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Ben Rice's 10th-inning grand slam powers Yankees to 7-1 win over Orioles

BALTIMORE (AP) — Ben Rice’s tiebreaking grand slam in the top of the 10th inning lifted the New York Yankees to a 7-1 victory over the Baltimore Orioles on Sunday, keeping the pressure on first-place Toronto in the AL East.

New York remained two games behind the Blue Jays — who won at Kansas City — thanks to Rice, who had four hits and drove in five runs. His shot to right-center in the 10th off Keegan Akin broke a 1-all tie. Jazz Chisholm Jr. added a solo homer and Anthony Volpe an RBI single before the inning was over.

Kade Strowd (0-1) took the loss after striking out the side in the ninth and walking Aaron Judge to start the 10th.

David Bednar (6-5), one of six relievers used by New York, got the win.

Samuel Basallo homered in the fifth for the Orioles, and Rice answered with an RBI single the following inning.

Baltimore starter Kyle Bradish allowed a run and two hits in six innings with nine strikeouts and two walks.

New York rookie Cam Schlittler permitted a run and three hits in 5 1/3 innings. He struck out six and walked one.

Key moment

Immediately before the grand slam, Rice hit a dribbler toward third base that rolled just foul. That would have scored one run had it stayed fair, but it would have also been an easy force play at third for the Orioles. Given another chance, Rice cleared the bases.

Key stat

It was the ninth grand slam of the year for the Yankees, tying Arizona for the major league lead.

Up next

Both teams are off Monday. The Yankees send Luis Gil (4-1) to the mound Tuesday night against the Chicago White Sox. Baltimore begins a home series against Tampa Bay.

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How The Biggest Contract Holdouts Fared In The NHLs Pre-Salary Cap Era

With the NHL pre-season having kicked off, there are already a number of big-name young players stuck in limbo. The New Jersey Devils’ Luke Hughes, Anaheim Ducks’ Mason McTavish and Nashville Predators’ Luke Evangelista are the three notable restricted free agents left without an NHL deal as training camp is well underway, with former first rounders Alexander Holtz and Rasmus Kupari being the other two.

Many fans and pundits have questioned the cost-benefit analysis of teams dragging out negotiations past training camp, as it feels as though a trend has formed over the past number of years where players would miss camp and even at times part of the season due to negotiations, only to underperform that season after they’ve signed.

Before the 2004-05 lockout and subsequently the sweeping changes to the NHL’s handling of player salaries and rights, unrestricted free agency wasn’t really a thing for most players, as they were mostly bound to their teams. As such, many players had longstanding holdouts. Furthermore, teams were seemingly much more willing to play ‘hard-ball’ when facing tough negotiations.

Chris Kontos

Chris Kontos wasn’t a star, per se, but it wasn’t because he lacked the skill. Once taken 15th overall in the 1982 draft by the New York Rangers, Kontos would bounce around, playing here, there and just about everywhere.

“I'd get called up, do my best, if the numbers or the politics weren't right, I'd get sent down,” he said in an article for The Score in 2018. “If the contract wasn't right, I'd go to Europe and play, and then come back because somebody else was giving me a shot. 

After stints in Finland, Switzerland, Italy and even with the Canadian national team, he would eventually sign with the Tampa Bay Lightning for 1992-93. Finally given a legitimate opportunity, he would thrive, scoring a career high 27 goals and 51 points for third on the team. However, it was hardly a perfect season as an MCL injury cut his campaign short to just 66 games. Between the injury and his contract situation, negotiations were dire, especially with Kontos’ eyes still set on being an Olympian. He would make Team Canada’s 1994 Olympic team and end up helping them win silver, but ultimately would never ice in an NHL game again.

Alexei Yashin

Ottawa Senators’ then captain Alexei Yashin missed a full season thanks to a contract dispute after what would be a career-high 94-point campaign in 1998-99. He would hardly miss a step, scoring 40 goals once again and notching 88 points in 2000-01, however, the damage was done, and the team ended up flipping him to the New York Islanders for the second-overall pick, which would become Jason Spezza, Zdeno Chara and NHL depth player Bill Muckalt.

