The Mets allowed another big inning as they dropped their second in a row to the Rays, 8-4, on Saturday evening at Citi Field.

After the start of the game was delayed for almost an hour, poor pitching and shoddy defense allowed Tampa Bay to score five runs in the fourth inning. In total, the Rays scored four runs on two fielding errors by pitchers, which was the difference in the game.

The Mets have dropped back-to-back games for the first time since May 18-20.

Here are the takeaways…

-After hitting the first batter he faced, Tylor Megill settled down a bit to pitch until the third inning. Megill allowed a one-out double that was hit just fair by Taylor Walls before Josh Lowe‘s single drove in the game’s first run. After allowing another hit, pitching coach Jeremy Hefner came out to settle his starter down. Megill responded by getting the final two outs of the inning.

Megill would pitch into trouble in the fourth after the Mets gave him back the lead. Junior Caminero led off with a solo shot, but then another HBP and single put runners at the corners with no outs. Megill got a strikeout, but a Walls sacrifice bunt was botched by the big righty, which led to the second run of the inning. This is where things fell apart for Megill and the Mets.

Brandon Lowe then hit a two-out bloop single to score another run for Tampa. Yandy Diaz tacked on with an RBI single and then Megill threw a wild pitch with the bases loaded to push across another run for the Rays. After Megill walked Caminero to load the bases again, manager Carlos Mendoza had to take out his starter. Jose Castillo came in and Jake Mangum hit a grounder up the middle but Francisco Lindor backhanded it and tossed it to Brett Baty to get the force out at second to end the five-run inning.

Megill’s night was done after throwing 82 pitches (52 strikes) through 3.2 innings, allowing six runs (three earned) on seven hits, two walks and two hit batters. He struck out five batters but his ERA rose to 3.95 on the season.

-Baty has struggled of late (one hit in his previous five games), but the left-hander hit a laser (115.6 mph) off of Drew Rasmussen to tie the game at 1-1 in the third. It was the hardest hit by a Met this season. The Mets would tack on in the same inning whenLindor hit a double, which was followed by a Brandon Nimmo single, all with two outs.

Ronny Mauricio, who was 0-for-his-last-12, tomahawked a Rasmussen fastball up in the zone 374 feet over the right field wall to cut the Rays’ lead to 7-3. A two-out walk to Lindor, a passed ball, and Nimmo single brought the Mets within 7-4 in the fifth.

-Unfortunately, the Mets bullpen could not hold the Rays from scoring for long. A Walls double scored Matt Thaiss from second — Thaiss reached on a single and advanced on a passed ball in the fifth. Castillo allowed the leadoff hitter in the sixth to reach on his fielding error before Jose Butto allowed an RBI triple to Diaz that Juan Soto tried to grab at the wall but it bounced away from him.

Despite that, the Mets tried to get back in this game by putting traffic on the bases, but just couldn’t get a clutch hit. They had two runners on in the seventh and eighth with two outs but Nimmo and Baty did not come through. The Mets had 11 hits but only had four opportunities with runners in scoring position (2-for-4), with Nimmo coming through with those lone two hits.

–Pete Alonso extended his on-base streak to 22 games with his eighth-inning single. He finished 1-for-4. Soto went 0-for-4 while Starling Marte, who had three hits and drove in three runs on Friday, went 1-for-4.

On a defensive positive, Luis Torrens gunned down two runners and made a great play in tandem with Butto on a wild pitch that got Diaz out at the plate. Torrens did have two passed balls, so it wasn’t all great for the Mets backstop.

Game MVP: Rays bullpen

While the lineup dinked and dunked their way to eight runs, the bullpen held the Mets off the board. They pitched four scoreless innings, allowing just four hits and one walk.

Highlights

Brett Baty ties it up with a solo home run! 🔥 pic.twitter.com/M8wDQ7f0XK

— SNY (@SNYtv) June 14, 2025

Brandon Nimmo with an RBI single to give the Mets the lead! pic.twitter.com/lcZp7S75gn

— SNY (@SNYtv) June 14, 2025

Francisco Lindor with the backhand flip to Brett Baty to end the inning! 🤯 pic.twitter.com/rf9rKkUAT5

— SNY (@SNYtv) June 14, 2025

Ronny Mauricio solo homer! 💣 pic.twitter.com/lxum25Ho4v

— SNY (@SNYtv) June 14, 2025

Second RBI of the day for Brandon Nimmo 👏 pic.twitter.com/ZJsQDa45jL

— SNY (@SNYtv) June 14, 2025

What’s next

The Mets and Rays complete their three-game series on Sunday afternoon on PIX11. First pitch is set for 1:40 p.m.

Griffin Canning (6-2, 3.22 ERA) will be on the mound as Tampa will send Shane Baz (5-3, 4.97 ERA) on the bump.

The Washington Nationals are in a bad place right now, and that could mean something bad for manager Dave Martinez, who entered this season on the hot seat amid a stretch of five straight losing seasons.

Some of Martinez’s frustrations might’ve leaked out Saturday, after Washington fell 4-3 to the last-place Miami Marlins for its seventh straight loss. 

No offense has scored fewer runs than the Nationals in the month of June. When asked about his team’s lack of scoring, specifically if it fell on the players or the coaches, Martinez made clear that he doesn’t think it’s the coaches’ fault.

