The surprising Texas Rangers are going all-in with Max Scherzer just when they need a big boost the most.

The AL West leaders acquired the three-time Cy Young Award winner from the New York Mets in a blockbuster trade announced Sunday, right about the time Texas placed ace Nathan Eovaldi on the 15-day injured list with a strained right forearm.

News of the agreement broke Saturday night while the Rangers were losing for the sixth time in eight games, trimming their lead over second-place Houston to one game.

Texas didn’t stop there, either. The team also landed left-handed starter Jordan Montgomery, right-handed reliever Chris Stratton and international bonus pool money from the St. Louis Cardinals on Sunday for left-hander John King, minor league infielder Tommy Saggese and minor league right-hander T.K. Roby.

Texas manager Bruce Bochy said Scherzer will make his Rangers debut Thursday when he starts at home against the Chicago White Sox.

“It’s great. We’re pumped about it. We’re getting an experienced guy with a tremendous resume,” Bochy said before the Rangers tried to avoid a sweep in San Diego.

Bochy said the message to his players before Tuesday’s trade deadline is: “Hey, we mean business. We’re here to win. And it’s always a great message when a team does something like this.”

Rangers general manager Chris Young, a former big league pitcher, was excited as well.

“Obviously, Max’s pedigree is a future Hall of Fame pitcher and the winner that he is is a perfect fit for what we need right now,” Young said. “You can never have enough starting pitching and to add someone of Max’s caliber is a great addition to our club. We landed the player we feel like is going to help us get where we want to go this year.”

Texas has emerged from six consecutive losing seasons to lead the AL West all but one day in Bochy’s first season in charge. Bochy won three World Series championships from 2010-14 as manager of the San Francisco Giants.

While hoping his absence won’t go beyond 15 days, Eovaldi, an All-Star this season who won a World Series title with the Boston Red Sox in 2018, was happy to hear of the acquisition of Scherzer.

“Adding him not only to this rotation for this year but also for next year, is a huge pickup,” Eovaldi said. “He brings that experience. He’s accomplished everything. What he’s going to be able to do for the guys, the energy, and you see how he goes out there and competes on the mound, and then just that extra experience for the postseason as well.

“We’ve got more guys that have experienced it and been through it, and the more guys you have with everything that he’s been able to accomplish, the better it is for the whole rotation and the team itself,” Eovaldi added.

Eovaldi joins two other Rangers All-Stars on the IL, catcher Jonah Heim and shortstop Corey Seager.

The trade netted the Mets one of Texas’ top prospects in infielder Luisangel Acuña, the younger brother of Atlanta star Ronald Acuña Jr. New York said he will be optioned to Double-A Binghamton.

Scherzer waived his no-trade clause to complete the deal, and the Mets will send cash to Texas. The pitcher also agreed to opt in on the final year of his contract in 2024 at $43.3 million, according to reports that said the Mets were paying about $35 million of the remaining $58 million on the right-hander’s contract.

The 39-year-old Scherzer joins another former Mets ace in Texas: injured right-hander Jacob deGrom. However, the two-time Cy Young Award winner had Tommy John surgery last month that could sideline him through the end of next season.

Scherzer (9-4) was leading the Mets in wins but had his highest ERA (4.01) since 2011 with Detroit. The eight-time All-Star started Friday at home against Washington, allowing one run over seven innings in a 5-1 New York victory.

With 210 career wins, Scherzer is third among active pitchers behind Justin Verlander and Zack Greinke.

The Mets, one of baseball’s biggest disappointments, unloaded Scherzer just days after sending closer David Robertson to Miami for two minor leaguers Thursday night.

New York began the season with the highest payroll in baseball at a record $355 million but started Sunday 18 games behind first-place Atlanta in the NL East and seven games back in the wild-card race with a string of teams to catch.

“We just couldn’t get the consistency clicking,” general manager Billy Eppler said.

The next question is what the Mets will do with Verlander, another three-time Cy Young Award winner signed through next season. There should be plenty of suitors for the 40-year-old right-hander, who earned his 250th career win Sunday against Washington.

The Rangers made the first notable move of this trading season by getting once-dominant closer Aroldis Chapman from Kansas City in June. Chapman has stayed in a setup role with Will Smith handling most of the closing duties.

Now, Texas has bolstered its rotation.

The 21-year-old Acuña was batting .315 with seven homers, 51 RBIs and an .830 OPS in 84 games with Double-A Frisco this season. He also had 25 doubles and was leading the Texas League in stolen bases (42) and runs (68).

Acuña was the third-ranked prospect in Texas’ farm system and No. 44 overall in the majors, according to MLB Pipeline.

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Dixon reported from Texas.

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LOS ANGELES — Clayton Kershaw delivered a vintage performance for his 200th win, pitching seven splendid innings of three-hit ball as the Los Angeles Dodgers defeated the New York Mets 5-0 on Tuesday night.

J.D. Martinez homered twice off Tylor Megill (3-1) and drove in four runs, finishing with four hits to help the Dodgers stop New York’s five-game winning streak.

Kershaw (3-1) struck out nine to pass Mickey Lolich for 22nd place on the career list with 2,833 strikeouts. The three-time Cy Young Award winner improved to 200-88 in 405 games (402 starts) over 16 major league seasons — the best winning percentage among the 117 pitchers to win 200 games.

The only one of them with a lower career ERA than Kershaw is Hall of Famer Walter Johnson.

Kershaw allowed three singles and no walks, moving to 11-0 with a 2.03 ERA in 17 regular-season starts against the Mets. Evan Phillips and Brusdar Graterol finished the four-hitter, Los Angeles’ first shutout this season.

ANGELS 5, YANKEES 2

NEW YORK (AP) — Shohei Ohtani homered on the 100th anniversary of the original Yankee Stadium, following Babe Ruth’s example with a loud two-run drive in the first inning that sent Los Angeles past New York.

In a starry matchup that included three AL MVPs, Ohtani turned on an 88.7 mph sweeper from Clarke Schmidt (0-1) and hit a 116.7 mph shot into the Yankees bullpen in right-center, his fourth homer of the season.

Mike Trout, the 2014, ’16 and ’19 MVP, singled and doubled for the Angels. Reigning AL MVP Aaron Judge hit a sacrifice fly in a two-run fourth for the Yankees after Andrew Wantz (1-0) walked rookie Anthony Volpe with the bases loaded.

PHILLIES 7, WHITE SOX 4, GAME 1

WHITE SOX 3, PHILLIES 0, GAME 2

CHICAGO (AP) — Lucas Giolito and four relievers combined on a one-hitter to give Chicago a split of its doubleheader with Philadelphia.

Brandon Marsh had Philadelphia’s only hit in the second game, an opposite-field double to left on reliever Aaron Bummer’s first pitch of the eighth inning.

Giolito was pulled after throwing 102 pitches in six innings. He struck out seven, walked one and hit a batter. Kendall Graveman retired the side on eight pitches in the seventh, Bummer got two outs in the eighth and Reynaldo Lopez set down the last four batters, striking out three, to earn his third save.

Jake Burger hit his fourth homer in five games, a three-run shot to left field in the first inning off left-hander Bailey Falter (1-2).

In the opener, Josh Harrison homered among his three hits and drove in four runs for the Phillies. Bryson Stott began the game with a single, extending his hitting streak to 17 games and surpassing the franchise record of 16 to start a season, set by Puddin’ Head Jones in 1950. His streak ended in the nightcap.

Relievers Gregory Soto, Craig Kimbrel, Seranthony Dominguez and Jose Alvarado struck out eight while retiring all 12 White Sox batters they faced in the first game. Alvarado got his first save. Zack Wheeler (1-1) gave up four runs in five innings.

Chicago starter Lance Lynn (0-2) allowed five runs on a season-high 10 hits.

BRAVES 8, PADRES 1

SAN DIEGO (AP) — Spencer Strider and three relievers combined on a four-hitter and Matt Olson, Ozzie Albies and Sean Murphy each hit an impressive homer for NL East-leading Atlanta, which beat struggling San Diego.

The Braves have won eight straight, the longest active streak in the majors. The Padres have lost six of seven.

Strider (2-0) held the Padres hitless until Juan Soto singled on his 90th pitch, with one out in the sixth.

Murphy homered into the second deck in left field off Blake Snell (0-3) leading off the fourth.

RAYS 10, REDS 0

CINCINNATI (AP) — Taylor Walls homered twice and drove in four runs and rookie right-hander Taj Bradley dazzled in his second start for Tampa Bay.

Yandy Diaz hit a three-run homer, and Randy Arozarena also went deep for the major league-best Rays (15-3), who have homered in each of their first 18 games.

The 22-year-old Bradley (2-0) struck out nine and walked one in 5 1/3 innings. He has 17 combined strikeouts in his first two career starts, a Rays record.

Cincinnati’s Nick Lodolo (2-1) gave up eight runs on 12 hits in 4 2/3 innings.

TIGERS 4, GUARDIANS 3, GAME 1

TIGERS 1, GUARDIANS 0, GAME 2

DETROIT (AP) — Riley Greene hit a sixth-inning homer and Eduardo Rodriguez pitched eight scoreless innings, helping Detroit sweep a doubleheader from Cleveland.

Rodriguez (1-2) allowed four hits, no walks and struck out 10 while matching the longest outing of his career.

Jason Foley pitched the ninth for his first save, sealing Detroit’s fifth straight win. Cleveland’s Peyton Battenfield (0-1) gave up three hits, including Greene’s opposite-field homer to left field, and three walks in six innings.

In the opener, Kerry Carpenter hit game-ending solo homer off James Karinchak (0-3) with two outs in the ninth inning. Alex Lange (1-0) worked a scoreless ninth for the Tigers.

ORIOLES 1, NATIONALS 0

WASHINGTON (AP) — Dean Kremer pitched impressively into the seventh inning and Austin Hays singled home the game’s only run in the fourth to lift Baltimore over Washington.

Kremer (1-0) allowed only four hits in 6 2/3 innings, striking out six without a walk. Danny Coulombe got the final out of the seventh, Yennier Cano breezed through the eighth and Félix Bautista pitched the ninth for his fifth save.

Josiah Gray (0-4) yielded a run and four hits. The Nationals have managed only one run in the four games he’s started.

