Dave Roberts started out of the dugout with a walk.

Once Blake Snell caught his gaze, it turned into a trot.

With two out in the seventh inning, and Snell trying to put the finishing touches on his best performance in a Dodgers uniform, Roberts appeared to be coming to the mound after a pair of walks to turn to his shaky bullpen with a three-run lead.

As he usually does when removing a pitcher, his gait was slow — at least, initially.

Once Snell saw him coming, however, Roberts picked up his pace — as he will sometimes do when electing to leave a pitcher in the game.

This time, it was the latter.

After a brief discussion between manager and starting pitcher, Snell stayed in.

Five throws later, the $180-million offseason signee rewarded the decision, striking out Otto Kemp with a 95-mph fastball to put an emphatic ending on his scoreless seven-inning start, one that lifted the Dodgers to a 5-0 win over the Philadelphia Phillies.

Entering Wednesday, all the discussion around the Dodgers had centered on the bullpen. The slumping unit was coming off two of its worst performances of the season. The majority of Roberts’ pregame address with reporters was spent dissecting how to fix it.

Read more:Hernández: If Shohei Ohtani is open to playing in the outfield, the Dodgers have failed him

“Before the results, has to be confidence,” Roberts said, comparing the relief corps’ struggles to the second-half scuffles that the offense only recently emerged from. “It's just kind of trying to reset a mentality, a mindset and expect that things happen. … You can't chase a zero in an inning until you execute the first pitch, and then keep going like that. And I think that right now you can see that they're kind of trying a little too hard.”

On Wednesday night, however, Snell made their job easy.

Efficient from the start with the kind of aggressive, attacking game plan he had acknowledged was missing in his last three outings, Snell went to work quickly against the Phillies, retiring the side on eight pitches (and two strikeouts) in the first inning, en route to setting down the first eight batters he faced.

Brief trouble arose in the third, when Bryson Stott and Harrison Bader had back-to-back singles.

But then Snell froze Kyle Schwarber with a curveball, one of the seven punchouts he recorded with the pitch. He had a season-high 12 strikeouts on the night.

And after that, the Phillies didn’t put another runner aboard until the seventh, with Snell breezing through the next 12 batters.

In the meantime, the Dodgers built a lead. Freddie Freeman homered to lead off the second. Ben Rortvedt (starting his third straight game behind the plate, even with Dalton Rushing back from a leg injury) added an RBI single later in the inning, following an Andy Pages hit-and-run single that put runners on the corners.

Another run came around in the fourth, after Pages worked a two-out walk, stole second, took third on a wild pickoff throw and scored on an RBI single from Kiké Hernández (who played third base in place of Max Muncy, who still felt “fuzzy” on Tuesday from a hit-by-pitch he took to the head over the weekend).

And from there, the Dodgers watched Snell cruise, with the $182-million offseason acquisition attacking the corners of the strike zone while also inducing misses on 24 of 54 swings.

The night culminated in the seventh, after walks to Nick Castellanos and Max Kepler drew Roberts out of the dugout. In the bullpen, left-hander Alex Vesia was getting warm. For a brief moment, it appeared the game would be in the hands of the relievers.

Snell had other ideas, signaling Roberts to hurry to the mound in the middle of his walk before seemingly pleading his case to stay in.

Read more:Plaschke: Dodgers are blowing their bye, and hopes for deep playoff run, thanks to familiar issue

Whatever he said, Roberts listened.

Snell stayed on the rubber. A crowd of 50,859 roared in approval.

Against his final batter, Kemp, Snell fell behind, missing low with a changeup before pulling a fastball wide. Undeterred, he went back on the attack, getting one foul ball with a heater on the inner half, then another with a curveball that leaked over the plate. The count was 2-and-2. Chavez Ravine rose to its feet.

The next pitch — Snell’s 112th of the night — was another fastball, this time on the upper, outside corner at 95.3 mph. Kemp swung through it. Snell screamed and pumped his fist. In the dugout, Roberts raised an arm in the air, then began clapping as Snell walked off to a raucous ovation.

The next two innings were refreshingly simple. Alex Vesia retired the side in the top of the eighth. The Dodgers made it a five-run lead by scoring twice in the bottom half of the frame, including on Shohei Ohtani’s 51st home run of the season. Embattled closer Tanner Scott spun a stress-free ninth, pitching three consecutive scoreless outings for the first time since early July.

Come October, that’s the kind of blueprint the Dodgers (who maintained a two-game lead in the National League West over the San Diego Padres) will have to try and replicate.

Their bullpen still needs fixing. Their relief issues aren’t solved. But more gems like Snell’s would certainly help.

Sign up for more Dodgers news with Dodgers Dugout. Delivered at the start of each series.

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.

