Jacob deGrom starred again but exited the game early injured as the New York Mets edged the San Diego Padres 3-2 in the MLB on Friday.
DeGrom entered the game having not allowed more than one earned run in any of his previous nine starts this season, holding the best ERA in MLB at 0.62. The marked the lowest run since ERA became official more than 100 years ago.
The Mets pitcher maintained that form too, striking out Padres home-run machine Fernando Tatis Jr with the 95 mph slider in the first inning.
DeGrom struck out Tatis again in the fourth inning with a slider, while he also pinch hitted with the bat, driving in two runs in the fifth inning.
But the right-hander left the game early after six innings with tightness in his left elbow, after 10 strikeouts, although he was hopeful post-game that it was only minor.
DeGrom's ERA drops to 0.56 which is the lowest ever in MLB history across the first 10 starts of a season, pipping Juan Marichal's 1966 mark of 0.59, with records dating back to 1913. He also has more RBI (five) than earned runs allowed (four) this season.
Rizzo's memorable moment, Ohtani shakes off injury
With Wrigley Field back at full capacity on a sunny afternoon, Anthony Rizzo had a moment to cherish with a home run in the Chicago Cubs' 8-5 win over the St Louis Cardinals.
Rizzo homered in the sixth inning after 14 pitches, ushering in wild celebrations, to square the game at 5-5.
"It was one of my most memorable bats," Rizzo said. "It was a really good moment."
Joc Pederson almost homered in the seventh, but his outfield hit brought in two runs for the Cubs.
Shohei Ohtani had an injury scare, painfully fouling into his right knee, as the Los Angeles Angels won 6-5 over the Arizona Diamondbacks.
Ohtani played on after the early concern, tossing down eight strikeouts across five innings, and bringing in one after lacing a hit out to center field.
With Arizona down 5-4 at the bottom of the ninth inning, Eduardo Escobar homered for the 15th time this season to send the game to extras, but the Angels got up.
After denying Albert Pujols last week, Mike Tauchman plucked another catch on the wall to deny Juan Soto a home run in the San Francisco Giants' 1-0 win over the Washington Nationals.
Nats pitcher Max Scherzer left the game early after feeling discomfort in his groin, while Buster Posey scored the game's only run, a fourth-inning home run.
With the game on the line, Tauchman made his crucial intervention to deny Soto and the Nats.
Rough Rangers
The Texas Rangers are having a tough time lately and they conceded six runs in the first inning against the Los Angeles Dodgers, eventually losing 12-1. Max Munsy and Gavin Lux both homered early, with pitcher Mike Foltynewicz unable to come up with any answers. The Rangers rotated five pitchers on the hill.
Red-hot Reds
The Cincinnati Reds made franchise history by hitting home runs in the first, second, third, fourth and fifth inning for the first time. The Reds cruised to an 11-5 win over the Colorado Rockies.
Friday's results
Chicago Cubs 8-5 St Louis Cardinals
San Francisco Giants 1-0 Washington Nationals
Boston Red Sox 6-5 Toronto Blue Jays
Cincinnati Reds 11-5 Colorado Rockies
Tampa Bay Rays 4-2 Baltimore Orioles
Miami Marlins 4-3 Atlanta Braves
Chicago White Sox 5-4 Detroit Tigers
New York Mets 3-2 San Diego Padres
Cleveland Indians 7-0 Seattle Mariners
Milwaukee Brewers 7-4 Pittsburgh Pirates
Houston Astros 6-4 Minnesota Twins
Los Angeles Angels 6-5 Arizona Diamondbacks
Oakland Athletics 4-3 Kansas City Royals
Los Angeles Dodgers 12-1 Texas Rangers
Cardinals at Cubs
The Chicago Cubs have won three in a row and are currently 36-27, having won the first game of their series against the 32-31 St Louis Cardinals who need a victory after winning one of their past eight. They resume their National League Central series on Saturday.
