Your Saturday morning dose of New York Mets and MLB news, notes, and links.
Meet the Mets
All eyes were on Kodai Senga as he made his first start off the injured list to start the series against the Royals. While he seemed a little rusty and had traffic almost every inning, he did what he does best and did not allow any Kansas City baserunners to score. He was limited to four innings but it was great seeing the ace back on the mound.
As for the offense they were limited to just one run until the offense exploded in the eighth and ninth innings. They were down 3-1 until Mark Vientos’s bases clearing double gave them the lead. In the ninth back-to-back home runs by Francisco Lindor and Juan Soto put the game out of reach and the team walked away with a feel-good victory after their struggles in Baltimore.
Choose your recap: Amazin’ Avenue, MLB.com, Newsday, Post
The return of both Kodai Senga and Sean Manaea should hopefully stabilize a team that has struggled since Senga’s injury in June.
To make room for Senga on the roster the team DFA-ed Rico Garcia.
Before the game the Mets placed Jesse Winker on the IL and recalled Jared Young from Triple-A.
Mets prospect Brandon Sproat’s season got off to a shaky start but he is finally starting to turn it around.
Shannon Forde and her family remain close to David Wright’s heart as he prepares for his number retirement ceremony on July 19.
Around the National League East
Matt Olson will replace teammate Ronald Acuña Jr. in the Home Run Derby.
Braves third baseman Austin Riley exited the game against the Cardinals early with abdominal tightness.
Sean Murphy helped power Atlanta to a 6-5 win over St. Louis.
The Marlins fell 5-2 to the Orioles in Baltimore.
The Phillies dropped their series opener against the Padres by a score of 4-2.
The Nationals were blown out by the Brewers by a final score of 8-3.
Around Major League Baseball
Brewers’ rookie Jacob Misiorowski was named to the NL All-Star team after making just five starts in the majors.
Ceddanne Rafaela hit a walk-off two-run home run to give the Red Sox their eighth straight victory.
Mariners catcher Cal Raleigh hit his 37th and 38th home runs of the season in Seattle’s 12-3 win over the Tigers. His 38 home runs before the All-Star break trails only Barry Bonds who hit 39 in 2001.
Giants star Rafael Devers is dealing with a disk injury in his back but the team is hopeful he will avoid the injured list.
Twins shortstop Carlos Correa had to be helped off the field after Tommy Pham’s helmet made contact with his ankle during a slide into second base.
Yesterday at Amazin’ Avenue
Linus Lawrence asks why Brandon Nimmo has not been an All-Star yet in his career and he took a look back at the 2013 Futures Game.
Joe Sokolowski brought to you his latest edition of This Week in Mets Quotes.
Steve Sypa took a look at two players who have re-entered the draft after failing to sign with the Mets.
Vasilis Drimalitis previewed the series with Royals.
This Date in Mets History
On this date in 1988, Doc Gooden, Darryl Strawberry, and Gary Carter all start the All-Star Game.