Here are five things to watch and predictions as the Mets and Rays play a three-game series at Citi Field starting on Friday at 7:10 p.m. on SNY.

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5 things to watch

Starting rotation shakeup coming?

Kodai Senga left Thursday’s game with a hamstring injury that will land him on the IL, and the calculus will change with him missing time. But the Mets will still have seven starters for five spots when Frankie Montas and Sean Manaea are back.

With Montas making one or two more rehab starts before returning and Manaeaset to make his third rehab start on Sunday, things could get very crowded very soon.

And with New York not planning to utilize a regular six-man rotation in the immediate future, it’s fair to wonder how they’ll make everything fit.

It’s logical to believe that Tylor Megill will slide to the bullpen or get sent to Triple-A Syracuse when room is needed in the rotation. He has minor league options remaining, meaning the Mets can send him down without running the risk of losing him.

Beyond Megill (who starts on Saturday), the next candidate to possibly lose his rotation spot — as unfair as it is — would almost certainly be Griffin Canning, who carries a 3.22 ERA into his start on Sunday.

Playing time on the infield

The Mets are currently juggling four players for two infield spots, with Jeff McNeil, Brett Baty, Ronny Mauricio, and Luisangel Acuña jockeying between second base and third base.

In the case of McNeil, who has been on fire, he’ll start pretty much every day — and the Mets have the option to use him in center field, where he started on Wednesday.

That leaves Baty, Mauricio, and Acuña as the main players battling for at-bats.

The Mets have the option of using any of them at DH, but most of the time, that has been given to Jared Young and Starling Marte.

Is Francisco Alvarez finding it at the plate?

Before being placed on the paternity list for the birth of his daughter, Alvarez was showing signs of breaking out.

He was hitting 320/.346/.480 in 26 plate appearances over his last six games, including one homer and one double.

Things haven’t come easily at the plate for Alvarez after returning from a broken hamate bone, and that has included him chasing lots of pitches well out of the zone.

But Alvarez has looked better lately. And if he can build on that — especially if he can tap into some more power — he could help take the Mets’ lineup to another level.

Rays are in the thick of the playoff race

The Rays were a bit of an afterthought before the season, but they’re once again right in the thick of things in the playoff race.

Tampa is in third place in the AL East and trails the first-place Yankees by 6.0 games, but they’re currently holding the third Wild Card spot — and are only 2.0 games behind the Blue Jays for the top Wild Card spot.

Junior Caminero (.776 OPS) and Brandon Lowe (.742 OPS) have helped the Rays go, and former Mets prospect Jake Mangum has been strong in his first taste of the majors. Mangum is hitting .304 with a .339 OBP and 10 stolen bases in 33 games.

The Rays also have a very good closer in Pete Fairbanks, who has a 2.30 ERA and 1.17 WHIP in 27.1 innings — and has yet to allow a home run this season.

Drew Rasmussen is healthy and dealing

Tampa’s rotation is anchored by Rasmussen, who has undergone three serious elbow surgeries and is now back and dominating.

In 13 starts over 69.0 innings this season, Rasmussen has a 2.22 ERA and 0.89 WHIP and has allowed just 48 hits.

And Rasmussen has been especially sharp lately.

He made four consecutive scoreless starts spanning May 17 to June 3, before giving up two runs over 6.0 innings in his most recent start on June 8 against the Marlins.

Rasmussen gets the ball on Saturday.

Predictions

Who will the MVP of the series be?

Brandon Nimmo

Nimmo has been heating up, including a two-homer game on Wednesday against the Nationals, and add another longball on Thursday.

Which Mets pitcher will have the best start?

Clay Holmes

Holmes has allowed just seven runs over his last four starts.

Which Rays player will be a thorn in the Mets’ side?

Jake Mangum

He has the right combination of contact-ability and speed.

With Chris Kreider traded to the Anaheim Ducks, what does that mean for the rest of the veteran players on the New York Rangers?

There’s been a lot of talk about communication between management and the players within the Rangers organization over the past year. 

Kreider was a pillar of the franchise and a leader in the locker room, so his missing presence will certainly be felt next season. 

Rangers president and general manager Chris Drury reportedly handled this situation very delicately, both working with Kreider to find a destination of his desire and having communication with the other veteran players. 

“Told that Drury kept Mika and other veterans apprised of the intent to move Kreider from the start of the offseason,” Larry Brooks of The New York Post wrote via X. 