Yashin remained a prolific producer, but struggled to maintain the production he had in Ottawa with the Islanders. However, Yashin’s case study serves as a deafening reminder that even when things eventually pan out between team and player, these hold-outs burn bridges that continue to burn well after the ink dries on the dotted line.

Alexei Yashin (Lou Capozzola-Imagn Images)

Nikolai Khabibulin

Nikolai Khabibulin’s tale was even messier on the team's side. ‘The Bulin wall’ dominated in 1998-99, posting a .923 save percentage through 63 games with the then Phoenix Coyotes before the dispute. He then proceeded to miss nearly two full seasons due to a rift between himself and the Coyotes. In 1999-00, Khabibulin was able to sign in the IHL, a minor league at the time, where he won goaltender of the year, but he ended up sitting out the 2000-01 season until his rights were dealt to the Tampa Bay Lightning.

Ahead of the dispute, Khabibulin was coming off a breakthrough season, fully legitimizing himself as an elite goalie talent, and after that, the results speak for themselves. He added two All-Star game appearances, won best goaltender at the 2002 Olympics, and in 2004, he backstopped the Tampa Bay Lightning to a Stanley Cup championship.

Michael Peca

Michael Peca’s restricted free agency story is yet another that ends with an eventual trade after missing a full season, however there remain a few notable details. The Sabres’ captain was fresh off finishing fifth in votes for the Frank J. Selke trophy at the time, with a 41-point season for the fourth highest on the team. The tensions would eventually hit a breaking point with Peca lobbing accusations at the NHL and the Buffalo Sabres of collusion to make an example out of him to other star players looking to get paid – accusations that both the team and league denied.

After plenty of posturing from the Sabres, they’d eventually trade him to the New York Islanders, who would win big as Peca would hit an all-time high in points with the team, with 60 in his return to the ice in 2001-02, winning his second Selke and even finishing tenth in Hart voting. He marks one of the few cases of players having a better season after missing plenty of time due to holdouts.

Apart from Kontos, all of these players would get a full training camp to get back into shape for the next season. While missing a full season of hockey would be a tough hurdle to overcome for anyone, these players had the runway to get themselves acclimated to the league again.

Compared to players now, who tend to only hold out until mid-season, thanks to the Dec. 1 deadline, they aren’t afforded that luxury. In the next piece of this two-part series, we’ll take a look at more contemporary examples and whether they were able to thrive after missing the start of their seasons.

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Senators Lose 2025 Preseason Home Opener, 4-3 To Toronto

The Ottawa Senators began their 2025 NHL preseason schedule on Sunday afternoon the same way they ended last season: falling behind 3-0, then losing to the Toronto Maple Leafs. Toronto scored three goals in the first period, then held on for a 4-3 victory at Canadian Tire Centre.  

The biggest storyline emerging from this one might end up being the health of Tyler Kleven. In the third period, he went into the end boards awkwardly, skates first, and eventually made his way down the tunnel and called it a night. It looked initially like it might be a knee or ankle injury, but the TV cameras caught him on the bench, looking uncomfortable and favouring his right shoulder.

The Sens said after the game there was no update yet on his condition.

The results of the NHL preseason schedule mean nothing, but if there’s one exhibition game this year the Senators would prefer to win most, it was this one. 

For starters, this game was the only one scheduled for the Canadian Tire Centre, so the organization wanted to put on a good show for their fans. The Sens also dressed the bulk of their top players, while Toronto went with a far less experienced crew that should have been overmatched. And of course, the opponent on Sunday was the Leafs, the Sens' biggest rival, who ended their season with a six-game triumph back in April.

Ridly Greig, Arthur Kaliyev, and Olle Lycksell scored for the Senators. Drake Batherson and Brady Tkachuk each had two assists. Calle Jarnkrok, Nicholas Robertson, William Villeneuve, and Matthew Barbolini scored for Toronto.

Linus Ullmark allowed three goals on eight shots in the first period before Mads Sogaard took over, making 11 saves on 12 shots. Ullmark says he was always scheduled to play just the first 20 minutes.

