- Angels’ Shohei Ohtani blasts 493-foot home run, becomes first player to reach 30 homers in 2023 CBS Sports
- Angels’ Shohei Ohtani wows again with 493-foot home run – ESPN ESPN
- 493 FEET!!! Shohei Ohtani is UNREAL!! He absolutely DEMOLISHES his 30th homer of the year! 大谷翔平ハイライト MLB
- How Shohei Ohtani’s dominance shakes up the all-time greats conversation | What’s Wright? FOX Sports
- Shohei Ohtani RECORD-SHATTERING 493-foot home run sets multiple records | MLB on ESPN ESPN
- View Full Coverage on Google News
Tag Archives: homers
Phillies vs. Padres score: Philadelphia jacks four homers, closes in on NL pennant with crazy Game 4 comeback
The Philadelphia Phillies defeated the San Diego Padres 10-6 on Saturday night in Game 4 of the National League Championship Series. The Phillies now hold a commanding 3-1 lead over the Padres in the best-of-seven series heading into Sunday’s Game 5. With a win, the Phillies will advance to their first World Series since 2009, where they’ll await the winner of the Houston Astros and New York Yankees American League Championship Series. (The Astros lead that series 3-0.)
The Phillies fell behind early, with the Padres jumping out to a 4-0 lead in the top of the first inning. Philadelphia answered back with three runs of its own in the bottom half of the frame, leaving both starting pitchers on the outside looking in before the second inning even rolled around. The Phillies would then tie the game in the fourth.
The Padres retook the lead in the fifth on a Juan Soto two-run shot, his first of the postseason. Alas, it wasn’t San Diego’s night. The Phillies’ stars went on the attack once more, turning a 6-4 deficit into a 10-6 lead in a matter of three innings. Rhys Hoskins hit two home runs, Bryce Harper had a pair of RBI doubles and both Kyle Schwarber and JT Realmuto added solo homers for insurance runs.
The Phillies bullpen was able to make that lead stand up the rest of the way. As a result, the Phillies are now one victory away from claiming the NL pennant.
Here are six other things to know about the Phillies’ Game 4 win.
Starters falter
Phillies starting pitcher Bailey Falter got two quick outs to start the game, but that was it. He gave up a home run to Manny Machado before a single, walk and double and his day was done with the Padres already leading 3-0. It would be 4-0 before we got to the bottom of the first. A leadoff single followed by a Rhys Hoskins home run, a walk and then a Bryce Harper double meant it was 4-3 and Padres starter Mike Clevinger was done, too. Clevinger did not record an out.
This was the second time in MLB playoff history that neither starter made it out of the first. Full story here.
Martinez, Brogdon settle things down
As opposed to the starters, Padres reliever Nick Martinez and Phillies reliever Connor Brogdon were excellent early in the game, taking things into the middle innings at 4-3 Padres. Brogdon did allow his inherited runner to score on a hit, but that would be the only hit he gave up in 2 1/3 innings.
Martinez was better. He was outstanding, actually. He retired all nine batters he faced in three perfect innings. He struck out three and induced some weak contact.
Padres lefty Sean Manaea, on the other hand, was victimized for five runs in 1 1/3 innings, allowing the Phillies to storm out in front during a four-run fifth inning.
Soto’s big blast
Juan Soto has been relatively quiet in these playoffs. Hell, he’s been relatively quiet since the Padres made the big splash in front of the trade deadline to acquire him. Before Game 4, Soto was hitting .231/.302/.282 in the playoffs. He had a huge double in Game 2, but that was essentially his big impact to this point.
In the top of the fifth inning of Game 4, though, Soto came through.
Earlier in the game, some Phillies fans could be heard chanting “overrated.” Soto hit five homers in the 2019 playoffs en route to a Nationals World Series title. This was his first homer of the 2022 playoffs.
Phillies’ stars strike back
The Phillies were not deterred by Soto’s home run. Rather, the top of their order got to work in the bottom half of the fifth.
The rally started with Rhys Hoskins launching his second home run of the night to tie the game up at 6-6. Hoskins’ performance was just the eighth multi-homer postseason game in Phillies history, according to MLB.com’s Sarah Langs.
J.T. Realmuto would walk, then score on a Bryce Harper double to give the Phillies a new lead. Harper would then score himself on a quirky Nick Castellanos single that bounced off second base and put the Phillies up by an 8-6 margin.
The Phillies weren’t done, either. In the sixth, Kyle Schwarber hit a massive shot of his own to extend the lead to 9-6:
And then in the seventh, Realmuto popped a solo home run of his own to make it 10-6:
Add it all up and the Phillies’ top five hitters — Schwarber, Hoskins, Realmuto, Harper, and Castellanos — combined nine hits, four home runs, and nine runs batted in.
