The Mets nearly watched Sunday slip away in Atlanta, but they escaped with their first win of the series after a wild finish. New York piled up five runs in the top of the ninth to push the margin to seven, then held on as the Braves answered with six in the bottom half. The comeback bid ended when Dominic Smith struck out with runners on second and third.
Elsewhere, Eury Perez was one out away from perfection in Sacramento before the Marlins turned to the bullpen with his pitch count at 92. Perez had been rolling through seven flawless innings against the Athletics in just his third start back after a significant hamstring injury.
He had reached 86 pitches in his previous outing. Once he exited, the crowd let Miami hear it, chanting “ Shame!”
toward the dugout. The bullpen promptly gave up the perfect game, then the no-hitter, and then the shutout, surrendering eight runs over the final two innings while still preserving the win.
The Twins left the Bronx with a series victory in hand, taking two of three from the Yankees and doing it behind seven sharp innings from Joe Ryan. Minnesota’s 2-1 weekend marked its first road series win over New York since 2014.
Ryan gave up only three hits, struck out nine and matched his season high. “ Joe being Joe and doing what he does, it’s always fun,” outfielder Byron Buxton said.
“ He was locked in today with all his pitches. … It just shows how great he is.”
In Los Angeles, Padres manager Craig Stammen and infield coach Ryan Goins were both ejected after just two pitches. The trouble started when Fernando Tatis Jr. was ruled to have gone around on a check swing in the first at-bat of the game against the Dodgers.
San Diego’s dugout strongly objected, Goins was tossed, and Stammen came out to back him up before getting sent off too. “ I did not feel it was warranted,” Stammen told reporters, including AJ Cassavell of MLB.com.
“ But I’m not the one who gets to eject people.” He also said the quick hook was not meant to spark a club that had dropped eight straight.
The Padres still snapped that skid, winning 5-2.
In Other News...
Twins Could Revisit A Painful Reunion As Deadline Pressure Builds
As the trade deadline approaches, Minnesotas front office is weighing whether a push for help makes sense if the club stays in the playoff mix. The rotation has had enough good moments to keep the Twins in the conversation, but it also has enough uneven stretches that a veteran arm would still be more than a luxury.
One name floating in that conversation carries extra baggage in Minnesota, because the pitcher in question already knows the market, the clubhouse and the expectations here. He was excellent in his previous run with the Twins before leaving in free agency, and theres a real sense that bringing him back could steady the top of the staff, even if the financial and prospect price tag makes the idea harder to pull off than it sounds. [Read more 🡒]
Twins Rotation Relief May Finally Be Taking Shape
Bailey Ober took another step toward rejoining the Twins when he threw a bullpen session, a meaningful checkpoint for a rotation that has been trying to piece itself together while he works back from right elbow inflammation. Around him, the club is getting a few other moving parts closer to game speed, with catcher Ryan Jeffers and reliever Cole Sands both continuing rehab assignments with Triple-A St. Paul as the Twins try to sort out who can help next.
The picture is still uneven, though, and the organization does not have a clean bill of health just yet. Emmanuel Rodriguez is still working through his throwing and hitting progression, while the bullpen shuffle has already brought Woo-Suk Go onto the active roster and sent Cody Laweryson back to St. Paul. For a team that has spent plenty of time waiting on reinforcements, the next few days should start to show whether this is the stretch when the rotation and depth chart finally begin to settle. [Read more 🡒]
Byron Buxton Trade Buzz Is Back And Twins Fans Know Why
Byron Buxton trade chatter has a way of resurfacing even when the Twins have given every indication they are not interested in moving him. Buxton has publicly said he does not intend to waive his no-trade clause, and the front office has made clear it is not considering a deal, yet his name still pops up whenever national trade lists get refreshed and the deadline conversation starts heating up.
The reason the speculation never quite disappears is simple enough: Buxton is one of the more recognizable names on the roster, and he also carries serious control over where he goes, thanks to both his contract and his service time. Even so, the odds of anything changing remain remote unless something extraordinary shifts the picture, which is why this feels less like an actual Twins plan and more like a familiar summer echo around a player who remains central to what they are trying to do. [Read more 🡒]