Panthers 5-4 in Game 4 of the Stanley Cup Final on Thursday night to tie the series, erasing a three-goal deficit and bouncing back after allowing the late tying goal.
Jake Walman gave the Oilers their first lead with 6:24 left in the third period, before Sam Reinhart scored with 19.5 seconds left to send it to overtime. Three of the first four games of this final have needed extra time to be settled, the first time that has happened since 2013 and fifth time in NHL history.
Draisaitl’s goal 11:18 into OT — the fourth session of extra hockey between these teams — sent the series back to Western Canada all even. Game 5 of what’s turning into a classic back-and-forth series between two hockey heavyweights is Saturday night in Edmonton.
The Oilers became the first road team to rally from down three to win a game in the final since the Montreal Canadiens against the Seattle Metropolitans in 1919. Only six teams have come back from down three in the final in NHL history, the last time in 2006.
Edmonton is very much in it now, even after it looked like it would be blown out of the series. The Oilers fell behind 3-0 in the first period on a pair of goals by Matthew Tkachuk and another with 41.7 seconds left from Anton Lundell, which could have been a back-breaker.
Coach Kris Knoblauch pulled Stuart Skinner after his starter allowed those three goals on 17 shots in the first, when the ice was tilted against him and his teammates did not have much of a pushback. In went Calvin Pickard, the journeyman backup who won all six of his starts this playoffs before getting injured.
Pickard made some acrobatic saves, stopping the first 18 shots he faced and paving the way for a once-in-a-century comeback. Ryan Nugent-Hopkins scored on Edmonton’s first power play, Darnell Nurse beat Sergei Bobrovsky with another shot up high and Vasily Podkolzin made it 3-all with less than five minutes left in the second.
With Draisaitl in the penalty box to start the third, Oilers were on their heels for several minutes and relied on Pickard to keep the score tied. He turned aside every shot he faced until Walman fired the puck past Bobrovsky to silence a vast majority of the crowd and incite a roar out of the Edmonton fans among those in attendance along with Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce.
Panthers fans had one more chance to cheer when Reinhart tied it late. Then Draisaitl quieted them again.
With Hockey Hall of Famers Wayne Gretzky, Jaromir Jagr and Henrik Lundqvist also in the building, the Oilers made sure they would not go quietly and fall behind 3-1 in the final like they did last year. They forced Game 7 then but ultimately fell short, with Florida winning the Cup for the first time in franchise history.
Now each of these teams is a couple of victories away from being champions.
Game 5 at Rogers Place is set for Saturday at 8 p.m. ET, 5 p.m. PT.
Leon Draisaitl scored in overtime for the fourth time this playoffs, and the Edmonton Oilers beat the Florida Panthers 5-4 in Game 4 of the Stanley Cup Final on Thursday night to tie the series, erasing a three-goal deficit and bouncing back after allowing the late tying goal.
Jake Walman gave the Oilers their first lead with 6:24 left in the third period, before Sam Reinhart scored with 19.5 seconds left to send it to overtime. Three of the first four games of this final have needed extra time to be settled, the first time that has happened since 2013 and fifth time in NHL history.
Draisaitl’s goal 11:18 into OT — the fourth session of extra hockey between these teams — sent the series back to Western Canada all even. Game 5 of what’s turning into a classic back-and-forth series between two hockey heavyweights is Saturday night in Edmonton.
The Oilers became the first road team to rally from down three to win a game in the final since the Montreal Canadiens against the Seattle Metropolitans in 1919. Only six teams have come back from down three in the final in NHL history, the last time in 2006.
Edmonton is very much in it now, even after it looked like it would be blown out of the series. The Oilers fell behind 3-0 in the first period on a pair of goals by Matthew Tkachuk and another with 41.7 seconds left from Anton Lundell, which could have been a back-breaker.
Coach Kris Knoblauch pulled Stuart Skinner after his starter allowed those three goals on 17 shots in the first, when the ice was tilted against him and his teammates did not have much of a pushback. In went Calvin Pickard, the journeyman backup who won all six of his starts this playoffs before getting injured.
Pickard made some acrobatic saves, stopping the first 18 shots he faced and paving the way for a once-in-a-century comeback. Ryan Nugent-Hopkins scored on Edmonton’s first power play, Darnell Nurse beat Sergei Bobrovsky with another shot up high and Vasily Podkolzin made it 3-all with less than five minutes left in the second.
With Draisaitl in the penalty box to start the third, Oilers were on their heels for several minutes and relied on Pickard to keep the score tied. He turned aside every shot he faced until Walman fired the puck past Bobrovsky to silence a vast majority of the crowd and incite a roar out of the Edmonton fans among those in attendance along with Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce.
Panthers fans had one more chance to cheer when Reinhart tied it late. Then Draisaitl quieted them again.
With Hockey Hall of Famers Wayne Gretzky, Jaromir Jagr and Henrik Lundqvist also in the building, the Oilers made sure they would not go quietly and fall behind 3-1 in the final like they did last year. They forced Game 7 then but ultimately fell short, with Florida winning the Cup for the first time in franchise history.
Now each of these teams is a couple of victories away from being champions.
Game 5 at Rogers Place is set for Saturday at 8 p.m. ET, 5 p.m. PT.
