ESPN baseball reporter. Covered the L.A. Rams for ESPN from 2016 to 2018 and the L.A. Angels for MLB.com from 2012 to 2016.
LOS ANGELES — The intentional walk, if you think about it, was appropriate. Two runners were on in a two-run game. First base was open with two outs. Francisco Lindor, a potential MVP who had already homered, was up to bat. And yet Mark Vientos, who would deliver the grand slam that set the tone in the New York Mets‘ 7-3 victory over the Los Angeles Dodgers in Game 2 of the National League Championship Series on Monday, said he “took it personal.”
That reaction, if you ask Vientos’ teammates, was also appropriate.
“My man’s got a lot of confidence in himself,” said Sean Manaea, the Mets’ winning pitcher. “I love that.”
Vientos’ grand slam off Landon Knack, who was expected to do most of the work in what qualified as a bullpen game for the Dodgers, capped a five-run second inning that helped the Mets split the first two games from Dodger Stadium, evening the best-of-seven NLCS with three games from New York’s Citi Field on tap.
It was also the continuation of a miraculous run for Vientos — from an .820 OPS over the regular season’s last four months to the game-winning hit in the postseason opener, the game-tying single in Game 1 of the NL Division Series and, now, the big home run in a game the Mets desperately needed.
At 24 years and 308 days old, Vientos became the youngest player to hit a grand slam in the history of this round, a mere 49 days younger than Rafael Devers in 2021. Vientos’ 11 RBIs are tied for the most in Mets postseason history through a player’s first nine games, along with John Olerud in 1999, Carlos Delgado in 2006 and Daniel Murphy in 2015. All told, Vientos is slashing .378/.410/.676 with three home runs in October.
And yet the most impressive thing about him might be this: An unheralded player who didn’t have a job early this season was insulted that an opposing team would walk one of the game’s best players ahead of him.
“That’s who he is,” Lindor said of Vientos. “I’m glad he took it personal. He’s got to continue to climb.”
The Dodgers’ pitching staff entered Monday’s game on a string of 33 consecutive scoreless innings, tied with the 1966 Baltimore Orioles for the most in postseason history. Lindor put an end to that by working an eight-pitch at-bat against opener Ryan Brasier and finishing it with a leadoff homer. The Mets continued to apply pressure in the next inning. Starling Marte started with a single, Jesse Winker drew a walk and Tyrone Taylor came up with an RBI double two batters later, putting runners on second and third and setting up Lindor’s intentional walk.
Vientos felt ready.
“I want to be up there during that at-bat,” he said. “I want them to walk Lindor in that situation, put me up there. And at that point I was just, ‘Let me simplify the game, just get one run in, get a walk — whatever I can do to add another run to the score.’ And luckily I hit a bomb.”
Vientos is navigating through his first postseason, but his ability to simplify at-bats — to slow his thoughts, remain calm, keep his body under control — has stood out to those who have watched him closely. Those traits showed again in his confrontation with Knack. Vientos took a first-pitch ball, then fouled off back-to-back sliders. Knack used those pitches to set up a high fastball to try for a strikeout, but Vientos fouled the pitch back. He later took two sliders low and away “with ease,” Mets manager Carlos Mendoza said.
When he got another fastball — a pitch Vientos was hoping for but didn’t expect — it traveled right down the middle. Rather than aggressively try to pull the pitch, Vientos saw it deep into the zone and smacked it to the opposite field, a 102 mph line drive that snuck over the wall in right-center. Vientos went deep on the ninth pitch of the at-bat, after the most pitches seen before a grand slam in the past 50 postseasons, according to ESPN Research.
“You didn’t see a big swing,” Mendoza said. “It was, ‘Let me put it in play. Let me stay in the big part of the ballpark.’ And he was able to drive that one. You see the next at-bat, against a lefty, just going the other way with ease and just shoot the ball the other way. That’s a sign of not only a good hitter, but someone that is mature and is under control. It doesn’t matter the situation.”
You can say the same thing about the 2024 Mets, who have followed all three of their postseason losses with multiple-run victories.
Manaea, who transformed his career by dropping his arm slot and pitching across his body, held the Dodgers to only a Max Muncy home run through the first five innings, keeping a big early lead intact. The Mets nearly fumbled it away in a sixth inning that saw Jose Iglesias and Pete Alonso misplay groundballs, but Phil Maton got a red-hot Kiké Hernández to bounce into an inning-ending double play to preserve a three-run lead. Ryne Stanek followed, then Edwin Diaz came in for the four-out save.
