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NEW YORK — Rhys Hoskins drove in four runs, a day after his hard slide into Jeff McNeil caused dugouts to empty, and Yohan Ramirez was ejected for throwing behind the Milwaukee designated hitter’s back in the Brewers’ 7-6 victory over the New York Mets on Saturday.

Hoskins hit a two-run single in a three-run first inning, followed with a two-run homer in the third, and singled in the fifth and scored on a balk by Luis Severino (0-1), who gave up a career-high 12 hits in his Mets debut.

Ramirez’s first pitch to Hoskins in the seventh sailed well behind the right-handed hitter, who dropped his bat and glared at Ramirez as the reliever raced to pick up the ball, which caromed off the backstop. Ramirez was ejected by plate umpire Lance Barrett and given a standing ovation by fans. Hoskins walked against Jorge Lopez.

“I was trying to tell the umpire that I was trying to throw my sinker and it just happened to go further in, especially with the weather the way that it was,” Ramirez said after the loss through his interpreter. “But they didn’t really care what I was telling them. And they did what they had to do there.”

Hoskins disagreed with Ramirez’s take on the situation.

“Big leaguers don’t miss by 8 feet,” he said. “Whether or not it was on purpose or not, that’s not for me to decide. I really don’t care. But this game has had a way of policing itself for many, many, many years, so let’s focus on doing it the right way if we’re going to do that.”

New York closer Edwin Díaz pitched a perfect ninth in his first big league appearance since Game 3 of the NL Wild Card Series on Oct. 9, 2022. Díaz missed last season after tearing the patellar tendon in his right knee while celebrating a win for Puerto Rico in the World Baseball Classic.

New Milwaukee manager Pat Murphy improved to 2-0, while the Mets dropped to 0-2 for the first time since 2014.

Brett Baty hit a three-run homer, and Francisco Alvarez and Pete Alonso had solo shots for the Mets, who trailed 7-2 in the eighth.

Hoskins slid hard into McNeil on a potential double-play ball in the eighth inning of the Brewers’ 3-1 win in Friday’s opener. McNeil yelled at Hoskins, who rubbed his eyes as if to call McNeil a crybaby. Playing with Philadelphia on April 24, 2019, Hoskins homered off Mets reliever Jacob Rhame and took a 34-second home run trot, one night after Rhame threw two pitches over his head.

Hoskins was booed each time he went to the plate Saturday. His four RBIs were his most since Sept. 23, 2022. He missed last year because of a torn ACL in his left knee.

“He is one of our pillars,” Murphy said of Hoskins. “Rhys is a special dude. He’s not just a really good baseball player, he’s really committed to playing the game the right way.”

Alonso’s homer was the first allowed in 34 big league appearances off Abner Uribe, who struck out DJ Stewart and Starling Marte for his second save.

Elvis Peguero (1-0) pitched two hitless innings in relief of starter DL Hall, who gave up two runs and six hits in four innings.

Severino made his Mets debut after eight seasons for the crosstown Yankees and allowed five runs in five innings.

“I was competing out there,” Severino said. “They hit a bunch of base hits. And then Hoskins got me for a homer, a breaking pitch right down the middle. Breaking ball was not there today. I need to keep working on that.”

Mets right-hander Tylor Megill will oppose Brewers righty Colin Rea in Sunday’s series finale.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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Reds’ Miley denies wrongdoing in Skaggs case

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Reds' Miley denies wrongdoing in Skaggs case

Cincinnati Reds left-hander Wade Miley said Friday that he has not been accused of any wrongdoing, one day after reports stated a deposition from a lawsuit alleged he supplied Tyler Skaggs with drugs when both players were with the Arizona Diamondbacks.

The deposition is part of a motion for summary judgment filed by the Los Angeles Angels, requesting a lawsuit from the Skaggs family be dismissed.

The deposition from Ryan Hamill, Skaggs’ agent, contains testimony that he was concerned in 2013 about Skaggs’ drug use. Hamill said he and Skaggs’ family confronted Skaggs about his drug use. Skaggs was then in his second season as a teammate of Miley with the Diamondbacks.

