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The Royals obviously had a very rough month of April, finishing 12-19. They’re still only 3.5 games back of their division leader, though, so if April showers bring May Flowers and the Royals’ talent that many expected would carry them to a competitive season started blossoming, now would be a great time for that to start. Believe it or not, it was a road trip to Seattle at the start of July last year that got them going on their significantly improved second half. They lost the first game on April 30, but won two of the next three in Seattle to split the series before going 15-9 in July. Now, this isn’t July, but it is a road trip to Seattle. So let’s do some positive thinking.

Cole Ragans gets the start in this one for the Royals, and he had one of his most impressive starts ever his last time out, striking out 11 and walking none in a win over the Angels. Now the Angels are a worse team than the Mariners, and they have a worse run differential, but they’ve scored more runs than their Pacific Northwest rivals. So it’s not out of the realm of possibility that he could somewhat duplicate his efforts. Though, like most of his teammates, he’s been significantly worse on the road than at home this year. But maybe that’s just because he still wasn’t completely right in Detroit and New York after getting hit by a comebacker in Cleveland.

He has started against Cleveland twice in his career, once was a 6-inning, 9-strikeout performance in 2024, and the other was during his return-to-the-big-leagues party late last season. That was his first game back from the IL, and he struck out 4 and walked 2 in a 3.2-inning start against Seattle’s finest.

The Mariners will send out Bryan Woo. Woo was one of the 20 best starters in MLB last year, but he seems to have forgotten how to strike people out this year. He’s also giving up a lot more contact in the air and not stranding as many runners. He’s as vulnerable as he’s ever been, meaning that both he and the Royals offense are looking at this like a get-right opportunity.

Lineups

The bottom of the Mariners’ order is unlikely to scare anyone, but that could be said about practically the entire Royals lineup, I guess.

Vinnie Pasquantino makes his return to the lineup after missing the last two games with back tightness. He was taking some really good at-bats before he left Tuesday night’s game, so hopefully he’ll be able to continue that. Jac Caglianone has been promoted above both Isaac Collins and Michael Massey for the night. It might be really fun to watch him and Carter Jensen batting back-to-back, especially if they take some better at-bats than they did in the Athletics series.

Don’t forget that tonight’s game is an Apple.TV Friday Night game, so you won’t be able to watch it without a subscription. There are tons of free trial offers out there, so pick one and then cancel it after the game. But while it’s active, I recommend you give Ted Lasso, Shrinking, Schmigadoon, Slow Horses, and/or The Silo a try. I promise no one is paying me to say that, it really does have a lot of high-quality TV shows!

ANAHEIM, Calif. — A.J. Minter returned to Queens during the Mets’ last homestand to work out in front of team officials. The next time his teammates see him, he is expected to be an active player. 

The lefty reliever’s minor league rehab assignment is set to expire Thursday, so Minter will join the team on this road trip no later than the series that begins in Arizona next Friday, barring a physical setback. 

Minter, who is rehabbing from surgery to repair a lat tear, was scheduled to pitch Friday for Triple-A Syracuse and may then be utilized pitching twice in three days as the final test before his return. 

The Mets will welcome that presence to a unit that has underperformed lately.

Most notably, Luke Weaver and Devin Williams — the team’s two biggest offseason relief acquisitions — have struggled in big spots. 

Minter arrived before last season on a two-year contract worth $22 million, but appeared in only 13 games before tearing the lat. His velocity has sat in the low 90s in his rehab outings. 

“I feel for the guys here and I want to do my part, whatever that role may be,” Minter said during his visit to Citi Field. “I am confident with myself and know I can get big league hitters out. I just might have to pitch a little bit more rather than throw 97 down the middle and get swings and misses.

“I am confident I can help this team.” 

Infielder Andy Ibanez reported to the Mets and was activated Friday. Eric Wagaman was optioned to Syracuse. Ibanez was claimed off waivers from the Athletics. 

Juan Soto had reached base in 16 straight games entering play. It was his longest streak reaching base to begin the season in his career. 

WASHINGTON — Jacob Misiorowski did not realize he had a no-hitter intact. Only that he was finding his groove against the Washington Nationals − just as his right hamstring began to grab in the sixth inning.

Misiorowski, perhaps the premium fireballer in this era of unprecedented velocity in Major League Baseball, exited his Friday, May 1 start at Nationals Park with a right hamstring cramp, a malady the Milwaukee Brewers hope is just a mild detour during what's shaping up to be a special season.

