Mets pitching prospect Blade Tidwell has been great since returning to Triple-A Syracuse after his major league debut in St. Louis earlier this month, and Saturday's performance was no different.
Tidwell threw 85 pitches (57 strikes) across 6.2 innings in the first game of a doubleheader against Rochester (Nationals' affiliate) on Saturday. The young right-hander was one out away from pitching the complete seven innings, but made one mistake.
Pitching against Andrew Pinckney with a 3-0 lead, Tidwell threw a 3-2 slider that was running in on the right-hander, but Pinckney launched it 381 feet for a three-run shot. Tidwell was done after that longball, leaving the game tied.
In all, Tidwell allowed three runs on five hits, one walk and two strikeouts.
In three starts since returning to Triple-A, Tidwell has allowed four runs across 15 innings.
Ronny Mauricio continued his hot hitting with Syracuse, going 1-for-3 with an RBI and two strikeouts in the first game of the doubleheader. He started at third base but did not play in the nightcap.
Mauricio extended his hitting streak to four games, collecting eight hits in that span.
Drew Gilbert, however, played both games. He went 0-for-2 with a walk, run and an RBI on a sac fly in the first game. He then went hitless in five at-bats in Game 2, but did score a run.
Dom Hamel did not start Game 2 of the doubleheader but did come on in long relief, throwing 52 pitches (33 strikes) across three shutout innings. Hamel did not allow a hit, but walked two while striking out two.
The 26-year-old continued his recent streak of dominant pitching with Syracuse. Including Saturday's outing, Hamel has allowed just one run over his last 6.2 innings (three appearances). In eight Triple-A appearances (five starts), he's pitched to a 4.01 ERA and a 1.30 WHIP.
David Peterson threw the most innings in a game by a Mets starter so far this season and his teammates delivered several big hits with runners in scoring position -- including a key blow by Juan Soto -- in a 5-2 win over the Dodgers on Saturday night at Citi Field.
The victory evened up the NLCS rematch, with the teams set for a rubber game in primetime on Sunday night. The Mets are now 31-21 overall, including an MLB-best 18-6 at home.
Here are the takeaways...
-- Peterson is just the second Mets starter to throw at least seven innings in a game this season. The first was Kodai Senga, who threw seven shutout frames against the Athletics in Sacramento back on April 13. Peterson was particularly rough on the Dodgers’ brand-name hitters. He struck out the mighty Shohei Ohtani three times and got him on a flyout in his other at-bat.
Freddie Freeman was also 0-for-3 against Peterson, and Mookie Betts went 1-for-3 against the lefty. Freeman and Ohtani entered the game ranked first and second in the National League in both OPS and slugging percentage. Freeman also held the NL lead in batting average and on-base percentage. When Peterson came out of the game after fanning Ohtani for the second out of the eighth inning, most of the 41,332 fans in the stands stood up and gave him a loud ovation. He waved his glove toward the crowd as he neared the dugout.
-- Down 2-1 in the fourth, the Mets took the lead, scoring three runs, and Soto had a tie-breaking two-run double. Luis Torrens led off the inning with a single and, two outs later, Dodgers starter Tony Gonsolin walked both Brett Baty and Francisco Lindor on four pitches, loading the bases.
Starling Marte checked his swing and hit a soft grounder toward the middle, but the Dodgers couldn't turn it into an out and a run scored. Soto followed with a 108.3 mph drive to the base of the right-center field wall, knocking in two runs. The inning ended when Marte was thrown out trying to score on Soto’s double.
-- Mets manager Carlos Mendoza called on Edwin Díaz for a four-out save, and the closer caught Betts looking at strike three to end the eighth. In the ninth, he struck out Teoscar Hernández and Freeman, and got Andy Pages to ground out. Díaz is now 11-for-11 in save opportunities this season.
-- The Mets were 4-for-11 with runners in scoring position, a refreshing change. They've struggled with runners in scoring position this season, though they had the 10th-most at-bats with RISP entering Saturday, indicating that they’ve been creating traffic on the basepaths.
But they entered play ranked 29th in MLB in batting average with RISP (.213), behind only the 16-35 White Sox. The Mets had been especially spotty lately, going 10-for-66 (.152) over their previous seven games.