“He came clean,” Hamill testified. “He said he had been using — I believe it was Percocets — and he said he got them through Wade Miley.”

Skaggs died on July 1, 2019, at age 27 in a Dallas-area hotel. The autopsy found fentanyl, oxycodone and alcohol in his system.

Miley briefly addressed the issue before Friday’s road game against the Detroit Tigers.

“I hate what happened to Tyler, it sucks. My thoughts are with his family and his friends,” Miley said. “But I’m not going to sit here and talk about things that someone might have said about me or whatnot. I was never a witness for any of this. I was never accused of any wrongdoing.”

Former Angels communications director Eric Kay is serving a 22-year prison sentence in Texas after being found guilty on two charges of providing drugs related on Skaggs’ overdose.

The Athletic reported that the criminal proceedings against Kay included a recorded phone conversation in which Kay told his mother that Miley was a drug source to Skaggs.

Asked if Major League Baseball has contacted him regarding the allegations, Miley said, “I’d rather just focus on the Cincinnati Reds right now and baseball and what I have to do moving forward. I’ve got to get ready for a game on Sunday.”

Miley was mentioned in Kay’s criminal case, but he was never charged with a crime.

Skaggs was traded to the Angels after the 2013 season. He went 28-38 with a 4.41 ERA in 96 career starts.

Miley, 38, is with his eighth big league team and attempting to revive his career after Tommy John surgery in 2024.

Miley has a career 109-99 mark with a 4.09 ERA in 319 games (311 starts) since making his major league debut in 2011. This is his second go-round with the Reds. He was with the team in the 2020 and 2021 seasons, going 12-10 with a 3.55 ERA in 177⅓ innings over 34 starts (32 innings).

The Skaggs family is suing the Angels, contending that high-level team officials, as well as other employees, knew Kay was a drug user and should have known he was Skaggs’ source.

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Belmont Stakes to remain at Saratoga in 2026

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Belmont Stakes to remain at Saratoga in 2026

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. — The Belmont Stakes is set to be run at Saratoga Race Course in upstate New York for a third consecutive year in 2026.

Gov. Kathy Hochul and the New York Racing Association announced Friday that it will be the third and last time the Triple Crown finale is held there before returning to Belmont Park on Long Island in 2027.

“Saratoga has served our fans and stakeholders extremely well as the temporary home of the Belmont Stakes during the construction of a new Belmont Park on Long Island,” NYRA president and CEO David O’Rourke said. “Belmont Park will always be the home of the Belmont Stakes and we look forward to its return to the newly reimagined Belmont in 2027.”

It was confirmation of an expected extension of the race’s stay at Saratoga while Belmont Park undergoes nearly a half-billion dollar renovation project. It is on track to reopen in September 2026, with the Breeders’ Cup returning to New York at Belmont Park in the fall of 2027.

The Belmont will again be run at 1 1/4 miles instead of its traditional 1-1/2 mile distance that has been known as the “test of the champion.” That has been the case the past two years, as well, because of the configuration of the main dirt track.

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Rays get former top prospect Whitley from Astros

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Rays get former top prospect Whitley from Astros

The Tampa Bay Rays acquired right-hander Forrest Whitley from the Houston Astros in exchange for cash considerations Friday.

Whitley, once a top-10 prospect in baseball, was designated for assignment by the Astros on Sunday.

Houston selected him with the No. 17 pick of the 2016 MLB draft out of high school in San Antonio and gave him a $3.148 million signing bonus, but he failed to reach expectations.

Now 27, he didn’t debut in Houston until the 2024 season and made three relief appearances, giving up no earned runs in 3⅓ innings.

This season, Whitley appeared in five games for Houston, with opponents scoring 10 earned runs on nine hits and six walks in 7⅓ innings. He has no decisions with a 12.27 ERA.

In 117 minor league appearances (65 starts) he had a 17-20 record with a 4.75 ERA over 306⅔ innings. He struck out 421 batters and walked 160.

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