Misiorowski struck out eight Nationals in 5⅓ shutout innings of their 6-1 victory, a night that took a very dark turn for Brewers fans when The Miz paused his dominant outing and motioned for head athletic trainer Brad Epstein to come to the mound.

Misiorowski had just struck out the last four batters − needing only 11 pitches to punch out the side in the fifth − and was sitting on a reasonable 85 pitches when he was removed. His season high was 101 pitches, so a solo no-hitter was possibly out of the question at that point.

So a night that was undeniably dominant teetered on a spectrum between historic and disastrous for Milwaukee. And in the end, the diagnosis felt like a sigh of relief.

#Brewers Jacob Misiorowski threw this pitch (slowest of the night at 98.9 mph)

He then called for the trainer and left the game with an injury pic.twitter.com/jyH0njOzhp

— Mike Kurland (@Mike_Kurland) May 2, 2026

"We feel pretty good about it," said Brewers manager Pat Murphy, who lost starter Brandon Woodruff to the injured list with shoulder inflammation earlier Friday. "We’re not going to test it right now, because we’re afraid he might cramp again. We’re very hopeful. He feels good about it. Hopefully that’s all it was.

"If it’s more than that? We’ve had a few of those the last few days."

Misiorowski, who leads the major leagues in strikeouts (59 in 38 innings), strikeout percentage (37.2%) and whiff percentage (39.5%), had just elicited a swinging strike from Nationals leadoff batter James Wood on a 98.9 mph fastball when Epstein and Murphy visited the mound.

After conferring, Misiorowski was removed from the game and replaced by Aaron Ashby, who an inning earlier knew a no-hitter was brewing, yet had forgotten amid the rush to enter the game.

Misiorowski did not learn he'd just departed a no-hit bid until he was receiving treatment in the training room and heard mention of it on the broadcast.

Ashby retired the final two batters in the sixth, but Daylen Lile broke up the combined no-hitter with a one-out double in the bottom of the seventh.

Ready for a brand new month and a brand new series? The team finished the month of April with a 17-14 record, and now thankfully the A’s don’t have to go anywhere as they swap out their opponents from the Royals to the Guardians, their second straight AL Central to visit Sacramento. Old friend Stephen Vogt has lead his squad to an even 16-16 record, which is good enough for a tie in their division. Should be a competitive series between two teams in first place. Three games this weekend, let’s go for the win.

Kicking things off for the good guys tonight will be right-hander J.T. Ginn. Since joining the rotation the 26-year-old has done nothing but impress as he’s solidified the backend of the rotation. In four starts this year Ginn has a 2.50 ERA. The strikeouts (15) could be higher but he’s also not hurting himself with free passes (7). He’ll hope to keep up his hot streak this evening against a Guardians lineup that as a team is in the bottom third in most statistical categories across the league. An excellent matchup for Ginn as long as he’s careful pitching to Cleveland leader Jose Ramirez.

The Athletics’ lineup for the first game of this weekend series looks like this:

The team is surprisingly with catcher Shea Langeliers tonight, though he remains on baby watch as his wife should be due any minute now. If he leaves mid-game, now you know why.

He’ll be slotted between leadoff man Jacob Wilson and the big stick in Nick Kurtz, with Brent Rooker back in the lineup in his usual DH spot. This is more of the type of the top of the order that fans envisioned coming into the season.

Elsewhere in the A’s starting lineup Darell Hernaiz draws another start at the hot corner and also remains in the five-hole after his three-hit performance yesterday. The team also welcomes back left fielder Tyler Soderstrom after a two-game absence due to what the team called “whiplash”. Whatever it was it’s good to get his left-handed bat back in the order.

Colby Thomas remains in the lineup in right field, and Zack Gelof is in there as well but lining up in center field instead of second base, which will be handled by Jeff McNeil after his off day yesterday. One noticable name missing from the batting order this evening is Carlos Cortes, who finished the month of April with a .400 batting average. But with a southpaw on the opposing mound, tonight was as good as any to get the rookie outfielder a breather.

Speaking of lefties. That lineup will be facing Cleveland left-hander Joey Cantillo. The former 16th-round pick worked in both a starter’s role and a relief capacity last year to excellent results but has been a full-time member of the starting rotation this year. He’s taken well to his permanent transition to starting as he’ll bring a 2.97 ERA over six starts into tonight’s contest. This will be the first time that he’s ever faced the A’s so it’ll be a new experience for everyone on both sides of the ball in this one.