-- The Dodgers took a 2-0 lead in the second inning, thanks to soft contact against Peterson and, perhaps, a missed call by umpires. With one out, Pages flared a single in front of Soto in right and then Tommy Edman was hit by a pitch. Kiké Hernández hit a single up the middle to score Pages and send Edman to third. Dalton Rushing followed by hitting a ball into the ground that hit him in the shin and bounced into fair territory.
By rule, it could’ve been declared a foul ball by umpires, but it wasn't called. Torrens sprang from behind the plate to field the ball and threw to first for the second out, but Edman scampered home. The play wasn't reviewable, so Rushing got an RBI and the Dodgers had their second run.
-- The Mets scored their first run of the game in the second, and with two outs. Jared Young, starting at designated hitter after being called up from Triple-A Syracuse, was hit by a pitch and Tyrone Taylor singled to left. Baty, whose offense has really picked up, then delivered an RBI single to right. In the eighth, Baty -- batting ninth in the order -- smacked an RBI double to push the Mets' lead to 5-2.
-- Apart from the key double, Soto smashed a deep drive to center in his first at-bat that traveled 396 feet and was clocked at 102.5 mph off the bat. According to MLB’s Statcast, the drive had an expected batting average of .790, but it was caught by Edman. In Soto’s second at-bat, he thought he had checked his swing on a 3-1 pitch and walked. But his cut was ruled a swing. He followed with a ground-ball single up the middle that was clocked at 102.2 mph. In the seventh inning, Soto flew out to left. In the eighth, he grounded out with the bases loaded.
Game MVP: David Peterson
Peterson, who gave up two runs and five hits across 7.2 innings, struck out seven and walked two. A night after the Mets used eight relievers in a messy and dramatic 13-inning loss, the left-hander was masterful in giving them crucial length. He induced four double-play grounders, which helped him get deep into the game. He threw 99 pitches (59 strikes) and lowered his season ERA to 2.79.
Highlights
Brett Baty with an RBI single to put the Mets on the board!
Dodgers pitcher Tony Gonsolin delivers during the second inning of a 5-2 loss to the New York Mets on Saturday. (Frank Franklin II / Associated Press)
It had been more than two weeks since Juan Soto, the only man in baseball with a richer contract than Shohei Ohtani, had recorded an extra-base hit for the New York Mets.
In the bottom of the fourth inning Saturday night at Citi Field, however, Dodgers pitcher Tony Gonsolin provided him the perfect opportunity to get back on track.
After a solid opening three innings for Gonsolin, who was making an all-important start for the Dodgers a night after their 13-inning marathon victory in the series opener, the right-hander had made a mess for himself in the fourth.
With two outs, he issued back-to-back four-pitch walks to load the bases. The Dodgers’ early one-run lead then disappeared when Starling Marte reached on a half-swing infield single.
That brought up Soto, who had underperformed through much of his first two months in Queens after signing a $765-million mega-contract with the Mets. Gonsolin got ahead 1-and-2 in the count, before narrowly missing with a slider. He tried to come back with his trademark splitter. But Soto was all over it, crushing a two-run double that proved to be the decisive blow in New York’s 5-2 victory over the Dodgers.
“At the outset, I was pretty optimistic, getting a 2-0 lead,” manager Dave Roberts said. “And then there was that [fourth inning] where he sort of lost command, had two outs and the back-to-back walks. ... And obviously the big hit from Soto with two outs. He just couldn't kind of limit damage right there.”
In what likely will be a preview of what’s to come for the Dodgers (32-20) over a grueling portion of their schedule in the next month, the team’s fate Saturday was almost entirely reliant upon the performance of their starter.
On Friday night, their already overworked bullpen had been gassed again by their extra-inning gantlet. And though they won that game, and freshened up their pitching staff by calling up Bobby Miller on Saturday for some extra length, Roberts had his hands tied as Gonsolin started to lose command.
Juan Soto runs to first base after hitting a two-run double in the fourth inning Saturday against the Dodgers. (Frank Franklin II / Associated Press)
Over his first three innings against the Mets (31-21), Gonsolin had been fine, giving up one run in a two-out rally in the second by skirting more danger in the third by dialing up an inning-ending double-play with runners on the corners.