What history says about Phillies’ chances
The Phillies are now up 3-1 in the series with their win on Saturday night. Historically, teams that go up 3-1 in best-of-seven series then go on to win the series 85 percent of the time, according to WhoWins. That would seem to bode well for the Phillies’ chances of advancing to their first World Series since 2009. Who knows, they might even cap off the series on Sunday in front of their home crowd.
Next up
We’ll do it again Sunday afternoon with Game 5. This one will be a matinee, as the first pitch is set for 2:37 p.m. ET (weather permitting).
On the mound, it’ll be a Game 1 rematch. Yu Darvish has been very good in the playoffs and allowed just two solo homers in seven innings of work against the Phillies on Tuesday. Of course, he was outdueled by Phillies ace Zack Wheeler. Wheeler only gave up one hit and one walk in seven scoreless innings.
After what we just witnessed in Game 4, both teams will likely be hoping to get length from these starters again.
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Astros vs. Yankees score: Houston wins ALCS Game 1 behind Justin Verlander, homers from unexpected sources
The Houston Astros defeated the New York Yankees, 4-2, in Game 1 of the American League Championship Series on Wednesday night. The Astros lead the best-of-seven series 1-0, meaning they’re three games away from punching a ticket to the World Series for the fourth time since 2017.
The Astros fell behind in the second inning, as Harrison Bader delivered his fourth home run in his sixth postseason game this fall, launching a solo shot against Justin Verlander. Houston would tie things up in the bottom half of the inning. Backstop Martín Maldonado launched an opposite-field double that plated Chas McCormick.
The two sides would trade zeroes until the sixth inning. That’s when first baseman Yuli Gurriel hit a home run to left field to put Houston up 2-1. The aforementioned McCormick would hit his own solo home run a couple batters later, building the lead up to 3-1. Another home run, this time from Jeremy Peña in the seventh, made it 4-1.
The Yankees would get a run back in the eighth on an Anthony Rizzo solo shot, cutting the lead to 4-2. The Yankees would threaten further in the eighth, putting the tying run on first with two outs. The score remained the same until the final out, however, sealing the deal for the Astros.
Here are six things you need to know about the Astros’ Game 1 win.
1. Verlander throws gem, makes history
The Astros owe much of their victory to ace Justin Verlander. The frontrunner for the AL Cy Young Award struggled in his first start this postseason against the Seattle Mariners. He course-corrected on Wednesday, holding the Yankees to one run over six innings of work. Verlander gave up three hits, one walk, and one hit by pitch, he struck out 11 batters on 103 pitches.
As ESPN Stats and Info noted, Verlander became the all-time postseason leader in strikeouts, surpassing Dodgers left-hander Clayton Kershaw early in the night:
Verlander’s 11 strikeouts tied for the second most he’s recorded in a single postseason game. His career-high remains the 13 he punched out against the Yankees in the 2017 ALCS. This is the fifth time he’s struck out 11, and the second time he’s done so versus New York. (To be fair, Verlander has now made nine postseason starts against the Yankees, giving him ample opportunity to accomplish the feat.)
Verlander threw three pitches more than 20 times on Wednesday: his fastball, slider, and curveball. He generated a game-high 17 swinging strikes, generating at least four on each of those three pitches, and eight on his slider alone.
In so many words, Verlander did not look like someone who had authored arguably the worst postseason start of his career last time out.
2. Taillon keeps the Yankees in the game
Yankees right-hander Jameson Taillon didn’t have a Verlander-like performance by any means. He did keep the game close, however, and that meant he surpassed the modest expectations placed upon him facing the vaunted Astros lineup.
Taillon threw 4 1/3 innings, surrendering one run on four hits and three walks. He didn’t strike out anyone on 67 pitches. Taillon’s line almost looked worse, as manager Aaron Boone removed him in the fifth after he surrendered a double. Reliever Clarke Schmidt, who would eventually yield two home runs, loaded the bases with back-to-back walks (one intentional) before generating a pivotal double-play ball.
Regardless of what would happen with Schmidt in the subsequent inning, the Yankees likely would’ve signed up for Taillon facing 20 batters and exiting with a tied score.
3. Astros receive home runs from unlikely sources
When people think about the big power threats in the Astros lineup, they think about Yordan Alvarez, Kyle Tucker, and perhaps even Jose Altuve or Alex Bregman. They probably don’t think about the three who launched solo shots in Game 1: Gurriel, McCormick, and Peña. That’s for good reason.
