Mets managerCarlos Mendoza was ejected from Saturday’s game against the Pittsburgh Pirates in the fourth inning for arguing balls and strikes with home plate umpire Roberto Ortiz.

With one out and New York down 3-1, Brandon Waddell threw a ball inside and off the plate to Adam Frazier for ball one. The pitch was close, but clearly a ball. However, Mendoza’s gripe with Ortiz was an inning prior, Ortiz called the exact same pitch a strike against Mark Vientos on a 3-0 count.

With a runner on first, a walk would’ve put two runners on for Juan Soto. Instead, Vientos ended up lining out to end the inning.

So, when Waddell’s pitch wasn’t also called a strike, Mendoza voiced his displeasure from the dugout and got rung up. After that, he came firing out from the dugout and gave Ortiz an earful for his inconsistency. It’s the first time this season that Mendoza has been tossed from a game.

Bench coach John Gibbons took over the managerial duties after that.

Three batters into his third start of the year on Saturday, Shohei Ohtani showed some brief frustration.

With one out in the first inning — on a day he was trying to pitch into the second for the first time this year — Ohtani gave up a line drive single to Kansas City Royals star Bobby Witt Jr. Then, he walked Maikel Garcia on five pitches in the next at-bat, pulling four straight throws low and to the glove side to put two aboard.

As Ohtani received the ball back from catcher Dalton Rushing, he wore a stoic look, seemingly displeased with his lack of execution.

But he climbed back atop the mound, stared down the plate as Vinnie Pasquantino dug in, and absolutely bullied the Royals’ first baseman with three straight pitches.

A 99.2-mph fastball on the inside corner for strike one.

A 100.2-mph fastball on the inside black for strike two.

Read more:Why Mookie Betts and Freddie Freeman have struggled at the plate lately for the Dodgers

And then, a blistering 101.7-mph fastball — the hardest-thrown pitch of Ohtani’s MLB career — that Pasquantino took a helpless hack at, grounding into a tailor-made, inning-ending double-play.

“Overall, I was happy with the fact that I was able to attack the zone,” Ohtani said through interpreter Will Ireton. “There’s some little things that I still need to work on. But overall, pretty happy.”

Though the Dodgers lost 9-5 to the Royals on Saturday, Ohtani turned in his best pitching performance yet this season. After escaping the first-inning jam, he retired the side in the second. Over 27 pitches, he threw 20 strikes and got three swings-and-misses, including on a 100-mph fastball and late-biting slider to strike out Jac Caglianone in the second.

Even over another small sample size, with Ohtani’s workload still limited as he works his way back from a second career Tommy John surgery, the right-hander flashed the dominant potential of his stuff, able to bully hitters with his triple-digit heat and keep them off balance with a flurry of unhittable off-speed offerings.

And that 101.7-mph fastball was Ohtani’s hardest pitch ever in an MLB game. 

“It’s nice to be able to hit that velo and see how my body reacts,” he said.

The only harder pitch Ohtani has thrown since coming to the majors in 2018: A 102-mph heater he fired in the 2023 World Baseball Classic — coincidentally, also against Pasquantino.

Things did not go well for the Dodgers (52-32) after Ohtani left the mound. Bulk man Ben Casparius who was battling an illness while pitching through the muggy Midwestern summer heat, gave up six runs in four innings after replacing Ohtani. He now has a 7.82 ERA in his three outings piggybacking with Ohtani over the last three weeks.

“I haven’t been as sharp and executing what I want to do,” Casparius said. “I don’t think it has anything to do with the [piggyback] situation.”

The Dodgers’ defense didn’t offer much help, either. In the third inning, Teoscar Hernández failed to get to a flare down the right-field line with two outs, extending the inning ahead of a two-run double from Garcia in the next at-bat. Andy Pages also booted a ball in center field during a four-run rally from the Royals (39-44) in the fifth, an inning that was punctuated by a three-run, two-out homer from Pasquantino to center.