RED SOX 5, TWINS 4, 10 INNINGS

BOSTON (AP) — Alex Verdugo singled home the winning run with two outs in the 10th inning on a flyball that barely stayed fair as Boston beat Minnesota.

Umpires needed a few minutes to review Verdugo’s drive, which bounced off the low wall in Fenway Park’s right field just short of Pesky’s Pole, before officially declaring it a hit and the game over.

Reese McGuire had just tied it with a two-run single as the Red Sox rallied after allowing two runs in the top of the 10th. John Schreiber (1-0) got the win despite allowing two hits and a run. Red Sox starter Chris Sale struck out 11 batters in six innings, giving up one run.

Jovani Moran (0-1) yielded three runs on three hits in the 10th.

RANGERS 12, ROYALS 2

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Marcus Semien hit a three-run homer during a five-run sixth inning, Adolis Garcia added another three-run homer in the eighth, and Texas pounced on Kansas City.

Texas (11-6) improved to five games over .500 for the first time since July 16, 2019. The Royals lost their fifth straight and fell to 1-11 at home.

Nathan Eovaldi (2-2) went six innings, allowing two runs on seven hits and a walk while striking out five.

Brad Keller (2-2) allowed three runs on three hits and five walks, including leadoff walks in three of his four innings.

DIAMONDBACKS 8, CARDINALS 7

ST. LOUIS (AP) — Gabriel Moreno hit a three-run homer that capped a six-run fourth inning for Arizona against St. Louis’ Jordan Montgomery.

Willson Contreras homered twice for the Cardinals, including a two-run shot off Andrew Chafin during St. Louis’ three-run ninth. Miguel Castro got the last two outs for his first save.

Montgomery (2-2) allowed seven runs on 10 hits in four innings as his ERA jumped from 2.45 to 4.84.

Kyle Nelson (3-0), the second of seven Arizona pitchers, worked 1 1/3 scoreless innings in relief.

BLUE JAYS 4, ASTROS 2

HOUSTON (AP) — Matt Chapman homered and doubled, and Chris Bassitt carried a shutout in the seventh inning for Toronto.

Bassitt (2-2) allowed three hits and a walk in 6 1/3 innings. Jordan Romano got the last four outs for his seventh save.

Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Chapman homered in the fourth against Houston’s Jose Urquidy (1-1).

MARLINS 4, GIANTS 2

MIAMI (AP) — Jazz Chisholm Jr. hit a three-run homer in the fourth inning and Miami beat San Francisco, which lost starter Alex Wood because of a left hamstring strain in the third.

Edward Cabrera (1-1) limited the Giants to two runs and six hits in six innings. A.J. Puk closed with a scoreless ninth for his third save.

Chisholm’s shot off Jakob Junis (2-1) put the Marlins ahead 4-2.

CUBS 4, ATHLETICS 0

OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — Cody Bellinger hit an RBI single to break a scoreless tie and ignite a four-run outburst in the eighth inning, and Chicago handed Oakland its sixth straight loss.

The Athletics fell to 3-15, matching the 1951 Philadelphia A’s for the worst 18-game start in franchise history.

Marcus Stroman pitched six scoreless innings and struck out five. Mark Leiter Jr. (1-0) worked a scoreless seventh, and Michael Fulmer and Michael Rucker completed the two-hitter.

Oakland starter Ken Waldichuk pitched five scoreless innings. Reliever Trevor May (2-3) managed to get just one out and was charged with three runs.

PIRATES 5, ROCKIES 3

DENVER (AP) — Jack Suwinski homered twice and drove in three runs, Vince Velasquez recovered from a rough start to pitch six solid innings and Pittsburgh sent Colorado to its season-high seventh consecutive loss.

Connor Joe had a double and a triple against his former team, and Carlos Santana added a run-scoring double for the Pirates, who have won seven of their last nine road games.

Kris Bryant homered and Elías Díaz had a two-run double in the first for the Rockies. Velasquez (2-2) allowed five hits, only one after the first inning. He struck out seven and walked three.

David Bednar worked the ninth for his fifth save.

José Ureña (0-3) gave up five runs in 4 2/3 innings.

BREWERS 6, MARINERS 5, 11 INNINGS

SEATTLE (AP) — Willy Adames drove in the go-ahead run in the 11th inning and Milwaukee defeated Seattle.

Joey Weimer scored on Adames’ RBI groundout against reliever Justin Topa (0-1). Adames finished with three RBIs, including a run-scoring double and a solo homer.

Christian Yelich hit a leadoff home run against Mariners starter Logan Gilbert and made it 2-0 with an RBI single in the third.

Cal Raleigh hit a two-run double for Seattle.

Garrett Mitchell scored in the 10th to give the Brewers the lead, but Ty France tied it back up the next inning with a sacrifice fly.

Bryse Wilson (1-0) got the win.

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NEW YORK (AP) — Justin Verlander pitched seven steady innings for his first victory in nearly six weeks and slumping rookie Francisco Álvarez hit the first of three quick homers that powered the New York Mets past the San Francisco Giants 4-1 on Saturday.

Brandon Nimmo and Francisco Lindor launched back-to-back shots as the Mets went deep three times in a span of four batters against Anthony DeSclafani (4-8) in the third.

Tommy Pham added an RBI double off Sean Manaea in the fourth, and New York (37-46) opened July with a much-needed win after going 6-19 in its previous 25 games.

The 40-year-old Verlander (3-4) gave up five hits, struck out six and didn’t allow an earned run for his 247th victory and first since May 21 against Cleveland.

The only run the Giants scored came on Thairo Estrada’s double-play grounder in the seventh following a throwing error by first baseman Pete Alonso — his second in two days.

San Francisco (46-37) fell to 14-5 in its last 19 games dating to June 11.

PHILLIES 19, NATIONALS 4

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Alec Bohm homered twice and tied his career high with six RBIs, and Philadelphia scored its most runs in five years in winning for the sixth time in eight games and for the 12th time in 16.

Kyle Schwarber had a grand slam, and Nick Castellanos homered, singled and doubled with three RBIs for the Phillies, who scored their most runs since beating Miami 20-1 on April 7, 2018. Philadelphia had 18 hits, including four by Bohm, who matched his career best.

Zack Wheeler (7-4) won his fourth straight decision, giving up four runs and seven hits in five innings.

Bryce Harper doubled, had two hits and drove in two runs, and J.T. Realmuto also had two RBIs.

MacKenzie Gore (4-7) allowed seven runs, six hits and three walks in 2 2/3 innings. Amos Willingham, Joe La Sorsa and Thaddeus Ward gave up four runs each. Dominic Smith homered for Washington.

BRAVES 7, MARLINS 0

ATLANTA (AP) — Ronald Acuña and Ozzie Albies homered as part of a six-run first inning to lead Atlanta as Miami’s Luis Arraez, the major league batting leader, saw his average dip to .388.

Charlie Morton (8-6) struck out five in 5 2/3 innings and scattered four hits and one walk in winning his third consecutive start. Kirby Yates, Nick Anderson, Ben Heller, and Joe Jiménez completed the shutout for the Braves out of the bullpen.

Matt Olson went 2 for 4 with a run scored, and Austin Riley was 2 for 4 with two runs scored for the Braves, who have won 23 of their last 27 games and lead the second-place Marlins by eight games in the NL East.

Marlins rookie Eury Pérez (5-4) lasted just a third of an inning, giving up six runs and seven hits. He threw 35 pitches.

Arraez went 1 for 4. He is 3 for 16 over last four games and his .388 average is his lowest since June 17.

CARDINALS 11, YANKEES 4, 1ST GAME

YANKEES 6, CARDINALS 2, 2ND GAME

ST. LOUIS (AP) — Harrison Bader had a first-inning sacrifice fly in his return to St. Louis, rookie Anthony Volpe hit a go-ahead triple as part of his fifth straight multi-hit game and New York earned a doubleheader split by winning the nightcap.

St. Louis won the rain-interrupted opener behind Paul Goldschmidt’s go-ahead, three-run homer off Luis Severino in a five-run third. Jack Flaherty pitched six shutout innings, Goldschmidt had four RBIs and Nolan Gorman also homered for the Cardinals, who reached double-digit runs for the first time since May 21.

Isiah Kiner-Falefa had three hits in the second game as the Yankees won for the fifth time in their last seven.

Lars Nootbaar homered for St. Louis, which fell to a 34-48, its worst 82-game start since 1990. Nootbar hit a first-inning homer off opener Ian Hamilton as the Yankees went with a bullpen game because of Friday’s rainout.

Michael King (2-4) allowed one hit while pitching scoreless relief over a season-high 3 1/3 innings. Wandy Peralta, Tommy Kahnle and Clay Holmes followed with an inning each.

Flaherty (5-5) won his second straight start after going 0-1 in his previous five. He allowed four hits, struck out four and walked two after giving up six runs in each of his previous two outings.

Severino (1-3) gave up seven runs and nine hits over four innings. Jake Bauers hit a two-run homer off Drew VerHagen in a three-run ninth for the Yankees, who had won four of their previous five games.

PADRES 12, REDS 5

CINCINNATI (AP) — Juan Soto hit a tiebreaking, three-run homer in the sixth inning, Manny Machado followed three pitches later with the first of his two home runs and San Diego stopped a six-game losing streak.

Soto had four RBIs and Machado and Fernando Tatis three each for the Padres, who have not lost seven in a row since Sept. 24 to Oct. 1, 2021.

Michael Wacha (8-2), pitching on his 32nd birthday, won his third straight decision. Wacha allowed one run and five hits in five innings in his first outing since June 19, after missing a turn because of shoulder discomfort.

San Diego (38-45) had fallen eight games below .500 for the first time since ending 2019 at 70-92. Cincinnati (44-39), which has surged into the NL Central lead, lost for just the fourth time in 19 games.

RED SOX 7, BLUE JAYS 6

TORONTO (AP) — Rafael Devers hit his 20th home run, Justin Turner homered and scored three times as Boston spoiled Canada Day celebrations in Toronto.

Right fielder Alex Verdugo threw out Bo Bichette at home plate for the final out of the game after Vladimir Guerrero Jr. hit an RBI single off Red Sox closer Kenley Jansen. George Springer scored on the play, but Bichette was tagged out by catcher Caleb Hamilton. Toronto’s challenge was unsuccessful.

