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The Athletics struck first, a Jeff McNeil homer on the first pitch of the game, to go ahead against Michael Wacha right at the start. But the Royals roared back, scoring in five separate innings, to win the game 9-5 in Vinnie Pasquantino and Maikel Garcia’s return from the injured list.

The two returning players combined to go 3-9, but that was mostly Garcia. In the first inning, Bobby Witt Jr and Jac Caglianone got on base with a walk and a single then advanced on a wild pitch. In his first plate appearance back, Garcia singled to right field to score Witt. On the throw home, Garcia went to second. Vinnie then popped a weak flyout in his first plate appearance back, but Salvador Perez picked him up. With two outs and runners going on contact, Salvador Perez knocked in both runners with a trademark “reach a down-and-outside breaking pitch that was obviously a ball but get a hit anyway” to make it 3-1.

For once, that was a lead the Royals would NOT give away, as the Royals kept piling on more runs.

In the second inning, after a Kyle Isbel walk, Carter Jensen took a pitch well above the strike nearly to the right field bullpen. Unfortunately, Lawrence Butler caught it standing just in front of the fence. But then Bobby Witt Jr got Athletics starter, and former Royal, Mason Barnett – Witt lasered a line drive homer to left-center field to score two more runs to make it 5-1 (Isbel had reached earlier on a walk).

In a long third inning with some pitchcom delays, the bottom of the lineup strung together a single, a walk, and another single to score a run, which knocked out Barnett with the score 6-1 Royals.

After that first pitch home run, Wacha was cruising until the fifth inning, when the Athletics finally broke through. Tommy White led off the fifth with a home run off a pitch up high. Donovan Walton nearly hit another homer, but it bounced off the fence in left-center field. Alika Williams hit yet a third deep fly ball, but Cags caught it at the warning track. Brian Serven golfed a homer into the left field bullpen to bring the Athletics to a 6-4 deficit. Suddenly Wacha wasn’t cruising anymore. He managed to settle down and finish the inning, but that was it for Wacha. Too much loud contact; they were sitting on his pitches. Wacha made it through only five innings with four runs given up.

Another former Royal pitcher, Scott Blewett, gave up a run in the sixth inning. The stars – Witt and Cags – clawed back a run from all the homers. Witt singled and stole second for his 33rd of the season. He got a huge, sort of hopping lead as he waited for Blewett to deliver. I think he would have been out otherwise, as the pitch was roughly a pitchout designed to try to get Witt. But he’s too fast. With two outs, Witt ran on contact and scored on a flare from Cags into right field to make it 7-4.

The Royals plated another two runs in the bottom of the eighth with back-to-back doubles from Carter Jensen and Witt, and then another single from Cags. Witt put some charges into the ball tonight. Always nice to see him pummel the ball.

Connor Thomas, John Schreiber, and Nate Pearson combined for three scoreless relief innings. With the score 9-4, Quatraro gave Lucas Erceg a shot in the ninth, which was definitely a choice. Erceg loaded the bases with a single, walk, and a walk and got precisely zero outs. Q had enough and put in Steven Cruz, who allowed a run while ending the game with a double play and a groundout.

This game was a representation of what the offense, and what this season, could have been. The pitching was not amazing, but it hung in there while the offense plastered the ball all over the field. Witt, Cags, and Garcia were the engine that made the offense go, and it always seemed like they were dangerous tonight. Other guys filled in contributions for an all-around excellent offensive effort tonight. The Royals had 13 hits and went 7-13 with runners in scoring position – Isaac Collins was the only one without a hit, but he did reach on a walk. Honestly, despite the near-ninth-inning-meltdown, the game overall was pretty nice to watch.

The Royals are now 52-74. The Athletics are 49-76. They will play again tomorrow at 6:40pm US Central time.

The Los Angeles Dodgers started their road trip off on a strong note at Coors Field with an 11-5 win against the Colorado Rockies on Monday, Aug. 17, and it was none other than Max Muncy who broke open the floodgates at the plate.

In the top of the third inning, Muncy took full advantage of a sinker right down the middle of the plate from Rockies starter Tomoyuki Sugano and turned on it, sending the ball sailing into the second deck for a three-run home run to open up a five-run lead for LA. Coming in at a Statcast-projected 461 feet, it was the longest home run hit by a Dodger in 2026. The team's previous longest homer this season also belongs to Muncy at Coors Field when he hit one 452 feet on April 17.

Shohei Ohtani matched that with a 452-footer of his own in the top of the sixth on Monday.

461 feet 🤯

The longest @Dodgers homer of the season belongs to Max Muncy! https://t.co/WDvR6hWvokpic.twitter.com/v4fdOVm4DV

— MLB (@MLB) August 18, 2026

Muncy continues to swing the bat well even as the Dodgers have collectively struggled at the plate since the trade deadline, hitting 10-for-44 with three home runs and 11 RBI with a .477 slugging percentage in the month of August while LA has dropped 11 of their last 16 games, including three of a pivotal four-game series against the Milwaukee Brewers that could have postseason implications.

"We haven't been good," Muncy told reporters after Sunday's 6-2 loss to the Brewers. "It's one of those stretches. We need urgency. We need to fix some things. … Today really sucked. It was a big game. We kind of needed to win this one, and we didn't. But it's just how it goes."

So far in the thin air of Denver, it looks like Dodger Stadium's all-time leading home run hitter's words have reverberated through the clubhouse.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Watch Max Muncy crush 461-foot homer, Dodgers' longest of the season

A king can get knocked around. It can lose three straight games at home. It can even trail by two runs in the seventh inning with a four-game sweep creeping closer.

But, as D’Angelo Barksdale once explained on The Wire, “The king stay the king, aight.”

Jonny DeLuca helped the Rays remain atop the American League East, grounding a pinch-hit, two-run single into left field to complete a 7-6 comeback victory over the Orioles.