Head coach Travis Green took some positives from the game.

"We did a lot of good things," Green said. "I thought the first period our execution with the puck wasn't quite where we wanted it to be. I like that we stayed with the game, even though we're down 3-0. And we had a lot of chances to score a lot more goals than we did. It was a pretty good game."

These same two teams will meet again on Tuesday, this time in Toronto.

More Sens Headlines From The Hockey News Ottawa:
Senators Winger Fabian Zetterlund Ready To Prove Himself This Season
Senators Announce Full Roster for Main Training Camp
Ranking the Senators' 10 Best Prospects
Senators GM Steve Staios On Why He Brought Back The Same Group
Can The Senators Still Avoid Losing Their 2026 First Round Pick?
Sens Radio Play-By-Play Team Won't Travel To Road Games This Season

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Despite series loss, Mets remain confident amid playoff push: 'If anyone can do it, it's us'

By losing again Sunday and dropping their crucial three-game series to the lowly Washington Nationals, the Mets now find themselves in a tough spot with six games left to play in the regular season.

They are currently tied with the Cincinnati Reds, who completed a four-game sweep of Chicago Cubs on Sunday, for the third and final Wild Card spot in the National League. But the Reds hold the tiebreaker over the Mets by winning the regular season series and would make the playoffs if the two teams finished with the same record.

Knowing what's at stake in the coming week, Carlos Mendoza said the club needs to do everything it can during this final stretch.

"We got to keep going," Mendoza said. "We got six more and a lot can happen. That's where we're at."

The manager is still confident in his players, believing they are often "one hit away" and adding that anything "could happen."

"You look at the talent there, we're one hit away, making one play, making one pitch. We're close," Mendoza said. "We just haven't be able to get that last hit like I said, to make that play when we need to, or to execute a pitch. It could happen."

Sean Manaea added: "Just looking around at everyone in the room, I feel like the veteran guys have been in this situation before. Maybe not the exact situation, but we've been in some precarious situations before. The young guys have been stepping up. I think combination of that is good. I think if anyone can do it, it's us."

Acknowledging that where the team is in the standings is on them, Francisco Lindor said it's their responsibility to figure out a way to win.

"It comes down to winning," Lindor said. "We've put ourselves in this position, so we've got to find a way to get out of it. And that comes down to winning. We just got to win ballgames."

Brandon Nimmo shared a similar message about the position the team is in, saying they need to "pick ourselves back up" and "put it all together."

"It's been happening right in front of our eyes, so yeah, I can definitely believe it," Nimmo said. "We're down to the last week of the season and our playoff hopes are in front of us. We've got to play winning baseball and put it all together.

"It's come and gone during the season, so we just need to pick ourselves back up and win some games down the stretch here."

The Mets are off Monday and then begin a three-game series with the Cubs on Tuesday and then finish the regular season in Miami against the Marlins over the weekend. Their odds to make the postseason are currently at 63.2 percent, with the Reds at 31.5 percent, per ESPN.

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Sabres 2025-26 Player Expectations: Newcomer D-Man Jones Has Opportunity To Estalish Himself As Everyday NHLer

Zac Jones (Wendell Cruz, USA TODAY Images)

The NHL’s 2025-26 regular season is nearly here, and here on THN.com’s Buffalo Sabres site, we’re approaching the end of our player-by-player series in which we break down expectations for each Sabres player this coming season.

We’ve worked our way through Buffalo’s starters, including goalies, blueliners, and forwards. And in this file, we’re looking at the expectations for depth defenseman Zac Jones. The 24-year-old came to the Sabres after the New York Rangers cut him loose, but he could play a more important role in Buffalo.

That said, let’s move on to our breakdown of Jones and what’s reasonable to expect this season:

Player Name: Zac Jones

Position: Defenseman

Age: 24

2024-25 Key Statistics: 46 games, 10 assists, 11 points, 17:15 average time on ice

2025-26 Salary:$900,000

2025-26 Expectations: For the past five seasons, Jones was a spare part with the New York Rangers, appearing in approximately half the season in Manhattan last year while being a healthy scratch for most of the other games. The Rangers cut him loose in the spring, and the Sabres swooped in and signed the 24-year-old to a one-year, two-way contract. 