Devers went 3 for 5 with three RBI and scored twice. Turner finished 3 for 5 with two RBI as Boston returned to .500 at 42-42. Red Sox right-hander Kutter Crawford (3-4) pitched 5 2/3 innings to win for the second time in three starts.

Matt Chapman hit a two-run home run, and Springer and Bichette had solo homers.

MARINERS 8, RAYS 3

SEATTLE (AP) — Jarred Kelenic hit a tiebreaking single off Tyler Glasnow in the sixth inning, Teoscar Hernández added a two-run double in a three-run seventh and Seattle beat Tampa Bay to halt a three-game skid.

George Kirby (7-7) allowed two runs and two hits in seven innings with seven strikeouts, and the Mariners backed him with 13 hits. Paul Sewald earned his 15th save in 18 chances.

Yandy Díaz doubled in the sixth for the Rays’ first hit and Luke Raley homered.

Glasnow (2-2) struck out 11 and allowed seven hits and three runs with a walk.

RANGERS 5, ASTROS 2

ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — Nathan Eovaldi pitched seven scoreless innings to become the American League’s second 10-game winner and AL West-leading Texas beat second-place Houston.

Eovaldi (10-3) struck out five and limited the Astros to two singles, but also had a season-high four walks.

Marcus Semien, Corey Seager and Josh Jung each drove in a run for Texas. Switch-hitting catcher Jonah Heim had three hits and scored a run.

Rangers reliever Joe Barlow gave up Kyle Tucker’s two-run homer with two outs in the ninth. Will Smith then came on to get the final out for his 15th save in 16 chances.

TWINS 1, ORIOLES 0

BALTIMORE (AP) — Bailey Ober allowed two hits over seven innings, Joey Gallo homered and Minnesota extended Baltimore’s losing streak to a season-high four games.

Ober (5-4) gave up a second-inning single to Gunnar Henderson, hit Ryan O’Hearn with a pitch in the fourth and yielded a single to Anthony Santander in the seventh. Those were the only runners to reach base. as the right-hander struck out eight and did not allow a runner past first.

Griffin Jax worked the eighth and Jhoan Duran got three outs to complete the three-hitter and earn his 12th save in 14 chances.

Ober prevailed in a pitching duel with Kyle Bradish (4-4), who gave up one run and seven hits over six innings.

ATHLETICS 7, WHITE SOX 6, 10 INNINGS

OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — Tyler Wade slid into home with the winning run after second baseman Elvis Andrus misplayed a 10th-inning grounder, giving Oakland a victory over Chicago.

With Wade on second as the automatic runner, former A’s pitcher Kendall Graveman (3-4) got the first two outs of the 10th. JJ Bleday hit a routine grounder to Andrus. The ball bounced off the second baseman’s glove, and he retrieved the ball and threw too late to first as Bleday slid across the base. Wade kept on running and slid across the plate to beat the throw from first baseman Gavin Sheets.

Shintaro Fujinami (4-7) worked around a hit batter in the top of the 10th, striking out two.

Seth Brown homered for the A’s and Bleday had two RBIs.

Eloy Jiménez hit his 11th home run and drove in two runs for Chicago. Tim Anderson and Yasmani Grandal added two hits each but Anderson had a grand slam erased by video review in the eighth inning. Yasmani Grandal had an RBI single and Carlos Perez added a run-scoring double.

BREWERS 11, PIRATES 8

PITTSBURGH (AP) — Corbin Burnes carried a perfect game into the sixth inning, Christian Yelich hit his 10th home run and Milwaukee survived a late rally to end Pittsburgh’s four-game winning streak.

Burnes (6-5) retired the first 15 batters he faced before walking Jared Triolo leading off the sixth. A walk and a hit batter loaded the bases with two outs and Jack Suwinski ended Burnes’ shot at a no-hitter with a clean two-run single to right field.

It was the only hiccup for Burnes, who struck out seven against two walks in seven innings to win for just the second time since May 12.

Yelich hit a three-run homer in the second off Johan Oviedo (3-9) to break it open. Raimel Tapia had two hits, including his third home run, for Milwaukee. Willy Adames, Blake Perkins and Brian Anderson had two hits apiece for the Brewers.

ROYALS 6, DODGERS 4

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Kansas City rudely welcomed Dodgers pitcher Julio Urías back from the injured list by scoring five times in the first inning and holding on for a rain-delayed win over Los Angeles.

Daniel Lynch (2-3) nearly gave all his support back when he allowed three runs in the second. But the left-hander settled down, eventually throwing 108 pitches to get through five innings. He allowed five hits and three walks with four strikeouts, helping the Royals beat the Dodgers for just the second time in their last 10 meetings.

The Dodgers left the bases loaded in the eighth when Yonny Hernandez struck out and Freddie Freeman grounded out, and Scott Barlow got the final four outs for his 10th save while capping four innings of one-run ball by the Kansas City bullpen.

Urías (5-5) scuffled through his first game since hurting his hamstring on May 18. He lasted three innings and allowed six hits and two walks.

TIGERS 4, ROCKIES 2, 10 INNINGS

DENVER (AP) — Zach McKinstry hit a tiebreaking, three-run homer in the 10th inning, lifting Detroit past Colorado.

With Jonathan Schoop at second as the automatic runner, Eric Haase singled off Pierce Johnson (1-4) to put runners at the corners. McKinstry followed with his sixth homer, a 400-foot drive over the right-center fence and into the Rockies bullpen.

Kris Bryant hit a two-out RBI single in the bottom half off Alex Lange (5-2), as Detroit sealed its 21st come-from-behind win this year.

Six Tigers combined on a six-hitter as both teams went with bullpen games.

Colorado’s Ezequiel Tovar hit a two-out RBI single in the sixth to extend his career-best hitting streak to 14 games.

DIAMONDBACKS 3, ANGELS 1

ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) — Ryne Nelson worked 7 1/3 strong innings and Dominic Fletcher and Jake McCarthy had RBIs as Arizona beat Los Angeles.

The Diamondback scored all their runs against the Angels’ bullpen and clinched first series win since taking two of three against Cleveland in mid-June.

Nelson (5-4) was catalyst for Arizona, giving up one run, three hits and one walk while striking out six.

On Sunday, the Diamondbacks will go for their first series sweep since taking three games from Detroit on June 9-11.

Anthony Rendon hit his second home run of the season for Los Angeles, which has lost four in a row. Shohei Ohtani was hitless in four at-bats and Mike Trout went 0 for 3.

GUARDIANS 6, CUBS 0

CHICAGO (AP) — Rookie Tanner Bibee and three relievers combined on a five-hitter, and Cleveland blanked Chicago.

Bibee (5-2) tossed three-hit ball into the sixth while outpitching Marcus Stroman, and the Guardians came out on top in a game delayed 2 hours, 45 minutes at the start because of rain.

Amed Rosario lined a two-run single in the third. Andrés Giménez chased Stroman (9-6) with an RBI single in a four-run sixth, and the Guardians bounced back after getting pounded 10-1 the previous night. The Cubs had matched a season high with their five straight losses after winning 11 of 13.

Bibee went 5 2/3 innings and matched a season high with nine strikeouts while walking two. Sam Hentges, Nick Sandlin and Eli Morgan combined to finish Cleveland’s seventh shutout.

Stroman lasted 5 2/3 innings, allowing five runs and five hits.

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In the final days before the All-Star break, the San Diego Padres host the New York Mets this week.

It’s safe to say that both teams are ready to put the first half behind them.

The Padres and Mets are two of baseball’s biggest disappointments to date, trading under .500 despite high-priced, star-studded rosters. The fact that both teams are currently 38-46 seems like appropriate symmetry.

The outlook for San Diego looks a little rosier than that for New York. The Padres actually have a plus-23 running difference. They were finished off by a 5-15 record in one-run games and a 0-7 mark in extra innings. If the tight games turn for them, the Padres could certainly make a breakthrough, and unlike the Mets, their star closer (Josh Hader) is healthy.

But San Diego has lost seven of its last eight games in a section of the game that included Washington, Pittsburgh and Cincinnati. A rival team shouldn’t have too many problems against this trio.

The Mets, on the other hand, got two of San Francisco’s three wins last weekend, but that was their only straight win of the last nine. New York’s bullpen was a problem after Edwin Diaz was out with a preseason knee injury, and owner Steve Cohen acknowledged his team could be a seller by the close if things don’t improve soon.

LIGHT SPOT

In a terrible season for the Oakland Athletics, they have the major league leader in stolen bases in Esteury Ruiz. At 42, he’s already surpassed last year’s leader — Baltimore’s Jorge Mateo had 35.

Ruiz has 84 hits and 14 walks this season, so he’s trying to steal about half the time he gets to base with 50 steal attempts. Brent Rooker is Oakland’s representative at the All-Star Game, but it would have been interesting to see Ruiz play as a late-inning pinch-running option for the American League.

TRIVIA TIME

The A’s have had one player since Rickey Henderson led the American League in steals, and that player clinched the title in 2011 at 49. Who was that?

RISING

The Philadelphia Phillies ended the week on a bitter note, losing two of their three losses to Washington – suffering two losses in one run to clinch a 19-4 win. But before that, Philadelphia won a three-game series at Wrigley Field against the Cubs.

The Phillies have recovered from their slow start, and after winning 19 of their last 26 games, they are just 1 1/2 games away from the final wild card in the National League. And after last year, if they can just sneak into the postseason, they know what’s possible.

FALL

The Los Angeles Angels drew in four games against the Chicago White Sox before losing two of three games to Arizona. So they had a losing record on a home side where Shohei Ohtani netted six in seven games and netted ten in his only start.

The Angels have lost a total of eight out of twelve games.

LINE OF THE WEEK

New York Yankees’ Domingo Germán scored the 24th perfect game in Major League history with an 11-0 win over Oakland on Wednesday night. He was the first pitcher from the Dominican Republic to complete a perfect game.

Germán counted three balls to just two batsmen.

COMEBACK OF THE WEEK

The Pittsburgh Pirates trailed 4-0 in game four and 7-3 in game seven before beating the Milwaukee Brewers 8-7 on Friday night. Pittsburgh scored three runs at the bottom of the ninth game and won it by hitting a two-run home run by Carlos Santana.

According to Baseball Savant, Milwaukee had a 95.5% chance of winning by the end of the seventh field.

TRIVIA ANSWER

Coco Crisp, who tied with Brett Gardner of the New York Yankees that year.