Getting there required Tampa Bay to overcome three separate deficits and another night in which Baltimore’s lineup kept finding the seats.

Shane McClanahan made his first start as he returned from the injured list with mid-back tightness and opened with a clean first inning. Yandy Díaz walked in the bottom half and advanced to second on Jonathan Aranda’s fly ball, but Gunnar Henderson’s glove made the next two outs to leave him there.

Coby Mayo provided Baltimore’s first lead in the second by sending a McClanahan fastball deep into the left-center-field seats. The ball left his bat at 114.2 mph and traveled 468 feet, which is generally enough distance to remove any suspense about whether an outfielder has a play. McClanahan recovered to retire the next three hitters, including a strikeout of Jeremiah Jackson.

Tampa Bay responded to even the score in the bottom of the second when Cedric Mullins reached on a bunt single and advanced to second on Christian Encarnacion-Strand’s throwing error. Richie Palacios flew out to end the inning.

The Orioles threatened again in the third after Christian Franklin singled and stole second. McClanahan stranded him by striking out Tyler O’Neill and getting Pete Alonso to fly out.

Yandy Díaz tied the game in the bottom half, driving Brandon Young’s 2-2 pitch into right-center field for his 18th home run. Aranda followed with a double that was just inches away from being back-to-back homers and reached third on Junior Caminero’s groundout, but Liam Hicks struck out to leave the go-ahead run 90 feet away.

Baltimore made that missed opportunity matter in the fourth.

Jackson Holliday opened with a single, and Mayo followed with a double to put two runners in scoring position. McClanahan struck out Gunnar Henderson before Kevin Cash turned to Casey Legumina. Encarnacion-Strand greeted the reliever with a ground-ball single through the middle, scoring both runners for a 3-1 Orioles lead.

McClanahan was charged with three runs on four hits over 3.1 innings. He struck out three without issuing a walk in his first appearance since July 30.

No lead was safe Monday night.

The Rays quickly turned the game around against Young. Chandler Simpson led off the fourth with a bunt single but was caught stealing after a replay review upheld the call and denied a Rays challenge that Ryan Vilade was hit by pitch. Vilade made the lost challenge and baserunner sting Later in the inning, Jorge Mateo then drove a two-strike pitch over the left-center-field wall for his first home run as a Ray, giving Tampa Bay a 4-3 lead.

It did not last long.

Tyler Wells entered for the fifth and watched Alonso send a pitch over the right-field wall to tie the game. Wells retired the next two hitters, but Henderson singled before Encarnacion-Strand lifted a two-run homer to left. His second run-producing hit of the night put Baltimore back in front, 6-4.

Lead taken, lead lost.

Tampa Bay went quietly in the fifth and sixth while Kevin Kelly worked around consecutive two-out singles to keep the deficit at two. Cam Booser did the same in the seventh, striking out three Orioles around a Henderson double.

Then the Rays finally built a rally without needing the ball to leave the park.

Taylor Walls opened the bottom of the seventh with an infield single, and Díaz was hit by a pitch. Aranda lined a single into left to score Walls before Caminero’s soft infield hit loaded the bases with nobody out only trailing by a run.

Baltimore replaced Yennier Cano with Josh Walker. Tampa Bay countered with DeLuca, who entered the night hitless in his previous 11 at-bats.

DeLuca fell behind 1-2 before working the count even. He then hit a chopper than bounced over the infield and into left field, scoring Díaz with the tying run and Aranda with the go-ahead run. Five consecutive Rays had reached, and a 6-4 deficit had become a 7-6 lead.

Holding it required one more escape.

Carlos Narváez walked to begin the eighth, advanced on a wild pitch and reached third on O’Neill’s single. Bryan Baker replaced Booser with runners at the corners and one out. He struck out Alonso on a foul tip before Holliday grounded to Taylor Walls, who handled the force play at second to end the inning.

The Rays could not add insurance in the bottom half after Palacios walked and stole second, leaving Baker with the same one-run margin in the ninth.

Mayo popped out, and Henderson grounded out before Encarnacion-Strand extended the game with a two-out single. Baker responded by striking out Leody Taveras on a foul tip to earn his 35th save.

Tampa Bay still avoided the sweep, ended a four-game home losing streak and snapped a six-game skid against Baltimore. The Rays are back at it tomorrow at home to open a series against the Toronto Blue Jays at 6:40pm.

Record: 66-60. Pace: 85-77. Change on 2025: +6.

Well, this was ugly in every conceivable way. However, the Diamondbacks can perhaps be forgiven for being “off” this evening in Boston, as matters off the field took center stage. Face of the franchise Ketel Marte no-showed at Fenway Park this afternoon, forcing a roster change with just minutes to go before first pitch, as he was placed on the restricted list. Mitch Bratt had a bad start, Zack Littell showed why he got DFA’d, and the offense was barely more present than Marte, as the D-backs lost the opening game of the series against the Red Sox, by a large margin, which accurately reflected the tenor and tone of this one.

The weirdness began with the late announcement of the team’s line-up. And when I say late, there was less than ten minutes to go before first pitch, and there was still nothing from the D-backs. Finally, a late, shocking roster move was announced. Ketel Marte had been placed on the restricted list, with Jose Fernandez replacing him. Fortunately, Fernandez was in town anyway, as possible coverage had Nolan Arenado had to go on the injured list. That was avoided – Arenado is officially day-to-day with his trunk issue (I’m going to keep calling it that!) – so he could take Marte’s spot on the roster.

But what had happened to Ketel? Everyone was stunned, even John Gambadoro, who usually is very good at having the pulse of the team, called the move “so unexpected.” It was known that Marte had flown to Boston with the team – his Instagram feed made that clear, with a report of teammate Corbin Carroll winning NL Player of the Week being the last post. But he wasn’t at Fenway for batting practice. The team gave him as long as possible, but eventually had to pull the trigger. Nick Piecoro had as much an explanation as anyone: “I’m told Ketel Marte is doing OK physically, he just didn’t show up to the ballpark tonight.”