The fourth was a different story.
Luis Torrens led with a single. Tyrone Taylor clobbered a fly ball that seemed like a no-doubter off the bat before dying in a stiff breeze at the left-field warning track. Then, Gonsolin became erratic, throwing eight consecutive balls to Brett Baty and Francisco Lindor to load the bases for the heart of the Mets' order.
“Very upset with the walks,” Gonsolin said. “Don't walk those guys, potentially that inning looks a lot different. Just need to attack guys."
Maybe on a night the Dodgers' bullpen was fresh, Roberts could have considered summoning a lefty to face Soto once Gonsolin began floundering. But after using seven of his eight relievers the previous night, he had no choice but to leave Gonsolin in as the four-time All-Star and five-time Silver Slugger came to the plate.
Five pitches later, Soto changed the game — sending Citi Field into euphoria with his go-ahead double that banged high off the wall in right center, the inning only ending when Marte was thrown out at home trying to score from first as the trail runner.
“Thought I executed a slider really well there,” Gonsolin said of a two-strike offering that Soto didn’t bite on. “He's got a really good eye. Barely missed.
“Then yeah, the splitter, thought it was a solid one, just elevated it. And he didn’t miss it.”
Gonsolin did return to the mound and completed the fifth, saving at least one inning that otherwise would have fallen upon the Dodgers’ bullpen. Miller also contributed two innings at the end, giving up one run in the eighth and getting out of a bases-loaded jam.
But on the other side, Mets starter David Peterson had no trouble going deep, using sharp command with his sinker, seven strikeouts and three double plays to get through 7 ⅔ innings of two-run ball.
“There wasn’t much offensive energy tonight, as far as how we were swinging, the at-bats we were taking,” Roberts said. “So to try to chase and use leverage guys in a down game, it just didn’t make any sense for me.”
So goes things for the Dodgers right now; ever mindful of their MLB-leading bullpen workload, and needing better production from their starters than what Gonsolin provided.
It didn't take long for the Yankees to shrug off Friday's humiliating loss to the historically awful Rockies. They corrected those wrongs by resembling the far superior team less than 24 hours later.
Those who visited Coors Field with hopes of witnessing a two-game winning streak from one of the worst clubs ever assembled in MLB's modern era were disappointed. Reality set back in on Saturday, as the Yankees produced a mammoth 10-run inning en route to a 13-1 drubbing of the lowly Rockies.
With the score knotted at 1-1 entering the fifth, New York proceeded to send 14 batters to the plate, and the offensive eruption featured seven hits, three walks, and one error. Ironically, the monstrous rally ended with a strikeout of Aaron Judge, who drew first blood just 10 pitches into the game with his 18th home run of the season.
Each player in the Yankees' lineup registered a hit, and the trio of Paul Goldschmidt, Cody Bellinger, and DJ LeMahieu logged three knocks apiece. New York totalled a season-high 21 hits, and the fifth-inning barrage also marked the Yankees' first season with multiple 10-run frames since 2009.
"It just started to snowball. We had a few games here where the offense had been held down," Yankees manager Aaron Boonetold reporters after the win. "To have a breakout inning like that was really good to see. Just a lot of really outstanding at-bats that inning. Today was just a really good example of a snowball inning... Coming off four or five days where we hadn't scored a bunch, to break out like that, was nice."
Pitching to the Max
While only one-third of the season is in the books, Max Fried has been earning every penny of the record-breaking contract he signed in free agency this past offseason. The veteran lefty once again resembled an ace, completing 7.1 innings of one-run ball with seven strikeouts and two pickoffs. He also lowered his season ERA to a league-best 1.29 and threw an economical 83 pitches.
Fried also made some history of his own. According to MLB.com's Sarah Langs, the southpaw's laudable ERA is the lowest by a Yankee in his first 11 starts of a season since earned runs became an official stat, back in 1913. The immense pressure to lead New York's rotation with Gerrit Cole sidelined for all of 2025 hasn't fazed Fried. The pinstripes clearly aren't too heavy for him.
