Connect with us

Published

on

MILWAUKEE — After three games in two cities over two days behind almost too many comebacks to count, the New York Mets suddenly find themselves one game away from the National League Division Series.

The Mets overcame two early deficits in the first game of their wild-card series against the Brewers on Tuesday, stringing hits, walks and hit batters into a three-run second inning and a five-run fifth, and now have NL Central champion Milwaukee on the ropes after an 8-4 win.

“It’s hard to be tired when you’re playing playoff baseball,” third baseman Mark Vientos said. “I had a bunch of energy. I know all of us did. We were all excited, and we got the job done.”

All of this came about 24 hours after New York completed its regular season with a doubleheader in Atlanta that featured the Mets’ thrilling come-from-behind, 8-7 win in Game 1, thanks to Francisco Lindor‘s dramatic go-ahead two-run homer in the ninth.

After losing the second game in Atlanta, the Mets indulged in a postgame celebration in the visiting clubhouse at SunTrust Park, took a flight to Milwaukee and by midday Tuesday were filtering into American Family Field. It just sounds exhausting, and when the Brewers grabbed a quick 2-0 lead in the first inning, few would have been surprised if the contest turned into a runaway.

Well, few outside of the Mets’ dugout would, because resilience has become perhaps the defining trait of the 2024 Mets.

“It’s a playoff game,” Mets manager Carlos Mendoza said. “Everybody’s tired. But once you play ball, you’ve got to go.”

The key blow during New York’s three-run second was Jesse Winker‘s two-run triple into the right-field corner, struck after the Milwaukee crowd booed Winker with vigor as he approached the plate.

Video from the broadcast captured Winker exchanging not-so-pleasantries with Brewers shortstop Willy Adames, his teammate in Milwaukee just last season, after Winker slid into third base. What was that all about? Winker wasn’t saying.

“I don’t really want to speak on it,” Winker said after pausing to consider the question. “I just want to focus on the game tomorrow.”

Perhaps Winker was just tired. You couldn’t blame him, but the veteran, picked up midseason by the Mets, has seen his team respond to adversity too many times not to chip in.

“I just feel like it’s the story of this team,” Winker said. “There’s been a bunch of things thrown at this team, and [we’re] just responding. It’s go time. You’re in the playoffs.”

After the long day in Atlanta a day earlier, the Mets’ bullpen plan was delicate, and that might have worked to New York’s advantage in the end. Because while Luis Severino struggled during the early innings, Mendoza stuck with him because he didn’t want to dip into his reliever corps too early. Severino found his footing and ended up giving the Mets six innings, giving up four runs and earning the win.

“The bullpen appreciated that,” Severino said. “When they came back to the dugout, they were really happy about me getting those six innings, coming back at there and trying to grind through that outing.”

On the other side, the well-rested Brewers pulled their top starter, Freddy Peralta, after only four innings and 68 pitches. Peralta gave up three runs, so the Brewers decided to start their parade of relievers early in the tradition of so many postseason games of this era.

Alas, the relievers who replaced Peralta — Joel Payamps and Aaron Ashby — gave up five runs between them during a two-out New York rally in the fifth, closing out the scoring. Ashby failed to retire any of the five batters he faced.

“[Peralta] is probably 18 pitches from where his limit is,” Brewers manager Pat Murphy said. “We take the lead in the game. We’ve got a full bullpen. It’s a playoff game. We’d like to get him to five because of our bullpen usage over the week, [but] you don’t do that. You’re playing to win tonight.”

Perhaps Peralta wouldn’t have caught his stride as Severino did, and maybe it wouldn’t have mattered because these Mets, who were 11 games under .500 in early June, are riding a wave that shows no signs of cresting.

“Yeah, we went back to Atlanta, played a doubleheader, came back here,” Mendoza said. “But nobody cares. We were ready to go. It showed. We’ve got to be ready to do it again tomorrow.”

Continue Reading

Sports

Nats slugger Wood commits to Home Run Derby

Published

on

By

Nats slugger Wood commits to Home Run Derby

Washington Nationals slugger James Wood will bring his massive power to the big stage, becoming the third player to commit to the July 14 Home Run Derby in Atlanta.

Wood, 22, has delivered 22 home runs in 86 games during his first full major league season. He was acquired by the Nationals in 2022 as part of the package of top prospects Washington received in the trade that sent Juan Soto to the San Diego Padres.

Wood announced the commitment on Instagram, with a video montage of himself, along with video clips of former Atlanta Braves star Hank Aaron hitting his record 714th home run in 1974. The video included the words, “Derby bound.”

Wood has 12 homers that have been hit harder than 110 mph. It’s the second most in the league behind Dodgers superstar Shohei Ohtani‘s 13. Wood also has four dingers that have been launched longer than 445 feet.

The Seattle MarinersCal Raleigh and the Braves’ Ronald Acuna Jr. also have committed to the event, with five more participants still to be named.

