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NEW YORK — The dreams of Mets fans were supposed to come true on Friday night. When Max Scherzer signed a three-year, $130 million contract with New York, the wild-card series opener was the type of game Mets fans imagined the future Hall of Famer would dominate, an important moment setting the tone for a team ahead of a playoff run.

Instead, those fantasies were shattered as Scherzer unraveled in his start against the San Diego Padres, allowing seven earned runs on seven hits — including giving up a career-high four home runs — while striking out just four batters in 4⅔ innings in a 7-1 loss by New York.

Hours after Scherzer left the Citi Field mound, the moments of struggle played on a loop in his head.

“This is going to be a late night for me,” Scherzer said.

The damage started in the first inning when Padres designated hitter Josh Bell slugged a 419-foot opposite-field home run that scored Jurickson Profar. Outfielder Trent Grisham added on in the second inning, hitting a home run to right field to extend the Padres’ lead to 3-0. But the final straw for Scherzer’s evening came in the fifth, when Profar hit a home run to right field, scoring Ha-Seong Kim and Austin Nola, followed by a Manny Machado solo blast to left-center field, sending the Mets starter off to a chorus of boos from the 41,621 fans at Citi Field.

The Mets — who won 101 games in the regular season, led the division for 174 days but ended up as a wild-card team — now face elimination on Saturday with the Padres sending former Cy Young award winner Blake Snell to the mound.

“We ended up with the same record as somebody else in our division, and we’re getting an opportunity now,” Mets manager Buck Showalter said. “We’ll get one tomorrow to right the ship.”

Scherzer uncharacteristically struggled with his command throughout Friday’s outing; the seven earned runs were the most allowed by Scherzer in a postseason outing, his previous high coming in a 2011 ALCS loss while a member of the Detroit Tigers.

After examining video from his start, Scherzer said his fastball did not have the same movement that it typically does, sinking instead of rising.

“I wasn’t able to command that fastball the way I usually can,” Scherzer said. “That’s my bread and butter to be able to set up everything else. When my fastball’s flat and then running, that’s usually when I get hit a lot. Obviously, tonight I got hit a lot.”

It was the second straight disappointing start from Scherzer; he previously allowed four runs on two home runs and nine hits in 5⅔ innings pitched against the Atlanta Braves in a crucial start that led to New York falling out of contention for the division title.

Scherzer previously made two stints on the injured list, once in May with an oblique strain and a second in September with left side fatigue. When asked if injury played a role in his recent struggles, Scherzer said they did not factor into his performance.

“I had a feel for what was going on in the Atlanta start,” Scherzer said. “I thought I made the adjustment to get me right. Tonight, I don’t know why the fastball ran. I don’t know why I didn’t have my good fastball, the way I can usually pitch and locate.”

The performance contrasted dramatically with the performance from Padres starter Yu Darvish, who dominated the Mets lineup throughout the game, allowing just one run on six hits in seven innings.

“Obviously Max, with the expectations that he has for himself and what he’s done for us and throughout baseball, but Darvish is on top of his game and we knew that was going to be a challenge,” Showalter said. “He’s just got so many things you have to defend.”

That Darvish was on top of his game meant the Mets needed Scherzer to match the Padres ace. Instead, he fell way short.

“Baseball can take you to the highest of highs and the lowest of lows,” Scherzer said. “This is one of the lowest of lows.”

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Rookie Langford notches majors’ 1st cycle of ’24

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Rookie Langford notches majors' 1st cycle of '24

BALTIMORE — Texas Rangers rookie Wyatt Langford hit for the cycle in Sunday night’s 11-2 win against the Orioles, completing the feat with a three-run homer down the left-field line in the eighth inning.

It was the first career four-hit game for Langford, who was drafted last year by the Rangers with the No. 4 overall pick and made a swift rise to the majors to make Texas’ Opening Day roster this season.

It was the first cycle in the major leagues in 2024.