"The elements are different [at Coors Field]. It's more about making pitches and making sure you're executing those pitches," Fried explained. "Because the ones that hang and are left over the plate really can beat you. It's really about making sure you're staying on top of it... We're in a good position to win games, that's all I can really control. Everything else is nice, but for me, when I take the ball, I really just want us to win. That's been my main goal."
Langs also noted that Fried -- who now owns an AL-best seven wins -- has the fourth-lowest ERA for a pitcher through their first 11 starts with a new franchise over the last 30 seasons. His next challenge will come against the reigning champion Dodgers at Chavez Ravine next weekend.
Striking Gold against lefties
Goldschmidt's placement atop the Yankees' lineup on Saturday was calculated and predictable. Entering the game, the veteran first baseman had a stellar .538 average with nine extra-base hits against left-handers this season (48 plate appearances), and the Rockies' starter was -- surprise! -- southpaw Kyle Freeland.
In the leadoff spot, Goldschmidt went 3-for-4 with an RBI single, two runs scored, and a walk. His season average now sits at .344 -- third-best in the majors -- and a change of scenery has undoubtedly rejuvenated the 37-year-old slugger.
"I know the last couple games we hadn't scored that much. I feel like yesterday we had a lot of chances," Goldschmidt said. "Same thing today, those first few innings, we had a bunch of people on base and then some double plays. So I think the mindset is, just continue to have good at-bats and know there could be a big inning or a lot of small innings. Fortunate to get all of those runs there."
The Carolina Hurricanes couldn't have possibly drawn up a worse series than what's happening to them in the Eastern Conference Final currently.
They're down 2-0 to the Florida Panthers, getting embarrassed in back-to-back games at home and are also missing two of their regular defensemen to boot.
They then gave up essentially an own-goal to open Game 3 and now to make matters worse, it seems like they're going to be without impressive rookie Jackson Blake after the 21-year-old absorbed a brutal hit toward the end of the first period.
As Blake was going to retrieve a puck in the Carolina end, Florida forward Eetu Luostarinen hooked the rookie and as he was slipping, finished him head first into the glass.
Luostarinen received a five-minute penalty and the boot from the game for this hit on Jackson Blake pic.twitter.com/RbUhI2GivR
— Spittin' Chiclets (@spittinchiclets) May 25, 2025
Blake was down on the ice for a long time after the hit holding his head and bleeding from the forehead. He was eventually able to skate off the ice under his own power and went straight to the Canes locker room.
After reviewing the play, Luostarinen was also given a five-minute major penalty and a game misconduct for the hit.
The Canes trail 1-0 after one period and will have 1:59 of power play time remaining to start the second.
UPDATE: Jackson Blake returned for the second period.
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Joint outplays Romania’s Jaqueline Cristian 6-3, 6-2 in Rabat final
New world No 53 to play compatriot Ajla Tomljanovic in Paris
Australian tennis has been given a major boost on the eve of the French Open after Maya Joint was crowned a WTA tour title winner in Morocco at the age of just 19.
Joint collapsed to the clay in joy in Rabat on Saturdayafter outplaying Romanian Jaqueline Cristian 6-3, 6-2 in the Morocco Open final.
Ben Stokes came to the defence of Ollie Pope by saying the vice-captain’s century against Zimbabwe at Trent Bridge had answered an “agenda” against the Surrey batsman.
The Yankees' offense erupted for 13 runs and a season-high 21 hits, thanks to a 10-run fifth inning, in their 13-1 rout of the Rockies in Colorado on Saturday afternoon.
Saturday marked the second time the Yankees have produced a 10-plus run inning this season (May 6). It's also the first time that's happened multiple times in one season since 2009.
Here are the takeaways...
-After homering in his first game at Coors Field, Aaron Judge gave the Denver crowd an encore with a solo shot in the first inning. Judge went the other way, 405 feet off of Kyle Freeland for his 18th homer of the season.
Aside from the Judge blast, the Yankees' offense just couldn't get much going, leaving runners on base and grounding into double plays. But that changed in the fifth. Austin Wells hit a leadoff single, which was followed by Oswald Peraza's double that scored the Yankees' catcher. Trent Grisham then hit a chopper at the plate and Freeland made a poor throw that got by the first baseman, which allowed Peraza to score.
