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Remember when Pete Alonso had a 16-game, career-long 65 at-bat, homerless streak?

Since he recovered from his power outage in the Mets' series finale against the Dodgers at Citi Field on May 25, the slugging first baseman has hit four more bombs over his next nine games, including two in Wednesday's 6-1 win over these same Dodgers in Los Angeles.

"Two good shots. Two-run homer in the first inning to set the tone, added on late to put the game away," Mets manager Carlos Mendoza said after the game. "Was good to see."

After a tough extra-inning loss on Tuesday, Alonso got things going with a 392-foot blast off of Tony Gonsolin that gave the Mets a 3-0 lead. While that was more than enough for Griffin Canning and the Mets bullpen, Alonso's 447-foot three-run shot in the eighth put away any doubts of the eventual result.

"It was a great team win," Alonso said of the win. "Griffin executed all his pitches, sequenced well, [Jose] Castillo did a great job, [Ryne Stanek] did a good job holding it down. Pitching staff was nasty tonight and gave us a chance to put up runs on the board as an offense. Big time from those guys. Glad to get this one, but we’ve got a big one tomorrow." 

Alonso's two jacks put him at 240 for his career, 12 behind Darryl Strawberry's all-time Mets record. Alonso also tied Strawberry for 22 multi-homer games in his Mets career with his performance on Wednesday.

And while the slugger continues to move up Mets history books, Alonso is only worried about what it meant to the team and the win.

"Felt good, but for me, I was more excited to grab some insurance runs," Alonso said of his homers. "That’s a very high-octane offense over there. Those insurance runs are big for us, and gives our pitching staff a breather. From the circumstances of the game and the series, we’re just happy to come through as a team."

While Alonso came through for the team on Wednesday, there was that stretch where he wasn't. After getting out to a scorching start, slashing .358/.483/.684 with seven home runs in March/April, Alonso had a rough May. He hit just .234 in May and smashed just four homers but since that series against the Dodgers at the end of the month, Alonso has turned his offensive game around.

He's had just one hitless game over his last 11 games and has driven in 15 runs over that span.

“I just feel consistent. I feel like myself," Alonso said. "I've felt like myself the entire year so far. Pitch to pitch and AB to AB. That's all I'm trying to do. Trying to be the same guy every day."

Mendoza said that up-and-down output is just a part of the long baseball season but is encouraged by what he's seeing from Alonso.

"Part of the grind. When you’re playing 162 you’re going to go through stretches where they are going to make you chase and you have to make adjustment and that’s what he did," Mendoza said. "That’s what makes him a great hitter, his ability to adjust. Earlier in the season, he wasn’t missing pitches, he wasn't chasing and then he went through a stretch where they made him chase. And now he’s back to that hitter we saw in the beginning and when he’s doing that, he’s pretty dangerous."

There was a vibe all game in the Mets' dugout on Wednesday night in Los Angeles.

Against the rival Dodgers, Mets players kept it light and loose in between innings and during at-bats, showcasing that the good times from a year ago are still here.

First, Luisangel Acuna donned some catcher’s gear to protect the dugout from any foul balls headed their way, but it was in the top of the ninth with the Mets batting when the joy of the game shone through the players.

With the Mets up 6-0 thanks to two Pete Alonso home runs, a group of players that included Jose Siri, Starling Marte, among others, began to play “bottle flip.” After the players could not get the water bottle to stand up, Juan Soto appeared and made his lone attempt.

The first-year Met flipped the bottle and it landed perfectly. The group all jumped at the feat while Soto, with a big smile, ran through the dugout.

“Was it Soto who got it?” SNY broadcaster Gary Cohen asked. “It was. Of course it was.”

Juan Soto nails the watter bottle flip! 😂 pic.twitter.com/ZjbhYsbyf8

— SNY (@SNYtv) June 5, 2025

While Soto didn’t have a great night at the plate -- he finished 0-for-1 with three walks and an RBI groundout -- Mets fans saw the return of the “Soto shuffle” earlier in the game and it seems Soto is starting to look like himself again.

Mets manager Carlos Mendoza was asked about the sudden return of the Soto Shuffle and the second-year skipper echoed what he's been saying about his star player all season.