“I think that if you look at our outfield construction, we’re not fleet of foot,” Roberts said. “We knew that as we built the roster. And so there’s going to be some cost.”

The Dodgers’ offense, meanwhile, never figured out crafty right-hander Seth Lugo, stranding all nine hitters who reached base against him (four hits and five walks) while striking out eight times.

Even a big day from slumping first baseman Freddie Freeman, who went three for three with two walks and a solo home run in the seventh, couldn’t drag the Dodgers back into the game late, costing them a five-game winning streak and setting up a series rubber match on Sunday.

All of that, however, paled in comparison to the impressiveness of Ohtani’s outing on the mound.

In his four innings so far this year, the 30-year-old has given up just one run and three hits. His fastball has routinely eclipsed 100 mph while his array of breaking stuff has kept opponents off balance.

And though the team remains careful with his buildup — uncertain of when, or if, he will be fully stretched out for normal-length starts — the few innings he has contributed have been promising, quickly erasing any doubts about how his arm would respond from the second reconstructive elbow surgery of his career.

“I felt pretty good about being able to come back and pitch well — especially considering, [compared to] when I first had the surgery, the second time through it was a lot better in terms of recovery,” Ohtani said. “Talking to the doctor, he was very confident that I would be able to come back in full form.”

That much, he has, looking once on Saturday like someone capable of being an impact option on the mound for the second half of the season.

“I do still feel like I have to work on little things on the pitching side in terms of mechanically,” he said. “So in terms of that, it’s still a work in progress.”

But, Roberts countered, ever encouraged by Ohtani’s latest pitching start, “Throwing the baseball the way he did [was] certainly a positive … I thought he was still in control, and it was still good to see triple digits.”

Pitching injury updates

It’ll be a little while longer before the Dodgers get more pitching reinforcements from triple-A Oklahoma City.

On Friday night, Tyler Glasnow gave up five runs on seven hits in his second rehab outing, but more consequentially managed only 2 ⅓ innings, well short of the four-inning goal the Dodgers had targeted for his start. Because of that, Roberts said Glasnow will likely need at least two more rehab starts before returning to the majors. He has been out since April because of a shoulder problem.

Emmet Sheehan’s next start will come in triple A, Roberts said, even after the right-hander pitched six perfect innings with 13 strikeouts earlier this week. Sheehan returned from Tommy John surgery earlier this month with a solid four-inning start for the Dodgers, but was optioned ahead of this road trip to continue building up in Oklahoma City. Sheehan will be a candidate to return to the majors after his next outing, perhaps near the end of the Dodgers’ upcoming homestand.

Back in Los Angeles, Blake Snell (shoulder) and Blake Treinen (forearm) continued their progression of bullpen sessions on Saturday, and are getting closer to throwing live sessions against hitters. Roki Sasaki (shoulder) has also continued to play catch and, according to Roberts, is finally “feeling really good” almost two months into his IL stint.

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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.

Since his return to Triple-A Syracuse, Francisco Alvarez had been hitless in his first seven at-bats. The Mets catcher broke out of that slump, though, in a big way on Saturday by crushing a three-run homer in the second inning en route to an 8-0 win.

Francisco Alvarez LAUNCHES a three-run shot for Triple-A Syracuse!

A 434-foot blast for Alvarez 💥 pic.twitter.com/g9ix595xKF

— SNY Mets (@SNY_Mets) June 28, 2025

Alvarez’s home run traveled 434 feet to center field and had an exit velocity of 107.8 mph — an absolute bomb. It was his only hit of the game (1-for-4), but the raw power that seemed to be missing from the youngster’s bat in the majors this season is good to see.

The 23-year-old also threw out a base stealer behind the plate, but allowed one as well.

Meanwhile, top prospect Brandon Sproat got the start on Saturday and turned in a strong performance. The right-hander pitched six scoreless innings and allowed just two hits and three walks while striking out six. He earned his fourth win of the season and lowered his ERA to 5.43.