Cody Bellinger drove in the third run of the inning with a sacrifice fly after Judge was intentionally walked to load the bases. Anthony Volpe singled up the middle that hit second base and bounced off the second baseman's glove. Jasson Dominguez hit a sacrifice fly that scored Judge, Wells doubled to score two, Paul Goldschmidt hit an RBI single and Grisham capped off the 10-run inning with a two-run double.
After 10 runs on seven hits, three walks, and one error, the inning mercifully ended on a Judge strikeout. The Yanks sent up 14 batters in the fifth.
-After scoring just two runs on five hits in Friday's loss, the Yankees' offense came to play. Every starter registered at least one hit, with Goldschmidt, Bellinger, Volpe and DJ LeMahieu picking up three knocks apiece. Even J.C. Escarra and Pablo Reyes picked up hits in mop-up duty.
Bellinger got the series opener off after his 15-game hitting streak was snapped on Thursday. Back in the lineup, the veteran outfielder hit a double in his first at-bat and finished 2-for-4. Judge went 1-for-4 with a walk and a strikeout and his season batting average dipped to .395.
-The run support was more than enough for Max Fried. The southpaw got through the Rockies' lineup with relative ease, scattering six hits and a walk while allowing just one run. Fried was very economical, throwing just 77 pitches entering the eighth inning. After a strikeout on six pitches to start the inning, manager Aaron Boone pulled his ace.
Fried allowed just one run on six hits and one walk across 7.1 innings (83 pitches/57 strikes), while striking out seven. An impressive line, considering he was pitching at Coors Field and the number of long innings he had to sit on the bench for. He's lowered his MLB-low ERA to 1.29.
He also picked off two runners at first base, increasing his AL lead to six pickoffs this season.
-Ian Hamilton, who allowed eight runs over his last six appearances, was brought in to finish the game. The right-hander allowed two hits and struck out three batters over the 1.2 innings.
Game MVP: Max Fried
The entire Yankees offense could have been the MVP. But Fried not only mowed down the Rockies and got the team their first win in the series, he gave the bullpen a breather.
Highlights
Aaron Judge gets the Yankees on the board with his 18th homer of the year!
With the team pressed to the salary cap, Vegas Golden Knights general manager Kelly McCrimmon continues to find unique ways to add skilled forwards to his lineup and could be doing so again with KHL star Maxim Shabanov.
The 24-year-old forward was dominant with Traktor Chelyabinsk, scoring 23 goals and 67 points in 65 games, ranking third in points among all players in the KHL. Although he's considered undersized, listed at just 5'8, 157 lbs, it hasn't affected his ability to create offence, displaying his skill set during the playoffs, recording 10 goals and 20 points in 21 games, losing in the Gagarin Cup finals.
Shabanov, this year's big little KHL free agent has finished his KHL season.
The fight to sign him to an NHL deal starts today (it likely started last year, but shhhh.)pic.twitter.com/crvAILu3Gq
“Maybe I'll think about it, maybe not. I've said before that all my thoughts were focused on having a successful season with Traktor. I don’t read what people write about me or listen to what they say,” Shabanov commented before the final.
Across four seasons in the KHL, Shabanov registered 67 goals and 150 points in 207 games. With Russian forwards Ivan Barbashev and Pavel Dorofeyev on the Golden Knights roster, they could be a factor in swaying Shabanov to sign with the Golden Knights.
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ST. LOUIS -- Former St. Louis Blues president died on Thursday.
Sauer became the chief operating officer of the St. Louis Cardinals in 1988 before moving on to the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1991 to become president and CEO.
In 1996 he began a 10-year run as president and CEO of the Blues.
During Sauer's tenure, the Blues reached the Stanley Cup playoffs in each season but one (2005-06), winning the Presidents' Trophy and Central Division in 1999-2000 and reaching the Western Conference Final in 2000-01.