Indeed, Gurriel finished the regular season with eight home runs in 584 trips to the plate, or one every 73 plate appearances. McCormick and Peña were far better in that respect, homering between every 25 and 29 trips to the plate.
What’s more is that Gurriel had been in the midst of a lengthy power drought heading into the playoffs. After hitting his seventh home run of the year on July 1, he homered just once more over his final 76 games. Naturally, Gurriel has since launched two home runs in his first four playoff games, showing that you can’t predict baseball.
4. Judge makes huge catch
It didn’t end up mattering, not really, but Yankees outfielder Aaron Judge made arguably his best catch of the season from a statistical perspective early on. Bregman hit a ball to right, right-center with two runners on base and one out. It looked like Bregman was going to have extra bases, yet Judge laid out and made the grab.
You can click here to read about what made the catch so rare and special.
5. What history says about winning Game 1
It should not come as a surprise, but winning Game 1 usually bodes well for the victor’s chances of winning the entire series. According to the website WhoWins.com, Major League Baseball clubs who have won Game 1 of a best-of-seven set have historically gone on to win 64.3 percent of those series.
6. What’s next
The Yankees and Astros will continue the ALCS with Game 2 on Thursday night. The Yankees are expected to start Luis Severino while the Astros counter with Framber Valdez. First pitch is slated for 7:37 p.m. ET and the game will be broadcast on TBS. The Astros will attempt to build a 2-0 lead in the series.
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Astros vs. Yankees score: Houston wins ALCS Game 1 behind Justin Verlander, homers from unexpected sources
The Houston Astros defeated the New York Yankees, 4-2, in Game 1 of the American League Championship Series on Wednesday night. The Astros lead the best-of-seven series 1-0, meaning they’re three games away from punching a ticket to the World Series for the fourth time since 2017.
The Astros fell behind in the second inning, as Harrison Bader delivered his fourth home run in his sixth postseason game this fall, launching a solo shot against Justin Verlander. Houston would tie things up in the bottom half of the inning. Backstop Martín Maldonado launched an opposite-field double that plated Chas McCormick.
The two sides would trade zeroes until the sixth inning. That’s when first baseman Yuli Gurriel hit a home run to left field to put Houston up 2-1. The aforementioned McCormick would hit his own solo home run a couple batters later, building the lead up to 3-1. Another home run, this time from Jeremy Peña in the seventh, made it 4-1.
The Yankees would get a run back in the eighth on an Anthony Rizzo solo shot, cutting the lead to 4-2. The Yankees would threaten further in the eighth, putting the tying run on first with two outs. The score remained the same until the final out, however, sealing the deal for the Astros.
Here are six things you need to know about the Astros’ Game 1 win.
1. Verlander throws gem, makes history
The Astros owe much of their victory to ace Justin Verlander. The frontrunner for the AL Cy Young Award struggled in his first start this postseason against the Seattle Mariners. He course-corrected on Wednesday, holding the Yankees to one run over six innings of work. Verlander gave up three hits, one walk, and one hit by pitch, he struck out 11 batters on 103 pitches.
As ESPN Stats and Info noted, Verlander became the all-time postseason leader in strikeouts, surpassing Dodgers left-hander Clayton Kershaw early in the night:
Verlander’s 11 strikeouts tied for the second most he’s recorded in a single postseason game. His career-high remains the 13 he punched out against the Yankees in the 2017 ALCS. This is the fifth time he’s struck out 11, and the second time he’s done so versus New York. (To be fair, Verlander has now made nine postseason starts against the Yankees, giving him ample opportunity to accomplish the feat.)
Verlander threw three pitches more than 20 times on Wednesday: his fastball, slider, and curveball. He generated a game-high 17 swinging strikes, generating at least four on each of those three pitches, and eight on his slider alone.
In so many words, Verlander did not look like someone who had authored arguably the worst postseason start of his career last time out.
2. Taillon keeps the Yankees in the game
Yankees right-hander Jameson Taillon didn’t have a Verlander-like performance by any means. He did keep the game close, however, and that meant he surpassed the modest expectations placed upon him facing the vaunted Astros lineup.
Taillon threw 4 1/3 innings, surrendering one run on four hits and three walks. He didn’t strike out anyone on 67 pitches. Taillon’s line almost looked worse, as manager Aaron Boone removed him in the fifth after he surrendered a double. Reliever Clarke Schmidt, who would eventually yield two home runs, loaded the bases with back-to-back walks (one intentional) before generating a pivotal double-play ball.
Regardless of what would happen with Schmidt in the subsequent inning, the Yankees likely would’ve signed up for Taillon facing 20 batters and exiting with a tied score.