The Mets will now have three straight games at Citi Field.
In other words, they have a chance to clinch one of the most improbable World Series berths in recent memory at home.
“Playing in front of the New York fans is the best,” Vientos said. “I’m excited to get back.”
Some of the most dynamic home run hitters in baseball will be taking aim at the Truist Park stands on Monday (8 p.m. ET on ESPN) in one of the most anticipated events of the summer.
While the prospect of a back-to-back champion is out of the picture — 2024 winner Teoscar Hernandez is not a part of this year’s field — a number of exciting stars will be taking the field, including Atlanta’s own Matt Olson, who replacedRonald Acuna Jr. just three days before the event. Will Olson make a run in front of his home crowd? Will Cal Raleigh show off the power that led to 38 home runs in the first half? Or will one of the younger participants take the title?
We have your one-stop shop for everything Derby related, from predictions to live updates once we get underway to analysis and takeaways at the night’s end.
Who is going to win the Derby and who will be the runner-up?
Jeff Passan: Raleigh. His swing is perfect for the Derby: He leads MLB this season in both pull percentage and fly ball percentage, so it’s not as if he needs to recalibrate it to succeed. He has also become a prolific hitter from the right side this season — 16 home runs in 102 at-bats — and his ability to switch between right- and left-handed pitching offers a potential advantage. No switch-hitter (or catcher for that matter) has won a Home Run Derby. The Big Dumper is primed to be the first, beating Buxton in the finals.
Alden Gonzalez: Cruz. He might be wildly inconsistent at this point in his career, but he is perfect for the Derby — young enough to possess the stamina required for a taxing event that could become exhausting in the Atlanta heat; left-handed, in a ballpark where the ball carries out better to right field; and, most importantly, capable of hitting balls at incomprehensible velocities. Raleigh will put on a good show from both sides of the plate but will come in second.
Buster Olney: Olson. He is effectively pinch-hitting for Acuna, and because he received word in the past 72 hours of his participation, he hasn’t had the practice rounds that the other competitors have been going through. But he’s the only person in this group who has done the Derby before, which means he has experienced the accelerated pace, adrenaline and push of the crowd.
His pitcher, Eddie Perez, knows something about performing in a full stadium in Atlanta. And, as Olson acknowledged in a conversation Sunday, the park generally favors left-handed hitters because of the larger distances that right-handed hitters must cover in left field.
Jesse Rogers: Olson. Home-field advantage will mean something this year as hitting in 90-plus degree heat and humidity will be an extra challenge in Atlanta. Olson understands that and can pace himself accordingly. Plus, he was a late addition. He has got nothing to lose. He’ll outlast the young bucks in the field. And I’m not putting Raleigh any lower than second — his first half screams that he’ll be in the finals against Olson.
Jorge Castillo: Wood. His mammoth power isn’t disputed — he can jack baseballs to all fields. But the slight defect in his power package is that he doesn’t hit the ball in the air nearly as often as a typical slugger. Wood ranks 126th out of 155 qualified hitters across the majors in fly ball percentage. And he still has swatted 24 home runs this season. So, in an event where he’s going to do everything he can to lift baseballs, hitting fly balls won’t be an issue, and Wood is going to show off that gigantic power en route to a victory over Cruz in the finals.
Who will hit the longest home run of the night — and how far?
Passan: Cruz hits the ball harder than anyone in baseball history. He’s the choice here, at 493 feet.
Gonzalez: If you exclude the Coors Field version, there have been just six Statcast-era Derby home runs that have traveled 497-plus feet. They were compiled by two men: Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton. James Wood — all 6-foot-7, 234 pounds of him — will become the third.
Olney: James Wood has the easy Stanton- and Judge-type power, and he will clear the Chophouse with the longest homer. Let’s say 497 feet.
Rogers: Hopefully he doesn’t injure himself doing it, but Buxton will break out his massive strength and crush a ball at least 505 feet. I don’t see him advancing far in the event, but for one swing, he’ll own the night.
Castillo: Cruz hits baseballs hard and far. He’ll crush a few bombs, and one will reach an even 500 feet.
Who is the one slugger fans will know much better after the Derby?
Passan: Buxton capped his first half with a cycle on Saturday, and he’ll carry that into the Derby, where he will remind the world why he was baseball’s No. 1 prospect in 2015. Buxton’s talent has never been in question, just his health. And with his body feeling right, he has the opportunity to put on a show fans won’t soon forget.
