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For the second time in as many nights, the Mets found themselves in an early hole against the Cardinals and went on to lose. As had been the case in their loss in the series opener, the game never felt competitive, and it ended with St. Louis winning 9-2.

The fact that the Mets spared themselves the embarrassment of getting shut out in back-to-back games doesn’t really serve as consolation. The team is now 29-38 on the season, and the relative excitement about them taking two of three games from the Padres over the weekend has already been squashed.

The Mets chose to go with an opener-plus-David Peterson approach in this one, and it didn’t go well. Austin Warren served as the opener, and he was somewhat fortunate to give up just two runs in his one inning of work. He gave up two hits, walked two, and only struck out one. It could’ve easily been worse.

Peterson made Warren’s outing look effective, as the Cardinals tattooed him for six runs in three-and-two-thirds innings. They got him for seven hits, and he walked two, struck out just one, threw a wild pitch, and gave up a pair of home runs.

It probably didn’t matter in the end, but the Mets had their best shot at making it a ballgame shortly after Peterson gave up his first two runs of the night, both of which scored in the top of the third. Trailing 4-0, the Mets had runners on first and second with two outs and Juan Soto at the plate. A home run would’ve made things interesting, but Cardinals starter Andre Pallante—who was pitching to get Soto out—wound up walking the bases loaded instead. And Jared Young, who represented the tying run as he came to the plate, grounded out softly to end the inning.

Peterson gave up his next three runs in the top of the fourth. Trailing 7-0 in the bottom of that inning, the Mets finally got on the board when Francisco Alvarez hit a two-run home run. Peterson gave up his sixth and final run of his brief outing in the top of the fifth, and the Mets’ bats went silent from there. Cardinals pitchers retired sixteen batters in a row, nearly finishing the game without allowing a single Mets baserunner up until a hit-by-pitch with two outs in the ninth broke that streak. The fact that they retired seventeen of the final eighteen Mets hitters they faced still served as a reminder that these Mets don’t do comebacks.

If you’re looking for some relatively positive stuff to take out of the game, Cionel Perez threw one-and-one-third scoreless innings in relief of Peterson. And Jonathan Pintaro, who got called up earlier in the day, went three innings and gave up just one run in the top of the ninth. He has a 1.35 ERA in his limited major league time this year, and it’d be fun to see more of him if he weren’t seemingly destined to return to Syracuse as part of the Mets’ ongoing bullpen churn.

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Win Probability Added

What’s WPA?

Big Mets winner: none
Big Mets loser: David Peterson, -19% WPA
Mets pitchers: -35% WPA
Mets hitters: -15% WPA
Teh aw3s0mest play: Jared Young hits a double in the second inning, +6.6% WPA
Teh sux0rest play: Nelson Velásquez hits a two-run home run in the top of the third, -15.2% WPA

The Dodgers had a five-run lead in the sixth inning on Wednesday, but the Pirates rattled across eight runs against the Dodger bullpen as they stole the middle match 9-8.

The Dodgers ensured Pittsburgh’s starter Jared Jones wouldn’t face the minimum over his first three innings as Alex Freeland worked a two-out walk to bring up Shohei Ohtani in the top of the third. Ohtani sent a ball to deep left field that would’ve given him his third home run over his last four starts, but Bryan Reynolds made a leaping catch over the short wall to keep the game scoreless.

Freddie Freeman laced career hit no. 2,501 with a one-out double down the left field line to end the short no-hit bid for Jones. It was also career double no. 564, placing him one shy of 2026 Hall of Fame inductee Carlos Beltrán for 28th on the all-time list. Max Muncy had two hits with runner in scoring position on Tuesday, and he made it three hits with a double down the right field line to plate Freeman and give the Dodgers a 1-0 lead. Kyle Tucker collected his third RBI in as many games with a single up the middle to make it a two-run lead.

Ohtani was one out away from keeping the Pirates silent over four full innings, but Tyler Callihan launched his first big league home run over the right field bleachers and into the Allegheny River to trim the lead to a run. Jake Mangum doubled to put the tying run in scoring position, but Ohtani bounced back with a strikeout of Jared Triolo to end the two-out threat.

After going down in order against Carmen Mlodzinski in the top of the fifth, the Dodgers put the first two men on with a single from Andy Pages and a walk to Freeman. Muncy worked a walk to load the bases, and after Mlodzinski struck out Tucker for the second out, Ryan Ward launched his first career grand slam to break the game wide open and give the Dodgers a five-run lead.