3. Astros receive home runs from unlikely sources
When people think about the big power threats in the Astros lineup, they think about Yordan Alvarez, Kyle Tucker, and perhaps even Jose Altuve or Alex Bregman. They probably don’t think about the three who launched solo shots in Game 1: Gurriel, McCormick, and Peña. That’s for good reason.
Indeed, Gurriel finished the regular season with eight home runs in 584 trips to the plate, or one every 73 plate appearances. McCormick and Peña were far better in that respect, homering between every 25 and 29 trips to the plate.
What’s more is that Gurriel had been in the midst of a lengthy power drought heading into the playoffs. After hitting his seventh home run of the year on July 1, he homered just once more over his final 76 games. Naturally, Gurriel has since launched two home runs in his first four playoff games, showing that you can’t predict baseball.
4. Judge makes huge catch
It didn’t end up mattering, not really, but Yankees outfielder Aaron Judge made arguably his best catch of the season from a statistical perspective early on. Bregman hit a ball to right, right-center with two runners on base and one out. It looked like Bregman was going to have extra bases, yet Judge laid out and made the grab.
You can click here to read about what made the catch so rare and special.
5. What history says about winning Game 1
It should not come as a surprise, but winning Game 1 usually bodes well for the victor’s chances of winning the entire series. According to the website WhoWins.com, Major League Baseball clubs who have won Game 1 of a best-of-seven set have historically gone on to win 64.3 percent of those series.
6. What’s next
The Yankees and Astros will continue the ALCS with Game 2 on Thursday night. The Yankees are expected to start Luis Severino while the Astros counter with Framber Valdez. First pitch is slated for 7:37 p.m. ET and the game will be broadcast on TBS. The Astros will attempt to build a 2-0 lead in the series.
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Astros vs. Yankees score: Houston takes ALCS Game 1 behind Justin Verlander, homers from unlikely sources
The Houston Astros defeated the New York Yankees, 4-2, in Game 1 of the American League Championship Series on Wednesday night. The Astros lead the best-of-seven series 1-0, meaning they’re three games away from punching a ticket to the World Series for the fourth time since 2017.
The Astros fell behind in the second inning, as Harrison Bader delivered his fourth home run in his sixth postseason game this fall, launching a solo shot against Justin Verlander. Houston would tie things up in the bottom half of the inning. Backstop Martín Maldonado launched an opposite-field double that plated Chas McCormick.
The two sides would trade zeroes until the sixth inning. That’s when first baseman Yuli Gurriel hit a home run to left field to put Houston up 2-1. The aforementioned McCormick would hit his own solo home run a couple batters later, building the lead up to 3-1. Another home run, this time from Jeremy Peña in the seventh, made it 4-1.
The Yankees would get a run back in the eighth on an Anthony Rizzo solo shot, cutting the lead to 4-2. The Yankees would threaten further in the eighth, putting the tying run on first with two outs. The score remained the same until the final out, however, sealing the deal for the Astros.
Here are six things you need to know about the Astros’ Game 1 win.
1. Verlander throws gem, makes history
The Astros owe much of their victory to ace Justin Verlander. The frontrunner for the AL Cy Young Award struggled in his first start this postseason against the Seattle Mariners. He course-corrected on Wednesday, holding the Yankees to one run over six innings of work. Verlander gave up three hits, one walk, and one hit by pitch, he struck out 11 batters on 103 pitches.
As ESPN Stats and Info noted, Verlander became the all-time postseason leader in strikeouts, surpassing Dodgers left-hander Clayton Kershaw early in the night:
Verlander’s 11 strikeouts tied for the second most he’s recorded in a single postseason game. His career-high remains the 13 he punched out against the Yankees in the 2017 ALCS. This is the fifth time he’s struck out 11, and the second time he’s done so versus New York. (To be fair, Verlander has now made nine postseason starts against the Yankees, giving him ample opportunity to accomplish the feat.)
Verlander threw three pitches more than 20 times on Wednesday: his fastball, slider, and curveball. He generated a game-high 17 swinging strikes, generating at least four on each of those three pitches, and eight on his slider alone.
In so many words, Verlander did not look like someone who had authored arguably the worst postseason start of his career last time out.
2. Taillon keeps the Yankees in the game
Yankees right-hander Jameson Taillon didn’t have a Verlander-like performance by any means. He did keep the game close, however, and that meant he surpassed the modest expectations placed upon him facing the vaunted Astros lineup.
Taillon threw 4 1/3 innings, surrendering one run on four hits and three walks. He didn’t strike out anyone on 67 pitches. Taillon’s line almost looked worse, as manager Aaron Boone removed him in the fifth after he surrendered a double. Reliever Clarke Schmidt, who would eventually yield two home runs, loaded the bases with back-to-back walks (one intentional) before generating a pivotal double-play ball.