Olney: Caminero isn’t a big name and wasn’t a high-end prospect like Wood was earlier in his career. Just 3½ years ago, Caminero was dealt to the Rays by the Cleveland Guardians in a relatively minor November trade for pitcher Tobias Myers. But since then, he has refined his ability to cover inside pitches and is blossoming this year into a player with ridiculous power. He won’t win the Derby, but he’ll open some eyes.
What’s the one moment we’ll all be talking about long after this Derby ends?
Gonzalez: The incredible distances and velocities that will be reached, particularly by Wood, Cruz, Caminero, Raleigh and Buxton. The hot, humid weather at Truist Park will only aid the mind-blowing power that will be on display Monday night.
Rogers: The exhaustion on the hitter’s faces, swinging for home run after home run in the heat and humidity of Hot-lanta!
Castillo: Cruz’s 500-foot blast and a bunch of other lasers he hits in the first two rounds before running out of gas in the finals.
Tampa Bay Rays owner Stu Sternberg has agreed in principle to a $1.7 billion deal to sell the franchise to a group led by a Florida-based developer Patrick Zalupski, according to a report from The Athletic.
The deal is reportedly expected to be closed as early as September and will keep the franchise in the area, with Zalupski, a homebuilder in Jacksonville, having a strong preference to land in Tampa rather than St. Petersburg.
Sternberg bought the Rays in 2004 for $200 million.
According to Zalupski’s online bio, he is the founder, president and CEO of Dream Finders Homes. The company was founded in December 2008 and closed on 27 homes in Jacksonville the following year. Now, with an expanded footprint to many parts of the United States, Dream Finders has closed on more than 31,100 homes since its founding.
He also is a member of the board of trustees at the University of Florida.
The new ownership group also reportedly includes Bill Cosgrove, the CEO of Union Home Mortgage, and Ken Babby, owner of the Akron RubberDucks and Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp, both minor-league teams.
A year ago, Sternberg had a deal in place to build a new stadium in the Historic Gas Plant District, a reimagined recreational, retail and residential district in St. Petersburg to replace Tropicana Field.
However, after Hurricane Milton shredded the roof of the stadium last October, forcing the Rays into temporary quarters, Sternberg changed his tune, saying the team would have to bear excess costs that were not in the budget.
“After careful deliberation, we have concluded we cannot move forward with the new ballpark and development project at this moment,” Sternberg said in a statement in March. “A series of events beginning in October that no one could have anticipated led to this difficult decision.”
MLB commissioner Rob Manfred and some other owners began in March to privately push Sternberg to sell the franchise, The Athletic reported.
It is unclear what Zalupski’s group, if it ultimately goes through with the purchase and is approved by MLB owners, will do for a permanent stadium.
The Rays are playing at George M. Steinbrenner Field in Tampa, located at the site of the New York Yankees‘ spring training facility and home of their Single-A Tampa Tarpons.
ATLANTA — Shohei Ohtani will bat leadoff as the designated hitter for the National League in Tuesday night’s All-Star Game at Truist Park, and the Los Angeles Dodgers star will be followed in the batting order by left fielder Ronald Acuna Jr. of the host Atlanta Braves.
Pittsburgh Pirates right-hander Paul Skenes will start his second straight All-Star Game, Major League Baseball announced last week. Detroit Tigers left-hander Tarik Skubal will make his first All-Star start for the American League.
“I think when you’re talking about the game, where it’s at, these two guys … are guys that you can root for, are super talented, are going to be faces of this game for years to come,” Roberts said.
Ohtani led off for the AL in the 2021 All-Star Game, when the two-way sensation also was the AL’s starting pitcher. He hit leadoff in 2022, then was the No. 2 hitter for the AL in 2023 and for the NL last year after leaving the Los Angeles Angels for the Dodgers.
Skenes and Skubal are Nos. 1-2 in average four-seam fastball velocity among those with 1,500 or more pitches this season, Skenes at 98.2 mph and Skubal at 97.6 mph, according to MLB Statcast.
A 23-year-old right-hander, Skenes is 4-8 despite a major league-best 2.01 ERA for the Pirates, who are last in the NL Central. The 2024 NL Rookie of the Year has 131 strikeouts and 30 walks in 131 innings.
Skubal, a 28-year-old left-hander, is the reigning AL Cy Young Award winner. He is 10-3 with a 2.23 ERA, striking out 153 and walking 16 in 121 innings.