While we all pondered what that might mean – especially given Marte’s previous willingness to go AWOL, necessitating a trip to the restricted list – there was still a game going on. Sort of. In the sense that only Boston seemed to turn up. From the first pitch, it seemed that starter Mitch Bratt was not on form, with his pitches a couple of miles per hour down on normal. Considering he has been a command and control guy, rather than a power one, this wasn’t good. But the command wasn’t there either. He walked two in the first and, though Bratt was able to strand them, a lead-off walk in the second came round to score, plus one more, for a 2-0 Red Sox lead.

After one more inning, and one more run, Bratt was done for the night after 65 pitches. His final line: three innings of work, allowing three earned runs on four hits and three walks. He was basically a shadow of his previous three starts, where he tossed 18 innings and allowed three runs. The team turned to Zack Littell as the long relief mop-up guy, and it’s safe to say his second outing wasn’t anywhere near as good as his previous one either. To be blunt, we kinda saw why Littell got DFA’d by the Nationals, though he did his job and largely saved the bullpen. But he allowed eleven hits while recording the same number of outs, leading to eight runs.

To be fair, he didn’t get helped by the Arizona outfield defense, with errors by Corbin Carroll and Ryan Waldschmidt on consecutive batters in the fifth inning. That led to a pair of unearned runs, as Boston scored in every inning from the second through the seventh inclusive. We did get to see Dennis Santana make his debut for Arizona, getting the final out of the eighth. Ildemaro Vargas came on in the ninth for his eighth career appearances, and third of the season, getting three outs after a lead-off single. He lowered his season ERA to 4.91, so that was nice.

It says a lot that the broadcast awarded the Cool Play of the Game to a couple celebrating their 50th anniversary at Fenway tonight. Because there was precious little “cool” about this one. The Diamondbacks were held to four hits and one walk. Two of the hits were by Tim Tawa, who also had the only extra-base hit of the night for Arizona, when they doubled. A slight chance of a comeback came in the sixth, where the D-backs loaded the bases with one out. Geraldo Perdomo just missed a bases-clearing double down the RF line, eventually plating our only run with a sac fly. Jordan Lawlar then struck out – he went 0-for-4 with three K’s in his return from the minors.

Speaking to the media after the game (above), manager Torey Lovullo didn’t shed much light on the Marte situation, beyond saying it was a “personal issue”, and that he was first aware of a possible problem this morning. Asked if Ketel was still in Boston, he replied “I believe so. I’m not sure.” It was notable that Lovullo definitely seemed quite emotional about the entire situation. Gambo recently tweeted that “No one in the organization at this time” knows what the personal issue is. De facto clubhouse captain Perdomo is similarly in the dark, telling Steve Gilbert, he hadn’t spoken to Marte today. There, for the moment, the matter rests.

Will Ketel be back tomorrow? Tune in and find out…

Click here for details, at Fangraphs.com
Boston Tea Party: Jose Fernandez, +0%
Boston Massacre: Mitch Bratt, -15%
Boston Molasses Flood: Zack Littell, -10%

There was no D-back in properly positive territory. Fernandez came in a +0%, which I’m guessing means between +0.0% and +0.5%. As opposed to Jorge Barrosa, James McCann and Tawa, who were all -0%, presumably -0.1 and -0.5%. Comment of the night, on a strange and awkward game all round, goes to ercil:

Same two teams tomorrow night at Fenway, with another 4:10 pm Arizona time first pitch. Merrill Kelly will be starting for the D-backs, as they seek to secure at least a split on this six-game road-trip.

The Athletics began the week with a Monday night matchup against the Kansas City Royals in the first game of this four-game series. The A’s dropped the series opener 9-5 in another game where a poor performance from the Green and Gold’s starting pitcher’s put them in an unrecoverable hole. The team’s offense battled back but ultimately came up short.

A’s Strike First

The A’s offense got to Royals starter Michael Wacha immediately. First baseman Jeff McNeil hit the first pitch of the game over the right-field fence. His sixth home run of the season and fourth career leadoff homer put the visitors up 1-0 before most fans had found their seats. The A’s had a chance to score more, but Carlos Cortes grounded into the first of two inning-ending double plays he hit into in this game.

Barnett Back to Barn ASAP

A’s starter Mason Barnett, pitching against the franchise that drafted him, allowed the Royals to answer right back. In his first game back from the injured list, Maikel Garcia’s RBI single scored Bobby Witt Jr. to tie the game at 1. Barnett was unable to stop the bleeding, as Royals designated hitter Salvador Perez hit a two-out, two-run single to put the hosts up 3-1 after the first inning.

Barnett’s struggles continued in the bottom of that inning. With one out, Witt Jr. hit his 15th home run of the season, a two-run shot to left center field, extending Kansas City’s lead to 5-1.

In the bottom of the third, Kyle Isbel’s two-out RBI single brought home the Royals’ sixth run of the night and ended Barnett’s outing. The A’s right-hander allowed six runs on seven hits, four walks, two wild pitches and one home run over just 2 2/3 innings. The Royals went 4-for-6 with runners in scoring position against the A’s starter.

Athletics right-hander Hayden Juenger replaced Barnett and escaped the jam by recording the final out of the inning. Meanwhile, Wacha kept the momentum on his team’s side, tossing three straight scoreless innings against the A’s injury-depleted lineup.

A’s Comeback Attempt

Following a scoreless inning of relief from Juenger, A’s third baseman Tommy White led off the fifth with his team’s first hit since the first inning. White hit his second homer in as many games, a solo shot to left-center that cut the deficit to 6-2.