Raleigh, who would become the first catcher to win the event, has a major-league-best 33 home runs. Acuna has nine home runs in 36 games after returning from a torn left ACL that also limited him to 49 games last season.

Defending champion Teoscar Hernandez of the Los Angeles Dodgers already has said he will not defend his Home Run Derby crown.

Field Level Media and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Continue Reading

Sports

Astros GM: Alvarez setback not as bad as feared

Published

on

By

Astros GM: Alvarez setback not as bad as feared

DENVER — Houston Astros slugger Yordan Alvarez‘s setback to his recovery from a fractured right hand is not as serious as first feared, general manager Dana Brown said Thursday.

Alvarez, who suffered the injury on May 2, was shut down after experiencing pain in his right hand. He had taken some swings at the team’s spring training complex in West Palm Beach, Florida, on Monday and when he arrived there Tuesday, the area was sore.

He was examined by a specialist, who determined inflammation was the issue and not a setback with the fracture.

“It had nothing to do with the fracture, or the fracture not being healed,” Brown said before Houston’s game at Colorado. “The fracture at this point is a nonfactor, which we’re very glad about. And so during the process of him being examined by the specialist, we saw the inflammation, and Yordan did receive two shots in that area.”

Alvarez first experienced issues with his hand in late April but stayed in the lineup. He was initially diagnosed with a muscle strain but a small fracture was discovered at the end of May.

Brown said there has not been an update on the timetable for Alvarez’s return but said with the latest update it “could be in the near future.”

“Yordan is going to be in a position where he’s going to let rest and let the shot take effect, and then as long as he’s starting to feel better, we’ll put a bat in his hand before we start hitting, but we’ll just let him feel the bat feels like,” Brown said. “And then we’ll get into some swings in the near future, but I felt like it was encouraging news. Now, with this injection into the area that was inflamed, we feel a lot better.”

Alvarez, who averaged 34 home runs over the previous four seasons, has just three in 29 games this year and is batting .210. He was the 2021 ALCS MVP for the Astros and finished third in the AL MVP voting for 2022.

Continue Reading

Sports

Sources: Guardians’ Ortiz faces gambling inquiry

Published

on

By

Sources: Guardians' Ortiz faces gambling inquiry

Cleveland Guardians right-hander Luis Ortiz is under investigation by Major League Baseball after a betting-integrity firm flagged a pair of pitches that had received unusual gambling activity, sources told ESPN on Thursday.

Sources said betting-integrity firm IC360 sent an alert in June to sportsbook operators regarding Ortiz, whom MLB has placed on “non-disciplinary paid leave” through July 17.

The alert, according to sources who reviewed it, referenced action on Ortiz’s first pitches in select innings to be a ball or a hit batsman in two games: June 15 against the Seattle Mariners and June 27 against the St. Louis Cardinals. In both the bottom of the second inning against the Mariners and the top of the third inning against the Cardinals, Ortiz threw a first-pitch slider that was well outside the strike zone.

The alert on Ortiz’s first pitches flagged bets in Ohio, New York and New Jersey. Betting on the result of first pitches is offered by some sportsbooks, with such wagers commonly referred to as microbets.

Ortiz’s paid leave, which ends at the conclusion of the All-Star break, was negotiated between the league and the MLB Players Association. If the investigation remains open, the leave could be extended.

Ortiz had been scheduled to start Thursday night’s game against the Chicago Cubs.

“The Guardians have been notified that Luis Ortiz has been placed on leave per an agreement with the Players Association due to an ongoing league investigation,” the team said in a statement. “The Guardians are not permitted to comment further at this time and will respect the league’s confidential investigative process.”

The investigation into Ortiz’s potential violation of the league’s gambling policy comes a little more than a year after MLB levied a lifetime ban against San Diego Padres infielder Tucupita Marcano for placing nearly 400 bets on baseball. Four other players received one-year suspensions for gambling on baseball while in the minor leagues. In February, MLB fired umpire Pat Hoberg — widely recognized as the best ball-strike arbiter in the game — for “sharing” a legal sports betting account with a friend who bet on baseball and later deleting messages key to the investigation.

A 26-year-old starting pitcher, Ortiz was acquired by Cleveland from the Pittsburgh Pirates over the winter as part of the three-team trade in which the Guardians sent second baseman Andres Gimenez to the Toronto Blue Jays. With a 4-9 record and 4.36 ERA, Ortiz has been a staple in a Guardians rotation whose 4.13 ERA ranks 18th in MLB.

Ortiz’s leave comes amid a slide for the Guardians, who have lost six consecutive games to drop to 40-44. While Cleveland remains in second place in the American League Central, it trails first-place Detroit by 12½ games.

Ortiz signed with the Pirates in 2018 at 19 years old, far later than the typical prospect, and didn’t reach full-season ball until 2021. He quickly shot through the Pittsburgh organization and debuted in 2022, eventually throwing 238⅓ innings and posting a 3.93 ERA in his three seasons with the Pirates.

Continue Reading

Trending