Nothing has changed for Jones in that he’s coming into the season with no guarantee about playing time at the NHL level. The Sabres have other, more experienced hands to fill out their top-six defensemen spots, so unless Jones has a terrific pre-season and one of Buffalo’s aforementioned veteran blueliners is injured or an under-performer, Jones is going to see the inside of the press box more often than not.

Jones has shown some promise as an undersized blueliner who can pile up assists. In 2022-23, playing for the American League’s Hartford Wolf Pack, Jones generated 23 assists and 31 points in 54 games, and the season before that, he had 26 assists and 35 points in 52 games. Jones has 115 games of NHL experience to his credit, but he only put up 24 assists and 28 points in those games. So you can see why the Rangers chose not to qualify him contractually and part ways with him.

Sabres 2025-26 Player Expectations: Will Fourth-Liner Kozak Assert Himself As A Full-Time NHLer?Sabres 2025-26 Player Expectations: Will Fourth-Liner Kozak Assert Himself As A Full-Time NHLer?The NHL’s 2025-26 regular season is just about here, and on THN.com’s Buffalo Sabres site, we’re almost done with our player-by-player series in which we analyze expectations for each Buffalo player this coming season.

At 24, Jones’ NHL career is not likely to be at an end. Some team is going to give him a chance to contribute in hockey’s top league, and the question is whether that team is the Sabres, or whether Western New York is but a pit stop for Jones as he bounces to another team. Given that he’s earning less than a million dollars, Jones will fit in as a depth player in many markets, so Sabres GM Kevyn Adams could hear from other teams trying to add Jones to their mix as insurance on the back end.

But that fate won’t befall Jones sooner than later. Right now, he’s got to show he can do more than he did in Manhattan. And if he can’t do that, Jones will have a ticket to Buffalo’s AHL affiliate in Rochester, N.Y.. 

Sabres 2025-26 Player Expectations: Can First-Year Sabre Live Up To Expectations For His Star NHL Dad?Sabres 2025-26 Player Expectations: Can First-Year Sabre Live Up To Expectations For His Star NHL Dad?The NHL’s 2025-26 regular season is almost upon us, and here on THN.com’s Buffalo Sabres site, we’re close to the end of our player-by-player series in which we break down the expectations for every Sabres player during this coming season.

Jones could ultimately wind up being a tweener – too good for the AHL, and not good enough for the NHL – but he’s still got time to salvage his NHL career by being a good citizen in Buffalo and a solid influence on offense.

More patience may be what this player needs to solidify himself as a day-in, day-out NHLer. But the pressure is squarely on Jones to show he was worth Adams’ investment.  

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“Just Do My Best — Nothing More I Can Do”: Canucks’ Aatu Räty Discusses 2025 Off-Season And Working Towards Full-Time NHL Role

Aatu Räty forced the Vancouver Canucks’ hands last year. He performed so well during the Canucks’ 2024 Training Camp that he earned himself a spot on the roster on opening night, and ultimately turned that into an impressive 33-game season in which he scored seven goals and four assists. He managed to do so despite the Canucks already having four centres slotted into their lineup. 

This year looks like it may be different. 

Elias Pettersson, Filip Chytil, and Teddy Blueger look primed to fill their respective roles as first, second, and a bottom-six centre. While that final spot in the lineup could be anyone’s, many believe that position is now Räty’s to lose. It's an interesting twist from the position he held the year prior, but not something that he'll let take over his mind as the team enters the pre-season.

Räty's 2024-25 season was impressive, though he unfortunately wasn't able to build on this in AHL postseason play. The 22-year-old is currently coming off an unfortunate string of charley horse injuries that limited his Calder Cup Playoff stretch to only six games. 