The home run from Callihan was the only dent on Ohtani’s outing over his first six innings of work. The two-way superstar pitched into the seventh inning for the first time since May 13, but the decision proved costly as the Pirates put the first two men on with nobody out. Ohtani managed to strike out two in a row, but Brandon Lowe brought home two on a double down the right field line to cut the lead in half.

After 102 pitches over 6 2/3 innings, Ohtani was pulled after allowing a season-high three earned runs. Despite the runs given up, his ERA now sits at 1.06, still ranking best in baseball for any starting pitcher with at least 65 innings on the year.

Alex Vesia came in relief of Ohtani, and he got Bryan Reynolds to roll one to third, but the Muncy had the ball roll under his glove allowing Lowe to score to make it a two-run lead. With Ryan O’Hearn representing the tying run, Vesia got him to roll one right back to him to get out of the inning with the lead intact.

Kyle Hurt came in relief for the bottom of the eighth and immediately put the first two men on base with nobody out. Tyler Callihan, who had the home run against Ohtani in the bottom of the fourth, crushed a go-ahead three-run home run as the Pirates took their first lead of the night.

Hurt could only get one out before he was relieved by Jack Dreyer to face the left-handed hitting Horwitz. Horwitz jumped on an 0-1 fastball down the middle, sending it out to give the Pirates a five-run eighth inning and a three-run lead. Just one day after the Dodgers sent 15 men to the plate in the top of the seventh inning, the Pirates bat around against Hurt and Dreyer.

Shohei Ohtani made sure the Dodgers didn’t go down without a fight with a two-run home run against Gregory Soto in the top of the ninth, making up for the robbery from Reynolds in the third. The comeback attempt was too little and too late, as the Pirates stole the middle match from the Dodgers to snap their four-game losing streak. The Dodgers division lead now sits at 7 1/2 games after the San Diego Padres walked off the Cincinnati Reds.

Game particulars

• Home runs— Tyler Callihan, 2 (2), Spencer Horwitz (9); Ryan Ward (3), Shohei Ohtani (12)
• WP— Evan Sisk (1-0): 1/3 IP, 0 hits, 0 runs, 0 walks, 1 strikeout
• LP— Kyle Hurt (1-1): 1/3 IP, 3 hits, 4 earned runs, 2 walks, 0 strikeouts
• SV— Gregory Soto (9): 1 IP, 2 hits, 2 earned runs, 0 walks, 1 strikeout

Up next

The Dodgers will look to take the series in Pittsburgh on Thursday (3:40 p.m. PT, SportsNet LA) before heading to Chicago for a three-game set with the White Sox over the weekend. Justin Wrobleski faces Mitch Keller.

The St. Louis Cardinals are really enjoying their tour of New York. The Redbird bats were ready for action and Andre Pallante was pretty sharp as the Cardinals easily beat the Mets for their 6th straight victory.

The St. Louis Cardinals did not hesitate to let the New York Mets know they would be scoring often as JJ Wetherholt led off the game with a single to center. Ivan Herrera was not hit by a pitch, believe it or not, but did end up on base with a walk giving St. Louis runners on first and second with no outs. Alec Burleson grounded out to the right side moving Wetherholt and Herrera into scoring position. Jordan Walker then smoked a single to left-center scoring JJ from third giving St. Louis a 1-0 lead.

Herrera didn’t get a good jump off of second making sure the ball wasn’t caught and was held at third. Lars Nootbaar then drew a walk to load the bases. The Cardinals got their second run of the inning when Masyn Winn grounded into a fielder’s choice, but avoided the double play as St. Louis ended up leading 2-0 after the top half of the 1st inning.

The Cardinals would strike again in the top of the 3rd inning after Masyn Winn drew a 2-out walk which brought up Nelson Velázquez with a chance to show why we like it when he’s in the lineup as he turned a 92 mph sinker into a souvenir in the left field seats 413 feet away giving St. Louis a commanding 4-0 lead.

The biggest jolt of the night would follow one inning later in the Cardinals 4th as JJ Wetherholt reached on an infield single that ricocheted off of the pitcher. Ivan Herrera then walked again giving St. Louis two men on base for Jordan Walker who helped the Mets understand that you don’t groove a 92 mph four-seam fastball down the middle to the 2026 version of Jordan Walker. 401 feet later, the Cardinals had a 7-0 lead. BOOM!