Follow Noah Trister at https://twitter.com/noahtrister

AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

Copyright 2023 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, transcribed, or redistributed without permission.

The post Padres, Mets operating out of time to show round disappointing seasons | Baseball appeared first on DAILY SAN FRANCISCO BAY NEWS.

Justin Verlander pitched seven steady innings for his first victory in nearly six weeks and slumping rookie Francisco Álvarez hit the first of three quick homers that powered the New York Mets past the San Francisco Giants 4-1 on Saturday.

Brandon Nimmo and Francisco Lindor launched back-to-back shots as the Mets went deep three times in a span of four batters against Anthony DeSclafani (4-8) in the third.

Tommy Pham added an RBI double off Sean Manaea in the fourth, and New York (37-46) opened July with a much-needed win after going 6-19 in its previous 25 games.

The 40-year-old Verlander (3-4) gave up five hits, struck out six and didn’t allow an earned run for his 247th victory and first since May 21 against Cleveland.

The only run the Giants scored came on Thairo Estrada’s double-play grounder in the seventh following a throwing error by first baseman Pete Alonso — his second in two days.

San Francisco (46-37) fell to 14-5 in its last 19 games dating to June 11.

PHILLIES 19, NATIONALS 4

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Alec Bohm homered twice and tied his career high with six RBIs, and Philadelphia scored its most runs in five years in winning for the sixth time in eight games and for the 12th time in 16.

Kyle Schwarber had a grand slam, and Nick Castellanos homered, singled and doubled with three RBIs for the Phillies, who scored their most runs since beating Miami 20-1 on April 7, 2018. Philadelphia had 18 hits, including four by Bohm, who matched his career best.

Zack Wheeler (7-4) won his fourth straight decision, giving up four runs and seven hits in five innings.

Bryce Harper doubled, had two hits and drove in two runs, and J.T. Realmuto also had two RBIs.

MacKenzie Gore (4-7) allowed seven runs, six hits and three walks in 2 2/3 innings. Amos Willingham, Joe La Sorsa and Thaddeus Ward gave up four runs each. Dominic Smith homered for Washington.

BRAVES 7, MARLINS 0

ATLANTA (AP) — Ronald Acuña and Ozzie Albies homered as part of a six-run first inning to lead Atlanta as Miami’s Luis Arraez, the major league batting leader, saw his average dip to .388.

Charlie Morton (8-6) struck out five in 5 2/3 innings and scattered four hits and one walk in winning his third consecutive start. Kirby Yates, Nick Anderson, Ben Heller, and Joe Jiménez completed the shutout for the Braves out of the bullpen.

Matt Olson went 2 for 4 with a run scored, and Austin Riley was 2 for 4 with two runs scored for the Braves, who have won 23 of their last 27 games and lead the second-place Marlins by eight games in the NL East.

Marlins rookie Eury Pérez (5-4) lasted just a third of an inning, giving up six runs and seven hits. He threw 35 pitches.

Arraez went 1 for 4. He is 3 for 16 over last four games and his .388 average is his lowest since June 17.

CARDINALS 11, YANKEES 4, 1ST GAME

YANKEES 6, CARDINALS 2, 2ND GAME

ST. LOUIS (AP) — Harrison Bader had a first-inning sacrifice fly in his return to St. Louis, rookie Anthony Volpe hit a go-ahead triple as part of his fifth straight multi-hit game and New York earned a doubleheader split by winning the nightcap.

St. Louis won the rain-interrupted opener behind Paul Goldschmidt’s go-ahead, three-run homer off Luis Severino in a five-run third. Jack Flaherty pitched six shutout innings, Goldschmidt had four RBIs and Nolan Gorman also homered for the Cardinals, who reached double-digit runs for the first time since May 21.

Isiah Kiner-Falefa had three hits in the second game as the Yankees won for the fifth time in their last seven.

Lars Nootbaar homered for St. Louis, which fell to a 34-48, its worst 82-game start since 1990. Nootbar hit a first-inning homer off opener Ian Hamilton as the Yankees went with a bullpen game because of Friday’s rainout.

Michael King (2-4) allowed one hit while pitching scoreless relief over a season-high 3 1/3 innings. Wandy Peralta, Tommy Kahnle and Clay Holmes followed with an inning each.

Flaherty (5-5) won his second straight start after going 0-1 in his previous five. He allowed four hits, struck out four and walked two after giving up six runs in each of his previous two outings.

Severino (1-3) gave up seven runs and nine hits over four innings. Jake Bauers hit a two-run homer off Drew VerHagen in a three-run ninth for the Yankees, who had won four of their previous five games.

PADRES 12, REDS 5

CINCINNATI (AP) — Juan Soto hit a tiebreaking, three-run homer in the sixth inning, Manny Machado followed three pitches later with the first of his two home runs and San Diego stopped a six-game losing streak.

Soto had four RBIs and Machado and Fernando Tatis three each for the Padres, who have not lost seven in a row since Sept. 24 to Oct. 1, 2021.

Michael Wacha (8-2), pitching on his 32nd birthday, won his third straight decision. Wacha allowed one run and five hits in five innings in his first outing since June 19, after missing a turn because of shoulder discomfort.

San Diego (38-45) had fallen eight games below .500 for the first time since ending 2019 at 70-92. Cincinnati (44-39), which has surged into the NL Central lead, lost for just the fourth time in 19 games.

RED SOX 7, BLUE JAYS 6

TORONTO (AP) — Rafael Devers hit his 20th home run, Justin Turner homered and scored three times as Boston spoiled Canada Day celebrations in Toronto.

Right fielder Alex Verdugo threw out Bo Bichette at home plate for the final out of the game after Vladimir Guerrero Jr. hit an RBI single off Red Sox closer Kenley Jansen. George Springer scored on the play, but Bichette was tagged out by catcher Caleb Hamilton. Toronto’s challenge was unsuccessful.

Devers went 3 for 5 with three RBI and scored twice. Turner finished 3 for 5 with two RBI as Boston returned to .500 at 42-42. Red Sox right-hander Kutter Crawford (3-4) pitched 5 2/3 innings to win for the second time in three starts.

Matt Chapman hit a two-run home run, and Springer and Bichette had solo homers.

MARINERS 8, RAYS 3

SEATTLE (AP) — Jarred Kelenic hit a tiebreaking single off Tyler Glasnow in the sixth inning, Teoscar Hernández added a two-run double in a three-run seventh and Seattle beat Tampa Bay to halt a three-game skid.

George Kirby (7-7) allowed two runs and two hits in seven innings with seven strikeouts, and the Mariners backed him with 13 hits. Paul Sewald earned his 15th save in 18 chances.

Yandy Díaz doubled in the sixth for the Rays’ first hit and Luke Raley homered.

Glasnow (2-2) struck out 11 and allowed seven hits and three runs with a walk.

RANGERS 5, ASTROS 2

ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — Nathan Eovaldi pitched seven scoreless innings to become the American League’s second 10-game winner and AL West-leading Texas beat second-place Houston.

Eovaldi (10-3) struck out five and limited the Astros to two singles, but also had a season-high four walks.

Marcus Semien, Corey Seager and Josh Jung each drove in a run for Texas. Switch-hitting catcher Jonah Heim had three hits and scored a run.

Rangers reliever Joe Barlow gave up Kyle Tucker’s two-run homer with two outs in the ninth. Will Smith then came on to get the final out for his 15th save in 16 chances.

TWINS 1, ORIOLES 0

BALTIMORE (AP) — Bailey Ober allowed two hits over seven innings, Joey Gallo homered and Minnesota extended Baltimore’s losing streak to a season-high four games.

Ober (5-4) gave up a second-inning single to Gunnar Henderson, hit Ryan O’Hearn with a pitch in the fourth and yielded a single to Anthony Santander in the seventh. Those were the only runners to reach base. as the right-hander struck out eight and did not allow a runner past first.

Griffin Jax worked the eighth and Jhoan Duran got three outs to complete the three-hitter and earn his 12th save in 14 chances.

Ober prevailed in a pitching duel with Kyle Bradish (4-4), who gave up one run and seven hits over six innings.

ATHLETICS 7, WHITE SOX 6, 10 INNINGS

OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — Tyler Wade slid into home with the winning run after second baseman Elvis Andrus misplayed a 10th-inning grounder, giving Oakland a victory over Chicago.

With Wade on second as the automatic runner, former A’s pitcher Kendall Graveman (3-4) got the first two outs of the 10th. JJ Bleday hit a routine grounder to Andrus. The ball bounced off the second baseman’s glove, and he retrieved the ball and threw too late to first as Bleday slid across the base. Wade kept on running and slid across the plate to beat the throw from first baseman Gavin Sheets.

Shintaro Fujinami (4-7) worked around a hit batter in the top of the 10th, striking out two.

Seth Brown homered for the A’s and Bleday had two RBIs.

Eloy Jiménez hit his 11th home run and drove in two runs for Chicago. Tim Anderson and Yasmani Grandal added two hits each but Anderson had a grand slam erased by video review in the eighth inning. Yasmani Grandal had an RBI single and Carlos Perez added a run-scoring double.

BREWERS 11, PIRATES 8

PITTSBURGH (AP) — Corbin Burnes carried a perfect game into the sixth inning, Christian Yelich hit his 10th home run and Milwaukee survived a late rally to end Pittsburgh’s four-game winning streak.

Burnes (6-5) retired the first 15 batters he faced before walking Jared Triolo leading off the sixth. A walk and a hit batter loaded the bases with two outs and Jack Suwinski ended Burnes’ shot at a no-hitter with a clean two-run single to right field.

It was the only hiccup for Burnes, who struck out seven against two walks in seven innings to win for just the second time since May 12.

Yelich hit a three-run homer in the second off Johan Oviedo (3-9) to break it open. Raimel Tapia had two hits, including his third home run, for Milwaukee. Willy Adames, Blake Perkins and Brian Anderson had two hits apiece for the Brewers.

ROYALS 6, DODGERS 4

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Kansas City rudely welcomed Dodgers pitcher Julio Urías back from the injured list by scoring five times in the first inning and holding on for a rain-delayed win over Los Angeles.

Daniel Lynch (2-3) nearly gave all his support back when he allowed three runs in the second. But the left-hander settled down, eventually throwing 108 pitches to get through five innings. He allowed five hits and three walks with four strikeouts, helping the Royals beat the Dodgers for just the second time in their last 10 meetings.