Drury has already dismantled a large part of his veteran core, moving off of Jacob Trouba, Ryan Lindgren, Jimmy Vesey, and now Chris Kreider. 

Brooks also reported that Drury is determined to make substantial personnel changes because the chemistry in the room was not conducive to a constructive work environment.

On this episode of Good Word with Goodwill, Vince and Dan Titus react to the Indiana Pacers’ impressive Game 3 win in the NBA Finals against the Oklahoma City Thunder before previewing the pivotal Game 4 on Friday.

Next, Vince and Dan take a look at reports that Giannis Antetokounmpo may want to remain in Milwaukee and discuss what the Bucks need to do to put a team around him.

Later, Vince and Dan unpack why the New York Knicks don’t seem to have a plan for their next head coach and Vin asks Dan an important question about how he makes eggs.

(1:19) Pacers get impressive Game 3 win vs. Thunder

(13:38) SGA needs historic performance in Game 4

(17:07) The importance of winning Game 4 for nothing teams

(20:26) Giannis may want to remain in Milwaukee

(29:01) Could Giannis, Bucks be working on a trade behind the scenes?

(32:41) Do the Knicks have a plan for hiring next coach?

(40:07) Do you season your eggs?

(AP Photo/Abbie Parr)

Subscribe to Good Word with Goodwill

Apple Podcasts | Spotify | YouTube

🖥️ Watch this full episode on YouTube

Check out the rest of the Yahoo Sports podcast family at https://apple.co/3zEuTQj or at Yahoo Sports Podcasts

On this episode of Good Word with Goodwill, Vince and Dan Titus react to the Indiana Pacers’ impressive Game 3 win in the NBA Finals against the Oklahoma City Thunder before previewing the pivotal Game 4 on Friday.

Next, Vince and Dan take a look at reports that Giannis Antetokounmpo may want to remain in Milwaukee and discuss what the Bucks need to do to put a team around him.

Later, Vince and Dan unpack why the New York Knicks don’t seem to have a plan for their next head coach and Vin asks Dan an important question about how he makes eggs.

(1:19) Pacers get impressive Game 3 win vs. Thunder

(13:38) SGA needs historic performance in Game 4

(17:07) The importance of winning Game 4 for nothing teams

(20:26) Giannis may want to remain in Milwaukee

(29:01) Could Giannis, Bucks be working on a trade behind the scenes?

(32:41) Do the Knicks have a plan for hiring next coach?

(40:07) Do you season your eggs?

(AP Photo/Abbie Parr)

Subscribe to Good Word with Goodwill

Apple Podcasts | Spotify | YouTube

🖥️ Watch this full episode on YouTube

Check out the rest of the Yahoo Sports podcast family at https://apple.co/3zEuTQj or at Yahoo Sports Podcasts

INDIANAPOLIS — T.J. McConnell chuckles at it instead of taking it as an insult, the whole “great white hope” thing assigned to him by Tyrese Haliburton. But it seems to work in Indianapolis.

If it was an inside joke, it made it to the outside world on the NBA’s biggest stage.

“No, it’s funny because all year he’s been saying it’s [Pacers rookie Johnny] Furphy,” McConnell told Yahoo Sports. “So the fact that he brought it back up, I guess he said there’s, like, a transition period from me to Furphy.”

If he keeps having nights like Game 3, giving the Oklahoma City Thunder nightmares with their eyes open, any nickname will do. Whenever it seemed like the Pacers were in a lull and in need of a spark, there was McConnell with one of his three backcourt steals. He had five overall as the Pacers took control of the Finals with a 116-107 win at home Wednesday night.

“We need all of our guys to bring whatever is their thing to our thing and have it be part of our thing, you know,” Pacers coach Rick Carlisle said Wednesday night. “But he’s a guy that inspires a lot of people. He inspires our team a lot.”

He played only 15 minutes, but it felt like he was out there all night, as he made every minute count, scoring 10 points with 5 assists and being a plus-12. He was the first bench player ever to record 10 points, 5 assists and 5 steals in an NBA Finals game since the league started recording steals in 1973-74. His plays got the crowd energized after moments of nervous energy that was palpable in the building.

“It’s a feel thing when I’m trying to inject energy into the game and get the crowd involved,” McConnell said. “And you know, when our crowd’s into it, they’ve willed us to wins throughout the season.”

It was McConnell and Bennedict Mathurin providing the extra energy while the Thunder players looked a bit on the fatigued side. Mathurin scored 27 points in just 22 minutes of game time, and Obi Toppin had an arena-shaking follow-up dunk late that seemed to declare matters for the night.

