Category: Baseball

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Taylor had several big postseason hits for the Dodgers, including a walk-off homer that beat St. Louis in the 2021 NL wild card game, three homers in Game 5 of the NL Championship Series against Atlanta and a leadoff homer in the 2017 World Series opener against Houston.

But he had only 35 plate appearances this season, batting .200 (7 for 35) with two doubles and two RBIs in 28 games.

The emergence of rookie Hyeseong Kim made Taylor expendable, Kim hit .452 (14 for 31) in his first 14 games after being recalled from Triple-A Oklahoma City and reached base in nine consecutive plate appearances.

“Beyond just how endearing he is to his teammates, just the energy he brings, the foot speed, the versatility as well, it’s just something that adds a lot to our roster and a different look,” Friedman said of Kim. “No decision is ever made in a vacuum. It’s within the context of our roster and where we’re at. And he’s done a great job.”

Acquired from Seattle in a 2016 trade, Taylor revamped his swing with the Dodgers and was a fixture in the lineup from 2017-23, playing six positions and batting .256 with a .779 OPS, 103 homers, 173 doubles and 391 RBIs.

Taylor had a neck injury and struggled to find his swing last year, hitting .202 with a .598 OPS and 76 strikeouts in 87 games.

“He is the consummate pro,” Friedman said. “He came in hungry and wanting to get better and dove in with our hitting guys with our position coaches. He got better in the infield and outfield, and he brought production in the batter’s box.

“He was a huge part of so much success that we’ve enjoyed and can’t say enough about the human, the worker, the teammate, the player. He’s one of the toughest guys I’ve ever been around.”

Right-hander reliever Kirby Yates was placed on the 15-day injured list, a day after straining a hamstring against the Angels. The Dodgers selected the contract of 33-year-old right-handed reliever Lou Trivino from Oklahoma City.

Los Angeles will have to make another roster move early this week when right fielder Teoscar Hernandez (groin strain) is activated off the injured list. The Dodgers said Kim will remain on the roster after Hernández returns.

Reporting by The Associated Press. 

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Because of the suspension, he would be ineligible for the postseason.

“We’ve got to move on,” manager Rob Thomson said. “It’s too bad, but we’ve got to move on. We have really good pieces here that can pick up the slack.”

Phillies closing options include Jordan Romano and Orion Kerkering.

A 29-year-old left-hander, Alvarado is 4-1 with a 2.70 ERA and seven saves in seven chances. His 99.6 mph four-seam fastball velocity ranks fifth among those who have thrown 250 or more pitches.

Philadelphia has a $9 million option on Alvarado for 2026 with a $500,000 buyout.

Alvarado is 19-26 with a 3.40 ERA in 399 relief appearances and one start over nine major league seasons with Tampa Bay (2017-20) and the Phillies (2021-25). He has 52 saves in 68 appearances and appeared in 21 postseason games over the last three seasons.

Alvarado had 13 saves last year, Jeff Hoffman 10 and Carlos Estévez six. Hoffman became a free agent and signed a $33 million, three-year contract with Toronto, and Estévez became a free agent and agreed to a $22 million, two-year deal with Kansas City.

Alvarado was the sixth player suspended this year for a drug violation. One was suspended under the minor league program and three under the program for minor leaguers assigned outside the United States and Canada.

Right-hander Jose Ruiz, on the injured list since May 3 with neck spasms, was activated to fill Alvarado’s roster spot.

Reporting by The Associated Press. 

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Ohtani was the designated hitter Saturday against his former team and went 0-for-6 from the plate. As a pitcher for the Angels, the right-hander went 38-19 with a 3.01 ERA and 167 strikeouts in 132 innings. He made 86 starts with the Angels from 2018-23.

Ohtani hasn’t pitched in a major league game since Aug. 23, 2023, for the Angels. He is recovering from right elbow surgery on Sept. 19, 2023.