Langford tripled in the fourth, doubled in the fifth and singled in the sixth.

At 22 years, 229 days old, Langford is the youngest player in Rangers history to hit for the cycle. He’s the 15th rookie to hit for the cycle since Major League Baseball established an official definition of rookie status in 1958.

The only other rookie in Rangers history to hit for the cycle was Oddibe McDowell, in 1985 against Cleveland. He recorded his in his 59th career game; Langford had his in his 60th career game.

Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.

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MLB unveils changes to HR Derby rules, format

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MLB unveils changes to HR Derby rules, format

BALTIMORE — The rules for the 2024 Home Run Derby have been altered significantly, with some of the changes designed to reduce the frantic pace that has concerned past participants.

Within each player’s timed round, the hitter will see a maximum of 40 pitches — similar to how there is a maximum number of basketballs shot in the NBA 3-point contest. This will place a greater premium on efficiency between the batting practice pitchers and the hitters.

Since the Derby moved to a timed format in 2015, the rounds of swings have often shifted into a race of the hitter and pitcher trying to get through as many swings as possible. In last year’s Derby, all of the participants averaged more than 43 swings per round.

Some past participants have spoken about how exhausting the event has become, and have privately fretted about what they perceive to be a heightened risk for injury because of the accelerated pace, which is not typical for hitters taking batting practice.

The hitters will have three minutes in each of the first two rounds, and two minutes in the championship round.

Also, the bonus time for each hitter will no longer be clocked. Instead, the hitter will continue until he’s made three outs — a swing that generates a result other than a home run. A fourth out can be earned with a 425-foot home run in the bonus time. This change will allow for an unlimited number of home runs in the bonus period, meaning that a hitter who is behind will always have a chance to make up a deficit.

Additionally, the first round will no longer be a head-to-head bracket. Instead, the top four first-round scores from the eight hitters will advance to the semifinal bracket, with ties broken by the longest home run in the first round.

Toronto‘s Vladimir Guerrero Jr. won the 2023 Home Run Derby in Seattle. He and his father are the first father-son duo to win the Derby, which is typically among the highest-rated MLB events every year.

Baltimore Orioles shortstop Gunnar Henderson became the first player to publicly commit to participating in the 2024 Home Run Derby at Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas, on July 15, making the announcement himself during Sunday Night Baseball. Henderson is among the MLB home run leaders with 26.

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NHL draft grades: Why the Sharks, Utah Hockey Club each get an A+

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NHL draft grades: Why the Sharks, Utah Hockey Club each get an A+

The 2024 NHL draft was a spectacle in every sense of the word. Count me among those who wouldn’t mind seeing the event held at Sphere going forward. I understand wanting to spread league events around, but when you hit a grand slam like the NHL did here, don’t mess with what works.

In terms of the selection process itself, some teams had fantastic drafts, extracting value with each selection, while other teams left value on the table with the talent available.

When considering a grade for each team, the totality of their work was considered: quality of players drafted, selection value and value derived from trades. Here’s our grade for every front office, with insights on particular high-value picks and trades (as well as questionable ones).

Jump to a team:
ANA | BOS | BUF | CGY
CAR | CHI | COL | CBJ
DAL | DET | EDM | FLA
LA | MIN | MTL | NSH
NJ | NYI | NYR | OTT
PHI | PIT | SJ | SEA
STL | TB | TOR | UTA
VAN | VGK | WSH | WPG

ATLANTIC DIVISION

When you have only four draft selections and three are in the 100s, it is difficult to come away with much.

Dean Letourneau was a quintessential Boston pick, even if it was a bit of a reach. The potential for Tage Thompson 2.0 has to be enticing for a franchise that needs help down the middle. He’s going to take a few years, but there is a real chance Letourneau is a unicorn, and Boston took that swing.

Elliott Groenewold, Jonathan Morello and Loke Johansson don’t have NHL projections, but you don’t expect that from midround picks. It’s a long shot for those three to make it, but they are fine bets.

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