“Even though we won, winning is hard,” Räty told The Hockey News on the final day of Canucks Training Camp. “There’s so many guys playing hurt, I got hurt too, but just the grind that it is. It’s a long time to be playing games or the opponent’s trying to hurt you every shift, and you’re trying to do the same thing. It’s just a battle but it’s so hard to win them, and so many guys from that team just absolutely banged up after, even injured or barely playing after that final game. So it definitely takes a toll to win those playoff games.” 

The injury bug may have caught him, but it hasn’t seemed to hinder his shot at a full-time NHL role. Pius Suter’s departure in free agency dropped the organization’s centre depth substantially, though the fact that the team didn’t make the move to remedy that works heavily in Räty’s favour. It indicates to both the players — and the fans — that their faith currently rests in the players already within the organization. 

With a roster spot in mind, Räty put himself to work during the off-season. 

“I was up and running almost right away,” he said of when he resumed his training. “I thought I had a good summer. And I think that injury also taught me a lot too.”

​​Latest From THN’s Vancouver Canucks Site: 

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The forward worked through a few things during the off-season to help further his case at a full-time roster spot. One of the things he picked out in particular was his skating, which Räty believes he has improved on since the end of the 2024–25 season. 

“I’m always trying to better everything in my game, but especially skating. I think that’s one thing that in today’s hockey you’ve just got to be good at. And I’m trying to feel like bit by bit, I’m getting better each and every day. So I think that improved this summer, and I’m excited to kind of get playing again and see how my speed is. But I think my skating definitely got better.” 

As it stands, Räty has the edge on some of the other younger centres in the Canucks organization based on his audition from the season before. Faceoffs were a notable positive from the forward’s 2024–25 season, during which he placed first on the team in faceoff win percentage of all of the Canucks’ active natural centres with 57.36%. All signs should point to Räty — but at the end of the day, the forward knows the decision is up to management. 

“Just do my best — nothing more I can do. I think I’ve worked hard for so long. I think I do my best every skate, so that’s all I can do, and just see if that’s enough.” 

Apr 8, 2025; Dallas, Texas, USA; Vancouver Canucks center Aatu Raty (54) celebrates a goal scored by defenseman Victor Mancini (not pictured) against the Dallas Stars during the third period at the American Airlines Center. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-Imagn Images

Make sure you bookmark THN's Vancouver Canucks site and add us to your favourites on Google News for the latest news, exclusive interviews, breakdowns, and so much more. Also, don't forget to leave a comment at the bottom of the page and engage with other passionate fans through our forum. This article originally appeared on The Hockey News.

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Fan gives back Mike Trout's 400th career home run ball, but not before getting to do something cool

DENVER, COLORADO - SEPTEMBER 20: Mike Trout #27 of the Los Angeles Angels hits his 400th career home run against the Colorado Rockies in the eighth inning at Coors Field on September 20, 2025 in Denver, Colorado. (Photo by Matthew Stockman/Getty Images)
Angels star Mike Trout hits his 400th career home run against the Colorado Rockies at Coors Field on Saturday. (Matthew Stockman/Getty Images)

Many people have a fond memory of playing catch with someone special — a parent, a grandparent, a sibling, a lifelong friend.

A fan who sat 485 feet from home plate at Coors Field on Saturday probably never dreamed he'd be doing so with a future Hall of Famer.

But thanks to his quick thinking, the fan, whose first name reportedly is Alberto, boldly asked Mike Trout for the favor after the Angels defeated the Colorado Rockies 3-0.

What a cool request! Trout had already agreed to give Alberto — who attended the game with his wife and two children — three signed bats and two signed baseballs in exchange for the ball he crushed.

While Trout signed the balls and bats in the dugout long after the game had ended, Alberto politely asked him while making a throwing motion with his right arm, "You mind if we play catch with a ball on the field?" the three-time American League Most Valuable Player didn't hesitate, saying, "Yeah, you want to do it?" Alberto grabbed his glove.

A post on the MLB.com X account shows Alberto tossing the ball back and forth to Trout, who catches it with his bare hands while wearing his cap backward. At one point, Trout says something to Alberto's young son, who is watching in awe.