The Athletics comeback attempt continued against Wacha. Second baseman Donovan Walton doubled and then scored on catcher Brian Serven’s third home run of the season, a two-run shot to left field that cut the Royals’ lead in half.

Bullpen Time

Juenger kept the momentum on the A’s side, throwing 2 1/3 scoreless innings to stabilize the game after Barnett’s disastrous start.

The fifth was Wacha’s final inning. He allowed four runs on six hits over five innings while striking out three. Left-handed reliever Connor Thomas pitched a scoreless sixth inning as the hosts turned to their bullpen to protect a two-run lead.

Facing A’s reliever Scott Blewett, the Royals increased their lead to three runs in the bottom of the sixth. With two outs, Witt Jr. singled, stole second and scored on Jac Caglianone’s RBI single. Through six innings, four of Kansas City’s seven runs came with two outs, highlighting the Royals’ offensive execution and the Athletics’ woeful pitching.

Late Game Action

In the top of the eighth inning, the A’s brought the tying run to the plate against Royals reliever Nate Pearson. He hit Henry Bolte with a pitch before walking Lawrence Butler. The Green and Gold failed to capitalize as Zack Gelof grounded out to end the frame.

Kansas City grabbed a couple of insurance runs in the bottom of the eighth inning against A’s right-hander Seth Johnson. Witt Jr. recorded his third hit and third RBI of the game before scoring his fourth run, and his team’s ninth, on Caglianone’s second RBI single of the night.

Ninth-Inning Drama

Former A’s reliever Lucas Erceg pitched the top of the ninth inning. He did not record an out, as the only three batters he faced reached base on a single and a pair of walks. That trade is not working out well for either team, as Barnett also struggled tonight. Right-handed reliever Steven Cruz replaced Erceg with the bases-loaded and no outs.

Cruz earned his fifth save of the season by getting out of that stressful situation with only one run crossing the plate. The A’s had a chance to stage a dramatic comeback, but went down quietly. Pinch-hitter Jonah Heim, who replaced shortstop Alika Williams, grounded into the A’s third double play of the game. Serven followed with a groundout to end the game.

The Athletics will look to bounce back and even the series tomorrow night. Right-hander Jack Perkins will start for the A’s, while the Royals have yet to announce their starter.

Despite a rough latter half of the game, the Tigers beat the Pirates 8-5.

After limping their way through a no-good-very-bad weekend series against the White Sox, the Tigers were hoping for a better result as they headed to Pittsburgh. The home of a bunch of yellow bridges, Primanti Brothers sandwiches, and the best view in baseball, the Tigers would have to best their NL rivals and they picked a good time to do it with Paul Skenes slumping terribly and the Pirates, but the Pirates actually have a nearly identical record to the Tigers at the moment, so truly no one knows how this road trip is going to pan out. The Tigers had Framber Valdez on the mound, up against Carmen Mlodzinski for the Pirates.

Gleyber Torres took a leadoff walk in the first to start the game. With two outs, Colt Keith singled, then Zach McKinstry singled to bring Torres home. A Hao-Yu Lee single then brought Keith in and the Tigers were up 2-0 at the turnover of the first.

Valdez made short work of the Pirates in the home half, getting them out in order.

In the second, with two outs, Torres singled. Kevin McGonigle then homered, quickly doubling the Tigers’ run count. Dillon Dingler singled, but the Tigers weren’t able to bring in any additional runs.

Nick Gonzalez took a leadoff walk for the Pirates in the bottom of the inning. Brandon Lowe then singled to put two on. The Tigers got the next three outs in order, including one magnificent catch from Max Clark.

In the top of the third, Lee got a one-out single. Then with two outs, Clark singled. Unfortunately, even with two runners on, the Tigers weren’t able to add to their lead. The Pirates went 1-2-3 in the bottom of the inning.

For obvious reasons the Pirates dipped into their bullpen early, turning things over to Isaac Mattson in the fourth. Dingler got a two-out walk, but the Tigers left him stranded. In the home half, Lowe got a two-out single, but a strikeout ended the inning.

McKinstry got the fifth going with a leadoff double. Lee then drew a walk. As both runners tried to advance, McKinstry was caught at third, but Lee reached second safely. Newbie Brett Callahan reached thanks to a fielding error and Lee advanced to third. Max Clark then singled, bringing Lee home.

Jake Mangum got a leadoff walk to start the home half. Nick Yorke followed that with a single. Henry Davis hit into a force out, but with an assist from a Lee error, Mangum scored and Yorke was out at second. The Pirates were on the board. Originally Jared Triolo was ruled as hitting into a double play, but a review overturned that call pretty quickly and the Tigers had to settle for just one out. The final out came on another strikeout, a rarity for Valdez, but do what works.

Yohan Ramírez was the new pitcher for the sixth. McGonigle singled, then a wild pitch allowed him to advance to second. With one out, Keith walked, then McKinstry walked to load the bases. Lee walked, bringing in a run. Then Callahan singled, bringing in two more runs.

In the home half Gonzales doubled. Then with two outs, Rafael Flores Jr. walked. Jake Mangum then walked to load the bases. A Yorke double then cleared the bases, so all those early runs were probably good. That was it for Valdez who was replaced by Kyle Finnegan. Henry Davis then singled, scoring another run. I don’t know the numbers off the top of my head for how many times this season the Tigers have blown a substantial lead in the sixth or seventh inning, but it’s definitely more than once. As that was the last of Valdez’s baserunners, his final line was 5.2 IP, 5 H, 5 R, 5 ER, 4 BB, 5 K on 91 pitches. He started out decently but the wheels fell off in a grand fashion as the game proceeded. I’m not a baseball manager but I feel like, perhaps, middle relief might be a better option for Valdez. The Tigers finally got out of the inning but the damage was certainly done.