The Dodgers left the bases loaded in the eighth when Yonny Hernandez struck out and Freddie Freeman grounded out, and Scott Barlow got the final four outs for his 10th save while capping four innings of one-run ball by the Kansas City bullpen.

Urías (5-5) scuffled through his first game since hurting his hamstring on May 18. He lasted three innings and allowed six hits and two walks.

TIGERS 4, ROCKIES 2, 10 INNINGS

DENVER (AP) — Zach McKinstry hit a tiebreaking, three-run homer in the 10th inning, lifting Detroit past Colorado.

With Jonathan Schoop at second as the automatic runner, Eric Haase singled off Pierce Johnson (1-4) to put runners at the corners. McKinstry followed with his sixth homer, a 400-foot drive over the right-center fence and into the Rockies bullpen.

Kris Bryant hit a two-out RBI single in the bottom half off Alex Lange (5-2), as Detroit sealed its 21st come-from-behind win this year.

Six Tigers combined on a six-hitter as both teams went with bullpen games.

Colorado’s Ezequiel Tovar hit a two-out RBI single in the sixth to extend his career-best hitting streak to 14 games.

DIAMONDBACKS 3, ANGELS 1

ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) — Ryne Nelson worked 7 1/3 strong innings and Dominic Fletcher and Jake McCarthy had RBIs as Arizona beat Los Angeles.

The Diamondback scored all their runs against the Angels’ bullpen and clinched first series win since taking two of three against Cleveland in mid-June.

Nelson (5-4) was catalyst for Arizona, giving up one run, three hits and one walk while striking out six.

On Sunday, the Diamondbacks will go for their first series sweep since taking three games from Detroit on June 9-11.

Anthony Rendon hit his second home run of the season for Los Angeles, which has lost four in a row. Shohei Ohtani was hitless in four at-bats and Mike Trout went 0 for 3.

GUARDIANS 6, CUBS 0

CHICAGO (AP) — Rookie Tanner Bibee and three relievers combined on a five-hitter, and Cleveland blanked Chicago.

Bibee (5-2) tossed three-hit ball into the sixth while outpitching Marcus Stroman, and the Guardians came out on top in a game delayed 2 hours, 45 minutes at the start because of rain.

Amed Rosario lined a two-run single in the third. Andrés Giménez chased Stroman (9-6) with an RBI single in a four-run sixth, and the Guardians bounced back after getting pounded 10-1 the previous night. The Cubs had matched a season high with their five straight losses after winning 11 of 13.

Bibee went 5 2/3 innings and matched a season high with nine strikeouts while walking two. Sam Hentges, Nick Sandlin and Eli Morgan combined to finish Cleveland’s seventh shutout.

Stroman lasted 5 2/3 innings, allowing five runs and five hits.

___

AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/MLB and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

The post Mets slug 3 fast homers and Verlander earns 1st victory in practically 6 weeks in 4-1 win over Giants appeared first on DAILY SAN FRANCISCO BAY NEWS.

NEW YORK (AP) — Justin Verlander pitched seven steady innings for his first victory in nearly six weeks and slumping rookie Francisco Álvarez hit the first of three quick homers that powered the New York Mets past the San Francisco Giants 4-1 on Saturday.

Brandon Nimmo and Francisco Lindor launched back-to-back shots as the Mets went deep three times in a span of four batters against Anthony DeSclafani (4-8) in the third.

Tommy Pham added an RBI double off Sean Manaea in the fourth, and New York (37-46) opened July with a much-needed win after going 6-19 in its previous 25 games.

The Phillies recalled first baseman Darick Hall from Triple-A Leigh Valley and he batted eighth in Sunday’s game against Washington.

Rookie Tanner Bibee and three relievers combined on a five-hitter, and the Cleveland Guardians beat the Chicago Cubs 6-0.

Ryne Nelson worked 7 1/3 strong innings and Dominic Fletcher and Jake McCarthy had RBIs as the Arizona Diamondbacks beat the Los Angeles Angels 3-1.

Zach McKinstry hit a tiebreaking, three-run home run in the 10th inning, lifting the Detroit Tigers past the Colorado Rockies 4-2.

The 40-year-old Verlander (3-4) gave up five hits, struck out six and didn’t allow an earned run for his 247th victory and first since May 21 against Cleveland.

The only run the Giants scored came on Thairo Estrada’s double-play grounder in the seventh following a throwing error by first baseman Pete Alonso — his second in two days.

San Francisco (46-37) fell to 14-5 in its last 19 games dating to June 11.

PHILLIES 19, NATIONALS 4

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Alec Bohm homered twice and tied his career high with six RBIs, and Philadelphia scored its most runs in five years in winning for the sixth time in eight games and for the 12th time in 16.

Kyle Schwarber had a grand slam, and Nick Castellanos homered, singled and doubled with three RBIs for the Phillies, who scored their most runs since beating Miami 20-1 on April 7, 2018. Philadelphia had 18 hits, including four by Bohm, who matched his career best.

Zack Wheeler (7-4) won his fourth straight decision, giving up four runs and seven hits in five innings.

Bryce Harper doubled, had two hits and drove in two runs, and J.T. Realmuto also had two RBIs.

MacKenzie Gore (4-7) allowed seven runs, six hits and three walks in 2 2/3 innings. Amos Willingham, Joe La Sorsa and Thaddeus Ward gave up four runs each. Dominic Smith homered for Washington.

BRAVES 7, MARLINS 0

ATLANTA (AP) — Ronald Acuña and Ozzie Albies homered as part of a six-run first inning to lead Atlanta as Miami’s Luis Arraez, the major league batting leader, saw his average dip to .388.

Charlie Morton (8-6) struck out five in 5 2/3 innings and scattered four hits and one walk in winning his third consecutive start. Kirby Yates, Nick Anderson, Ben Heller, and Joe Jiménez completed the shutout for the Braves out of the bullpen.

Matt Olson went 2 for 4 with a run scored, and Austin Riley was 2 for 4 with two runs scored for the Braves, who have won 23 of their last 27 games and lead the second-place Marlins by eight games in the NL East.

Marlins rookie Eury Pérez (5-4) lasted just a third of an inning, giving up six runs and seven hits. He threw 35 pitches.

Arraez went 1 for 4. He is 3 for 16 over last four games and his .388 average is his lowest since June 17.

CARDINALS 11, YANKEES 4, 1ST GAME

YANKEES 6, CARDINALS 2, 2ND GAME

ST. LOUIS (AP) — Harrison Bader had a first-inning sacrifice fly in his return to St. Louis, rookie Anthony Volpe hit a go-ahead triple as part of his fifth straight multi-hit game and New York earned a doubleheader split by winning the nightcap.

St. Louis won the rain-interrupted opener behind Paul Goldschmidt’s go-ahead, three-run homer off Luis Severino in a five-run third. Jack Flaherty pitched six shutout innings, Goldschmidt had four RBIs and Nolan Gorman also homered for the Cardinals, who reached double-digit runs for the first time since May 21.

Isiah Kiner-Falefa had three hits in the second game as the Yankees won for the fifth time in their last seven.

Lars Nootbaar homered for St. Louis, which fell to a 34-48, its worst 82-game start since 1990. Nootbar hit a first-inning homer off opener Ian Hamilton as the Yankees went with a bullpen game because of Friday’s rainout.

Michael King (2-4) allowed one hit while pitching scoreless relief over a season-high 3 1/3 innings. Wandy Peralta, Tommy Kahnle and Clay Holmes followed with an inning each.

Flaherty (5-5) won his second straight start after going 0-1 in his previous five. He allowed four hits, struck out four and walked two after giving up six runs in each of his previous two outings.

Severino (1-3) gave up seven runs and nine hits over four innings. Jake Bauers hit a two-run homer off Drew VerHagen in a three-run ninth for the Yankees, who had won four of their previous five games.

PADRES 12, REDS 5

CINCINNATI (AP) — Juan Soto hit a tiebreaking, three-run homer in the sixth inning, Manny Machado followed three pitches later with the first of his two home runs and San Diego stopped a six-game losing streak.

Soto had four RBIs and Machado and Fernando Tatis three each for the Padres, who have not lost seven in a row since Sept. 24 to Oct. 1, 2021.

Michael Wacha (8-2), pitching on his 32nd birthday, won his third straight decision. Wacha allowed one run and five hits in five innings in his first outing since June 19, after missing a turn because of shoulder discomfort.

San Diego (38-45) had fallen eight games below .500 for the first time since ending 2019 at 70-92. Cincinnati (44-39), which has surged into the NL Central lead, lost for just the fourth time in 19 games.

RED SOX 7, BLUE JAYS 6

TORONTO (AP) — Rafael Devers hit his 20th home run, Justin Turner homered and scored three times as Boston spoiled Canada Day celebrations in Toronto.

Right fielder Alex Verdugo threw out Bo Bichette at home plate for the final out of the game after Vladimir Guerrero Jr. hit an RBI single off Red Sox closer Kenley Jansen. George Springer scored on the play, but Bichette was tagged out by catcher Caleb Hamilton. Toronto’s challenge was unsuccessful.

Devers went 3 for 5 with three RBI and scored twice. Turner finished 3 for 5 with two RBI as Boston returned to .500 at 42-42. Red Sox right-hander Kutter Crawford (3-4) pitched 5 2/3 innings to win for the second time in three starts.

Matt Chapman hit a two-run home run, and Springer and Bichette had solo homers.

MARINERS 8, RAYS 3

SEATTLE (AP) — Jarred Kelenic hit a tiebreaking single off Tyler Glasnow in the sixth inning, Teoscar Hernández added a two-run double in a three-run seventh and Seattle beat Tampa Bay to halt a three-game skid.

George Kirby (7-7) allowed two runs and two hits in seven innings with seven strikeouts, and the Mariners backed him with 13 hits. Paul Sewald earned his 15th save in 18 chances.

Yandy Díaz doubled in the sixth for the Rays’ first hit and Luke Raley homered.

Glasnow (2-2) struck out 11 and allowed seven hits and three runs with a walk.

RANGERS 5, ASTROS 2

ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — Nathan Eovaldi pitched seven scoreless innings to become the American League’s second 10-game winner and AL West-leading Texas beat second-place Houston.