Regardless of what would happen with Schmidt in the subsequent inning, the Yankees likely would’ve signed up for Taillon facing 20 batters and exiting with a tied score.
3. Astros receive home runs from unlikely sources
When people think about the big power threats in the Astros lineup, they think about Yordan Alvarez, Kyle Tucker, and perhaps even Jose Altuve or Alex Bregman. They probably don’t think about the three who launched solo shots in Game 1: Gurriel, McCormick, and Peña. That’s for good reason.
Indeed, Gurriel finished the regular season with eight home runs in 584 trips to the plate, or one every 73 plate appearances. McCormick and Peña were far better in that respect, homering between every 25 and 29 trips to the plate.
What’s more is that Gurriel had been in the midst of a lengthy power drought heading into the playoffs. After hitting his seventh home run of the year on July 1, he homered just once more over his final 76 games. Naturally, Gurriel has since launched two home runs in his first four playoff games, showing that you can’t predict baseball.
4. Judge makes huge catch
It didn’t end up mattering, not really, but Yankees outfielder Aaron Judge made arguably his best catch of the season from a statistical perspective early on. Bregman hit a ball to right, right-center with two runners on base and one out. It looked like Bregman was going to have extra bases, yet Judge laid out and made the grab.
You can click here to read about what made the catch so rare and special.
5. What history says about winning Game 1
It should not come as a surprise, but winning Game 1 usually bodes well for the victor’s chances of winning the entire series. According to the website WhoWins.com, Major League Baseball clubs who have won Game 1 of a best-of-seven set have historically gone on to win 64.3 percent of those series.
6. What’s next
The Yankees and Astros will continue the ALCS with Game 2 on Thursday night. The Yankees are expected to start Luis Severino while the Astros counter with Framber Valdez. First pitch is slated for 7:37 p.m. ET and the game will be broadcast on TBS. The Astros will attempt to build a 2-0 lead in the series.
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Yankees jump on Guardians in ALDS Game 5 as Giancarlo Stanton, Aaron Judge crank early homers
There’s one spot left in the Championship Series, and one game left to decide who gets it. After attempting to wait out rain in New York, MLB moved the winner-take-all Game 5 in the New York Yankees’ and Cleveland Guardians’ American League Division Series to Tuesday at 4:07 p.m. ET.
The series, already altered by a Game 2 rain delay, once again had its pitching considerations scrambled on Monday night. The teams reacted differently. The Yankees took the chance to bring back Game 2 starter Nestor Cortes Jr. on short rest and hold back Jameson Taillon for a potential ALCS Game 1, while the Guardians will stick with planned starter Aaron Civale. That doesn’t mean Cleveland’s Game 2 starter, Shane Bieber, couldn’t emerge from the bullpen in a key moment. The same apparently goes for Yankees ace Gerrit Cole, who has informed Aaron Boone he is ready to pitch if the situation calls for it.
Two games pushed back by rain creates some whiplash for viewers, as the ALDS will wrap up on the same day the NLCS begins in San Diego.
ALDS Game 5: Guardians (Civale) at Yankees (Cortes) – 4:07 p.m., TBS
NLCS Game 1: Phillies (Wheeler) at Padres (Darvish) – 8:03 p.m., FS1
How did we get here? Well, when Cole has pitched, the Yankees have won. And when he hasn’t pitch, the Guardians have chipped away and gotten to the Yankees bullpen — both times with clutch hits by rookie Oscar Gonzalez.
The winner will face a tight turnaround to square off against the Houston Astros in the ALCS. No matter who wins, they will have to travel to Houston for Game 1 Wednesday night.
[Full updated MLB playoff TV schedule]
Follow Yankees-Guardians right here on Yahoo Sports.
Need to catch up on the major October storylines? We’ve got you covered.
Mets vs. Padres score: San Diego smacks four homers off Max Scherzer to push New York to brink
The San Diego Padres defeated the New York Mets by a score of 7-1 in Game 1 of the National League Wild Card Series on Friday night at Citi Field. That outcome gives the Padres 1-0 lead in the best-of-three series that functions as the opening round in MLB’s new playoff structure.
Now for some takeaways from Game 1.