Brandon Sproat was excellent today for Triple-A Syracuse

6 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 3 BB, 6 K pic.twitter.com/AiTNWiVmUJ

— SNY Mets (@SNY_Mets) June 28, 2025

Elsewhere in the lineup, prospects Luisangel Acuña and Drew Gilbert eachwent 1-for-4 with a run scored. Pablo Reyes, recently signed to a minor league contract, also had a home run and finished 2-for-4 with three RBI and a stolen base. Every hitter in the lineup had at least one hit except for David Villar.

Saturday’s game between the Mets and Pittsburgh Pirates was stopped in the top of the second inning due to a rain delay.

Before the pause, New York had runners on first and second with two outs and Mark Vientos about to step up to the plate, already up 1-0 after scoring a run off Bailey Falter in the first inning.

The game is set to resume at around 6 p.m.

The Yankees will lose their share of games during a long baseball season, but the way they lose games can magnify some of the struggles a team can have.

And right now, the Yankees’ inconsistent offense reared its head in Saturday’s 7-0 loss to the last place Athletics.

Entering Saturday’s game, the Athletics had the second-worst ERA in all of baseball (5.42) in addition to the second-highest batting average against (.267). Those numbers didn’t matter as the Yankees could only muster three hits (all singles) and through the first two games of this weekend series, have only put up three runs.

After the game, the prevailing question raised to the players and manager Aaron Boone was, what’s going on with the offense?

“Yeah, just a little inconsistent, going through it a little bit right now,” DJ LeMahieu, who had the team’s final hit, said. “But, obviously, we have all the confidence in the world in our lineup. Just haven’t gotten hot at the same time… a couple guys doing their thing, but collectively, I don’t think it’s enough.”

“It’s just baseball. We just haven’t performed our best the last couple weeks, but there’s going to be ups and downs, and I think the point is just to keep going,” Paul Goldschmidt, who had one of the Yankees’ three hits, said after the game. “Keep making the adjustments that are needed individually and as a group and have good at-bats, that we’re a very capable team. Just take it every day out there. Try to win as many games as possible.”

Boone said the team was “held down” by Athletics starter JP Sears, who historically hasn’t pitched well against the Yankees but has shut them down this season. In two starts against New York this year, Sears has allowed just one run across 10.2 innings pitched.

What made him effective on Saturday was the change of speeds and executing his spots to both lefties and righties. But going back to his lineup, Boone understands they’ve been inconsistent, but he believes there have been more good games than bad of late.

However, he feels the offense has gone away from taxing the pitchers like when they are hitting well, but Boone thinks it’s only a matter of time.

“Last two days, been shut down a little bit more than we’d like, but you got to get a couple guys going, and in times like this, it always comes down to getting a big hit with runners out there,” Boone said. “We’re doing an okay job of creating some traffic, even though we haven’t gotten a lot of hits the last two days. But I feel like, over the last week, 10 days, we’ve had our opportunities. We got to cash them in… It comes down to you gotta cash in when you get opportunities when you’re going through a little bit.”

On Saturday, the Yankees went 0-for-5 with runners in scoring position and left six runners on base. Aaron Judge was the main culprit in that stat, stranding two runners in the third inning and another in the sixth. Over his last 15 games, Judge is hitting .182 with three homers and has struck out 24 times.

Boone attributes this rough patch for Judge to baseball, but was encouraged by two hard-hit balls that were outs — including a 406-foot flyball that would have been a home run in 20 parks.

But the Yankee captain isn’t the only one struggling. Goldschmidt has tapered off from his hot start to the season. Over his last 30 games, the former NL MVP is slashing just .198/.267/.321 and the Yankee first baseman acknowledged he isn’t helping the team as they go through this tough month of June.

“I feel good. I feel fine, but you know, I haven’t played well for the last few weeks, maybe even this whole month,” he said. “So, again, that’s part of the game and working to see if there’s, you know, adjustments to be made and trying to show up every day and perform.