"It’s Juan Soto being Juan Soto," he said. "I’ve been saying it even through the 'tough times,' he’s been the same guy. A guy that comes in, prepares, competes, and as long as we’re winning games, that’s all that matters to him. He knows he’s too good of a player, too good of a hitter and at the end of the year, the numbers will be there. We know that."

The Mets' 6-1 win on Wednesday night clinched the season series against the Dodgers, something Mendoza downplayed but when it was a great win considering they let Tuesday's loss in extra innings slip away. Mendoza was asked about how the team can play so loose even against a tough team like the Dodgers, and he

"That’s who we are," he said. "After a tough loss last night, tough game, come back the next day and we did that again today. We know we’re good. You’re going to go through times where it’s not going to be easy and just to keep it the same. Don’t get too high, don’t get too low. Understand you have a long ways to go, but also understanding we have a good team here."

The Mets may have won the season series, but they can win the four-game set when they take on the Dodgers on Thursday afternoon.

Juan Soto comes back from down 0-2 to work a walk (with a couple shuffles) pic.twitter.com/XrdlinOsFz

— SNY Mets (@SNY_Mets) June 5, 2025

Griffin Canning hit a bit of a rough patch his last two times out. 

The right-hander was knocked around by the Dodgers in a rain-shortened outing and then suffered his third loss of the season after issuing four walks and allowing five runs to the lowly Chicago White Sox. 

But facing Los Angeles again on Wednesday at Chavez Ravine, Canning delivered perhaps his most impressive outing of the season. 

The Mets handed him an early three-run lead and he cruised from there -- holding the high-powered Dodgers lineup to just a walk and two singles while striking out four over the game’s first four innings. 

Canning did find himself in some danger in the fifth, as Dalton Rushing lined a one-out single, but he bounced back nicely to punch out Kiké Hernández and his former teammate Shohei Ohtani to end the inning. 

He returned for the sixth and finished his night with an easy 1-2-3 frame -- closing his final line with just one walk and three hits allowed while striking out six.

“He was really, really good,” Carlos Mendoza said. “The way he used all of his pitches, I thought he got ahead and executed when he needed to. The fastball was at 97 at one point, he had life on it -- the slider was sharp, the changeup had depth. Pretty impressive for him to go out and do what he did against that lineup.”

These are exactly the type of outings the Mets were hoping they’d receive from the former first-round pick when they took a chance on him on a one-year pact this offseason. 

Canning has already won as many games as he did all of last season with the Angels and Braves, and he’s down to an extremely impressive 2.90 ERA on the year -- good enough for the ninth-lowest in the National League.

He’s also pieced together three quality starts and this is the seventh time he’s allowed one or fewer earned runs. 

“He’s been awesome for us,” Mendoza said. “The last two outings with the rain against the Dodgers at home and then the rough one against the White Sox, but overall, we feel really good every time he takes the ball.

“You have to give him credit -- he’s been open to the new ideas and the adjustments, whether it’s gripping the baseball and a couple of other things, but it comes down to him going out there and executing the plan.”

The Dodgers made history when they opened the season with eight straight wins, something no reigning World Series champion had ever done. But they’ve been just a shade above mediocre since then.

“I wouldn't say [I’m] worried. It’s kind of where we're at right now,” manager Dave Roberts said.

“It's been hard to gain traction.”

If anything, the Dodgers have been spinning their wheels. Because with Wednesday’s 6-1 loss to the New York Mets, the team’s third loss in four games, the Dodgers fell to .500 over the last month and their lead in the National League West remained at just a game over the San Diego Padres heading into Thursday’s get-away day matinee with the Mets.

Read more:Hernández: Can Clayton Kershaw contribute to Dodgers' title chase? 'I'm gonna bet on him'

Since their historic start, the Dodgers have had just three winning streaks of more than two games, but three losing streaks of more than two games. For every three steps forward, the team has taken 2 ½ steps back.

And while the Dodgers entered Thursday with the fourth-best record in the league, over the last two months they have a lower winning percentage than the Milwaukee Brewers, the third-best team in the Central Division. The reason why, Roberts said, is pitching.

Or rather the lack of pitching.

The staff ERA in May was 4.39; only four teams in the National League were worse. The ERA is just a tick lower four games into June.

“Teams win consistently over stretches — as far as winning streaks — by preventing runs,” said Roberts, whose team had three shutouts in the first 23 games but hasn’t had one since. “It's hard to do that without it. So for us, it's just getting a quality start, then have good innings out of the pen.