There is no timetable for his return to the mound. Ohtani did not throw any sliders in the bullpen. He simulated a two-inning outing by throwing 25 pitches, resting and then finishing with 25 more pitches.  

The Dodgers’ pitching staff has been hit hard by injuries this season. Kershaw began the year on the injured list, while fellow starters Blake Snell, Tyler Glasnow and Roki Sasaki are currently on the IL. 

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Kershaw made seven big league starts last year, going 2-2 with a 4.50 ERA before his season ended Aug. 30 because of pain in his left big toe. His injuries prevented him from pitching in the postseason as the Dodgers won their eighth World Series championship.

By throwing his first pitch Saturday night, Kershaw began his 18th season with the Dodgers, tying the franchise record also held by Zack Wheat and Bill Russell.

Kershaw entered 212-94 with a 2.50 ERA in 432 appearances (429 starts) since making his debut for the Dodgers in 2008. The club’s all-time strikeout leader needs 30 to reach 3,000 in his illustrious career.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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Landen Roupp, facing the Athletics for the first time, struck out five and allowed five hits pitching six scoreless innings for the Giants before giving way to Randy Rodriguez in the seventh.

A’s starter Luis Severino escaped a jam in the third. He walked Flores in the third to load the bases the struck out Jung Hoo Lee and Heliot Ramos to end the threat.

San Francisco’s rotation will have a new look next week, when Hayden Birdsong starts Tuesday against Kansas City and Jordan Hicks moves into the bullpen.

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Key moment

Hoo Lee made a sensational catch on the wall in center field to rob Brent Rooker of a likely extra-base hit for the A’s in the first. Tyler Soderstrom followed with a double, making the defensive gem a crucial one.

Key stat

The A’s starters are 1-5 over their last 10 games.

Up next

Jeffrey Springs (5-3, 4.27 ERA) takes the mound for the A’s in the series finale while 42-year-old Justin Verlander (0-3, 4.31) tries again for his first victory of the season in his 10th start since signing a $15 million, one-year contract with the Giants.

Reporting by The Associated Press.

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Ryan Jeffers went 4-for-5 with a homer and double, and Kody Clemens went 3-for-5 with a homer as the Twins collected 18 hits.

Twins starter Pablo Lopez combined with three relievers on a three-hitter. López (4-2) struck out six and allowed two hits and two walks in six innings. Justin Topa, Jorge Alcala and Kody Funderburk each pitched one inning of relief.

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The Twins took control of the game by scoring single runs in each of the first six innings. Four of those runs came off Tobias Myers, who was sent to the minors earlier this week before getting called back up when left-hander Jose Quintana went on the injured list.

Jeffers opened the scoring by hitting a 420-foot shot to left-center with one out in the first inning. He also doubled and scored in the third, singled in the fourth and singled in the eighth.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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The Mets signed Canning to a team-friendly one-year, $4.25 million deal. Through his first month with the Mets, he’s made that deal look like a bargain, posting a 2.47 ERA in five wins and one loss.

The Yankees and Mets are tied at one game a piece in their MLB Rivalry Weekend series. They’ll wrap up the series on Sunday at 7:10 p.m. ET.

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Alas, Soto is nothing if not prepared. The former Yankees slugger responded to the vicious jeers by removing his helmet, tapping his chest, and saying “thank you” multiple times while wearing a wry smile. Soto knew what he was doing when he picked the Mets over the Yankees in free agency, a decision that was informed by the reception he would receive in the Bronx for the rest of his career. 

“We were just joking in the dugout that I should do it, and I just did it,” Soto said of his hat-tip. “The guys loved it.”

Mets manager Carlos Mendoza was proud of the way Soto handled being public enemy No. 1.

“He’s just very steady,” Mendoza said. “He doesn’t get too high, doesn’t get too low. He knew that this was coming. Like I told him a couple of days ago, embrace it. Try to enjoy every second of it, and just be yourself. And that’s what he did. I thought today he was the same guy. I thought he handled it really well. That’s what makes this guy who he is. Elite. His personality is off the charts.”