It wasn’t all sunshine and roses for Andre Pallante. He pitched out of a bases-loaded jam in the bottom of the 3rd inning without allowing the Mets to score, but wasn’t as fortunate in the bottom of the 4th as AJ Ewing walked and then Francisco Alvarez put a charge into an 85 mph Pallante slider that didn’t slide enough as it traveled 368 feet to right hitting just above the home run line in left cutting the Cardinals lead down to 7-2. When all was said and done by Andre, he gave the Cardinals a solid full 6 innings allowing just 3 hits and 2 earned runs while striking out 5 and walking 2. Not bad at all.

The St. Louis Cardinals continued to live up to their relentless offensive reputation as they immediately grabbed another run back in the top of the 5th inning as Masyn Winn singled followed by a flyout from Velasquez and a fielder’s choice groundout by Nathan Church. With Winn on second, Jose Fermin singled him in upping the St. Louis lead to 8-2.

Matt Svanson was the Cardinals relief arm for the 7th inning. He did what you want to see happen when you have a big lead. He came in throwing strikes and had all three outs after throwing only 6 pitches. Efficient! Matt also took care of the 8th inning for St. Louis while only throwing 7 more! JoJo Romero was giving bottom of the 9th duties Wednesday night and the Mets did nothing to foil him. I could have just said the Mets did nothing which would also have been accurate. (unless you consider Magaman getting hit on the toe as doing something)

How did the Cardinals end up with 9 runs instead of just 8? That was Alec Burleson extending his hitting streak to 10 games with an 89 mph cutter that he turned into a 408 foot home run into the right field stands. BOOM (again)!

The St. Louis Cardinals will continue their joyride in New York Wednesday afternoon as Hunter Dobbins will get the start for the Redbirds. The New York Mets will hope Christian Scott can pull off a miracle as he will take the mound for the metros. First pitch is scheduled for 12:10pm central time and the broadcast will be available on Cardinals.tv.

After losing four games in a row, the Orioles needed someone to step up and be a stopper. Tonight, that man was Brandon Young. Young cruised through seven shutout innings. The offense took a while to wake up, but when it did, things got really fun with a two-inning rally capped by a grand slam. The O’s took game three of the series, 7-2, and have a chance to grab a split tomorrow.

Branden Young, folks. He’s been good this year, but tonight he took it to a new level. In each of his last three games, he started the seventh inning but could not finish. Tonight, he finished with ease. It’s his second-longest performance of his young career; we all remember his eight-inning one-hitter against the Astros last August.

Young kicked things off with five straight groundouts before Dominic Canzone singled with two outs in the second. He followed with a walk to Mitch Garver but ended the inning with a strikeout. And that was the most trouble he got into the entire game.

Through the next five innings, the Mariners had just two more baserunners, a single in the third and a walk in the seventh. That’s it. They didn’t look like they had a chance. The Orioles gave Young three runs of support before he left the game, then added on four more after his exit to help ensure he’d get the win. Young’s final pitching line: 7 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 5 K. He threw 88 pitches. He got 12 groundouts to just one flyout.

For most of this game, it looked like the offense was not going to take care of Young. I admit, the longer he went without giving up a run, the more I imagined him ending up as a hard-luck loser. I was wrong, but I think I had a good reason to think they’d choke.

In the early innings, they blew two scoring opportunities. In the second, Leody Taveras led off with a bunt single, only to get thrown out as part of a strike ‘em out, throw ‘em out double play with Jackson Holliday at the plate. With the bases empty, Tyler O’Neill hit his first of two doubles on the night. He was stranded, and it was a real shame to waste a rare hit of his.

The third inning was much worse. Sam Huff singled, Taylor Ward walked, and Gunnar Henderson singled back up the middle to load the bases. Bases loaded with no outs! Surely they’d get at least one run. They did not. Pete Alonso struck out for the second time in the game, Colton Cowser flew out but not deep enough for a sac fly, and Taveras struck out. Argh!

It felt like the Orioles would regret that, and that feeling only grew after 1-2-3 fourth and fifth innings. But they didn’t roll over. As is so often the case with these guys, the late innings were when they began to shine.

Alonso, whom I have been pretty down on lately, started the inning. After three straight foul balls, Alonso swung at a pitch above the strike zone and hammered it to center field. Julio Rodríguez chased after it but couldn’t catch up. It landed on the other side of the fence for Alonso’s 14th home run and a 1-0 lead.