“If you look at the last few weeks, we just haven't been able to do that. And that's kind of the reason we've played .500 baseball the last few weeks.”

Take Wednesday as an example. Starter Tony Gonsolin lasted just five innings, giving up three runs, all in the first inning. Two came on a Pete Alonso homer. But at least Gonsolin, who was making his seventh start since returning from Tommy John surgery, was able to take the mound. The Dodgers have 15 other pitchers on the injured list.

“Just threw a bad one to Pete, and he didn't miss it,” said Gonsolin (3-2) of the home run, Alonso’s 13^th of the season and the first of two on the night. “That was my least favorite [pitch] of the outing, for sure.”

The bullpen didn’t fare much better. After a pair of hitless innings from Anthony Banda and Lou Trivino, Ryan Loutos hit the first batter he faced in the eighth, walked the next, then gave up a three-run homer to Alonso, who finished with a season-high five RBIs.

The Dodgers’ only run came on Andy Pages’ solo homer, his 12^th of the season, with one out in the ninth. The hit was Pages’ third of the night — half his team’s total. He also had a second-inning infield single and a seventh-inning double, extending his hitting streak to a season-high nine games and raising his average to .290.

For the Mets, starter Griffin Canning (6-2) cruised through his six innings, facing just four batters over the minimum. The former Angel gave up three hits, walked one and struck out seven in his best outing of the season, winning for the first time in nearly a month.

Read more:Dodgers star Freddie Freeman's family appreciated kind gesture from slain Baldwin Park officer

And that left the Dodgers struck in a rut, searching for enough traction to get themselves out.

“We know we're not playing the way we started,” outfielder Michael Conforto said. “We've been a little bit banged up. A lot of the pitchers are banged up. And even a lot of our our position players are working through some stuff. So there's a bit of that.

“And then there's just the lack of coming through in big spots, myself included in that. But obviously we understand who we are and what we can do when we're clicking on all cylinders.”

Etc.

Relievers Kirby Yates (hamstring) and Michael Kopech (shoulder) both threw short simulated games Wednesday and Roberts said both are close to being activated. Kopech gave up 11 runs in 6.1 innings while on a rehab assignment in Oklahoma City. Kopech’s last big-league appearance came in the fifth and deciding game of last fall’s World Series.

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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.

The Mets locked up the season series with a 6-1 win over the Dodgers on Wednesday night in Los Angeles.

Here are some takeaways...

- As was the case in the first two games of this series, the Mets were able to jump out to a first-inning advantage. After LA booted a potential double-play ball, the first run of the game came in on an RBI groundout, then Pete Alonso crushed an opposite-field two-run shot to make it 3-0.

The Mets' offense generated plenty of traffic against Tony Gonsolin and the Dodgers bullpen over the next few innings, but they weren't able to come up with the big hit needed until Alonso struck again in the eighth -- crushing a monstrous 447-foot three-run homer to deep right field.

The big man is now tied with Seiya Suzuki for the NL lead with 53 RBI on the season. He's also tied with Darryl Strawberry for the most multi-homer games in franchise history (22) and is just two long balls behind David Wright for the second-most in franchise history (241).

- On the mound, Griffin Canning delivered a much-needed bounce-back outing. The right-hander was magnificent as he limited the high-powered Dodgers lineup to just three hits and a walk while striking out seven across six scoreless innings of work.

Canning's best frame of the night was the bottom of the fifth inning, when he worked around a one-out Dalton Rushing single by punching out both Kiké Hernández and Shohei Ohtani -- the latter of which was on a nasty painted 3-2 changeup.

After his best showing of the season, the California-native is now down to an impressive 2.90 ERA.

- José Castillo had to work around a bit of a scare before the Mets tacked on their insurance in the eighth. The left-hander allowed a single and a hit-by-pitch, but bounced back to strike out the next two batters with the tying run at the plate and the top of the order looming.

Castillo returned for an easy bottom of the eighth, giving him 6.0 scoreless innings since joining the Mets.

- Los Angeles was able to break up the shutout with a solo shot off the bat of Andy Pages in the bottom of the ninth. It was the first home run Ryne Stanek allowed this season -- but it was no harm, no foul, as he quickly put the finishing touches on this one to secure the win and clinch the season series.