And no wonder. Shortly before Trout hit No. 400, Alberto told Trout he'd turned to his son and said, "He's got a lot of power." No kidding, enough to drive the ball deep into the left-center field stands. Alberto caught the blast with his bare hands.

It was Trout's third home run of at least 485 feet since Statcast began tracking long balls in 2015, the most of any player. The 34-year old outfielder in his 15th season became the 59th MLB player to reach 400 homers and the 20th to hit them all with one franchise.

The No. 400 ball clearly had more monetary value than the signed balls and bats, but nowhere near the value of a career 500 home run ball or, say, the home run the Dodgers' Freddie Freeman hit to win Game 1 of the 2024 World Series — which was sold at auction for $1.56 million.

Read more:Shaikin: Mike Trout hit his 400th career home run. Here's an appreciation, not a lament

The home run was meaningful to Trout, who admitted to feeling pressure as he approached the milestone. It was only his second long ball since Aug. 7.

He also recognized that catching the ball and returning it to the player who belted it was meaningful to Alberto, who likely has already done what dads do — play catch with his children.

"Once they get older and realize, that'll be an awesome memory for the dad to tell the kids, to experience that," Trout told reporters. "I know how I felt when I went to a ballgame with my dad."

Read more:Kid makes family more than $1 million after Freddie Freeman grand slam ball he caught sells

Get the best, most interesting and strangest stories of the day from the L.A. sports scene and beyond from our newsletter The Sports Report.

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.

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Sean Manaea struggles as starter, Mets' offense quiet in 3-2 loss to Nationals

The Mets lost 3-2 to the Washington Nationals on Sunday at Citi Field, and in doing so, also lost the series 2-1 against a team with a record of 64-92, the second-worst in the National League.

On Sunday the Mets fell behind 3-0 in the second inning and couldn’t put together a comeback against the pitching staff with a 5.33 ERA, the second-worst in the majors.

Here are the takeaways...

-- The blame for the loss has to fall mainly on the offense, but maybe the Mets should have stayed with what worked last time regarding their piggybacking plan.

They flip-flopped Sean Manaea and Clay Holmes, opting to start Manaea because of the Nationals’ lefty hitters at the top of the lineup, and it backfired. The left-hander gave up three runs in the second inning, two on light-hitting Nasim Nuñez’s home run to left field.

Overall Manaea didn’t look sharp, and Carlos Mendoza was quick to pull him with no outs in the fourth when Robert Hassell reached on Pete Alonso’s error at 1B. For the day, Manaea threw only 50 pitches, allowing four hits and no walks, while striking out three.

It had to be disappointing for the Mets because Manaea had given reason to believe he’d turned a corner of sorts, pitching well after his talk in the tunnel two starts ago with Mendoza.

Holmes did pitch well as the back half of the piggyback plan, throwing 3 2/3 scoreless innings.

-- There was plenty of reason to think the Mets’ offense would have a big day. Starter Jake Irvin has been one of the worst pitchers in baseball in recent weeks, at least statistically. In his seven previous starts before Sunday he had a 9.36 ERA, having given up 34 earned runs. He also had a road ERA for the season of 6.15.

And though Irvin had pitched well against the Mets in D.C., he was 0-2 with a 5.40 ERA at Citi Field. Yet the Mets managed only two runs against the right-hander in 5 1/3 innings.

Even so, the Nationals needed 11 outs from their bullpen, which started the day with worst bullpen ERA in the majors, at 5.60.

-- The Mets made all sorts of mistakes early that contributed to falling behind.

In the first inning, Juan Soto was picked off first as he tried to get an early running start on a steal attempt. In the second, Francisco Lindor made a bad throw that contributed to the Nationals’ three-run rally.

In the third, lack of awareness on the bases by Cedric Mullins proved costly. With Luis Torrens on second, Mullins’ fly ball down the line at first appeared to be caught by left fielder Daylen Lile going into the wall, but the ball fell out of his glove as he hit the ground. The ball was in plain sight on the ground, as Lile writhed in pain from a knee injury, and Torrens came around to score.