Mathurin’s playing time has increased in every game, but there’s always a looking-over-your-shoulder feeling for reserves.

“I feel like it’s a going-down-swinging-type thing, where you have to play fearless and mistakes are going to happen,” McConnell said. “So there’s a point in the game where you want to be in there, but it’s time for the starters to come back in. 

“Obviously, as a competitor, you want to play. So I try to tell the guys, you know, we just need to go out there and do our job for whenever we’re out there.”

McConnell has gotten votes for Sixth Man of the Year twice during his six years with the Pacers, after being in Philadelphia for four years during the “Process” era for the 76ers. That makes him among the most experienced players on this team. That makes him valuable.

“Besides Pascal [Siakam] and Thomas [Bryant], none of us have Finals experience,” McConnell, 33, said. “So obviously, very grateful to be here and play in front of that crowd like we did yesterday. We’re excited, but we know there’s still a lot of work left.”

INDIANAPOLIS — T.J. McConnell chuckles at it instead of taking it as an insult, the whole “great white hope” thing assigned to him by Tyrese Haliburton. But it seems to work in Indianapolis.

If it was an inside joke, it made it to the outside world on the NBA’s biggest stage.

“No, it’s funny because all year he’s been saying it’s [Pacers rookie Johnny] Furphy,” McConnell told Yahoo Sports. “So the fact that he brought it back up, I guess he said there’s, like, a transition period from me to Furphy.”

If he keeps having nights like Game 3, giving the Oklahoma City Thunder nightmares with their eyes open, any nickname will do. Whenever it seemed like the Pacers were in a lull and in need of a spark, there was McConnell with one of his three backcourt steals. He had five overall as the Pacers took control of the Finals with a 116-107 win at home Wednesday night.

“We need all of our guys to bring whatever is their thing to our thing and have it be part of our thing, you know,” Pacers coach Rick Carlisle said Wednesday night. “But he’s a guy that inspires a lot of people. He inspires our team a lot.”

He played only 15 minutes, but it felt like he was out there all night, as he made every minute count, scoring 10 points with 5 assists and being a plus-12. He was the first bench player ever to record 10 points, 5 assists and 5 steals in an NBA Finals game since the league started recording steals in 1973-74. His plays got the crowd energized after moments of nervous energy that was palpable in the building.

“It’s a feel thing when I’m trying to inject energy into the game and get the crowd involved,” McConnell said. “And you know, when our crowd’s into it, they’ve willed us to wins throughout the season.”

It was McConnell and Bennedict Mathurin providing the extra energy while the Thunder players looked a bit on the fatigued side. Mathurin scored 27 points in just 22 minutes of game time, and Obi Toppin had an arena-shaking follow-up dunk late that seemed to declare matters for the night.

Mathurin’s playing time has increased in every game, but there’s always a looking-over-your-shoulder feeling for reserves.

“I feel like it’s a going-down-swinging-type thing, where you have to play fearless and mistakes are going to happen,” McConnell said. “So there’s a point in the game where you want to be in there, but it’s time for the starters to come back in. 

“Obviously, as a competitor, you want to play. So I try to tell the guys, you know, we just need to go out there and do our job for whenever we’re out there.”

McConnell has gotten votes for Sixth Man of the Year twice during his six years with the Pacers, after being in Philadelphia for four years during the “Process” era for the 76ers. That makes him among the most experienced players on this team. That makes him valuable.

“Besides Pascal [Siakam] and Thomas [Bryant], none of us have Finals experience,” McConnell, 33, said. “So obviously, very grateful to be here and play in front of that crowd like we did yesterday. We’re excited, but we know there’s still a lot of work left.”

It’s been more than a week since the Knicks fired head coach Tom Thibodeau, and while the basketball world and players like Josh Hart have voiced their thoughts on the job Thibodeau has done for the team, we haven’t heard from team captain Jalen Brunson.

Brunson was very close to Thibodeau, with his father Rick Brunson working as Thibodeau’s assistant with the Bulls, Timberwolves and Knicks. When the Knicks were ousted from the NBA Playoffs after Game 6 of the Eastern Conference Finals, Brunson defended his coach when asked about Thibodeau’s ability to get this team over the top.

However, the organization decided to go in a different direction and Brunson has finally spoken for the first time after the decision on the June 12 episode of the Roommates Show, his podcast with Hart. Both players spoke about the firing and what Thibodeau meant to them.