Bell got to Scherzer early
The Padres didn’t need long to do damage against Mets starter and co-ace Max Scherzer, as first baseman Josh Bell in the top of the first hit this booming two-run homer to the opposite field:
That 95-mph fastball from Scherzer caught too much of the middle, and Bell didn’t miss. That homer left the bat at 107.8 mph and traveled 419 feet to deep left-center. That had to be a huge moment for Bell, who’s struggled badly since coming over in the Juan Soto blockbuster just prior to the trade deadline. With the Padres in the regular season, Bell slashed .192/.316/.271 with just three home runs in 53 games. That came on the heels of a highly productive 103 games with the Nationals. Perhaps more concerning is that Bell saw his quality-of-contract metrics decline significantly on San Diego’s watch.
Well, there were no such quality-of-contact concerns on that one above, and Bell is now the author of what may be the Padres’ biggest home run of the season to date.
Then a bunch of other Padres got to Scherzer
It wasn’t just Bell who took Scherzer yard. So did Trent Grisham in the second and Jurickson Profar in the fifth. The very next batter after Profar, Manny Machado, became the fourth Padre to homer off Scherzer in Game 1, and this one sent him to the showers:
At that point, Trevor May came on, and Scherzer’s night was over: 4 2/3 IP, 7 H, 7 R, 4 SO, 0 BB, 4 HR. That comes to a 13.50 ERA for the game. This is just the second time in his career, playoffs or regular season, that he’s allowed at least seven runs and four home runs in a game. As for the postseason itself, there’s this:
This disaster outing comes just after Scherzer struggled in a crucial start against the Braves – four runs on nine hits in 5 2/3 innings when the division title hung in the balance. Maybe he’s still not fully over his oblique injury, maybe he’s suddenly feeling his 38 years, or maybe it’s just cruel short-run randomness that can happen to anyone in baseball.
Scherzer’s a three-time Cy Young winner and a future first-ballot Hall of Famer, but he’s looked like nothing of the sort recently.
Darvish was excellent
While Scherzer had a Game 1 to forget, the Padres’ Darvish had one to remember. His work for the night:
Darvish kept Mets hitters off balance with his usual dizzying array of offerings — he threw five different pitches on Friday, headlined by his cutter. His velocity ranged from 95.2 mph on a fastball to Francisco Lindor in the fifth to 66.9 mph on a curve to Eduardo Escobar in that same inning. While his strikeout tally wasn’t what it typically was, hard contact eluded the Mets for much of the night. The only blemish came on a solo home run by Escobar. Also of note is that Darvish’s seven innings of work meant a light night for the Padres’ bullpen, particularly by postseason standards.
DeGrom goes next for New York
We already knew that lefty Blake Snell will start Game 2 for the Padres, but the Mets’ decision hinged on how Game 1 went. If they won, the plan seemed to be to hold back ace Jacob deGrom in the hopes that they could close out the Padres in Game 2 and line up deGrom for Game 1 of the NLDS. If they lost Game 1 to San Diego, then deGrom would start Game 2, which would be an elimination game for the Mets. Well, the latter scenario, as you now know, is what unfolded, and deGrom will indeed go Saturday against Snell and Padres. The Padres are now one win away from a matchup with the NL West-rival Dodgers in the NLDS.
Game 2 on Saturday is scheduled to start at 7:37 p.m. ET.
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Mets vs. Padres score, takeaways: San Diego crushes four homers off Max Scherzer to push New York to brink
The San Diego Padres defeated the New York Mets by a score of 7-1 in Game 1 of the National League Wild Card Series on Friday night at Citi Field. That outcome gives the Padres 1-0 lead in the best-of-three series that functions as the opening round in MLB’s new playoff structure.
Now for some takeaways from Game 1.
Bell got to Scherzer early
The Padres didn’t need long to do damage against Mets starter and co-ace Max Scherzer, as first baseman Josh Bell in the top of the first hit this booming two-run homer to the opposite field:
That 95-mph fastball from Scherzer caught too much of the middle, and Bell didn’t miss. That homer left the bat at 107.8 mph and traveled 419 feet to deep left-center. That had to be a huge moment for Bell, who’s struggled badly since coming over in the Juan Soto blockbuster just prior to the trade deadline. With the Padres in the regular season, Bell slashed .192/.316/.271 with just three home runs in 53 games. That came on the heels of a highly productive 103 games with the Nationals. Perhaps more concerning is that Bell saw his quality-of-contract metrics decline significantly on San Diego’s watch.
Well, there were no such quality-of-contact concerns on that one above, and Bell is now the author of what may be the Padres’ biggest home run of the season to date.