However, Mullins stood near first base, seemingly thinking the ball had been caught, even while watching Torrens score. He only ran to second when teammates yelled at him from the dugout, and by then umpires he called timeout due to Lile’s injury. Had he kept running he would have been allowed to stay at second, and that proved costly when he was doubled off first base on Lindor’s line drive to Josh Bell. It looked worse when Soto followed with a double to the right field corner.

In addition, Alonso made an error on a routine ground ball in the fourth inning, and though it didn’t cost the Mets a run, it continued their trend in recent days of playing sloppy baseball.

Game MVP: Nasim Nuñez

The Nationals’ backup shortstop came into the game hitting .185 with two career home runs in 151 plate appearances, but he hammered a fastball from Manaea over the left field wall for an early 3-0 lead that stood up.

Highlights

What's next

The Mets head to Chicago for a crucial three-game series with the Cubs on Tuesday at 7:40 p.m. on SNY.

David Peterson (9-6, 3.98 ERA) is scheduled to start against Cade Horton (11-4, 2.66 ERA).

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Mets prospects Jett Williams, Ryan Clifford, Carson Benge all homer in season finale for Triple-A Syracuse

Ending the season on a high note, Mets prospects Jett Williams, Ryan Clifford, and Carson Benge all homered for Triple-A Syracuse (77-73) on Sunday in a 9-0 win over the Lehigh Valley IronPigs.

Williams blasted his seventh home run at the Triple-A level in the top of the third inning, giving Syracuse a 2-0 lead. 

Joining in on the fun, Clifford and Benge went back-to-back in the top of the sixth inning to go up 5-0. Luke Ritter and Kevin Parada also homered in the win. 

Williams, the No. 1 prospect in SNY's midseason rankings, finished his 2025 with a total of 17 homers, 10 coming in Double-A.

He slashed .281/.390/.477 with 29 doubles, five triples, and 37 RBI over 94 games in Double-A, earning a promotion in the middle of August. In addition to the seven homers in 34 games with Syracuse, Williams also recorded five doubles and two triples with 15 RBI. He hit .209 with a .718 OPS in Triple-A.

Clifford, SNY's No. 6 prospect, ends his 2025 season with 29 total home runs, 24 of them coming in Double-A, and 93 total RBI. He made the jump from Double-A to Triple-A at the same time as Williams and Benge after posting an .848 OPS with Binghamton. 

Benge, viewed as the No. 3 prospect, racked up 15 home runs in his first full professional season across all three levels of the minor leagues. He dominated Single-A with a .302 average over 60 games and was quickly promoted to Double-A at the end of June. The 22-year-old kept it going with a .317 average over 32 games with Binghamton before his August promotion to Triple-A.

Tyrone Taylor, playing in his second rehab game with Syracuse while recovering from a hamstring strain, went 1-for-5 with an RBI-single in the seventh inning. Carlos Mendoza said prior to Sunday's game against the Washington Nationals that the team would make a decision on the next steps for Taylor after he played.

Highlights

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(9-21-25) Wild Vs. Jets: Game Preview

The Minnesota Wild (0-0-0) is set to play its first preseason game of the year against the Winnipeg Jets (0-0-0) on the road today in Winnipeg for a 4:00 start.

Minnesota will start Jesper Wallstedt in net against the Jets today and he will play the whole game. It will be Thomas Milic in net for the Jets.

The Wild will bring PTO players Jack Johnson and Brett Leason to Winnipeg to play. Danila Yurov will also make his Wild preseason debut today. He will center Yakov Trenin and Vinnie Hinostroza.

David Jiricek will also play today. Winnipeg native and prospect who is hungry for an NHL spot out of camp Carson Lambos will also play today. He will play on a pair with Zach Bogosian.

Newly signed players in Nicolas Aube-Kubel,Tyler Pitlick and Matt Kiersted will all play as well.

For action-packed issues, access to the entire magazine archive and a free issue, subscribe to The Hockey News at THN.com/free. Get the latest news and trending stories by subscribing to our newsletter here. And share your thoughts by commenting below the article on THN.com.