Kirby Yates was the new Pirates pitcher for the seventh. He got the Tigers out in order. Esmerlyn Valdez reached thanks to a fielding error by Javier Baez. Gonzales walked, and that was it for Finnegan, who was replaced by Drew Sommers. Sommers induced a groundout, then struck out the final batter to escape the inning with no damage done. Phew.

Gregory Soto, a familiar face for Tigers’ fans, was the next out of the Pittsburgh bullpen. McKinstry and Lee singled back-to-back. But Soto got the final two outs and sent the Tigers back to the dugout. The home half started with a single for Mangum, but the Tigers challenged the call, and after review it seemed clear that Sommers, who was covering first, did get his cleat on the bag before Mangum reached, and the call was overturned. The next two batters struck out.

Camilo Doval came in for the ninth. Javier Baez was hit by a pitch, then Torres walked. McGonigle grounded into a double play, and a Dingler popout ended the inning with no additional runs scored, so it would be up to Kenley Jansen to keep the Tigers in the lead. Jansen was in fine form and got through the bottom of the inning with no major drama to secure the Tigers’ win.

Final: Tigers 8, Pirates 5

Judging by his final statline alone, you'd be forgiven for thinking that Nolan McLean was his typical, dominant self on the mound today in the Mets' 2-1 win over the San Diego Padres, the team's fourth straight victory.

However, in the first two innings, McLean allowed five hits and two walks across the 11 batters he faced, striking none of them out.

Thankfully, two tremendous back-to-back outfield assists from right fielder (and other half of the Oklahoma State 'Power Gingers') Carson Benge and another from left fielder A.J. Ewing limited the damage to the lone earned run on a sacrifice fly.

"Some unlucky hits early," McLean said about a string of bloop singles. "But overall, stuff felt pretty good. Had a hard time getting a grip on the ball early in the game, but I was able to find it a little bit later, which helped me get through it."

"Little lucky at the outset," Mets' interim manager Andy Green said. "Clearly was not settled today. But the competitor that he is, he didn't let his first two innings dictate his next four. He was really good from then on out."

Green thought he was going to have to get McLean in the fifth when he issued back-to-back two-out walks on 10 pitches, but the 25-year-old got JacksonMerrill to fly out to right-center.

"He [then] did a great job in the sixth going out there; we needed those three outs," the skipper said.  

McLean ended up completing six full innings and throwing 103 pitches, lowering his ERA to 3.34 for the year.

From there, the Mets bullpen made quick work of a Padres team that has been scorching hot as of late, having won seven of their last eight games entering tonight. San Diego is also playing for their lives right now, clinging to the final National League Wild Card spot with a 0.5-game lead over their divisional rivals, the Arizona Diamondbacks.

Following a leadoff single by Luis Rengifo in the seventh inning, the Padres offense failed to reach base the rest of the way. 

Jonathan Pintaro handled the seventh plus the leadoff man in the eighth before southpaw Nate Lavender got the next two on just two pitches, and Daniel Duarte shut the door in the ninth with two strikeouts to retire nine batters in a row in the process.

Lavender earned his fourth hold in his first five appearances as a big-leaguer, having been promoted to the active roster on Aug. 4, while Duarte earned his second save of the season.

Duarte's 0.89 ERA and 0.64 WHIP across 20.1 innings pitched exemplify the best form of the 29-year-old journeyman's career.

"The 'strong side' of our bullpen that we've identified was a little thinner today, but Pintaro was great, and Lav was great, and Duarte, as well," Green stated. "Really good."

The Mets chose not to turn to Kodai Senga tonight, who has converted all three of his save opportunities since joining the bullpen as a replacement closer for the injured Devin Williams.

"As he builds up volume, three out of four didn't make a ton of sense for [Monday to be] his first back-to-back," Green explained. "Certainly think he's going to be able to do that. And I think he could have done that; he was up for doing that today. Just kinda restrained ourselves from doing that."

Ketel Marte is back on the restricted list for the second time in his career, this time after he didn’t show up to Monday’s road game against the Red Sox.

The Diamondbacks didn’t post their lineup until 15 minutes before first pitch, when they announced the roster move. Jose Fernandez was recalled from Triple-A Reno, which was on an off-day between series in Tacoma, Washington, and Sacramento, California.

Arizona reportedly waited until the last possible second to announce the move, as they hoped the All-Star second baseman would arrive in time for the game.

The Diamondbacks didn’t give a reason why Marte missed the game, how long he will be out, or whether he made it to Boston at all after Sunday’s game in Atlanta. Marte is attending to a personal matter, according to Francys Romero of BeisbolFR.com

Marte’s first stint on the restricted list, a designation for players away from the team without a reason and without pay, came in 2025 after his home in Arizona was burglarized and he lost $400,000.

That three-game break soon after the All-Star Game — and right after he’d requested off the Sunday prior — irked his teammates.

Those grumblings started anew earlier this season, after Marte cited lower back tightness to skip a game against the Dodgers with Shohei Ohtani on the mound. Manager Torey Lovullo refuted the reports and insisted there’s no love lost in the D-backs’ clubhouse.

Marte, an MVP finalist in 2024, has long been at the center of trade rumors, especially with Arizona’s position as a seller in 2025. The three-time is hitting .249 with 21 homers, 67 RBIs and a .760 OPS for an Arizona team in the thick of the NL West race.

He is currently in Year 2 of a six-year, $105 million deal.

After a sweep against the Minnesota Twins where they scored a combined 23 runs over three games, they pull out a solid win as the Marlins try to cling to the wildcard race.

It was all of the makings of a good team win. It started on the first ball in play of the night, Trea Turner made a classic Derek Jeter-like jump throw to nail Esteury Ruiz. Cristopher Sánchez did not have his normal velocity tonight but it didn’t matter too much. He still got six strikeouts and made plenty of Marlins hitters look silly on the changeup but there were breaks. The Marlins offense recorded eight hits, including three straight innings with at least one leadoff baserunner.