“We want to give a shoutout to Thibs, man, you know, especially for myself,” Hart started. “He helped make me into the player I am. I had a lot of instability in the early part of my career and he gave me that stability and that opportunity to flourish as a player in the league, a starter in the league, so I’m always going to be forever grateful for him.

“This is always a tough part of the NBA because you grow relationships not just on the court but off the court and personal relationships, so I always got love for him. It’s always tough when there’s a coaching change.”

Brunson, who was drafted by the Dallas Mavericks and only had a coach change on him once when Rick Carlisle resigned to sign with the Pacers, so this is uncharted territory for the All-Star guard. Brunson chose to highlight what Thibodeau has done for his career since signing with New York.

“This is my first firing. Obviously, I’ve known him my entire life, but I remember having conversations and moments with him in 8th grade when we moved to Chicago. And to see where he helped me become two-time All-Star, two-time All-NBA. The things he’s done for me individually, I’m so grateful for,” Brunson said. “He had that confidence in me that I knew I had, but it’s great to see someone push me to be better…. to have Thibs, and to do what he did for my career, I’m so grateful and thankful for. Not enough things can be said about what he’s meant to myself and my career.”

When both were asked if they had any inkling that the firing would happen or if Thibodeau was on the hot seat, Hart who has had multiple coaching changes in his eight-year career, put it best.

“We had a really good year. It didn’t end how we wanted it to end. Sometimes when the season doesn’t end the way you expect it to, there’s always changes. Whether that’s coaches, players,” Hart said. “Thibs is my sixth coach in eight years. The NBA coaching profession is tough. Whenever you don’t finish the way you expect, there’s always gonna be changes. That one was a tough one. There should be nothing but praise for him and his time in New York.”

“I agree. 100 percent,” Brunson responded.

Thibodeau joined the Knicks ahead of the 2019-20 season, and in five seasons, he amassed a 226-174 record in the regular season, going 24-23 in the playoffs.

He coached the Knicks to the playoffs in four of his five seasons, had back-to-back 50-win seasons and took New York to the Eastern Conference Finals for the first time in 25 years. Whoever becomes the next coach of the Knicks will have big shoes to fill.

“[Thibodeau] took that job when the Knicks were just buns,” Hart, who was traded to the Knicks in 2023, said. “They were 20 wins. He got that job for five years, made the playoffs in four years, first Eastern Conference Finals in 25 years. He helped Knicks basketball go back to the top level in the league. He should get a lot of credit for the foundation that he built.”

Everything was going right for the Mets on Thursday afternoon.

Looking for their sixth straight win and back-to-back sweeps, they were able to open an early advantage over the Nationals on Jeff McNeil’s first inning homer, and Kodai Senga was in complete control from there.

The right-hander cruised his way through the struggling Washington lineup — allowing just two baserunners on a first inning James Wood single and a walk while striking out six over 5.2 scoreless innings of work.

Things quickly took a turn for the worse, though, as he was forced to leave the game with two outs in the top of the sixth due to an injury. 

Senga crumbled to the grass and immediately grabbed towards his hamstring after ranging over to first and jumping to haul in a high throw from Pete Alonso to secure an out on a CJ Abrams grounder in the hole. 

After a brief discussion he was able to make his way off the field under his own power and without a limp — but postgame Carlos Mendoza revealed that he’s headed for an MRI and will require a trip to the IL. 

Kodai Senga is coming out of the game with the trainer after appearing to injure himself completing a putout at first pic.twitter.com/b1NPkEJAqM

— SNY (@SNYtv) June 12, 2025

Alonso was visibly shaken after his errant feed ultimately cost the Mets their ace, but shortly after Senga made sure his translator let him know he felt something in his hamstring on the step before he jumped. 

Still, the big man said following the 4-3 victory that he felt awful for how things went down. 

“I’m just trying to make a play for my pitcher,” he said. “The ball took me in the hole, he is a pretty quick runner. I was trying to get rid of it as quickly and as accurately as I could — the throw was good because it was over the base, but obviously it was too high.

“It sucks being a part of that, Senga is one of our guys here — things happen on the baseball field, I just wish it didn’t turn out like that.”

This continues a rough stretch for Alonso, who has taken steps forward defensively over the past few years, but leads all first basemen with three throwing errors so far this season.

While this one wasn’t an error in the books, it does ultimately cost the Mets their ace for the time being.