But they weren’t finished! Cowser walked, stole second, and scored on a double from Taveras. Taveras stole third, then scored on a two-out double by Blaze Alexander.

A 3-0 lead after six innings with Young dealing felt good, but not great. In the bottom of the seventh, Holliday made the lead feel great. With the bases loaded on an Alonso single and walks from Ward and Taveras, Holliday stepped in with two outs. Three pitches later, he deposited a pitch into the section next to the out-of-town scoreboard. It’s a grand slam and a 7-0 score! Now that’s a comfortable lead.

Tonight was Bark at the Park night at Camden Yards, a night when Holliday tends to play well. He does it for the pups! In fact, his last grand slam came last year, also at Bark at the Park. Sadly, after the game Holliday told Kevin Brown and Jim Palmer that his dog, Coconut, had not made the trip to the game tonight. Holliday was sure to say that she was probably watching on TV.

With a seven-run lead and two innings to go, things felt pretty stable. Grant Wolfram tried to ruin it by allowing three baserunners and two runs in the eighth, but Craig Albernaz called on Yennier Cano to shut the door. He did just that with a strikeout of Randy Arozarena to end the inning. Cano returned for the ninth and had an easy 1-2-3 to seal the win.

Orioles win! The four-game losing streak is over, and maybe they can use this game to start a new streak. Brandon Young was incredible. Pete Alonso and Jackson Holliday homered. Even Tyler O’Neill got to have some fun. I think we needed this.

Orioles 7, Mariners 2

Hey, he drew a walk: Luke Raley, -0.01 WPA

Certainly a team loss: Randy Arozarena, Julio Rodríguez, -0.08 WPA

Game Thread Comment of the Day:

Seth Lugo was removed from the Kansas City Royals' game against the Texas Rangers after taking a line drive to the head in the fourth inning.

Lugo was delivering a 3-2 pitch to Brandon Nimmo when the veteran outfielder laced a high, center-cut change-up straight back up the middle.

Lugo could not get out of the way of the ball – which left the bat with a 106.6 mph exit velocity, according to the Rangers' broadcast – and it struck him on the left side of the head.

Lugo immediately went down in a heap as the ball caromed into right field. Nimmo was immediately concerned, throwing his helmet to the ground and motioning for a time-out as he reached the first base bag.

The Royals' training staff quickly came out to tend to Lugo. Nimmo also checked on the veteran pitcher, who appeared to tell his former New York Mets teammate that he was OK.

Lugo had a contusion on his forehead where he had been struck but was able to stand under his own power. Nonetheless, the Royals removed him from the game for further evaluation.

Lugo walked into the dugout without assistance and was replaced on the mound by Mason Black.

The Royals did not immediately provide an update about Lugo's condition.

This story will be updated as more information becomes available.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Seth Lugo injury update: Royals pitcher hit in head by line drive

TONIGHT’S GAME: The Houston Astros (31-38) continue a six-game road trip with the final game of a three-game series against the Los Angeles Angels (26-42) tonight at Angel Stadium.

RHP Peter Lambert (5-4, 3.55ERA) will be on the mound for the Astros, opposite LHP Reid Detmers (2-5, 4.26ERA) and the Halos. The Astros have won 11 of their last 18 games.

DRIVING THE LAMBO: Tonight’s Astros starter RHP Peter Lambert has been solid in his nine starts for the Astros, going 5-4 with a 3.55 ERA (19ER/45.1IP) with 47 strikeouts and a .212 opponent average.

Lambert pitched last year for the Tokyo Yakult Swallows in the NPB, posting a 3.98 ERA (55ER/124.1IP) with 111 strikeouts in 23 appearances in Japan.

He began this season at Triple A Sugar Land (1.84 ERA in three appearances) before being called up to join the rotation on April 17.

ROAD TRIP: Tonight is the third game of six game road trip for the Astros. The Astros are facing the Angels for a three-game series before traveling to Kansas City to face the Royals for another three-game series. The Astros are 15-19 on the road this season and went 7-3 on their last road trip.

PEN PALS: Since May 15, the Astros bullpen has recorded a 2.61 ERA (24ER/82.2IP) with 81 strikeouts, a 0.98 WHIP and a .167 opponent batting average. Among AL teams since May 15, the Astros bullpen ranks first in opponent batting average, first in WHIP and first in ERA. The Astros are also 14-10 during since May 15.