While the Mets will have some decisions to make in regards to their rotation after the injury to Kodai Senga, they'll at least bulk up their bullpen.
According to multiple reports, the Mets are set to call up RHP Max Kranick from the minors to take Senga's spot on the team when they officially place him on the injured list.
Kranicks has had a lot of success with the Mets earlier this season. He's pitched to a 3.51 ERA and a 0.96 WHIP in 22 appearances this year. His last appearance was back on June 2 against the Dodgers in Los Angeles. That game saw Kranick allow one run on one hit while striking out two batters in his one inning of work.
The 27-year-old was lights out to start the 2025 season. He pitched to a 2.65 ERA in March/April but May was not as kind overall. He allowed seven earned runs across 14.2 innings (4.30 ERA) of work, but finished May strong by pitching 5.1 scoreless innings in his final three appearances that month.
Kranick made two minor league appearances since his option to Triple-A Syracuse, and he allowed two earned runs across 2.1 innings pitched. His last minor league appearance came on June 10 against Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, when he allowed two runs on three hits over 0.2 innings.
Here are five things to watch and predictions as the Mets and Rays play a three-game series at Citi Field starting on Friday at 7:10 p.m. on SNY.
5 things to watch
Starting rotation shakeup coming?
Kodai Senga left Thursday's game with a hamstring injury that will land him on the IL, and the calculus will change with him missing time. But the Mets will still have seven starters for five spots when Frankie Montas and Sean Manaea are back.
With Montas making one or two more rehab starts before returning and Manaeaset to make his third rehab start on Sunday, things could get very crowded very soon.
And with New York not planning to utilize a regular six-man rotation in the immediate future, it's fair to wonder how they'll make everything fit.
It's logical to believe that Tylor Megill will slide to the bullpen or get sent to Triple-A Syracuse when room is needed in the rotation. He has minor league options remaining, meaning the Mets can send him down without running the risk of losing him.
Beyond Megill (who starts on Saturday), the next candidate to possibly lose his rotation spot -- as unfair as it is -- would almost certainly be Griffin Canning, who carries a 3.22 ERA into his start on Sunday.
Playing time on the infield
The Mets are currently juggling four players for two infield spots, with Jeff McNeil, Brett Baty, Ronny Mauricio, and Luisangel Acuña jockeying between second base and third base.
In the case of McNeil, who has been on fire, he'll start pretty much every day -- and the Mets have the option to use him in center field, where he started on Wednesday.
That leaves Baty, Mauricio, and Acuña as the main players battling for at-bats.
The Mets have the option of using any of them at DH, but most of the time, that has been given to Jared Young and Starling Marte.
Things haven't come easily at the plate for Alvarez after returning from a broken hamate bone, and that has included him chasing lots of pitches well out of the zone.
But Alvarez has looked better lately. And if he can build on that -- especially if he can tap into some more power -- he could help take the Mets' lineup to another level.
Rays are in the thick of the playoff race
The Rays were a bit of an afterthought before the season, but they're once again right in the thick of things in the playoff race.
Tampa is in third place in the AL East and trails the first-place Yankees by 6.0 games, but they're currently holding the third Wild Card spot -- and are only 2.0 games behind the Blue Jays for the top Wild Card spot.
Junior Caminero (.776 OPS) and Brandon Lowe (.742 OPS) have helped the Rays go, and former Mets prospect Jake Mangum has been strong in his first taste of the majors. Mangum is hitting .304 with a .339 OBP and 10 stolen bases in 33 games.
The Rays also have a very good closer in Pete Fairbanks, who has a 2.30 ERA and 1.17 WHIP in 27.1 innings -- and has yet to allow a home run this season.
Drew Rasmussen is healthy and dealing
Tampa's rotation is anchored by Rasmussen, who has undergone three serious elbow surgeries and is now back and dominating.
In 13 starts over 69.0 innings this season, Rasmussen has a 2.22 ERA and 0.89 WHIP and has allowed just 48 hits.
And Rasmussen has been especially sharp lately.
He made four consecutive scoreless starts spanning May 17 to June 3, before giving up two runs over 6.0 innings in his most recent start on June 8 against the Marlins.
Rasmussen gets the ball on Saturday.
Predictions
Who will the MVP of the series be?
Brandon Nimmo
Nimmo has been heating up, including a two-homer game on Wednesday against the Nationals, and add another longball on Thursday.
Which Mets pitcher will have the best start?
Clay Holmes
Holmes has allowed just seven runs over his last four starts.
Which Rays player will be a thorn in the Mets' side?
Jake Mangum
He has the right combination of contact-ability and speed.
With Chris Kreider traded to the Anaheim Ducks, what does that mean for the rest of the veteran players on the New York Rangers?
There’s been a lot of talk about communication between management and the players within the Rangers organization over the past year.
Kreider was a pillar of the franchise and a leader in the locker room, so his missing presence will certainly be felt next season.
Rangers president and general manager Chris Drury reportedly handled this situation very delicately, both working with Kreider to find a destination of his desire and having communication with the other veteran players.
Drury has already dismantled a large part of his veteran core, moving off of Jacob Trouba, Ryan Lindgren, Jimmy Vesey, and now Chris Kreider.
Brooks also reported that Drury is determined to make substantial personnel changes because the chemistry in the room was not conducive to a constructive work environment.