“But that’s hurt our team, the way I’ve played this month, and, again, just show up and be ready to go tomorrow and every day. Just try to help us win.”

In June, the Yankees are 12-14, but they remain confident their offense will come alive again because, as LeMahieu said, they’ve shown who they can be already this season.

“I just saw it the first two months. And it’s a long season,” he said. “I hate saying that, but you want to win every game, but I know we’ll be fine. We just gotta keep going, keep getting better.”

The Yankees will host the Athletics for the rubber game of their series on Sunday.

Shohei Ohtani completed two innings in his third start for the Los Angeles Dodgers this season during Saturday’s game against the Kansas City Royals.

Ohtani got through the first inning in 14 pitches, eight of which were fastballs, including one that was clocked at 101.7 mph — the hardest of his career — that got Royals first baseman Vinnie Pasquantino to hit into an inning-ending double play.

In a curious coincidence, both of Ohtani’s 101.7 mph pitches were thrown against Pasquantino. The first came in the 2023 World Baseball Classic. 

The second frame saw a much more efficient Ohtani on the mound. He faced only three batters and threw 13 pitches — 12 of which were strikes — and kept the Royals off the bases.

Ohtani was replaced in the third inning and finished with 27 pitches, 20 for strikes, one hit allowed, one walk and one strikeout. Jac Caglianone was the lone Royal to strikeout on a nasty slider.

Ohtani also broke 100 mph three times.

Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said before the game that the plan was to pitch Ohtani into the second inning as long as the opening inning wasn’t too “stressful.”

Ohtani’s first two starts on the mound this season were each for one inning. During a 6-3 win over the San Diego Padres on June 16, he allowed two hits and one earned run. Six days later, he didn’t allow a run and struck out two batters against the Washington Nationals.

Prior to this month, Ohtani had not pitched since undergoing elbow surgery in September 2023. His recovery timetable was pushed back after he suffered a torn labrum in his left shoulder during the 2024 World Series and required surgery to repair that injury.

This week, Ohtani, along with New York Yankees slugger Aaron Judge, were confirmed as starters in next month’s All-Star Game in Atlanta after being the top vote-getters in each league following the first round of voting. Ohtani will start at DH for the NL after earning 3,967,668 votes.

However, he will not participate in the Home Run Derby despite leading the National League with 29 homers. 

“With the current rules in place, I don’t think it’s feasible for me to be able to compete well,” Ohtani said through translator Will Ireton. 

Dodgers teammate Teoscar Hernández announced yesterday that he won’t take part in the event either, which he won last year.

Shohei Ohtani completed two innings in his third start for the Los Angeles Dodgers this season during Saturday’s game against the Kansas City Royals.

Ohtani got through the first inning in 14 pitches, eight of which were fastballs, including one that was clocked at 101.7 mph — the hardest of his career — that got Royals first baseman Vinnie Pasquantino to hit into an inning-ending double play.

In a curious coincidence, both of Ohtani’s 101.7 mph pitches were thrown against Pasquantino. The first came in the 2023 World Baseball Classic. 

The second frame saw a much more efficient Ohtani on the mound. He faced only three batters and threw 13 pitches — 12 of which were strikes — and kept the Royals off the bases.

Ohtani was replaced in the third inning and finished with 27 pitches, 20 for strikes, one hit allowed, one walk and one strikeout. Jac Caglianone was the lone Royal to strikeout on a nasty slider.

Ohtani also broke 100 mph three times.

Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said before the game that the plan was to pitch Ohtani into the second inning as long as the opening inning wasn’t too “stressful.”

Ohtani’s first two starts on the mound this season were each for one inning. During a 6-3 win over the San Diego Padres on June 16, he allowed two hits and one earned run. Six days later, he didn’t allow a run and struck out two batters against the Washington Nationals.

Prior to this month, Ohtani had not pitched since undergoing elbow surgery in September 2023. His recovery timetable was pushed back after he suffered a torn labrum in his left shoulder during the 2024 World Series and required surgery to repair that injury.