MAKING THE PLAYS: The Astros are tied for the fewest errors in the AL (28) with the Athletics. Houston has posted the best fielding percentage (.988) in the AL, topping the Athletics (.988) by a few percentage points.

VS. THE HALOS: The Astros and Angels are facing each other for the second time this season. The last time was on Opening Weekend at Daikin Park, where the two teams split the four-game series.

The Astros went 8-5 against the Angels last season, including a 4-2 record at Angel Stadium. The Astros own a 141-91 all-time record against the Angels, including a 67-47 record at Angel Stadium.

TRADE WINDS: Earlier today, the Astros acquired minor league IF Raynel Delgado from Tampa Bay in exchange for cash considerations. Delgado batted .250 (56×224) with three home runs, 33 RBI and a .682 OPS in 61 games at Triple A Durham this season. He will report to Triple A Sugar Land.

ON THE LEADERBOARD: DH Yordan Alvarez leads the Majors in OPS (1.074), SLG (.642) and total bases (156) and leads the AL in home runs (22). Also in the AL, he ranks tied for first in extra-base hits (25), second in RBI (48), second in OBP (.432), second in hits (77), second in batting average (.317), fourth in walks (46) and fifth in runs (46).

ON THE MEND: C Yainer Diaz and RHP Cristian Javier each made a rehab appearance with Triple-A Sugar Land last night.

Diaz went 1×3 with a run scored and caught six innings. Javier struck out three in three scoreless innings (44 total pitches, 29 strikes).

RHP Hunter Brown will also continue his rehab assignment with Triple A Sugar Land tonight.

ON BASE MACHINE: OF Yordan Alvarez is on a 17-game on-base streak. During the streak, he’s batting .362 (21×58) with 16 runs, two doubles, seven home runs, 17 RBI, 15 walks and a 1.252 OPS. It is his second-longest on-base streak this season, behind a 22-game on-base streak from April 4-28.

AL PLAYER OF THE WEEK: On Monday, OF Yordan Alvarez was named the AL Player of the Week for the week of June 1-7. For the week, he batted .476 (10×21) with six runs, one double, two HR, nine RBI, five walks and a 1.386 OPS. It marked his second AL Player of the Week award this season, also won for the week March 30-April 5.

WALKER, TEXAS HAMMER: 1B Christian Walker ranks tied for second in the AL in RBI with teammate DH Yordan Alvarez (48). Walker also ranks tied for sixth in the AL in total bases (125), tied for sixth in extra-base hits (29), tied for sixth in total bases (125), tied for seventh in home runs (16) and 13th in SLG (.494).

In the field, Walker has not committed an error in 67 games.

MOVIN’ ON UP: RHP Bryan Abreu (342 G) is one appearance shy of surpassing RHP Ryan Pressly (342 G) for the sixth-most relief appearances in Astros history. Abreu is also six appearances shy of tying LHP Joe Sambito (348) for the fifth-most relief appearances in franchise history.

HIT PAREDES: IF Isaac Paredes is one double away from recording his 100th career double. He is looking to become just the 4th Mexican-born player in MLB history with 500 career hits, 100 doubles and 100 home runs, joining IF Vinny Castilla, IF Jorge Orta and IF Aurelio Rodríguez.

TODAY IN ASTROS HISTORY: 1962 – SS Dan Buddin hits the first grand slam in Astros franchise history in a 9-7 Colts loss to the Dodgers in Game 2 of a doubleheader at Colt Stadium. Buddin hit only two homers in his Astros tenure, which lasted just the 1962 season.

Game Info

Game Date/Time: Wednesday, June 10, 8:38 p.m. CT

Location: Angel Stadium, Anaheim, CA

TV: Space City Home Network

Radio: KTRH 740 AM, KBME 790 AM & 94.5 FM HD2; TUDN 102.9 FM HD2 (Spanish)

The cloud over the Boston Red Sox's 2026 season keeps getting darker.

Left-handed starting pitcher Garrett Crochet said the lat injury that put him on the injured list in late April is "a lot worse than we thought," according to Pete Abraham of the Boston Globe. Crochet added he has "no idea" when he'll be cleared to throw again.

Crochet, who finished second in American League Cy Young voting last year, slumped out to a 3-3 record with a 6.30 ERA after six starts in 2026. He went on the IL on April 29 with what was described as left shoulder inflammation.