The New York Mets treated their home crowd to a thrilling extra-innings walk-off victory, beating the St. Louis Cardinals 7-6 on Thursday.
With their top-three pitchers – Jacob deGrom, Max Scherzer and Tylor Megill – all out injured, the Mets gave starter Chris Bassitt some early run-support as a Pete Alonso base hit and a Jeff McNeil fielder's choice made it 2-0 in the opening frame.
St. Louis fought back with a towering 414-foot solo home run to Juan Yepez in the second inning, and then tied it up with another solo shot from Paul Goldschmidt an inning later, before Goldschmidt made it 3-2 with a RBI double in the fifth frame.
McNiel drove in another two Mets runs in the bottom of the fifth, opening up a 5-3 lead, but Goldschmidt would again come through for the Cardinals, grounding out to drive in one in the seventh, before tying the game at 5-5 with an infield single in the ninth to force extra innings.
After future Hall-of-Famer Albert Pujols gave the Cardinals a lead, Pete Alonso closed the show for the Mets in the bottom of the 10th inning, crushing a 447-foot bomb into the left-field bleachers to win the game.
Bassitt pitched six-and-a-third innings for four earned runs and three strikeouts, helping the Mets move to the third-best record in the league at 26-14.
Santander delivers against Yankees
The Baltimore Orioles had a memorable 9-6 win against the New York Yankees thanks to a three-run Anthony Santander walk-off homer in the bottom of the ninth inning.
After a back-and-forth battle, the Yankees tied the game 6-6 at the top of the ninth inning with a D.J. LeMahieu single, but the New York bullpen could not send it to extra innings.
An error and a base hit got two Orioles on base, and with Santander just needing a single to win the game, he instead launched a shot over the left-field fence for a dramatic walk-off win.
Trevor writes his own story
Trevor Story played his best game as a Boston Red Sox player in his side's 12-6 win against the Seattle Mariners, hitting three home runs.
Story, 29, was the Red Sox's biggest off-season acquisition, but has struggled to start the season, with only two home runs entering Thursday's game. He turned that around in a big way with a 402-foot two-run home run in the second inning, and a 403-foot two-run bomb an inning later.
After a single in the sixth inning, Story capped off his day in the eighth frame with a 358-foot three-run shot, giving him seven RBIs in the game.
New York Yankees designate struggling OF Aaron Hicks for assignment
The New York Yankees have decided to cut ties with struggling outfielder Aaron Hicks.
The Yankees designated Hicks for assignment on Saturday before their game against the Cincinnati Reds.
Through 28 games this season, Hicks is slashing just .188/.263/.261 with one home run, two doubles and five RBIS.
Among the 315 major league hitters with at least 75 plate appearances, Hicks' .524 OPS ranks 299th.
It is a costly decision for the Yankees, as Hicks' contract runs through 2025 and the team will be forced to eat nearly $30million remaining on the seven-year, $70m contract he signed in 2019.
The sides agreed to that deal after Hicks enjoyed a career year in 2018, when he hit 27 homers and drove in 79.
In almost four-and-a-half seasons since then, however, the 33-year-old Hicks has managed just 31 home runs while batting .218.
In a corresponding move Saturday, the Yankees selected the contract of outfielder Greg Allen from the minors.
The 30-year-old Allen was acquired in a trade from the Boston Red Sox on Friday and is beginning his second stint with the Yankees after appearing in 15 games for them in 2021.
Astros activate star 2B Altuve for season debut
Jose Altuve will return to the Houston Astros’ lineup for Friday’s game against the Oakland Athletics after the team activated the 2017 American League Most Valuable Player from the injured list.
Altuve has yet to play this season due to a fractured right thumb he sustained while playing for his native Venezuela in the World Baseball Classic on March 19. He underwent surgery on March 22 and was given an eight-week timeline to return.
The eight-time All-Star prepped for his 2023 debut by playing five minor league rehab games over the past week, though he went just 2 for 22 at the plate.
Altuve finished fifth in voting for last season’s AL MVP after finishing with a .300 average, 28 home runs, 103 runs scored and 18 stolen bases in 141 games for the World Series champion Astros.
The 33-year-old’s career .307 batting average ranks third among active players with at least 1,000 plate appearances, trailing only 2022 AL batting champ Luis Arraez and fellow Venezuelan Miguel Cabrera.
Altuve will be counted on to provide a spark to a Houston offense that’s averaging just 4.44 runs per game, 15th in the majors. The Astros currently stand two games behind division-leading Texas in the AL West with a 24-19 record.
Rays pound Cease as Paredes drives in career-high five, Ohtani falls short on cycle bid
The Tampa Bay Rays re-discovered their free-scoring ways as Isaac Paredes managed a career-high five RBIs in a 14-5 victory over the slumping Chicago White Sox on Thursday.
The Sox fall to their eighth straight loss, even with Dylan Cease on the mound, pounded for seven runs from nine hits across four innings, with only three strikeouts.
Paredes started it off with a second-inning RBI single, grounded out to third to score Randy Arozarena in the fifth, before a three-run double in the sixth opened up an 11-2 lead.
Brandon Lowe maintained his excellent early season hitting with a 358-foot third inning homer along with a two-run single in the fifth. Lowe's solo shot took his season tally to seven homers.
Shane McClanahan (5-0) allowed two runs and struck out five across five innings, while Luke Raley went three-for-five with three RBIs including a ninth-inning homer, and moved from the outfield to the mound in the ninth.
The Rays, who started the season 13-0, had been beaten and shut out in consecutive games by the Houston Astros, 1-0 and 5-0 on Wednesday and Tuesday respectively.
Tampa Bay delivered 16 hits for the game and ended their scoreless run at 20 innings.
Ohtani's mixed game as Angels edge home
Shohei Ohtani responded after a shaky start on the mound to lead the Los Angeles Angels past the Oakland Athletics 8-7.
Ohtani (4-0) earned the win, although he gave up five runs in a rough fourth inning, with three-run blasts to Brent Rooker and a two-run homer to Shea Langeliers. He had thrown three perfect innings to that point and finished with eight strikeouts, allowing three hits across six innings.
The Japanese two-way star went three-for-five with the bat, including a triple, double and single, scoring two runs, with an eighth-inning shot caught by Esteury Ruiz on the warning track in center field.
Brandon Drury delivered a 409-foot three-run home run over left-center field in the first inning, with Ohtani scoring after his prior double.
Keller fans 10 as Pirates continue fine form
Mitch Keller matched his career-high 10 strikeouts as the Pittsburgh Pirates downed the Los Angeles Dodgers 6-2.
Keller improved to 3-0, giving up two runs on five hits across six innings, as the Pirates continued their excellent run having won nine of their past 10, moving to an 18-8 record.
Pittsburgh rallied from an early 2-0 deficit, with three runs at the bottom of the first inning, before Connor Joe's two-run blast followed by Rodolfo Castro's 414-foot homer in the sixth.
SportsMax is the Caribbean sports channel of choice, committed to providing sporting content of the highest quality to the Caribbean, delivered by a team of highly innovative, passionate and qualified professionals.
(876) 619-7629
digitalmedia@sportsmax.tv