Cleveland’s starting nine shakes out like this:

The big name is obviously Ramirez, but we will also be getting our first close look at top prospect Travis Bazzana, who just got The Call to the big leagues a few days ago. If you’ll remember, the A’s had a big chance to get the first overall pick in the 2024 Draft but got stuck with the fourth overall pick instead. That pick? Your reigning AL ROTY Nick Kurtz. I’d say things worked out as well as hoped for the A’s, but now the first overall pick is in The Show and he’ll be facing Kurtz for the first time tonight. These two players’ futures will be compared to each other for a long, long time.

One hour to go until first pitch. Who’s ready for a Friday night win? Let’s go A’s!

Just an hour after Mariners GM Justin Hollander gave his weekly injury update saying the team hadn’t made a determination about a Matt Brash IL stint, the Mariners announced they have placed Brash on the 15-day IL with right lat inflammation.

The injury designation isn’t entirely a surprise, despite Hollander’s optimism regarding the injury itself – and sure, a lat is preferable to an oblique injury, something the Mariners have seen enough of already, and certainly preferable to a shoulder or elbow injury. It’s early in the season and the Mariners are being hyper-vigilant about protecting their setup man, who missed all of 2024 and time in 2025 rehabbing from Tommy John surgery.

The bigger surprise is in who the Mariners are replacing Brash with. Many suspected the Mariners would turn to RHP Yosver Zulueta, who they acquired this off-season from the Reds in a minor-league swap. Zulueta has big stuff, a traditional fastball-slider reliever who has already racked up 14 strikeouts in 10 games at Tacoma. He also has the attendant command issues that caused me to label him “Carlos Vargas 2.0” this spring. Still, Zulueta seemed like the next logical choice after the Mariners had already pulled on their depth at Tacoma, selecting both Cole Wilcox and Alex Hoppe, both of whom saw similar amounts of time with the big-league club this spring as Zulueta.

But the Mariners instead opted to recall lefty Josh Simpson, acquired from the Marlins for cash considerations this spring. Simpson has less-loud stuff but similar strikeout numbers in Tacoma: 12 Ks in 9.1 innings. He also has similar command issues to Zulueta, although coming from the left side this time. The difference between the two, other than handedness: Simpson has about ten more big-league games under his belt, and has spent more consecutive time in the bigs than Zulueta, whose experience is sprinkled across two seasons. Simpson also has some shinier ERA numbers than Zulueta, and the best WHIP among Tacoma’s remaining relievers.

Chicago White Sox (14-17) at San Diego Padres (19-11), May 1, 2026, 6:40 p.m. PST

Watch: Padres.TV

Location: Petco Park – San Diego, Calif.

Listen: 97.3 The Fan

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Mets lineup

Bo Bichette – 3B
Juan Soto – LF
MJ Melendez – DH
Francisco Alvarez – C
Brett Baty – 1B
Marcus Semien – 2B
Carson Benge – RF
Tyrone Taylor – CF
Ronny Mauricio – SS

SP: Christian Scott – RHP

Angels lineup

Zach Neto – SS
Mike Trout – CF
Yoan Moncada – 3B
Jorge Soler – DH
Nolan Schanuel – 1B
Jo Adell – RF
Josh Lowe – LF
Travis d’Arnaud – C
Adam Frazier – 2B

SP: Walbert Urena – RHP

Broadcast info

First pitch: 9:38 PM ET
TV: WPIX
Radio: Audacy Mets Radio WHSQ 880AM, Audacy App, 92.3 HD2

Mets manager Carlos Mendoza spoke ahead of Friday's series opener against the Angels to give updates on certain players...

Latest on Jorge Polanco

Entering the season, Polanco was pegged as the one who would start at first base most games, but that hasn't been the case for some time and now the team is waiting for his return after he went on the IL with a right wrist contusion back in mid-April.

Mendoza offered up some positive news on Polanco as he prepares to return. 

"Going to take batting practice today," Mendoza said. "Going to take some groundballs at him. That’s a good step now that he can get on the field and start that progression."

Polanco has only appeared in 14 games this season and is slashing .179/.246/.286 with an OPS of .532 to go along with his one home run. 

In his stead, the Mets have started Mark Vientos and Brett Baty at first base, and Jared Young before he landed on the IL. 

Andy Ibáñez and AJ Minter

Mendoza was asked about Ibáñez's role on the team after the team called him up to the big league club ahead of Friday's game -- the Mets optioned Eric Wagaman in the corresponding move.

"[Going to use him] Against lefties," Mendoza said of Ibáñez. "He’s done that throughout his career. Can play third base, go to short, second base if I want to give Marcus [Semien] a day. Come off the bench against lefties. He’s going to help us."