- Juan Soto saw his five-game hitting and extra-base streak come to an end, but the star outfielder continues showing signs that he's rounding back into form -- breaking out the Soto Shuffle at times as he drew three walks across four plate appearances.

- Brandon Nimmo enjoyed another strong showing back in the two-spot against the righty -- picking up another hit and scoring two runs. He's now reached base in eight of his last nine appearances and has scored six runs over that span.

- Jeff McNeil pushed his hitting streak to six with a one-out single in the second.

- Ronny Mauricio is still looking for his first big-league knock this season. The 24-year-old was back in the lineup batting seventh and playing third base, but he was held hitless and struck out twice across four at-bats.

Game MVP: Pete Alonso

The big man came into the night with a ton of success in his career at Dodger Stadium, and he led the way -- driving in five of the team's six runs.

Highlights

Juan Soto drives in the first run of the night with an RBI groundout pic.twitter.com/mPRmM2I1zQ

— SNY (@SNYtv) June 5, 2025

PETE ALONSO 2-RUN HOMER!

He's got 50 RBIs on the season! pic.twitter.com/ixFn6iAhnc

— SNY (@SNYtv) June 5, 2025

Juan Soto comes back from down 0-2 to work a walk (with a couple shuffles) pic.twitter.com/XrdlinOsFz

— SNY Mets (@SNY_Mets) June 5, 2025

Luisangel Acuña is working on his catching skills 😂 pic.twitter.com/IOcckks5Bs

— SNY (@SNYtv) June 5, 2025

Luisangel Acuña snagged a foul ball off the bat of Francisco Lindor with his catching gear on and Jose Siri, Starling Marte & Juan Soto enjoyed it 😂 pic.twitter.com/xMSKVbyCFL

— SNY Mets (@SNY_Mets) June 5, 2025

Juan Soto and Tony Gonsolin were all smiles after Soto worked his second walk of the night pic.twitter.com/GJ0eZp3cXN

— SNY (@SNYtv) June 5, 2025

Griffin Canning gets Shohei Ohtani looking to end the 5th inning pic.twitter.com/pGIBWYl3bD

— SNY (@SNYtv) June 5, 2025

José Castillo strikes out a pair to escape trouble in the 7th! pic.twitter.com/aR9WKPdCOy

— SNY (@SNYtv) June 5, 2025

PETE ALONSO'S SECOND HOMER OF THE NIGHT IS A 3-RUN SHOT! pic.twitter.com/QQS8TkUOph

— SNY (@SNYtv) June 5, 2025

What's next

The Mets will look to secure the series win in the finale on Thursday afternoon at 4:10 p.m.

David Peterson (4-2, 2.69 ERA) takes the mound looking for his third consecutive victory against RHP Landon Knack (3-2, 4.58 ERA).

The Syracuse Mets were in action on Wednesday night and two prospects made their mark in the eventual 7-6 win over Buffalo.

Drew Gilbert was front and center in Syracuse's comeback. With the Mets down 2-0 in the third, Gilbert came up with one out and runners on second and third. The left-handed slugger fell behind in the count 0-2 before he fouled off four straight pitches.

He eventually worked the count to 2-2 before he lined a curveball down the right field line just out of reach of the right fielder for a two-run triple. It was the 12th pitch of the at-bat and Gilbert's 20th and 21st RBI of the minor league season between Low-A and Triple-A.

Gilbert finished 1-for-2 with two walks and that triple extended his hitting streak to five games.

In 39 games in Triple-A, Gilbert is slashing .214/.343/.321 with two home runs and 15 RBI.

Drew Gilbert works a 12-pitch at-bat and is rewarded with an RBI triple! pic.twitter.com/dV99duApgB

— Syracuse Mets (@SyracuseMets) June 4, 2025

On the mound, Blade Tidwell made his 11th start for Syracuse this season and was effective. The right-hander threw 89 pitches (51 strikes) across six innings, allowing three runs on six hits (two home runs) and four walks while striking out three batters.

Tidwell improved his record to 4-2 on the season but his ERA increased from 3.97 to 4.02 on the year.

The 23-year-old has continued to be a quality pitcher in Syracuse, pitching to a 1.23 WHIP to go along with the 4.02 ERA while striking out 64 batters across 53.2 innings pitched.