This week, Ohtani, along with New York Yankees slugger Aaron Judge, were confirmed as starters in next month’s All-Star Game in Atlanta after being the top vote-getters in each league following the first round of voting. Ohtani will start at DH for the NL after earning 3,967,668 votes.

However, he will not participate in the Home Run Derby despite leading the National League with 29 homers. 

“With the current rules in place, I don’t think it’s feasible for me to be able to compete well,” Ohtani said through translator Will Ireton. 

Dodgers teammate Teoscar Hernández announced yesterday that he won’t take part in the event either, which he won last year.

Hall of Famer Dave Parker has died at the age of 74. The Pittsburgh Pirates announced Parker’s death before their game on Saturday.

Parker played for six teams during his 19 major-league seasons, 11 of those seasons with the Pirates. He also played for the Cincinnati Reds, Oakland Athletics, Milwaukee Brewers, California Angels and Toronto Blue Jays.

During his MLB career from 1979-1991, Parker batted .290/.339/.471 with 2,712 hits, 339 home runs, 526 doubles, 1,493 RBI and 154 stolen bases. He won World Series championships with the 1979 Pirates and 1989 Athletics, was a seven-time All-Star and earned consecutive National League batting titles in 1978 and 1979.

In 1979, Parker won the NL MVP award with a .334 average and .970 OPS with 30 homers, 34 doubles, 117 RBI and 20 steals. He finished second in NL MVP voting in 1985 with the Reds, leading the league with 125 RBI. 

Parker was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in December by the Classic Era Committee, earning votes on 14 of 16 ballots. He will be officially inducted into Cooperstown on July 27.

“I was a five-tool player. I could do them all,” Parker said after his election, via the Associated Press. “I never trotted to first base. I don’t know if people noticed that, but I ran hard on every play.”

Nicknamed “The Cobra” because of his 6-foot-5, 230-pound frame and quick bat, Parker was the Pirates’ 14th-round draft pick in 1970 out of Courter Tech High School in Cincinnati, Ohio. A knee injury during his senior year prevented him from following through on football ambitions — and likely resulted in his lower-round selection — but that was baseball’s fortunate gain. 

Following nearly four seasons in the minor leagues (hitting a combined .315 with an .854 OPS and 48 homers), Parker was called up and split time in right field with Richie Zisk for legendary Pirates star Roberto Clemente, who died tragically on Dec. 31, 1972. However, he claimed the position for himself by 1975 with a breakout season, batting .308 with an .898 OPS, 25 homers, 35 doubles and 101 RBI. 

Parker also showed off an outstanding throwing arm in right field. From 1975-79, he led MLB with 72 outfield assists. Parker notched 26 assists in 1977 and finished his career with 143. He won three Gold Gloves during his career. (During his final four MLB seasons, Parker was largely a designated hitter in the American League due to deteriorating knees.) 

In 2012, Parker was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease and led efforts to raise awareness and money to fight the disorder through his Dave Parker 39 Foundation.

“There’s no fear,” Parker told the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review in 2013. “I’ve had a great life. I always dreamt of playing baseball, and I played… My fingerprints are on the baseball industry. I feel good about that. I have nothing to feel bad about.”

Parker never received more than 24% of the vote while he was eligible for Hall of Fame voting, and lasted 15 years on the ballot. Many believed his involvement in the 1985 Pittsburgh drug trials due to his cocaine use (and an initial suspension by then-commissioner Peter Ueberroth) affected his candidacy.

“We join the baseball family in remembering Dave Parker,” said Jane Forbes Clark, Hall of Fame chairperson of the board, said in a statement. “His legacy will be one of courage and leadership, matched only by his outstanding accomplishments on the field.

“His election to the Hall of Fame in December brought great joy to him, his family and all the fans who marveled at his remarkable abilities,” she added. “We will honor his incredible life and career at next month’s Induction Ceremony in Cooperstown, where his legacy will be remembered forever.”