The Mets claimed Ibáñez off waivers from the Athletics this week and the right-hander has only appeared in 11 games this season, going 2-for-17 (.118) with three RBI.

In his six-year career, Ibáñez has a career batting average of .252 and an OPS of .688 across 431 games.

As for Minter, the southpaw pitched an inning for Triple-A Syracuse on Friday night. He allowed an unearned run on one hit in an otherwise clean inning. It's Minter's third appearance in Syracuse and seventh minor league outing overall as he continues his rehab from left lat surgery.

Mendoza said it's good news that he hadn't heard anything from the trainers after Minter's night ended. Minter's next step is to pitch Sunday to test if he can pitch two out of three days and then the Mets will decide what's next from there.

Juan Soto back in the outfield

Soto is starting Friday's game in left field, the first time the slugger has played the outfield since returning from the IL on April 22. Soto has been strictly a DH and Mendoza mapped out what the initial plan for his star is on this road trip.

"We’re not going to go back-to-back in the outfield," Mendoza said. "Workload and things like that ... going to go to Colorado. So maybe a game here, DH the next two, there’s a day game on Sunday. Just day-to-day. But the fact that he’s good to go now from the throwing perspective, he’s in there and we’ll continue to manage that."

Soto went on the IL for a calf strain, but has not played the field because of forearm soreness. Mendoza said that Soto is "good to go" on that front, but the Mets are taking it easy with Soto.

One reason for that is to keep Soto's bat in the lineup. Since he's returned from the lineup, all Soto has done is mash.

He's 9-for-27 since returning to the team, but he's 7-for-14 with two home runs, two doubles and three RBI over his past four games.

"Pretty locked in," Mendoza said of Soto's at-bats. "Talking to someone, when you see him driving the baseball the other way, the way he's been doing it as of late. Keeping balls fair, left field, left center, pulling the ball, staying up the middle, taking his walks. Pretty impressive. Doesn’t matter if it’s a lefty or a righty, he’s just locked in and that's why he's one of the best hitters in the game."

Mets manager Carlos Mendoza spoke with president of baseball operations David Stearns on the morning of Friday's game at the Los Angeles Angels, he said before the 9:38 p.m. series opener in Anaheim, Calif. Mendoza was asked about a report earlier Friday from MLB.com's Anthony DiComo, who cited an interview with Stearns in which Stearns said that the Mets "don't intend to make a change" at manager.

Mendoza did not go into details of the conversation during Friday's pregame media availability but said that he "understands the situation." The Mets enter a nine-game road trip -- starting with a three-game set at the 12-20 Angels -- with an MLB-worst 10-21 record.

"We all understand the situation," Mendoza said. "It's good to have that conversation with him. But at the end of the day, we have a job and we have a responsibility. Since Day 1, since I've been in this job, I feel the support from (owner) Steven (Cohen), Alex (Cohen) and David. I love working for them. We have a really good working relationship here. But it's about the results on the field as well.

"Steve is not happy. Alex is not happy. David is not happy. I'm not happy. All of us are frustrated. Together, we've got to find a way to get these guys out of this funk. And that's what we'll continue to do. I'm pretty confident in our coaches, our players, that this will turn."

Mendoza added that he and Stearns "have conversations all the time."

"I think it was just organically and it happened today," Mendoza said.

The Mets hired Stearns and Mendoza before the 2024 season. New York went 89-73 and reached the NLCS in 2024 before going 83-79 and missing the playoffs in 2025.

"Me and my family understand what comes with this job -- from the very beginning," said Mendoza, who was the Yankees' bench coach from 2018-23. "I'm grateful for the support that I have from my family, but look -- we understand it's a business. We just got to continue to show up and I've got to do my job, and that's to get the best out of these guys."

Stearns told DiComo that the Mets "don't view this as a manager problem," and Mendoza did not point out that sentiment when asked about it in his pregame media availability.

"We are all in this together," he said. "This is not a one specific area. We lose together. We win together. And that's how we will continue to do this. But I'm not going to sit here and say, 'Well, this is the reason why.' No. We're all responsible, and it starts with me."

The Mets started 7-4. They have lost 17 of their past 20 games.

"It's a professional clubhouse, right?" Mendoza said. "A lot of guys are established in this league, and they know the situation. So, they know where we're at as a team and they know that, together, we've got to go out and do it.

"So, pressure's especially in New York. When there's high expectations and you're not playing the way you're capable of, or you're not meeting those expectations, situations like this will come up. But, again, that's a lot of superstars there in that locker room that they understand. But the messaging is the same from them as well -- we're in this together."