It was not always pretty but he gutted it out. Sánchez did catch a nice break in the fifth. After back-to-back singles to start the inning, Heriberto Hernández squibbled a a grounder right to Bryson Stott on the third base bag, who fired a rocket to second base for a double play. Xavier Edwards then hit a weak ground ball to Alec Bohm to end the threat.

Meanwhile, the Phillies’ offense hit Janson Junk around for five innings but struggled to deliver the final blow. They were able to capitalize in the bottom of the third, with an excuse-me groundball that dribbled down the third base line for a Justin Crawford leadoff double. After a Kyle Schwarber strikeout, Trea Turner slapped a single to put the Phillies on the board.

After a Bryce Harper walk, Luis Arraez then punched a single into right field to double the Phillies lead to two.

It become more about the battle of the bullpens as the game went on. After Junk exited the game after five innings, John King struggled to keep the game close.

After a Bryson Stott walk, sacrifice bunt by Brandon Marsh, and a JT Realmuto walk, Don Mattingly went to his bench for Derek Hill.

Like he has all season, Derek Hill was bound to come up clutch, taking a sinker right past Otto Lopez into center field to give the Phillies a 3-1 lead. After a sacrifice flyout by Schwarber, the Phillies went to their bullpen with a three-run lead.

Jonathan Bowlan, the Phillies most-trusted setup man was tasked with the seventh and it looked as comfortable as it’s been after his first two hitters, getting Jakob Marsee to strikeout and a flyout from Heriberto Hernández.

But with two outs, the Marlins recorded back-to-back singles from Xavier Edwards and Agustín Ramírez to bring the tying run to the plate with two outs. Otto Lopez worked a five pitch walk to load the bases to give Javier Sanoja a chance to get the Marlins back in the game.

After Bowlan got a head 0-2, he hung a slider that Sanoja punched down the first base line but was called foul. All three Marlins runners did the smart thing and kept running and would’ve scored if the umpire didn’t initially call the ball foul. But instead of trying to correct an understandable missed call, the umpires just made a second mistake instead, awarding only two runs for the Marlins and putting Lopez at third with Sanoja at second base with two outs. Leo Jiménez then struck out.

After Derek Hill worked a bases loaded walk to give the Phillies a two run lead again, it was time for Mattingly to go back to the bullpen.

Brooks Raley did part of his job in getting two left handed hitters to record outs before being lifted but in between, he surrendered a solo home run to Brian Navarreto on a cutter that didn’t cut.

The Phillies once again got to the Marlins bullpen, with Alec Bohm slapping a Cade Gibson slider that scored Bryce Harper and then the game turned to Jhoan Duran for the final three outs.

After throwing 33 pitches against the Twins on Sunday, Duran returned tonight on a back-to-back because he is the glue that is sort of keeping the bullpen, and maybe the entire team, from unraveling. He wasn’t perfect, far from his world class standards. Xavier Edwards hit a Baltimore chopper for an infield knock and later took second base because closers as good as Duran forget runners are on base. After a groundout, Otto Lopez punched a splinker into center field to make it a one-run game.

But that was the last of the Marlins magic for the night. Sanoja and Jiménez were no match for Duran and the Phillies escaped with a narrow win to keep them in a wildcard spot.

It was not the prettiest win and it is not one that should allow you to ignore their flaws but the Phillies are 11-5 in the month of August with a completely new offensive approach and identity this month. It might not last, the last time things felt this good, they did not last but with a month and a half to go, there is a chance this team is hitting it’s stride.

Tonight could’ve been categorized as lucky, the Phillies probably shouldn’t have won this game. Some would say this is a game good teams win, grabbing insurance runs when needed to help a struggling pitching staff. Who knows. Eat Arby’s.

Maria Menounos is a cancer survivor. The Medford native was the third or fourth scheduled Jimmy Fund-supported appearance on tonight’s broadcast/telethon, the scheduling of which was impeccable. The Sox pulled ahead and away early and never let up, and the appearance of Menounos and other affected families was more conspicuous on the broadcast than ever, due to the team kicking a lot of butt. It was inspiring and a reminder that the time will be passed, goshdarnit, and it will occasionally force you to think about things you didn’t anticipate, and you learn something.

Then it all comes back to beisbol, and when the Sox go up 9-1 in the 6th, and Maria sez “God is blessing this game,” it’s hard to disagree. By that point, every Sox starter had an RBI. That’s *really* hard to do. And while it should probably be noted that AZ star Ketel Marte simply didn’t show up to the game (which is wild), he wouldn’t have helped. Among the bountiful Sox highlights: Adley Rutschman broke out of his slump with an RBI double one at-bat after reaching on a stupid error; Ceddy Rafaela hit 3 doubles; Willson Contreras went yard and Brayan Bello went hard, 4.2 IP while allowing 1R with 3Ks. It was 11-1 by the time it was done. The details are over there. The feeling is right here. Drink it in.

Carson Benge’s right arm might be the most exciting tool on the Mets roster this season.

That arm unloaded twice in the first inning Monday, setting the tone for the night: Two Padres were thrown out at the plate. Run prevention was also in full force an inning later when A.J. Ewing nailed a runner at the plate.

The defensive push led to a 2-1 victory, the Mets’ 10th in their past 13 games.

Before his third straight impressive performance defensively in right field, Benge was asked by The Post if he thought base runners might stop testing him.

“I hope not,” Benge said. “That is one of the parts of my game that I am prouder about is being able to show off whenever I can. It’s real fun.”

Benge nailed Jake Cronenworth at the plate on Ty France’s one-out single in the first. The ensuing batter, Jackson Merrill, singled in front of Benge, who unleashed another gem and threw out Manny Machado at the plate. It marked the first time in franchise history an outfielder threw out two runners at the plate in the same inning.