Eovaldi (10-3) struck out five and limited the Astros to two singles, but also had a season-high four walks.

Marcus Semien, Corey Seager and Josh Jung each drove in a run for Texas. Switch-hitting catcher Jonah Heim had three hits and scored a run.

Rangers reliever Joe Barlow gave up Kyle Tucker’s two-run homer with two outs in the ninth. Will Smith then came on to get the final out for his 15th save in 16 chances.

TWINS 1, ORIOLES 0

BALTIMORE (AP) — Bailey Ober allowed two hits over seven innings, Joey Gallo homered and Minnesota extended Baltimore’s losing streak to a season-high four games.

Ober (5-4) gave up a second-inning single to Gunnar Henderson, hit Ryan O’Hearn with a pitch in the fourth and yielded a single to Anthony Santander in the seventh. Those were the only runners to reach base. as the right-hander struck out eight and did not allow a runner past first.

Griffin Jax worked the eighth and Jhoan Duran got three outs to complete the three-hitter and earn his 12th save in 14 chances.

Ober prevailed in a pitching duel with Kyle Bradish (4-4), who gave up one run and seven hits over six innings.

ATHLETICS 7, WHITE SOX 6, 10 INNINGS

OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — Tyler Wade slid into home with the winning run after second baseman Elvis Andrus misplayed a 10th-inning grounder, giving Oakland a victory over Chicago.

With Wade on second as the automatic runner, former A’s pitcher Kendall Graveman (3-4) got the first two outs of the 10th. JJ Bleday hit a routine grounder to Andrus. The ball bounced off the second baseman’s glove, and he retrieved the ball and threw too late to first as Bleday slid across the base. Wade kept on running and slid across the plate to beat the throw from first baseman Gavin Sheets.

Shintaro Fujinami (4-7) worked around a hit batter in the top of the 10th, striking out two.

Seth Brown homered for the A’s and Bleday had two RBIs.

Eloy Jiménez hit his 11th home run and drove in two runs for Chicago. Tim Anderson and Yasmani Grandal added two hits each but Anderson had a grand slam erased by video review in the eighth inning. Yasmani Grandal had an RBI single and Carlos Perez added a run-scoring double.

BREWERS 11, PIRATES 8

PITTSBURGH (AP) — Corbin Burnes carried a perfect game into the sixth inning, Christian Yelich hit his 10th home run and Milwaukee survived a late rally to end Pittsburgh’s four-game winning streak.

Burnes (6-5) retired the first 15 batters he faced before walking Jared Triolo leading off the sixth. A walk and a hit batter loaded the bases with two outs and Jack Suwinski ended Burnes’ shot at a no-hitter with a clean two-run single to right field.

It was the only hiccup for Burnes, who struck out seven against two walks in seven innings to win for just the second time since May 12.

Yelich hit a three-run homer in the second off Johan Oviedo (3-9) to break it open. Raimel Tapia had two hits, including his third home run, for Milwaukee. Willy Adames, Blake Perkins and Brian Anderson had two hits apiece for the Brewers.

ROYALS 6, DODGERS 4

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Kansas City rudely welcomed Dodgers pitcher Julio Urías back from the injured list by scoring five times in the first inning and holding on for a rain-delayed win over Los Angeles.

Daniel Lynch (2-3) nearly gave all his support back when he allowed three runs in the second. But the left-hander settled down, eventually throwing 108 pitches to get through five innings. He allowed five hits and three walks with four strikeouts, helping the Royals beat the Dodgers for just the second time in their last 10 meetings.

The Dodgers left the bases loaded in the eighth when Yonny Hernandez struck out and Freddie Freeman grounded out, and Scott Barlow got the final four outs for his 10th save while capping four innings of one-run ball by the Kansas City bullpen.

Urías (5-5) scuffled through his first game since hurting his hamstring on May 18. He lasted three innings and allowed six hits and two walks.

TIGERS 4, ROCKIES 2, 10 INNINGS

DENVER (AP) — Zach McKinstry hit a tiebreaking, three-run homer in the 10th inning, lifting Detroit past Colorado.

With Jonathan Schoop at second as the automatic runner, Eric Haase singled off Pierce Johnson (1-4) to put runners at the corners. McKinstry followed with his sixth homer, a 400-foot drive over the right-center fence and into the Rockies bullpen.

Kris Bryant hit a two-out RBI single in the bottom half off Alex Lange (5-2), as Detroit sealed its 21st come-from-behind win this year.

Six Tigers combined on a six-hitter as both teams went with bullpen games.

Colorado’s Ezequiel Tovar hit a two-out RBI single in the sixth to extend his career-best hitting streak to 14 games.

DIAMONDBACKS 3, ANGELS 1

ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) — Ryne Nelson worked 7 1/3 strong innings and Dominic Fletcher and Jake McCarthy had RBIs as Arizona beat Los Angeles.

The Diamondback scored all their runs against the Angels’ bullpen and clinched first series win since taking two of three against Cleveland in mid-June.

Nelson (5-4) was catalyst for Arizona, giving up one run, three hits and one walk while striking out six.

On Sunday, the Diamondbacks will go for their first series sweep since taking three games from Detroit on June 9-11.

Anthony Rendon hit his second home run of the season for Los Angeles, which has lost four in a row. Shohei Ohtani was hitless in four at-bats and Mike Trout went 0 for 3.

GUARDIANS 6, CUBS 0

CHICAGO (AP) — Rookie Tanner Bibee and three relievers combined on a five-hitter, and Cleveland blanked Chicago.

Bibee (5-2) tossed three-hit ball into the sixth while outpitching Marcus Stroman, and the Guardians came out on top in a game delayed 2 hours, 45 minutes at the start because of rain.

Amed Rosario lined a two-run single in the third. Andrés Giménez chased Stroman (9-6) with an RBI single in a four-run sixth, and the Guardians bounced back after getting pounded 10-1 the previous night. The Cubs had matched a season high with their five straight losses after winning 11 of 13.

Bibee went 5 2/3 innings and matched a season high with nine strikeouts while walking two. Sam Hentges, Nick Sandlin and Eli Morgan combined to finish Cleveland’s seventh shutout.

Stroman lasted 5 2/3 innings, allowing five runs and five hits.

___

AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/MLB and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

The post Mets slug 3 fast homers and Verlander earns 1st victory in almost 6 weeks in 4-1 win over Giants appeared first on DAILY SAN FRANCISCO BAY NEWS.

NEW YORK (AP) — Justin Verlander pitched seven steady innings for his first victory in nearly six weeks and slumping rookie Francisco Álvarez hit the first of three quick homers that powered the New York Mets past the San Francisco Giants 4-1 on Saturday.

Brandon Nimmo and Francisco Lindor launched back-to-back shots as the Mets went deep three times in a span of four batters against Anthony DeSclafani (4-8) in the third.

Tommy Pham added an RBI double off Sean Manaea in the fourth, and New York (37-46) opened July with a much-needed win after going 6-19 in its previous 25 games.

The 40-year-old Verlander (3-4) gave up five hits, struck out six and didn’t allow an earned run for his 247th victory and first since May 21 against Cleveland.

The only run the Giants scored came on Thairo Estrada’s double-play grounder in the seventh following a throwing error by first baseman Pete Alonso — his second in two days.

San Francisco (46-37) fell to 14-5 in its last 19 games dating to June 11.

PHILLIES 19, NATIONALS 4

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Alec Bohm homered twice and tied his career high with six RBIs, and Philadelphia scored its most runs in five years in winning for the sixth time in eight games and for the 12th time in 16.

Kyle Schwarber had a grand slam, and Nick Castellanos homered, singled and doubled with three RBIs for the Phillies, who scored their most runs since beating Miami 20-1 on April 7, 2018. Philadelphia had 18 hits, including four by Bohm, who matched his career best.

Zack Wheeler (7-4) won his fourth straight decision, giving up four runs and seven hits in five innings.

Bryce Harper doubled, had two hits and drove in two runs, and J.T. Realmuto also had two RBIs.

MacKenzie Gore (4-7) allowed seven runs, six hits and three walks in 2 2/3 innings. Amos Willingham, Joe La Sorsa and Thaddeus Ward gave up four runs each. Dominic Smith homered for Washington.

BRAVES 7, MARLINS 0

ATLANTA (AP) — Ronald Acuña and Ozzie Albies homered as part of a six-run first inning to lead Atlanta as Miami’s Luis Arraez, the major league batting leader, saw his average dip to .388.

Charlie Morton (8-6) struck out five in 5 2/3 innings and scattered four hits and one walk in winning his third consecutive start. Kirby Yates, Nick Anderson, Ben Heller, and Joe Jiménez completed the shutout for the Braves out of the bullpen.

Matt Olson went 2 for 4 with a run scored, and Austin Riley was 2 for 4 with two runs scored for the Braves, who have won 23 of their last 27 games and lead the second-place Marlins by eight games in the NL East.

Marlins rookie Eury Pérez (5-4) lasted just a third of an inning, giving up six runs and seven hits. He threw 35 pitches.

Arraez went 1 for 4. He is 3 for 16 over last four games and his .388 average is his lowest since June 17.

CARDINALS 11, YANKEES 4, 1ST GAME

YANKEES 6, CARDINALS 2, 2ND GAME

ST. LOUIS (AP) — Harrison Bader had a first-inning sacrifice fly in his return to St. Louis, rookie Anthony Volpe hit a go-ahead triple as part of his fifth straight multi-hit game and New York earned a doubleheader split by winning the nightcap.

St. Louis won the rain-interrupted opener behind Paul Goldschmidt’s go-ahead, three-run homer off Luis Severino in a five-run third. Jack Flaherty pitched six shutout innings, Goldschmidt had four RBIs and Nolan Gorman also homered for the Cardinals, who reached double-digit runs for the first time since May 21.

Isiah Kiner-Falefa had three hits in the second game as the Yankees won for the fifth time in their last seven.

Lars Nootbaar homered for St. Louis, which fell to a 34-48, its worst 82-game start since 1990. Nootbar hit a first-inning homer off opener Ian Hamilton as the Yankees went with a bullpen game because of Friday’s rainout.

Michael King (2-4) allowed one hit while pitching scoreless relief over a season-high 3 1/3 innings. Wandy Peralta, Tommy Kahnle and Clay Holmes followed with an inning each.