Astros star Jose Altuve out indefinitely after fracturing thumb at World Baseball Classic
Houston Astros All-Star second baseman Jose Altuve suffered a fractured right thumb at the World Baseball Classic and will require surgery, sidelining him indefinitely.
Astros general manager Dana Brown revealed the severity of the injury on Sunday, a day after Altuve was hit by a pitch from reliever Daniel Bard in the fifth inning of Venezuela’s 9-7 quarter-final loss to the United States.
The Astros said he will undergo surgery in the coming days, and they will then determine a prognosis for him.
There is no official timeline for when he will return, but it has been reported that similar injuries have sidelined players for eight-to-10 weeks.
A major part of Houston’s dominance over the last half-dozen years, the 32-year-old Altuve is coming off his eighth All-Star season.
In helping the Astros win the 2022 World Series, Altuve hit .300 with 28 home runs, 39 doubles, 18 steals and 103 runs while earning his sixth Silver Slugger Award and finishing fifth in AL MVP voting.
He won the 2017 AL MVP – the same year he helped the Astros win the franchise’s first World Series championship.
Among active players, Altuve ranks seventh in hits (1,935), eighth in doubles (379) and 12th in runs (986).
He is the second MLB All-Star to suffer a serious injury at the World Baseball Classic after elite New York Mets closer Edwin Diaz tore his patellar tendon, ruling him out for the entire season.
Mets pitcher Diaz expected to miss 2023 season after injuring knee in Puerto Rico celebrations
New York Mets pitcher Edwin Diaz is expected to miss the entire MLB season after suffering a serious knee injury while celebrating a Puerto Rico win in the World Baseball Classic.
Diaz left the field in a wheelchair after injuring his right knee while celebrating Wednesday's win over the Dominican Republic, with his team-mates visibly upset by the incident.
On Thursday, the Mets revealed Diaz – who penned a five-year, $102million contract with the team in the offseason – had undergone surgery after sustaining a complete patellar tendon tear.
"Edwin Diaz underwent successful repair of the patellar tendon in his right knee today," read an update from the team. "He is expected to begin a formal rehab program in about a week."
Earlier on Thursday, Mets general manager Billy Eppler suggested the closer – widely considered to be the best in the game – could be sidelined for around eight months, a timeline which would rule him out for the entire 2023 season.
Eppler noted some athletes have returned from similar injuries within a six-month timeframe, but added such cases were "more the exception than the rule".
Diaz took to social media to update his fans after the surgery, writing on Twitter: "To all my beloved fans, especially the Mets fans, I want to let you know that I am doing well and healing.
"I feel blessed and grateful for your support with messages and prayers, thank you very much! I can't wait to see you guys in NY again and play those trumpets."
Diaz injures knee as Puerto Rico celebrate WBC win over Dominican Republic
Celebrations for Puerto Rico at the World Baseball Classic turned sour when pitcher Edwin Diaz hurt his knee after their victory against the Dominican Republic.
The New York Mets closer – widely considered to be the best in the game – eliminated the favourites for the competition as he struck out Teoscar Hernandez to complete a 5-2 victory.
In the ensuing celebrations, the players were jumping in a huddle before stopping once it became apparent that Diaz was injured.
His brother, Cincinnati Reds reliever Alexis Diaz, was in tears as medics attended to him, helping the 28-year-old from the field.
According to ESPN, the 28-year-old will undergo an MRI on Thursday, with sources fearing "the injury could keep Díaz out for a significant period".
"I didn't see it right away," Puerto Rico manager Yadier Molina said. "I was hugging our coaches in the dugout, and when we looked up, Edwin was on the ground.
"I didn't know. I didn't know how to act, I didn't know what to say. It caught me by surprise. It sucks. When you see a guy that works so hard like Edwin, when you see him on the ground like that, it's just sad."
Center fielder Enrique Hernandez added: "It wasn't pretty much until we got to the infield dirt that we realised something had gone wrong.
"At the moment we didn't know who it was. When we got there, that's when we realised who it was. Obviously, aside from being the best closer in the game right now, and being a huge part of this team, [Diaz] is one of the glue guys in that clubhouse."
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