Then a bunch of other Padres got to Scherzer
It wasn’t just Bell who took Scherzer yard. So did Trent Grisham in the second and Jurickson Profar in the fifth. The very next batter after Profar, Manny Machado, became the fourth Padre to homer off Scherzer in Game 1, and this one sent him to the showers:
At that point, Trevor May came on, and Scherzer’s night was over: 4 2/3 IP, 7 H, 7 R, 4 SO, 0 BB, 4 HR. That comes to a 13.50 ERA for the game. This is just the second time in his career, playoffs or regular season, that he’s allowed at least seven runs and four home runs in a game. As for the postseason itself, there’s this:
This disaster outing comes just after Scherzer struggled in a crucial start against the Braves – four runs on nine hits in 5 2/3 innings when the division title hung in the balance. Maybe he’s still not fully over his oblique injury, maybe he’s suddenly feeling his 38 years, or maybe it’s just cruel short-run randomness that can happen to anyone in baseball.
Scherzer’s a three-time Cy Young winner and a future first-ballot Hall of Famer, but he’s looked like nothing of the sort recently.
Darvish was excellent
While Scherzer had a Game 1 to forget, the Padres’ Darvish had one to remember. His work for the night:
Darvish kept Mets hitters off balance with his usual dizzying array of offerings — he threw five different pitches on Friday, headlined by his cutter. His velocity ranged from 95.2 mph on a fastball to Francisco Lindor in the fifth to 66.9 mph on a curve to Eduardo Escobar in that same inning. While his strikeout tally wasn’t what it typically was, hard contact eluded the Mets for much of the night. The only blemish came on a solo home run by Escobar. Also of note is that Darvish’s seven innings of work meant a light night for the Padres’ bullpen, particularly by postseason standards.
DeGrom goes next for New York
We already knew that lefty Blake Snell will start Game 2 for the Padres, but the Mets’ decision hinged on how Game 1 went. If they won, the plan seemed to be to hold back ace Jacob deGrom in the hopes that they could close out the Padres in Game 2 and line up deGrom for Game 1 of the NLDS. If they lost Game 1 to San Diego, then deGrom would start Game 2, which would be an elimination game for the Mets. Well, the latter scenario, as you now know, is what unfolded, and deGrom will indeed go Saturday against Snell and Padres. The Padres are now one win away from a matchup with the NL West-rival Dodgers in the NLDS.
Game 2 on Saturday is scheduled to start at 7:37 p.m. ET.
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Braves vs. Mets final score: Atlanta hits 3 homers in 5-2 win over Mets
The Braves’ bats hit a trio of solo home runs off of Jacob deGrom and did more damage against the Mets’ bullpen en route to taking the first game of a pivotal series against the New York Mets on Friday night.
With the win, the Braves improved to 98-59 on the year and moved back into a tie with the Mets atop the NL East.
The Mets did manage a few baserunners against Max Fried in the top of the first after Brandon Nimmo struck out swinging to begin the game. Pete Alonso laced a single up the middle and was replaced at first by Francisco Lindor, who hit a grounder down the third base line that Riley made a nice play on to get Alonso at second. Fried got Canha to ground out to keep the frame scoreless.
deGrom retired the Braves in order in the bottom of the first on a groundout and two strikeouts.
In the top of the second, another great Riley play was bookended by two less-than-great plays by Eddie Rosario in left field, which led to the Mets scoring the game’s first run. First, Rosario seemed to lose a Jeff McNeil fly ball in the lights, and Eduardo Escobar tattooed a single over Dansby Swanson’s head to put runners on first and second with no outs. In his first Major League at-bat, Francisco Alvarez grounded into a double play to Riley that erased the men on first and second but allowed McNeil to advance to third, and McNeil scored on a Luis Guillorme line drive that Rosario just misplayed. A Tomas Nido flyout to Ronald Acuña Jr. ended the inning.
The New York lead didn’t last long, though, as Riley and Olson went back-to-back in the bottom of the frame to give the Braves a 2-1 advantage.
With a lead, Fried settled in and retired 10 consecutive Mets over the third, fourth, and fifth innings.
Atlanta looked to potentially add to its lead in the bottom of the third when Orlando Arcia led off with a single and advanced to second on an Acuña Jr. groundout, but a Swanson strikeout and an Arcia TOOTBLAN ended the threat. deGrom matched Fried’s performance in the fourth and fifth, sitting down the Braves in order.
Fried ended up having to leave the game earlier than anticipated after becoming suddenly ill during the bottom of the fifth inning, and he exited having allowed one run on four hits with three strikeouts and no walks in 5.0 innings pitched and did ultimately earn the win. The bullpen picked him up, though, as Collin McHugh, Raisel Iglesias and AJ Minter combined to give up just one run on three total hits over the next three frames, and that one run came in the form of a Nido homer off of Minter in the eighth.
The Braves finally broke through in the sixth when Swanson hit a one-out towering shot to left-center field, good for his 100th career home run, to increase the lead to 3-1.