While he may not have enjoyed breaking Yankees fans’ hearts, Soto seemed to relish their hatred of him. He smiled every time he walked from the dugout to the plate, all the while continuing to be serenaded by acrimony. Yankees fans came prepared, too, with a fan holding a sign that said “Boo this man!” under a picture of a smug-looking Soto in a Mets uniform slapped onto white paper. Another sign read: “22 looks better on Ben Rice.” 

When Soto jogged out to right field to take his position in the bottom of the first inning, the section of fans behind him, dubbed the Bleacher Creatures, turned their backs on him, not even acknowledging his presence. Perhaps the gesture was a metaphor for Soto turning his back on the Yankees when he chose to rep Queens. Moments later, “We have Grisham!” chants broke out in right field, alluding to the Yankees’ acquisition of outfielder Trent Grisham as part of the Soto trade.

“I didn’t realize that,” Soto said when asked if he saw fans turning their backs towards him. “I was just listening to the boos. Didn’t have any eye contact. Just listened to the boos.”

If the crowd’s point was to convey that the first-place Yankees were doing just fine without Soto, the Bronx Bombers backed up that conviction by forcing Mets starter Tylor Megill to exit his outing after 72 pitches in the third inning. The Yankees batted around the order and scored four runs as Megill lost his command and permitted a season-high five walks in the third. 

Soto had a chance to limit the damage from his former team when Yankees shortstop Anthony Volpe hit a routine fly ball to shallow right with two outs in the third. Soto caught the ball, but didn’t make his best throw home, and the two-hopper to the dish was too slow to beat Cody Bellinger, who scored the third run of the inning for the Yankees.

For his part at the plate, Soto wasn’t fazed by the noise. He drew a walk in each of his three plate appearances against Yankees right-hander Carlos Rodon. The Mets entered Friday with the tenth highest-scoring offense in the major leagues, but they didn’t do enough behind Soto’s free passes to make a comeback against their crosstown rivals. 

“It was loud,” Mets manager Carlos Mendoza said of the crowd. “That’s what makes this place unique. I thought they were very respectful, and that’s what you want. You can boo all you want and all that, but as long as they’re not crossing the line.”

Just over six months ago, Soto was treated like a king in the Bronx. 

He hit 41 home runs, a career high, before taking the Yankees to the World Series for the first time in 15 years. He formed one of the deadliest duos in Major League Baseball history, hitting in front of Aaron Judge. He was beloved by the Yankees fan base, who bought Soto’s No. 22 jersey and showed up in droves to watch him play in pinstripes for one year. All he had to do to get the keys to the city was stay. 

But Soto didn’t just leave, he found a new home less than 10 miles away. The 26-year-old signed a 15-year, $765-million contract with the Mets, the largest deal in professional sports history. For Yankees fans who are used to getting what they want, Soto’s decision to play for a Mets franchise known as “the little brother” to the Bombers was a personal offense. So they booed and booed and booed. 

Even so, the bat in Soto’s hand represented an opportunity to silence the noise. The Mets, trailing the Yankees by four runs, had runners on second and third with two outs in the ninth against Yankees closer Luke Weaver when Soto came up to the plate. One swing could’ve cut their deficit to one run. One more walk would’ve loaded the bases for Pete Alonso, who then would have represented the tying run. 

But, on the second pitch of the at-bat, Weaver got Soto to fly out to shallow center field to deliver a Yankees win. Even though the booing finally stopped, Soto wasn’t smiling anymore.

“It’s uncomfortable that we couldn’t get the win,” Soto said. “I don’t focus, at all, on the fans. We gotta focus on the game and be a professional, trying to win the game. Yeah, it sucks that we lost the game. But we have two more to win the series.”

And two more games for Yankees fans to let Soto know how they feel. Maybe next time the new Mets slugger will let his bat do the talking. 

Deesha Thosar covers Major League Baseball as a reporter and columnist for FOX Sports. Follow her on X at @DeeshaThosar.

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