One night after their pitching piggyback was a roaring success, the Mets’ rotation reality smacked them once again on Wednesday. On David Peterson’s turn, the Mets were back to their normal starter usage – one guy, his game. Let’s just say the results were not nearly as encouraging as those delivered by the Clay Holmes-Sean Manaea combo in the opener of this series against the Padres, and now thorny questions loom about Peterson going forward.

Peterson didn’t exactly get shelled, but he didn’t exactly do anything that should make the Mets feel comfortable about giving him an October start, either. You know, if the Mets can actually make the playoffs.

Peterson allowed six runs in five innings, the big blow coming on a Manny Machado grand slam in the fifth inning that tilted a tie game. The Padres went on to win, 7-4, and the Mets bungled a chance to put more distance between them and the Diamondbacks in the race for the third NL Wild Card. Arizona had lost earlier in the day, just as the Mets’ grounds crew was taking the tarp off the diamond at Citi Field, so the Mets still own a 1.5-game lead.

Again, Peterson didn’t get mauled – the Padres loaded the bases in the fifth on a hit batsman, a walk and a bunt single by Luis Arraez before Machado’s slam. And they got a run in the second on two bloop hits sandwiched around a groundout. Still, Peterson’s final line was ugly, in line with much of his poor second half. In 11 starts since making his first All-Star team, Peterson has a 5.71 ERA.

“It’s obviously tough when you know what you’re capable of,” Peterson admitted of his struggles. “You're gonna go through times where it's not going exactly how you want it to, whether it's baseball or whether it's something that you're not necessarily executing. But you know you can't hold onto it. Look at it as objectively as possible and correct things that need to be worked on and move forward.”

With the playoffs looming, Peterson must revert back to the ace-type that he was earlier in the season if the Mets hope to reach October and go on a run similar to last season. And the Mets have to help him get there.

“When he’s at his best, he’s getting a lot of ground balls,” Mets manager Carlos Mendoza said. “He’s inducing weak contact. He’s using all of his pitches when he’s ahead and he’s able to get swings and misses with the secondary pitchers. And we haven’t seen that for quite a bit.”

Still, Mendoza said, he trusts Peterson going forward.

“We trust him and all of the guys here,” Mendoza said. “We only got, what, 10 more (games) to go in the regular season. We need him. He’s been a big part of this team. But it’s been a struggle for him. We want to do everything moving forward to put guys in position to help us win baseball games.

“We’re counting on him.”

The Machado home run came on a 3-2 curveball that Machado swatted for his 14th career grand slam. Asked how he felt about the pitch when he threw it, Peterson replied, “Felt fine about it. I shook to that pitch and felt like I threw a good, competitive pitch down and away. And he’s a really good hitter and he was able to give them a gap there in the game.”

That is where the outing spun out of control for Peterson. His season has, too. As recently as Aug. 6, Peterson had a season ERA below 3.00 (2.98). It now sits a full run higher.  He was one of the few reliable sources of length in the rotation, too, a problem that’s plagued the Mets all year. Now it plagues Peterson, too. 

Wednesday’s loss dropped him to 9-6 and was the third time in his last seven starts he’s given up six or more runs. Earlier this season, he was working on a since-dead streak of 56 consecutive starts in which he did not allow more than five runs, according to the Mets.

Still, Mendoza confirmed postgame that Peterson will indeed make his next start. Would Peterson perhaps be a consideration for some kind of piggybacking scenario, too, at some point?

“We just got done with this turn,” Mendoza said. “We’re already doing it with two guys.”

But, the manager added, “I mean, everything’s on the table because we’ve got to win baseball games.”

Starting soon. They had won two in a row before losing Wednesday. Was that just a quick palate cleanser before another course of losing? The sands in the 162-game hourglass of the season are rapidly running out.

In a season in which there are no behemoths in either league, it’d be a shame if the Mets aren’t able to take their chances in October. They’ve got to get there first, though. And they’ll need a better David Peterson to do that.

“We’re looking at inches,” Carlos Mendoza said. 

That’s how close Juan Soto came to tying Wednesday’s game against the Padres. 

After Francisco Alvarez lifted an opposite-field homer to make it a one-run ballgame, the Mets' slugger stepped to the plate in the bottom of the seventh with a man on and one out, facing San Diego’s All-Star reliever Mason Miller. 

Soto had already gone deep once in the ballgame, tying his career-high with 41 blasts. 

After battling to a 2-2 count against the hard-throwing right-hander, the sweet-swinging lefty laced a 102.6 mph fastball for a long fly ball deep down into the left field corner that sent the Citi Field crowd into a frenzy. 

It came oh so close to being a game-tying two-run blast and Soto’s signature Mets moment down the stretch in the playoff push, but upon further review, the ball dropped in just shy of the foul pole.