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Phillies end 6-game road trip with 9-2 loss to Diamondbacks

Phillies end 6-game road trip with 9-2 loss to Diamondbacks originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia

PHOENIX – Small ball, long ball, ugly ball. It was all there early in the series finale between the Phillies and Arizona. Philadelphia supplied the ugly, the Diamondbacks the rest as they cruised to a 9-2 win.

Arizona, which had 15 hits on the day, batted around in the second inning, when they scored five runs off starter Ranger Suárez. They loaded the bases to begin the inning without a ball leaving the infield. Tim Tawa hit a chopper to third that Alec Bohm bobbled and threw late for an MLB single. Jordan Lawler walked and Jorge Barrossa laid down a perfect bunt. Katel Marte’s single scored two before Corbin Carroll launched a rocket to the rightfield seats for his 31st home run of the season and a 6-0 lead.

“They made me pay for all the pitches that I left in the zone,” Suárez said. “Ending the season healthy. There’s one more start before the post season so I just want to pitch as well and end the season on a high note. Pitch better, think a little bit better when I’m on the mound and just perform a little bit better.

“That’s what we work for (the playoffs),” said Suárez. “That’s why we have such a long season ahead of us every single year to get to October and perform in the postseason. It is exciting. We want to perform in the playoffs. I think we’ve lacked a little bit the past couple of years. We all want to perform there. That’s what it’s all about. We want to get it done this year.”

If Suárez needed to get an ugly performance out of his system before the playoffs begin, this one was it as he gave up six runs and eight hits in the first two innings alone. He was done after four innings and 79 pitches.

“He had a 33-pitch second inning, basically is at 80 pitches after the four,” said Rob Thomson of removing his starter. “Down 6-0, I just wanted to take care of him. They’ve got a lot of speed and other than Carroll’s home run, I don’t think they hit many balls that were hard off of Ranger. They’ve got a lot of speed.”

There was little excitement provided by the Phillies – perhaps the Eagles used it all up – as they could do nothing of significance against Arizona lefty starter Eduardo Rodriguez, who allowed no runs in his six innings. They did score two in the eighth on a single by Nick Castellanos that drove in J.T. Realmuto, and a bases loaded walk by Weston Wilson. Third baseman Alec Bohm remained hot since his return from the injured list on Friday, as he was on base five times with a double, three singles and a walk.

“He’s been great,” Thomson said. “I’ll probably have to move him up. He’s on everything. Maybe that healthy shoulder is really helping. He’s swinging the bat good. We had plenty of opportunities today. I think we were 1-for-14 (with runners on). Casty had the base hit. We had plenty of opportunities we just didn’t come through.”

There were some signs of a pulse in the sixth when pitcher Tim Mayza plunked leadoff hitter Katel Marte after Jorge Barrosa hit his first major league home run and celebrated circling the bases a bit too much, but nothing came of it. Later in the inning, Carroll stole second base for his 30th swipe of the season, becoming the first player in Arizona history to have 30 homers and 30 stolen bases.

The Diamondbacks got another run in the seventh when Tim Tawa belted a 2-2 slider from Orion Kerkering to the seats in leftfield. Kerkering gave up two more hits in the inning but got out without any more damage. They closed out their scoring by getting a run in the eighth off Jhoan Duran, who was simply getting in some work having not pitched since Tuesday.

“I talked to Duran and I said, ‘If you don’t pitch today, you’re going to be off six days going into Tuesday. Do you want an inning?’ And he said yes. So that’s why we pitched him in the eighth. I asked the same thing to David (Robertson) and he said, ‘Not necessarily.”

The Phillies have an off-day Monday before facing the Miami Marlins on Tuesday to start a three-game series. Cristopher Sánchez will get what could be his last start of the regular season as he prepares to be the Game One starter for the Phillies when they begin the playoffs.

Though his performance may not have showed it Sunday, Suárez is ready for the postseason.

“I feel better overall, if you want to compare it to last year (at this time),” Suárez said. “I’ve been feeling better overall after every single start. Whatever is best for our team to win, (starting) Game Two, Game Three, Game Four. I’m willing to do whatever it takes to help this team win.”