Flaherty (5-5) won his second straight start after going 0-1 in his previous five. He allowed four hits, struck out four and walked two after giving up six runs in each of his previous two outings.

Severino (1-3) gave up seven runs and nine hits over four innings. Jake Bauers hit a two-run homer off Drew VerHagen in a three-run ninth for the Yankees, who had won four of their previous five games.

PADRES 12, REDS 5

CINCINNATI (AP) — Juan Soto hit a tiebreaking, three-run homer in the sixth inning, Manny Machado followed three pitches later with the first of his two home runs and San Diego stopped a six-game losing streak.

Soto had four RBIs and Machado and Fernando Tatis three each for the Padres, who have not lost seven in a row since Sept. 24 to Oct. 1, 2021.

Michael Wacha (8-2), pitching on his 32nd birthday, won his third straight decision. Wacha allowed one run and five hits in five innings in his first outing since June 19, after missing a turn because of shoulder discomfort.

San Diego (38-45) had fallen eight games below .500 for the first time since ending 2019 at 70-92. Cincinnati (44-39), which has surged into the NL Central lead, lost for just the fourth time in 19 games.

RED SOX 7, BLUE JAYS 6

TORONTO (AP) — Rafael Devers hit his 20th home run, Justin Turner homered and scored three times as Boston spoiled Canada Day celebrations in Toronto.

Right fielder Alex Verdugo threw out Bo Bichette at home plate for the final out of the game after Vladimir Guerrero Jr. hit an RBI single off Red Sox closer Kenley Jansen. George Springer scored on the play, but Bichette was tagged out by catcher Caleb Hamilton. Toronto’s challenge was unsuccessful.

Devers went 3 for 5 with three RBI and scored twice. Turner finished 3 for 5 with two RBI as Boston returned to .500 at 42-42. Red Sox right-hander Kutter Crawford (3-4) pitched 5 2/3 innings to win for the second time in three starts.

Matt Chapman hit a two-run home run, and Springer and Bichette had solo homers.

MARINERS 8, RAYS 3

SEATTLE (AP) — Jarred Kelenic hit a tiebreaking single off Tyler Glasnow in the sixth inning, Teoscar Hernández added a two-run double in a three-run seventh and Seattle beat Tampa Bay to halt a three-game skid.

George Kirby (7-7) allowed two runs and two hits in seven innings with seven strikeouts, and the Mariners backed him with 13 hits. Paul Sewald earned his 15th save in 18 chances.

Yandy Díaz doubled in the sixth for the Rays’ first hit and Luke Raley homered.

Glasnow (2-2) struck out 11 and allowed seven hits and three runs with a walk.

RANGERS 5, ASTROS 2

ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — Nathan Eovaldi pitched seven scoreless innings to become the American League’s second 10-game winner and AL West-leading Texas beat second-place Houston.

Eovaldi (10-3) struck out five and limited the Astros to two singles, but also had a season-high four walks.

Marcus Semien, Corey Seager and Josh Jung each drove in a run for Texas. Switch-hitting catcher Jonah Heim had three hits and scored a run.

Rangers reliever Joe Barlow gave up Kyle Tucker’s two-run homer with two outs in the ninth. Will Smith then came on to get the final out for his 15th save in 16 chances.

TWINS 1, ORIOLES 0

BALTIMORE (AP) — Bailey Ober allowed two hits over seven innings, Joey Gallo homered and Minnesota extended Baltimore’s losing streak to a season-high four games.

Ober (5-4) gave up a second-inning single to Gunnar Henderson, hit Ryan O’Hearn with a pitch in the fourth and yielded a single to Anthony Santander in the seventh. Those were the only runners to reach base. as the right-hander struck out eight and did not allow a runner past first.

Griffin Jax worked the eighth and Jhoan Duran got three outs to complete the three-hitter and earn his 12th save in 14 chances.

Ober prevailed in a pitching duel with Kyle Bradish (4-4), who gave up one run and seven hits over six innings.

ATHLETICS 7, WHITE SOX 6, 10 INNINGS

OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — Tyler Wade slid into home with the winning run after second baseman Elvis Andrus misplayed a 10th-inning grounder, giving Oakland a victory over Chicago.

With Wade on second as the automatic runner, former A’s pitcher Kendall Graveman (3-4) got the first two outs of the 10th. JJ Bleday hit a routine grounder to Andrus. The ball bounced off the second baseman’s glove, and he retrieved the ball and threw too late to first as Bleday slid across the base. Wade kept on running and slid across the plate to beat the throw from first baseman Gavin Sheets.

Shintaro Fujinami (4-7) worked around a hit batter in the top of the 10th, striking out two.

Seth Brown homered for the A’s and Bleday had two RBIs.

Eloy Jiménez hit his 11th home run and drove in two runs for Chicago. Tim Anderson and Yasmani Grandal added two hits each but Anderson had a grand slam erased by video review in the eighth inning. Yasmani Grandal had an RBI single and Carlos Perez added a run-scoring double.

BREWERS 11, PIRATES 8

PITTSBURGH (AP) — Corbin Burnes carried a perfect game into the sixth inning, Christian Yelich hit his 10th home run and Milwaukee survived a late rally to end Pittsburgh’s four-game winning streak.

Burnes (6-5) retired the first 15 batters he faced before walking Jared Triolo leading off the sixth. A walk and a hit batter loaded the bases with two outs and Jack Suwinski ended Burnes’ shot at a no-hitter with a clean two-run single to right field.

It was the only hiccup for Burnes, who struck out seven against two walks in seven innings to win for just the second time since May 12.

Yelich hit a three-run homer in the second off Johan Oviedo (3-9) to break it open. Raimel Tapia had two hits, including his third home run, for Milwaukee. Willy Adames, Blake Perkins and Brian Anderson had two hits apiece for the Brewers.

ROYALS 6, DODGERS 4

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Kansas City rudely welcomed Dodgers pitcher Julio Urías back from the injured list by scoring five times in the first inning and holding on for a rain-delayed win over Los Angeles.

Daniel Lynch (2-3) nearly gave all his support back when he allowed three runs in the second. But the left-hander settled down, eventually throwing 108 pitches to get through five innings. He allowed five hits and three walks with four strikeouts, helping the Royals beat the Dodgers for just the second time in their last 10 meetings.

The Dodgers left the bases loaded in the eighth when Yonny Hernandez struck out and Freddie Freeman grounded out, and Scott Barlow got the final four outs for his 10th save while capping four innings of one-run ball by the Kansas City bullpen.

Urías (5-5) scuffled through his first game since hurting his hamstring on May 18. He lasted three innings and allowed six hits and two walks.

TIGERS 4, ROCKIES 2, 10 INNINGS

DENVER (AP) — Zach McKinstry hit a tiebreaking, three-run homer in the 10th inning, lifting Detroit past Colorado.

With Jonathan Schoop at second as the automatic runner, Eric Haase singled off Pierce Johnson (1-4) to put runners at the corners. McKinstry followed with his sixth homer, a 400-foot drive over the right-center fence and into the Rockies bullpen.

Kris Bryant hit a two-out RBI single in the bottom half off Alex Lange (5-2), as Detroit sealed its 21st come-from-behind win this year.

Six Tigers combined on a six-hitter as both teams went with bullpen games.

Colorado’s Ezequiel Tovar hit a two-out RBI single in the sixth to extend his career-best hitting streak to 14 games.

DIAMONDBACKS 3, ANGELS 1

ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) — Ryne Nelson worked 7 1/3 strong innings and Dominic Fletcher and Jake McCarthy had RBIs as Arizona beat Los Angeles.

The Diamondback scored all their runs against the Angels’ bullpen and clinched first series win since taking two of three against Cleveland in mid-June.

Nelson (5-4) was catalyst for Arizona, giving up one run, three hits and one walk while striking out six.

On Sunday, the Diamondbacks will go for their first series sweep since taking three games from Detroit on June 9-11.

Anthony Rendon hit his second home run of the season for Los Angeles, which has lost four in a row. Shohei Ohtani was hitless in four at-bats and Mike Trout went 0 for 3.

GUARDIANS 6, CUBS 0

CHICAGO (AP) — Rookie Tanner Bibee and three relievers combined on a five-hitter, and Cleveland blanked Chicago.

Bibee (5-2) tossed three-hit ball into the sixth while outpitching Marcus Stroman, and the Guardians came out on top in a game delayed 2 hours, 45 minutes at the start because of rain.

Amed Rosario lined a two-run single in the third. Andrés Giménez chased Stroman (9-6) with an RBI single in a four-run sixth, and the Guardians bounced back after getting pounded 10-1 the previous night. The Cubs had matched a season high with their five straight losses after winning 11 of 13.

Bibee went 5 2/3 innings and matched a season high with nine strikeouts while walking two. Sam Hentges, Nick Sandlin and Eli Morgan combined to finish Cleveland’s seventh shutout.

Stroman lasted 5 2/3 innings, allowing five runs and five hits.

AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/MLB and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

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NEW YORK — The Mets want to see how strong Gary Sánchez’s bat remains.

Sánchez was added to the active squad ahead of Friday’s opener against the Guardians. Eight-year veteran Sánchez will share the roles of catcher with rookie Francisco Álvarez and designated hitter with a host of others, as he hopes to rediscover some of the clout that has made him one of the best power-hitting catchers in the game, most recently with the Yankees Game has made decade.

“It feels good to be back here in New York after all these years,” Sánchez said through an interpreter. “It’s a different team but it’s still the same city so it’s exciting to be here.”

As a corresponding change, the club chose catcher Michael Pérez to Triple-A Syracuse. To make room for Sánchez in the 40-man squad, the club put Tim Locastro on the 60-day injury list. The Mets also announced that Tomás Nido will begin a rehab stint with Single-A St. Lucie.

For a team that’s been struggling with their energy production over the past few weeks, it’s a low-risk, potentially high-reward gamble. When Sánchez became a free agent earlier this month, the Mets locked him up on a minor league deal on the condition that he could resign from his contract if the team didn’t add him to their roster by May 19. With that deadline approaching, the Mets decided to make the switch on Thursday.

In Sánchez, they’re bringing on a 30-year-old two-time All-Star who has struggled for the past three seasons with .195/.287/.394 slashes for the Yankees and Twins. Sánchez is four years away from his last All-Star season, in which he hit 34 homers with an .841 OPS for the Yankees.