“I knew it had enough power behind it to go out,” Soto said. “I just didn’t how long it was going to stay fair, it was fair most of the time and then at the end it just hooked a little more -- it was just a long strike.”

Miller would get the best of Soto one pitch later, freezing him with a nasty slider on the corner. 

The 26-year-old found himself with an opportunity for redemption a few innings later, though, as Brett Baty led off the ninth with a single and Francisco Lindor drew a two-out walk to again bring him to the plate as the tying run. 

Soto was in another 2-2 count when he laced a 100.5 mph comebacker back up the middle at San Diego closer Robert Suarez, which he was able to glove down before throwing to first to end the ballgame.  

Just like that, the Mets’ lead for the third wild card spot is back down to 1.5 games over the Diamondbacks and 2.0 over the Reds and Giants with 10 games to play. 

“We just have to try to be a little bit more consistent,” Soto said. “We still have a playoff spot, so we’re definitely still in this, but we have to get going today because tomorrow is going to be too late; we have to get going right now.”

The Yankees had to make up for a lackluster starter's performance again, but Trent Grisham's two homers powered New York to a 10-5 win over the Twins on Wednesday night in Minnesota.

Here are the takeaways....

-After scoring 10 runs on Tuesday, the Yankees picked up where they left off thanks to Aaron Judge. The defending AL MVP hit a two-out double, and Cody Bellinger followed with a single that Judge was able to get home ahead of the throw from left field. Grisham's career year continued, as his second-inning solo shot gave the Yankees a 2-1 lead. 

-For the second straight game, a Yankees starter could not make it through five with a big lead. Luis Gil, starting for the first time since throwing six no-hit innings against the Red Sox, was not as sharp on Wednesday. The Twins drew a one-out walk and back-to-back singles (with a throwing error on a pickoff thrown in) allowed Minnesota to push across a run in the second inning. Then, with two outs, Gil threw a wild pitch that Ben Rice should have blocked, but the Twins took advantage to take a 2-1 lead.

Bellinger would hit a two-run shot in the ninth to put the game away.

After the Yankees tied it back up, Gil unraveled again in the third. Byron Buxton led off with a double and then Gil hit Austin Martin to put two runners on with no outs. But Gil hunkered down and got a double play and a ground out to end the threat. Minnesota would get to Gil again in the fifth. They pushed across three runs on four hits and one walk, which could have been more if not for some nifty defense by Jazz Chisholm Jr. and was pulled for Fernando Cruz. Cruz got Royce Lewis to line out to end the inning.

Gil went just 4.2 innings (85 pitches/54 strikes), allowing five runs (four earned) on nine hits, two walks, while striking out just two batters.

-Aaron Boone had an unconventional lineup on Wednesday. With Judge DHing, Giancarlo Stanton was relegated to the bench as Jasson Dominguez took over in left field. The young outfielder went 1-for-3, with two stolen bases but his RBI double in the fourth gave the Yankees a 3-2 lead. His steal of second in the eighth and getting to third on the throwing error led to a much-needed insurance run.

Jose Caballero started at short in place of Anthony Volpe, who went 2-for-4 on Tuesday, and went 0-for-3 with a walk, a stolen base and a run scored.

-Grisham has 33 home runs and 70 RBI for the season. It's his eighth long ball in his last 19 games and 10 in his last 22. 

-In relief of Gil, the Yankees' bullpen was solid. The combination of Cruz, Devin Williams, Luke Weaver and Camilo Doval went 4.1 innings without allowing a run on two hits and striking six batters. 

Game MVP: Trent Grisham

Grisham's two blasts and four RBI helped the Yankees clinch the series win.

Highlights

Jasson Dominguez puts the Yankees back on top! pic.twitter.com/IMRpI0EsIi

— Yankees Videos (@snyyankees) September 18, 2025

33 homers on the season for Trent Grisham! pic.twitter.com/G2Rs3VDoAA

— Yankees Videos (@snyyankees) September 18, 2025

What's next

The Yankees head to Baltimore to take on the division rival Orioles for a four-game series starting Thursday. First pitch is set for 7:15 p.m.

Max Fried (17-5, 3.03 ERA) will take the mound against Cade Povich (3-7, 5.05 ERA). 

The Mets were defeated by the San Diego Padres 7-4 on Wednesday night at Citi Field.

Here are some takeaways...

- David Peterson's struggles continued, as he was knocked around by the Padres in just five innings of work. The left-hander was hurt by some soft contact in the early innings, allowing a run on a sacrifice fly in the top of the first and then another on an RBI single in the second. 

He appeared to settle into a bit of a groove, putting together back-to-back scoreless frames, but things caved in on him in the fifth. After loading the bases on a single, a hit-by-pitch and a walk, Manny Machado crushed a go-ahead grand slam to deep left. 