The Mets went to their bullpen after the stretch, and Atlanta was able to plate a pair of runs off of Tylor Megill to bring the score to 5-1. Olson hit a leadoff single, and Travis d’Arnaud followed it up with a double off the wall in center field, setting up a Rosario sac fly to score Olson. d’Arnaud came around to score on the inning’s second double off the wall, this one to left center off the bat of Arcia. Trevor May entered the game and struck out Acuña Jr. to end the frame, but the damage had already been done.
Kenley Jansen let things get a little interesting in the ninth, loading the bases with one out courtesy of a Canha HBP, McNeil single, and Escobar walk. However, Jansen struck out Alvarez, who ended his debut day hitless, followed by Tyler Naquin on a nine-pitch at-bat to strand the runners and earn his 38th save of the season.
The pivotal series continues tomorrow when Kyle Wright takes on Max Scherzer at 7:20PM.
Albert Pujols hits career homers 699 and 700
LOS ANGELES — Albert Pujols blasted his way into the exclusive 700-home run club when he drilled the second of two home runs on Friday night at Dodger Stadium, with the milestone reached in the fourth inning off right-hander Phil Bickford.
The 42-year-old Pujols, who has said this is the final season of his 22-year career, joined Barry Bonds (762 home runs), Hank Aaron (755) and Babe Ruth (714) as the only sluggers in AL/NL history to hit at least 700 long balls in his career. Pujols and Aaron are the only two with at least 3,000 hits and 700 home runs.
After circling the bases, Pujols went straight over to Adrian Beltre for a high-five through the netting. He was then greeted outside of the dugout by his Cardinals teammates. Not only did the crowd at Dodgers Stadium give him a standing ovation, the Cardinals slugger was greeted with chants of “Pu-jols! Pu-jols! Pu-jols” and “Al-bert! Al-bert! Al-bert!”
Pujols hit No. 699 against left-handed pitcher Andrew Heaney in the third inning and Dodgers manager Dave Roberts went to the bullpen for Bickford before Pujols stepped to the plate. He then he smashed another long ball off Bickford to move into the No. 700 club.
Pujols also hit his 499th and 500th home runs in the same game for the Angels against the Nationals in D.C. on April 22, 2014.
Friday’s home runs are Pujols’ 20th and 21st of the season. The veteran slugger joins Aaron (20) and Bonds (19) as the only players with at least 18 seasons of 20 or more homers. It was his fourth multi-home run game of the season and the 61st time he has hit at least two home runs in a game.
Pujols’ second dinger also extended his AL/NL record to 455 pitchers homered off during his career. He came into the season second to Bonds (449), but he passed him on Aug. 29 in Cincinnati and has continued to extend the record with a flurry of post-All-Star break home runs.
Pujols hit home run No. 698 last Friday at St. Louis’ Busch Stadium to help the Cardinals rally from a three-run deficit and defeat the Reds. Before he hit No. 699, five of Pujols’ previous six home runs had been to either tie the game or put the Cardinals in the lead. Also, there is this statistic to back up how important Pujols has been to the Cardinals’ ascension to the top of the NL Central: Prior to Pujols’ 699th homer, the Cardinals had been 15-1 in the games in which he had homered and 3-0 in the instances when he clubbed two home runs.
In the days following No. 698, Pujols went 0-for-9 in the next three games, preventing him from pulling closer to 700 in front of sellout crowds at Busch Stadium. Some 94,977 fans packed Busch Stadium for Saturday’s doubleheader in hopes of seeing Pujols go on a run to 700. Another 47,909 fans – comprising the Cardinals’ 26th sellout of the season and the sixth-largest crowd in the 16-year history of Busch Stadium III – attended Sunday’s game only to see Pujols and the Cardinals get shut out.
It should come as little surprise that Pujols’ 699th and 700th home runs came on the road. Before No. 699, he had hit 11 home runs this season on the road — and had two of his three two-homer performances — compared to just eight homers in the hot, humid air of Busch Stadium. In his career, Pujols has hit more road homers (369) than home blasts (331).
Among his major milestone home runs, Pujols blasted his first home run (2001), his 100th (2003) and 500th (2014) while playing on the road. He now has 466 homers as a Cardinal, 222 as an Angel and 12 with the Dodgers.
After slashing .215/.301/.376 with six homers, 20 RBIs and a .676 OPS in the first half of the season, Pujols has since started to resemble the feared slugger he was much earlier in his career. He slashed .313/.377/.657 with 13 homers, 33 RBIs and a 1.034 OPS in his first 47 games of the second half. Pujols had just four homers through June before launching three in July and eight in August. No. 699 was his fifth home run of September.