On a not-so-positive note, reliever Dedniel Nunez was hit hard on Wednesday. With Syracuse up 7-3 in the ninth, Nunez allowed a three-run shot before finishing the game. In his one inning of work, Nunez allowed three runs on three hits and a walk. It's Nunez's worst appearance since being optioned back to Triple-A in mid-May. In six appearances, he's allowed four runs, three coming on Wednesday.

After leaving Sunday's game with a thumb injury against the Dodgers, Yankees outfielder Jasson Dominguez has missed the team's last two games, including Wednesday night's loss against the Cleveland Guardians.

Manager Aaron Boone said before the game that Dominguez was feeling better and was available to pinch-run in Tuesday's game, but the team wanted the young outfielder to swing a bat in the cages on Wednesday without issue before he could return to the lineup. After the game, Boone was asked about Dominguez and the Yankees skipper was encouraged, saying everything went well in the cages.

"He should be good to go," Boone said.

Dominguez is slashing .247/.346/.420 with a .765 OPS this season with six home runs and 25 RBI in 49 games. The young outfielder is not an everyday player for Boone yet and is currently part of a four-man outfield that includes Aaron Judge, Trent Grisham and Cody Bellinger.

Fernando Cruz first appearance off IL

Cruz made his triumphant return to the Yankees bullpen when he was activated on Tuesday, but didn't have his first appearance back off the IL until Wednesday, where he pitched a solid inning.

He struck out three batters but made one mistake pitch to Manzardo, who deposited his fastball over the right-center field wall.

"I thought Cruz was really good," Boone said after the game. "Obviously gave up the homer, Manzardo got him and ambushed him a little bit. Thought stuff was really good. Thought the fastball was good and tallied up three more of the ugliest swings on the forkball.

"Good to get him back in there. His stuff resembled who he is. He was pretty sharp. Manzardo just got him on a good swing on a fastball. Good to see him back out there. Reasonable pitch count, hopefully on his way again."

"I feel amazing," Cruz said of how he felt after the game. "Feel like everything was there. Velocity was there, stuff was there. Splitter feel amazing. Everything felt amazing out of my hand. It's a good time to give the team what it need. I'm ready, I feel good."

Cruz has become one of Boone's best relievers this season. After Wednesday's appearance, the 35-year-old has pitched to a 2.92 ERA and 1.01 WHIP but with 38 strikeouts in 24.2 innings.

Yankees manager Aaron Boone was not ready on Wednesday to announce the next steps for Giancarlo Stanton’s return from the injured list. But the slugger’s timetable is gradually becoming clearer.

Word around the Yanks is that Stanton could remain in Tampa over the weekend, then begin a rehab assignment as soon as early next week. If that goes off as planned, it’s reasonable to speculate that Stanton would make his season debut in or around mid-June.

Stanton, last seen propelling the Yanks to an American League pennant last fall, has yet to play in 2025 due to tendinitis in both elbows.

He has lately been working out and getting live at-bats at the team’s complex in Florida.

"Today was just a workout day,” Boone said on Wednesday afternoon. “I think he was doing baseball activities [but not live at-bats] today. He's probably headed up here, but I don't know the next step if it's a rehab assignment or what. Hopefully, we'll have that in the next 24 hours."

Asked if Stanton could forgo a rehab assignment, as he has in the past, Boone said, "I don't want to speak too soon. We'll see."

The prediction here is that Stanton will indeed go on a brief rehab.

He is 71 home runs away from 500 in his career, which would seal his Hall of Fame case.

Clarke Schmidt allowed three runs in the top half of the first inning, and Yankees batters could only muster five hits in response in a 4-0 loss to the Cleveland Guardians on Wednesday night in The Bronx. 

New York was shut out for just the second time this season as they left six runners on base and went 0-for-3 with runners in scoring position. The Yankees struck out 10 times and fell to 37-22 on the year, 19-9 at home.

"We just didn't mount much offensively tonight," manager Aaron Boone said after the game. "I thought we got pitched pretty tough; we just didn't have a great night. It happens in the 162."

Here are the takeaways...