Peterson escaped the inning without further damage but his final line still closed with an ugly six runs allowed on six hits and three walks while striking out just one batter -- bringing his ERA to 3.98 for the season. 

- The Mets' three runs off of San Diego right-hander Nick Pivetta all came via solo blasts. Pete Alonso got them on the board in the bottom of the first, Starling Marte evened things up at the time with one of his own in the fourth, then Juan Soto lifted one to right in the fifth. 

Alonso's left the bat at a whopping 112 mph as he's now homered in three straight, Marte snapped a 16-game homerless drought to give him eight on the season, and Soto tied his career-high, which he set last year while with the Yankees (41). 

- Dom Hamel entered, making his MLB debut behind Peterson; he was the 46th different pitcher used by the Mets this season, which is a new league record. Hamel was helped out by some shoddy Padres base-running to escape the sixth with no runs against. 

- The Mets were able to chip into the lead against the high-powered Padres bullpen. Francisco Alvarez took a second-pitch slider from right-hander Jeremiah Estrada and lifted it the other way just over the right field fence, cutting it back down to a two-run ballgame. 

After Cedric Mullins walked and stole second, Soto appeared to have lifted a game-tying two-run shot off of hard-throwing All-Star Mason Miller, but it hooked just inches foul -- Miller got the best of both Soto and Alonso representing the tying run, then put together a 1-2-3 eighth.

- Soto would have one more opportunity to even this thing up in the bottom of the ninth. After Ryne Stanek allowed a solo homer in the top half, San Diego's Robert Suarez put two on with two outs in the ninth, but he got the All-Star slugger to line into a comebacker to end the game and secure the save.  

- Brett Baty did enjoy himself another strong day at the plate, reaching three times with two singles and a double. The left-hander hitting slugger entered play with a .297 average, 12 extra base-hits, 17 RBI, and a .854 OPS in 47 games following the All-Star break. 

- With an announced attendance of 41,783 on the night, Citi Field officially reached a total of 3 million fans for the season for the first time since the stadium opened its gates for the first time back in 2009.  

- New York's lead for the final wild card is back down to 1.5 games over the Diamondbacks, Reds, and Giants. 

Game MVP: Manny Machado

Machado's grand slam was the big blast that sunk Peterson and the Mets in this one. 

Highlights

Pete Alonso homers in his third-straight game and ties things up!

Home run #36 on the year! pic.twitter.com/zsL6F9rjtv

— SNY (@SNYtv) September 17, 2025

Starling Marte launches a solo shot to tie it up once more! pic.twitter.com/xlXuWpHUhw

— SNY (@SNYtv) September 18, 2025

Juan Soto hits his 41st home run of the season to tie his career high pic.twitter.com/OdqRqNv2iA

— SNY (@SNYtv) September 18, 2025

Francisco Alvarez hits a solo homer to cut the lead to two!

The play was initially called a double off the wall, but after review was overturned to a home run. pic.twitter.com/v7xeXHZWkn

— SNY (@SNYtv) September 18, 2025

What's next

The Mets and Padres close out this three-game set on Wednesday afternoon at 1:10 p.m.

Jonah Tong (1-2, 8.49 ERA) takes the ball against RHP Randy Vásquez (5-6, 3.72 ERA). 

Mets top prospect Carson Benge is having himself some week. 

Benge was named the organization’s Minor League Player of the Year as part of their player development awards on Monday afternoon.

Then on Wednesday night, the 22-year-old former first-round pick crushed a solo homer in Syracuse’s playoff victory over the Leigh Valley IronPigs. 

With the mini-Mets trailing by two in the top of the fourth, Benge stepped to the plate against Phillies top pitching prospect Andrew Painter and crushed a solo shot 355 feet over the right field fence. 

It was Benge’s second long ball in Triple-A, and his 14th of the season. 

Austin Warren, Alex Carrillo, Ty Adcock, and Oliver Ortega combined for five strong innings of one-run ball to close out the 4-3 victory. 

While Benge has gotten off to a bit of a slow start since being promoted to the new level, the Mets have loved what they’ve seen from him in his first full year in the organization.

“He’s a guy that’s really found his stride,” Senior VP of Player Development Andy Green said. “The stride started at the end of last season and he put on a lot of weight this winter to help him get through his first full pro season.

“I melted at the end of my first year, it’s a credit to the performance group -- he just worked incredibly hard, he did two things people really struggle to do, and he is just moving the needle positively.”

Benge, SNY's Joe DeMayo’s third-ranked prospect, is projected to debut during the 2026 season.

Bend it (over the wall) like ... Benge?@Mets top-ranked prospect Carson Benge gets the @SyracuseMets on the board.

Watch this International League showdown LIVE: https://t.co/twudCiZ70jpic.twitter.com/UMVDDNY69R

— Minor League Baseball (@MiLB) September 17, 2025