The display gave Benge four outfield assists over the past three games and nine this season (which ranks first among National League right fielders).

“The first one was pretty cool, but the inning wasn’t over yet,” Benge said. “So being able to nail him for the third out was pretty special.”

Such throws have likely placed the 23-year-old Benge in the Gold Glove conversation in right field. Benge also figures to receive consideration in NL Rookie of the Year balloting, bolstered by a .750 OPS.

Benge’s 2.4 bWAR entering Monday ranked third among NL rookies, behind JJ Wetherholt and TJ Rumfield. On the defensive level, Benge rates as average in range (at zero outs above average, according to Statcast). But his arm value and arm strength rank in MLB’s 95th and 98th percentiles, respectively.

“I think he’s put himself at the forefront of the Gold Glove conversation and the Rookie of the Year,” said Mets bench coach Kai Correa, who oversees the team’s defense. “If he’s not in either of those, I am not sure what we are doing.”

Benge’s defensive highlights over the weekend included racing down Dylan Crews’ shot to right field Sunday — he collided with the fence after the catch. Benge had a sliding catch on Daylen Lile’s fly to right later in the game. On Saturday, he nailed Crews attempting to score from third on a fly to right. A day later, Brady House got thrown out by Benge attempting to race from first to third.

Correa noted that that Benge, who progressed through the minors mostly in center field, has moved around the outfield this season to accommodate other players, but it hasn’t appeared to stunt his growth in right.

“The second thing is, everyone can say it and talk about arm strength,” Correa said. “But to have the consistency and quick release and be accurate — he is making 98 mph throws on the bag, on the plate, long hops on the fly. So, the consistency of accuracy at that arm strength is a pretty special weapon, and then the athleticism to complete plays: dive, slide and jump. He is really the total package out there.”

Benge admitted to receiving a thrill watching the replays of his best throws.

“Some of them, they get up there that I throw pretty hard and they are one-hop strikes and they are pretty fun to watch,” Benge said. “I feel like I have always had it. I feel like I have always been pretty accurate, know when to hit the cutoff man for the most part and know whenever it’s OK to let it fly a little bit.”

Benge’s assessment of his outfield play overall?

“I have felt like I’ve gotten better,” he said. “I have felt like there’s easy plays that I haven’t made, and I know I can still get better on reads and different things like that. But overall, I am pretty satisfied with how it’s continued to grow throughout the year.”

The Mets haven’t had a Gold Glove winner since Juan Lagares won one in 2014. Their best chance to end that drought this season might rest with Benge, especially if runners continue to test his arm.

“Any kind of recognition in this league for any award would be amazing, no matter what award it might be,” Benge said. “But Gold Glove or Rookie of the Year, it’s pretty cool to be in those talks.”

The Mets started a three game series against the Padres on Monday night. The Padres were sitting in a playoff spot, just a game ahead of the Diamondbacks for the final Wild Card spot. Walker Buehler was getting the start for the Padres, while Nolan McLean was taking the mound for the Mets, hoping to add another entry to what was shaping up to be a fantastic first full season for the rookie pitcher.

The first inning was a challenge for McLean. It looked like it might be an easy inning after Fernando Tatis Jr. hit a line out right into McLean’s glove for a first out on the first pitch of the game. But back-to-back singles put two runners on with one out. Two more singles followed immediately after, but each one was hit to Carson Benge, and each resulted on an out at the plate with Benge throwing both Jake Cronenworth and Manny Machado out at the plate on consecutive plays.

The Mets led off the bottom of the first with an A.J. Ewing single and a Francisco Lindor walk, putting two runners on for the Mets with no outs. Bo Bichette then hit a single to drive in Ewing as the first run of the game on his bobblehead night. Luis Robert Jr. drove in the Mets second run of the game two batters later, hitting a sacrifice fly to bring Lindor in to score.

The second was another difficult endeavor for McLean. Two walks and a hit batsman loaded the bases with no outs, spelling trouble for New York. Luis Rengifo hit a comebacker to McLean, who threw home for a force out to keep the Padres scoreless, but also kept the bases loaded with just one out. The Padres finally cashed in when Tatis, up for the second time in the game, hit a sacrifice fly to drive in Gavin Sheets and cut the Mets lead down to one run. Conenworth hit a single, but this time Ewing came through for McLean, throwing Xander Bogaerts out at the plate to end the inning. 

McLean and Buehler traded scoreless innings for the next few frames. McLean came out of the game after six innings, having allowed just the one run. Keeping it to one run was impressive given that he gave up six hits and four walks while only striking out three, which helped illustrate the full team effort on defense alongside McLean.

The Mets bullpen kept the Padres locked down, with Jonathan Pintaro, Nate Lavender, and Daniel Duarte combining for three scoreless innings, with Pintaro allowing the only hit of the final three innings. Daniel Duarte got the save with two strikeouts in the ninth inning.

Nolan McLean got the win, thanks to the spectacular defense (particularly that of his fellow rookies Benge and Ewing). The Mets play two more games against the Padres at home, with Tuesday’s game featuring Zac Thornton going against Padres’ deadline acquisition Robbie Ray.

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Win Probability Added

What’s WPA?

Big Mets winner: Nolan McLean, +26% WPA
Big Mets loser: Carson Benge, -7% WPA
Mets pitchers: +63% WPA
Mets hitters: -13% WPA
Teh aw3s0mest play: Fernando Tatis Jr. double play in the seventh inning, +14.4% WPA
Teh sux0rest play: Xander Bogaerts’ walk in the second, -8.7% WPA

The St. Louis Cardinals have momentum, but would that translate into a sweep of the day/night doubleheader against the Cincinnati Reds Monday night? The ball was in the hands of Andre Pallante who’s turned into one of the Cardinals most reliable starters this season. The question was if the Cardinals bats would give him the run support he needed. The answer would come from the bat of Herrera and the hits and hustle of Jordan Walker, but the outcome would eventually fall into the hands of the Cardinals bullpen. They would also become victims of their own missed opportunities and mistakes.