He spent the early part of that season in the Giants’ minor league system, but resigned from that contract in early May to pursue other opportunities.

When he joined Triple-A Syracuse, Sánchez was battling .308 in eight games with a 1.014 OPS.

“As long as you’re healthy and have the opportunity to play baseball, you can do a lot of good,” Sánchez said. “Sometimes you can’t go into the ‘Oh, I want to do what I did in 2017,’ but if you look at it, maybe I’ll do even better if I get the chance.”

The Mets want to see if he can reproduce that type of production at the highest level. In the short term, Sánchez should find a good chance behind the squad, with both Omar Narváez (strained left calf) and Nido (dry eye syndrome) on the injury list. With Narváez and Nido returning in the next two to three weeks, the team should have a better handle on what Sánchez can do.

“We have a lot of respect for what the Yankees, Minnesota and San Francisco tried,” said Mets manager Buck Showalter, referring to Sanchez’s previous teams. “They didn’t have room for him either. So we’ll see. We have made space and we will look at it.”

In addition to his work as a catcher, Sanchez is likely to pull at least some DH bats from Daniel Vogelbach, Tommy Pham, Mark Canha and Mark Vientos. Sánchez, a right-hander, has reverse-platoon splits in his career that could help him in his quest for playing time.

“I’ll be here to do whatever they want,” Sánchez said. “I’ll give 100% when I’m out there on the field. I’m here to help the other players, to help the pitchers and just go out there and win. Because at the end of the day, the most important thing is to go out there and win with this team.”

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Inexplicably, the New York Mets continue to win games. They don’t hit the ball hard, but they play smart and score runs. Plus, their top two starters are out – and they still continue to win!

Meanwhile, the Giants are expected to win games. They’re still four games over .500, but they’ve lost five straight. The Giants are slumping a bit and need to pick up the slack.

With star pitcher Logan Webb on the mound for San Francisco tomorrow, the Giants are moderate favorites here.

Is it worth looking towards the Mets as smaller road underdogs?

Let’s dive into the starting lineups, betting odds, and my predictions for this Tuesday’s MLB game.

New York Mets vs San Francisco Giants Odds

The ML odds and total looks fairly fair and right on target with where I’d project it.

However, the Mets are already pulling in the sharp money, pushing the line down slightly. At the time of this writing, the Mets are pulling in less than 50% of the ML tickets but over 90% of the ML handle.

The under is getting some small sharp money, but the wind is projected to be blowing straight out to the center-left field at around 8mph. That’s something to keep an eye on moving forward.

New York Mets starting lineup

CF B. Nimmo L
RF S. Marte R
SS F Lindor S
1B P Alonso R
LF M Canha R
DH D Smith L
3B E Escobar S
2B J McNeil L
C T Nido R

New York Mets vs Logan Webb

I have always adored Webb. He pitched like a god down the stretch in 2021 and they spun a couple of gems during the short-lived playoff run. Sadly, his heroics ended up in an NLDS exit.

And he seems to be feeling the pain a bit. Maybe it’s a sophomore slump, but his strikeout rate is way down. After recording 9.59 K/9 in 2021, that number is down to just 6.33 K/9 over nearly 50 innings in 2022.

His strikeout over/under tomorrow is 4.5. Webb cashed that number in 21 of his 29 starts last season but has failed to reach that number in four of his eight starts this season. It’s a concerning trend, and his K/inning mark ranks in just the 10th percentile of pitchers (0.71).

Image credit: Props.Cash

Webb’s velocity is about the same, along with his spin rate. His strikeout numbers are just down. Luckily, he’s managed to suppress avg. exit velocities and his ERA is still hanging in the 3.50 area as a result. We can maybe expect a bounce-back from him in the K department, especially since projections have him finishing with about 8.50 K/9 after 2022 ends.

Brandon Nimmo is on a tear. He’s slashed .339/.409/.468 over his last 16 games and now leads the team in bWAR. He’s posted a 7:10 BB/K ratio during that time too but has no home runs.

But that’s the story of the Mets season at large. The Mets are among the bottom-five MLB teams in avg. exit velocity but pace the league in lowest whiff rate and have the fourth-lowest strikeout rate.

The Mets aren’t going to smack the ball, but they are elite in plate discipline.

After a hot start, Francisco Lindor just got a .574 OPS over his last 30 games. His BABIP is only .253 during the time, but there should be some concern regarding this slump.

All in all, the Mets are 13 games over .500. Nobody in Queens should be complaining.

San Francisco Giants starting lineup

DH T La Stella L
1B W Flores R
CF M. Yastrzemski L
3B E Longoria R
LF J, Pederson L
SS B Crawford L
2B T Estrada R
RF L Gonzalez L
C J Bart R

San Francisco Giants vs Chris Bassitt

Bassitt has just been good.

He still has an ERA under 3.00 after 48 ⅔ innings. Bassitt is overperforming his expected statistics slightly, but there isn’t a lot you can nit-pick about his game. Especially when you consider Bassitt ranks in the 96th percentile of pitchers in avg. exit velocity allowed.

Image credit: Baseball Savant

The key to Bassitt’s improvement might be in the development of his slider. He basically ditched it in Oakland after being hurt for a few years but has steadily thrown it more year-over-year at the expense of his sinker.

He has a mediocre +2 Run Value on the pitch so far this season, but he’s allowed a .306 wOBA compared to a .276 xwOBA on the pitch. So, expect some moderate positive regression for Bassitt’s slider moving forward.

Image credit: Baseball Savant

The Giants’ lineup has been good, but not great. Against rights, the bats have posted a 111 wRC+, although they may be slightly overperforming their batted-ball statistics (which are largely league average).

I’m so happy for the re-emergence of Mike Yastrzemski, who went through a major sophomore slump in 2021. He’s posted a team-high 147 OPS+ so far in 2022, having walked 14 times to just 19 strikeouts in 31 games.

New York Mets vs San Francisco Giants Pick & Prediction

My pick: San Francisco Giants ML (-130 at DraftKings Sportsbook)

Despite Webb’s relative underperformance, the Giants are 6-2 when he takes the mound this season.

Plus, San Francisco might be undervalued right now, especially playing at home. The Giants are bound to bounce back eventually after five straight losses, and it could definitely be Tuesday with their ace on the mound looking to even up this series.

At anything better than about -135, I’ll back Webb and the Giants.

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the New York Mets (28-15) begin a 3-game series with the San Francisco Giants (22-18) Monday at Oracle Park with the first pitch scheduled for 9:45 pm ET. Let’s analyze Tipico Sportsbook’s lines around the Mets vs Giants odds with MLB picks and predictions.

NY won the rubber match of a 3-game set at the Colorado Rockies 2-0 Sunday and is 6-4 straight up (SU) in its last 10 games.

San Francisco has lost 4 consecutive games, which includes a 3-game sweep at home against the San Diego Padres this past weekend. The Giants are just 4-6 SU in their last 10.

Season Series: NY leads 3-1 and the Mets have a plus-4 run differential in those meetings.

Mets at Giants projected starters

LHP David Peterson vs RHP Alex Cobb

Peterson is 1-0 with a 1.89 ERA (19 IP, 4 ER), 13 H, 1 HR, 8 BB and 16 K in 3 starts and 1 relief appearance.

• Last start: Win, 5-4, May 3 at home vs. the Atlanta Braves with 5 IP, 3 ER (4 R), 4 H, 1 HR, 3 BB and 6 K.

Cobb is 3-1 with a 5.61 ERA, 1.52 WHIP, 3.2 BB/9 and 11.9 K/9 in 25 2/3 IP over 6 starts.

• Last start: Win, 10-7, Tuesday at the Colorado Rockies with 5 1/3 IP, 7 ER, 10 H, 1 HR, 1 BB and 4 K.
• 2022 vs. the Mets: No-decision in a 5-4 loss at New York April 19 with 4 1/3 IP, 3 ER (4 R), 6 H, 0 BB and 4 K.
• vs. Mets on the current roster: 1.94 FIP with a .221/.236/.326 expected batting average (xBA), wOBA (xwOBA) and slugging percentage (xSLG) slash line, 30.6 K% and 82.8 mph exit velocity (EV ) in 49 plate appearances (PA).

Mets at Giants odds and lines

Odds provided by Tipico Sportsbook; access USA TODAY Sports Scores and Sports Betting Odds hub for a full list. Lines last updated at 1:20pm ET.

• Money line (ML): Mets +120 (bet $100 to win $120) | Giants -145 (bet $145 to win $100)
• Run line (RL)/Against the spread (ATS): Mets +1.5 (-180) | Giants -1.5 (+145)
• Over/Under (O/U): 7.5 (O: -120 | U: -105)

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Mets at Giants picks and predictions

prediction

Giants 4, Mets 2

Moneyline

BET the GIANTS (-145) because Cobb’s stuff has been elite this season and there’s reverse line movement (RLM) headed towards San Francisco in the betting market.

Cobb grades in the 92nd percentile or better in chase rate, barrel rate, xBA-xwOBA-xSLG slash line, hard-hit rate and EV and he has the third-best barrel rate per PA in the MLB (minimum of 50 batted balls) , via Statcast. His pitching peripherals against active Mets hitters are also stellar.

Tipico Sportsbook says that more than 85% of the cash is on the Mets but the Giants opened as -125 favorites (per Pregame.com). RLM is suspicious because conventional wisdom says the oddsmakers should be moving the price according to how the market is betting.

BET the GIANTS (-145).

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Run line/Against the spread

PASSPORT with a “lean” to the Giants -1.5 (+145) because this is a chunky payout.

However, San Francisco is just 6-14 RL as a home favorite and New York +1.5 (-180) are 4-0 RL as a road underdog so even the Giants -1.5 (+145) isn’t steep enough.

Over/Under

Light LEAN to the OVER 7.5 (-120) for a bunch of trendy reasons.

Mets-Giants is 2-7-1 O/U in their last 10 meetings, NY is 2-1-1 O/U as a road underdog, San Francisco is 12-8 O/U as a home favorite and these teams have a combined 7-2 O/U when these starters take the mound.

Oracle Park also has an above-average park factor and the weather forecast is predicting double-digit mph winds blowing out to right-centerfield.

San Francisco’s ML is my favorite wager in this game but there’s some value in the OVER 7.5 (-120).

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