- Schmidt issued a walk to Steven Kwan to start the top of the first and then served up a 394-foot home run on the first pitch to Angel Martínez, as the cutter hung right over the heart of the plate. José Ramírez took a cutter at the top of the zone for a double to right and came around to score on a two-out Daniel Schneemann double to right as he tagged the knuckle-curve. The right-hander's 26th pitch of the inning ended the frame, blowing a fastball past Gabriel Arias, Cleveland’s lone right-handed batter in the starting lineup.

After the first, Schmidt settled down and retired 12 of the next 14 batters, allowing just a pair of two-out singles while tallying six strikeouts. "He stayed true to his stuff," Boone said, adding that mixing in his curveball and fastball allowed him to "settle in" against the lefty-heavy lineup.

Cleveland put two on with one out in the sixth on a single and a checked-swing infield hit, leading to Matt Blake’s second mound visit of the night. The pitching coach said the right words as Schmidt got Arias swinging for the third time of the night. Boone summoned lefty Brent Headrick to get the final out to strand a pair.

Schmidt’s final line: 5.2 innings, three runs, seven hits, one walk, eight strikeouts on 91 pitches (64 strikes) to see his ERA rise to 4.04 on the year.

- Ben Rice, who lined out in the first when he smashed a ball (102.9 mph off the bat) to the opposite way, had better luck in the third inning, rocketing a single to right (108.8 mph) to give Aaron Judge a two-out chance with two runners on base. But Cleveland starter Luis Ortiz got Judge looking at a breaking pitch right over the plate to end the frame.

The Guardians' righty gave Yanks batters tons of trouble through the first five frames, tallying seven strikeouts with two hits (both singles) and two walks. Ortiz had 13 whiffs on 40 swings with 14 called strikes, and his slider was particularly good.

"He kinda kept us at bay and we really didn't sting the ball much off him at all," Boone said of Ortiz's start. "Pretty slow night for us offensively."

Judge, who singled his first time up, got his second hit of the night with two outs in the sixth, which ended Ortiz’s night. But lefty Tim Herrin stranded the inherited runner. 

- Against Cleveland closer Emmanuel Clase in the ninth, Rice grabbed an infield hit to second, but Judge went down swinging, before Cody Bellinger sliced a ground-rule double on a ball that just stayed fair down the left-field line. But in just their second and third at-bats with a runner in scoring position on the night (and first since the third inning), Clase got two strikeouts to close the door.

Rice finished the day 2-for-4, grounding into a rare 5-3 double play thanks to a Cleveland shift on a tapper toward the middle. Judge also went 2-for-4 with two strikeouts as his average rose to .389 on the year. Bellinger finished with one hit in four at-bats as he is in a 5-for-30 funk, but did end a streak of eight games without an extra-base hit.

- Anthony Volpe grounded out three times, but accounted for five outs as he bounced into 5-4-3 and 4-6-3 twin killings to finish 0-for-3. He entered the night hitting into just two double-plays in his first 58 games of the campaign.

- Paul Goldschmidt was 0-for-3 with a walk and two strikeouts.

- Jazz Chisholm Jr., in his second game back from the IL, struck out swinging in each of his first two at-bats. He finished 0-for-3, reaching on an error in the seventh.

- Austin Wells was hitless in three at-bats with a strikeout.

- DJ LeMahieu finished 0-for-3 with a strikeout looking.

- Trent Grisham went 0-for-2 with two walks and a strikeout

- Out of the bullpen: Headrick allowed a hit but only faced four batters thanks to a double-play ball in 1.2 innings.

Fernando Cruz, making his first appearance since May 17 after an IL stint, struck out the first two batters swinging at his devastating splitter to start the eighth, but left a 1-0 fastball up over the plate to Kyle Manzardo, who clobbered it 402 feet into the Yankee bullpen. Schneemann followed with a double to the right-field corner, but Cruz got Arias swinging at a splitter in the dirt to strand the runner.

A couple singles off Tim Hill put two on and one out in the ninth, but the lefty got a strikeout and a foul popout. Yankees pitchers surrendered 12 hits and a walk, but stranded eight runners by holding the visitors to 1-for-9 with runners in scoring position.

What's next

The three-game series concludes on Thursday night with a 7:05 first pitch.

Left-hander Max Fried (1.92 ERA, 0.973 WHIP in 75 innings) gets the ball for the home team. Righty Slade Cecconi (5.28 ERA, 1.435 WHIP in 15.1 innings) gets the ball for the visitors.