The Cincinnati Reds were the first to score Monday night in the bottom of the 1st inning when Elly De La Cruz, Sal Stewart and JJ Bleday hit back-to-back-to-back singles to open their half of the inning loading the bases. Eugenio Suarez lifted a sacrifice fly to center to give the Reds a 1-0 lead, but that’s all they would get in the 1st after Pallante was able to nurse a double play out of Toglia.

In the top of the 4th inning, the Cardinals would begin their own rally when Iván Herrera (who had just remarkably thrown out Elly De La Cruz) blasted a 93 mph sinker into the right-centerfield seats to tie the game 1-1.

Alec Burleson and Jordan Walker hit back-to-back singles before Joshua Báez grounded into a fielder’s choice advancing Burleson to third. Alec would then score when Masyn Winn slapped a single into right field giving St. Louis a 2-1 advantage.

The Reds would squander a great scoring chance in the bottom of the 4th inning when Bleday and Suarez hit back-to-back singles leading off the inning giving Cincinnati runners at 1st and 3rd with no outs. However, they would get nothing when Pallante struck out Toglia and McLain before getting Rodriguez to weakly ground out to Burleson at first to end the inning. No soup for you!

The St. Louis Cardinals did something in the top of the 6th inning that I wish they did more often. They added to a lead. Jordan Walker got it started with a hustle double to left field. He was singled in by Nathan Church to up the Cardinals lead to 3-1.

St. Louis would score another run two batters later when Blaze Jordan singled to left scoring Church, but Bryan Torres who was walked was thrown out trying to advance to third. The good news is that the Cardinals now had a 4-1 lead.

The Reds would try to claw their way back into the game in the bottom of the 6th inning when Bleday and Suarez would hit back-to-back one out singles. Bleday then scored when Toglia stroked a double to left cutting the Cardinals lead down to 4-2. The Reds could have had another run when McLain flied out to left and then Bryan Torres threw the ball over home plate seemingly to Toledo, but Cincinnati did not send the runner at third and Pallante backed up the play so the Cardinals lead remained 4-2. It would end up not mattering as Rodriguez connected on a two-run single to tie the game 4-4.

Andre Pallante did not have his A game, but he did give the Cardinals 6 innings while allowing 10 hits and 4 earned runs while striking out 5 and walking 1. Peter Strzelecki (Scrabble 3.0) took over in the bottom of the 7th inning with the mission of keeping the game tied until the Cardinals offense could wake from its mid-inning slumber and retake the lead. He was successful in the bottom of the 7th.

The Cardinals mounted a threat in the top of the 8th inning when Jordan Walker led off with a single and stood at first base while Baez and Fermin failed to move him forward. He did advance to second when Masyn Winn walked. Jordan Walker’s hustle helped give the Cardinals the lead when he stole third base and then scored on a smart at-bat by Bryan Torres who guided a seeing-eye single into left-center to give the Cardinals a 5-4 lead. If only Winn had taken Walker’s cue and stole second when Walker took third, the Cardinals lead would be bigger. Unfortunately, Blaze Jordan struck out to end the Cardinals 8th so Winn and Torres were stranded.

Peter Strzelecki was the Cardinals bullpen answer for the bottom of the 8th inning, too. The only drama he allowed wasn’t his fault at all as Suarez hit a ball that hit the third base bag and ricocheted into left field for a double. The Reds would strand the pinch-runner for Suarez when Strzelecki got Toglia to fly out to short center to end the Cincinnati 8th.

I could sense that the Cardinals fanbase was collectively trying to will the bats into giving us insurance runs in the top of the 9th inning when JJ Wetherholt beat out an infield single to deep short. Unfortunately, it would all be for naught after Herrera struck out, Alec Burleson grounded into a force and Jordan Walker struck out. That meant the Cardinals makeshift game 2 bullpen would have to hold onto a 1-run lead in the bottom of the 9th.

That huge responsibility fell onto the shoulders of Peter Strzelecki who tried to toss a third inning of relief. He struck out McLain to start the Reds 9th then did the same to Rodriguez for the second out. Unfortunately, the final out would be elusive as pinch-hitter Dane Myers would tie the game 5-5 with a home run into the left field seats. At least pinch-hitter Stephenson flied out to center to send the game into extra innings.

Emilio Pagan was the Reds reliever for the top of the 10th inning. Jordan Walker was the Cardinals “free” runner starting the inning at second base. Joshua Baez was first up for the good guys. He was hit in the hand by a pitch, but it was ruled that he swung so it was a foul ball and not first base for him. Baez ended up whiffing on a 96 mph fastball high in the zone. Next up was José Fermín. He drew a walk thanks in part to a smart ABS challenge. It was then Masyn Winn’s turn. He fell behind 0-2, but managed to work the count full before he was called out on a check swing that did not look like a good call. Manager Oli Marmol’s righteous protest got him tossed from the game. After pinch-hitter Pereira grounded into a force to end the Cardinals 10th, that meant they would go into the bottom half needing to stop the Reds from scoring to extend the game.

That wishful thinking didn’t happen as Elly De La Cruz hit a ball through Blaze Jordan at third into the left field corner off of Cardinals reliever Justin Bruihl to spoil the St. Louis doubleheader sweep hopes giving (literally) the Reds a 6-5 victory. What can you say except that’s what happens in baseball sometimes.

It’s game 3 of the St. Louis Cardinals vs the Cincinnati Reds as they’ll clash again Tuesday night. Kyle Leahy will make the start for the Cardinals while Andrew Abbott is the scheduled starter for the Reds. First pitch at Great American Ball Park is set for 5:40pm central time.