"Mark Sauer delivered exceptional leadership for the Blues organization at a key time in our history, overseeing a decade in which the Blues ranked among the 10 winningest clubs in the NHL and achieved the franchise's only Presidents' Trophy," Blues chairman Tom Stillman said in a statement. "His management decisions, like the hiring of Larry Pleau as general manager, along with his constant focus on serving fans and partners alike, set the team on a steady and successful path that continues today. We join his family and friends in the sports industry in celebrating Mark Sauer's positive influence on the St. Louis Blues and the entire St. Louis community."
The 27-year-old has been with the Jets organization for three seasons, playing 76 games in the NHL, scoring eight goals and 19 points. The bulk of his time with the organization was spent in the AHL with the Manitoba Moose, recording 27 goals and 61 points in 110 games.
Prior to signing with the Jets, Jonsson-Fjallby was drafted by the Washington Capitals in the fifth round (147th overall) in the 2016 NHL Draft. He played just 23 games with the Capitals, spending most of his career with the Hershey Bears in the AHL.
The Stockholm, SWE native will return to the SHL, where he's played 102 games, scoring eight goals and 27 points. His previous stints in the SHL saw him play with Djurgårdens IF, but his return will see him sport new colours, those of Brynas IF.
Featuring on Brynas IF's roster includes former Toronto Maple Leafs goaltender Erik Kallgren, Anaheim Ducks prospect Lucas Pettersson, Chicago Blackhawks prospect Victor Soderstrom, former Philadelphia Flyers forward Oskar Lindblom and long-time NHL veteran Jakob Silfverberg.
Jonsson-Fjallby will receive the opportunity to be a key figure on a professional team, something he craved but was unable to obtain during his NHL career.
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In his first outing in the Mets organization since signing a two-year deal in the offseason, Frankie Montas pitched 1.1 innings for Single-A Brooklyn on Saturday afternoon.
Rehabbing from a right lat strain he suffered in spring training, the right-hander allowed two earned runs on two hits and two walks while striking out one for the Cyclones. He threw 37 pitches (20 strikes) while on a 30-35 pitch count, the team announced on Friday.
Both of the runs allowed came in the first inning.
Montas walked the leadoff hitter (who stole second and third), but had a strikeout and flyout to put himself in position to get out of the inning. Instead, the 32-year-old gave up a single and a triple to put Brooklyn in an early 2-0 hole. A groundout put an end to the frame.
After walking the leadoff man again in the second, Montas got a groundout that ended his outing.
Samir Rizvi hit an unbeaten 58 after Karun Nair celebrated his India Test recall with 44 as Delhi Capitals ended their IPL season with a consolation win over Punjab Kings on Saturday.
Extending the record he already owned, on Friday LeBron James was named to an All-NBA team for the 21st consecutive year. He appreciates the magnitude of that accomplishment.
ALL NBA at 40!! Low key crazy to me right now! Sitting here watching the playoffs just thinking about it. Blessed beyond I can even imagine.
It's almost irrational to think LeBron would walk away into retirement after a season where he averaged 24.4 points, 8.2 assists and 7.8 rebounds a night, was named All-NBA and got to play with his son. However, after 22 seasons anything is possible.
"I don't know. I don't have an answer to that," LeBron said after the Lakers were eliminated. "Something I'll sit down with my family, my wife and my support group and just kind of talk through it and see what happens. Just have a conversation with myself on how long I want to continue to play. I don't know the answer to that right now, to be honest. So, we'll see."
"I have no idea, zero. Normally our process is, kind of weigh everything and see how he's feeling and all those type of things... Same process it's been for the last I don't know how many years... He'll come around to what he's thinking at some point and we'll kind of go over some things and go from there."
The expectation in league circles is LeBron will return for at least one more season (and almost certainly with the Lakers, there is no real traction with the idea he could bolt back to Cleveland or another destination). He not only played at a high level this season, but also he was energized playing with his son, Bronny, and then found another gear after the Luka Doncic trade. The Lakers are just a move or two away from contending and Lebron would love a fifth ring. Plus, with the All-Star Game in Los Angeles this year, this could be a celebration of his career. The Lakers will give him whatever he wants to stay.
Which he almost certainly will do, but nobody knows anything for certain yet, including his agent.
