NEW YORK — The banged-up New York Mets are minus two more important players after putting reliever Drew Smith on the 15-day injured list and right fielder Starling Marte on the bereavement list Saturday.
The team recalled infielder Mark Vientos and right-hander Dedniel Núñez from Triple-A Syracuse before the middle game of its weekend series against the St. Louis Cardinals.
Marte went home to the Dominican Republic for family reasons. He is expected to miss three days, manager Carlos Mendoza said. Smith will be out longer after an MRI showed inflammation in his pitching shoulder.
The right-hander was placed on the IL retroactive to Wednesday, and the Mets hope he can return as soon as he’s eligible.
Smith is 1-0 with a 2.70 ERA and one save in 10 appearances this season. After making his debut in 2018, he is the longest-tenured pitcher on the Mets.
Marte is batting .288 with four homers, 12 RBI, six stolen bases and 16 runs. The club’s No. 2 hitter reached 1,500 career hits Friday night.
DJ Stewart started in right field Saturday, batting fifth.
New York also has placed starting catcher Francisco Alvarez (left thumb surgery), key reliever Brooks Raley (left elbow inflammation) and pitcher Tylor Megill (strained right shoulder) on the injured list since the season began.
No. 1 starter Kodai Senga won’t make his 2024 debut until May 27 or later because of a capsule strain in his right shoulder, and left-hander David Peterson is working his way back from offseason surgery for a torn labrum in his left hip.
With their starters struggling to get deep into games, the Mets have taxed their bullpen. Half of the eight relievers who broke camp with the team in late March have already been replaced due to injury or a roster crunch when fresh arms were needed.
Throughout spring training, Vientos appeared in line for regular big league at-bats at designated hitter and perhaps third base before New York signed veteran slugger J.D. Martinez to a $12 million, one-year contract on March 23. The 24-year-old Vientos was disappointed by his surprise demotion to the minors two days later, but he was batting .302 with five homers, 22 RBI and a .923 OPS in 23 games at Syracuse before getting called up.
“He’s performing. He earned it,” Mendoza said. “My message to him is, be ready for your opportunity.”
Vientos made his major league debut in 2022. He batted .211 with nine homers, 22 RBI and a .620 OPS in 65 games for the Mets last year.
“Whatever they want me to do, I’m here for it,” he said.
Though it lacks the volume of teams in close proximity like the Eastern Conference wild-card race, the Western derby is no less wild. Sunday’s action will provide yet another clue as to who will earn the final spot in that half of the postseason bracket.
Heading into Sunday’s slate, the Minnesota Wild appear pretty well locked in to the the first wild-card spot, with 79 points and 29 regulation wins through 67 games. But who gets the second one?
Right now it’s the Vancouver Canucks, with 73 points and 24 RW in 66 games. They’re taking on the Utah Hockey Club on Sunday (8 p.m. ET, ESPN+). Once past that game, they’ll play eight games of their final 15 against playoff teams.
Next up are the Calgary Flames, with 71 points and 24 RW in 65 games. They are idle on Sunday and will play against teams currently in playoff position in nine of their final 17 contests.
Speaking of the UHC, following Sunday’s game against the Canucks, seven of the remaining 15 games are against current playoff-positioned clubs.
Stathletes gives the Canucks the best playoff chances of the group (31.1%), followed by the Blues (30.2%), Hockey Club (22.4%) and Flames (20.2%). The “prize” for the team that wins this race is likely a first-round matchup with the Winnipeg Jets, but upsets do happen!
There is a lot of runway left until April 17, the final day of the regular season, and we’ll help you track it all with the NHL playoff watch. As we traverse the final stretch, we’ll provide details on all the playoff races, along with the teams jockeying for position in the 2025 NHL draft lottery.
Points: 62 Regulation wins: 23 Playoff position: N/A Games left: 15 Points pace: 75.9 Next game: vs. WPG (Sunday) Playoff chances: ~0% Tragic number: 20
Points: 45 Regulation wins: 13 Playoff position: N/A Games left: 14 Points pace: 54.3 Next game: vs. CAR (Thursday) Playoff chances: ~0% Tragic number: 1
Race for the No. 1 pick
The NHL uses a draft lottery to determine the order of the first round, so the team that finishes in last place is not guaranteed the No. 1 selection. As of 2021, a team can move up a maximum of 10 spots if it wins the lottery, so only 11 teams are eligible for the No. 1 pick. Full details on the process are here. Matthew Schaefer, a defenseman for the OHL’s Erie Otters, is No. 1 on the draft board.
TOKYO — For two days in Japan, it’s the Hanshin Tigers who have looked like the class of the National League.
In another sign that Japanese baseball has never been better, the Tigers capped a two-game sweep over MLB clubs with a 3-0 win over the Los Angeles Dodgers on Sunday at the Tokyo Dome.
Even more impressive, the Tigers didn’t give up a run in either game. Daichi Ishii recorded the final out, freezing James Outman for strike three on a 95 mph fastball to cap 18 scoreless innings in a row.
“These two days were priceless,” Hanshin manager Kyuji Fujikawa said through an interpreter.
Hanshin tagged two-time Cy Young award winner Blake Snell for three runs in the fourth inning when the first two batters reached base before Teruaki Sato smoked a three-run homer into the right-field seats, where a jubilant Tigers fan club erupted in celebration.
On the mound, right-hander Hiroto Saiki threw five dominant innings, giving up just one hit and one walk while striking out seven. Saiki struck out Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani to start the game and coaxed a harmless popup from the slugger in the fourth.
“Really good ballclub,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. “I thought they played really good defense. They can handle velocity, good with the fastball. The starter [Saiki] had major league stuff. Good command, good split. And then Sato, he looks the part. He’s a really impressive baseball player.”
Saiki was one of the best pitchers in Japan last season, finishing with a 13-3 record and a 1.88 ERA over 167⅔ innings. The Tigers had a 74-63 record last season, which was good for second place in Japan’s Central League.
The Tigers started the two-game sweep with a 3-0 win over the Chicago Cubs on Saturday after 20-year-old lefty Keito Mombetsu threw five perfect innings. No Cubs player reached base until Miguel Amaya smacked a single through the infield in the sixth that just got past the shortstop.
Hanshin also dominated on the basepaths against the Cubs, going 3-for-3 on stolen base attempts.
“They clearly showed they can play at the top level,” Roberts said.
Japanese players have made a huge mark on MLB, particularly over the past three decades. Former Mariners star Ichiro Suzuki was recently elected to the Hall of Fame, and this week’s Tokyo Series features five Japanese players, including three on the Dodgers with Ohtani, Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Roki Sasaki.
Skenes is coming off a dominant performance in his first season in the majors. The 22-year-old right-hander went 11-3 with a 1.96 ERA in 23 starts for Pittsburgh in 2024, winning the NL Rookie of the Year Award.
The Pirates posted a video on social media on Saturday that showed Shelton informing Skenes of his decision.
In the video, Skenes walks into Shelton’s office and answers a couple questions about how his bullpen went and how he was feeling. Shelton later got up from behind his desk and informed Skenes he would be starting March 27 at Miami. He shook hands with Skenes and gave him a hug.
“Congrats, brother,” Shelton said to the No. 1 overall pick in the 2023 draft.
“Appreciate it,” Skenes responded.
The 22-year-old Skenes has been working on incorporating a cutter and a running two-seam fastball to go along with his blazing four-seam fastball.