Martinez’s full question and answer:

Q: When you look at the offense as a whole, I know you guys haven’t produced like you wanted to this month. For you, how much of that is on the players, on the coaching? What’s —

A: It’s never on coaching. Never on coaching. Coaches work their asses off every single day. We’re not going to finger point here and say it’s coaches. It’s never on the coaches. They work hard.

The message is clear. All the work is done prior. Sometimes, they got to go out there ,and they got to play the game. It’s always been about the players. Always. I played this game a long time. Never once have I blamed a coach for anything. We worked our asses off to get better. They gave us information, and we used it, so these guys understand what the game is.

These coaches, l’ve never had such a group of coaches that worked as hard as they do. They’re here diligently. They go over everything. They sit with the players every day. These coaches, they work their asses off. Every coaching staff is like that. And the players know, sometimes you got to put the onus on the players. They got to go out there, and they got to play the game. And play the game the right way. We can’t hit for them. We can’t catch the balls for them. We can’t pitch for them. We can’t throw strikes for them. They got to do that.

You can only wonder how that’s going to be received in the Nationals’ clubhouse.

Martinez is at an awkward point in his Nationals career. He got the biggest job security boost a manager could get when D.C. won its first World Series title in 2019 in his second year as a manager, but since then, he has overseen an extended rebuild that so far has been unsuccessful.

After a disappointing and shortened 2020 season, the Nationals opted to trade away everything that wasn’t nailed down in 2021 and commit to the future, keeping Martinez and general manager Mike Rizzo in place. The team has landed some premium talent, mostly through the Juan Soto trade that netted current standouts James Wood, C.J. Abrams and Mackenzie Gore, but the team has failed to coalesce into a winner as its big-name prospects reach the majors.

The team won only 71 games in both 2023 and 2024 and is on pace for 69 wins after Saturday’s loss. So much of that comes down to the team’s failure to draft and develop talent in the years since 2019 — most of their current successes came to them already on the right track, via trades. Martinez’s coaches might be working hard, but that overall trend can’t be ignored.

Martinez won a title, yes, but he now holds a 493-608 record as manager and is overseeing a team that is sputtering. That can’t entirely be the players’ fault, as Martinez appeared to insist Saturday.

3 MLB managers have already been fired this season

If the Nationals opt to part with Martinez, they would be the fourth MLB club to fire their manager this season.

The Pittsburgh Pirates struck first last month when they let go of Derek Shelton, and the Colorado Rockies followed days later when they fired Bud Black amid the worst start in MLB history. The most surprising firing came from the Baltimore Orioles, who cut loose Brandon Hyde two years after a 101-win season.

The Washington Nationals are in a bad place right now, and that could mean something bad for manager Dave Martinez, who entered this season on the hot seat amid a stretch of five straight losing seasons.

Some of Martinez’s frustrations might’ve leaked out Saturday, after Washington fell 4-3 to the last-place Miami Marlins for its seventh straight loss. 

No offense has scored fewer runs than the Nationals in the month of June. When asked about his team’s lack of scoring, specifically if it fell on the players or the coaches, Martinez made clear that he doesn’t think it’s the coaches’ fault.

Martinez’s full question and answer:

Q: When you look at the offense as a whole, I know you guys haven’t produced like you wanted to this month. For you, how much of that is on the players, on the coaching? What’s —

A: It’s never on coaching. Never on coaching. Coaches work their asses off every single day. We’re not going to finger point here and say it’s coaches. It’s never on the coaches. They work hard.

The message is clear. All the work is done prior. Sometimes, they got to go out there ,and they got to play the game. It’s always been about the players. Always. I played this game a long time. Never once have I blamed a coach for anything. We worked our asses off to get better. They gave us information, and we used it, so these guys understand what the game is.

These coaches, l’ve never had such a group of coaches that worked as hard as they do. They’re here diligently. They go over everything. They sit with the players every day. These coaches, they work their asses off. Every coaching staff is like that. And the players know, sometimes you got to put the onus on the players. They got to go out there, and they got to play the game. And play the game the right way. We can’t hit for them. We can’t catch the balls for them. We can’t pitch for them. We can’t throw strikes for them. They got to do that.

You can only wonder how that’s going to be received in the Nationals’ clubhouse.

Martinez is at an awkward point in his Nationals career. He got the biggest job security boost a manager could get when D.C. won its first World Series title in 2019 in his second year as a manager, but since then, he has overseen an extended rebuild that so far has been unsuccessful.

After a disappointing and shortened 2020 season, the Nationals opted to trade away everything that wasn’t nailed down in 2021 and commit to the future, keeping Martinez and general manager Mike Rizzo in place. The team has landed some premium talent, mostly through the Juan Soto trade that netted current standouts James Wood, C.J. Abrams and Mackenzie Gore, but the team has failed to coalesce into a winner as its big-name prospects reach the majors.

The team won only 71 games in both 2023 and 2024 and is on pace for 69 wins after Saturday’s loss. So much of that comes down to the team’s failure to draft and develop talent in the years since 2019 — most of their current successes came to them already on the right track, via trades. Martinez’s coaches might be working hard, but that overall trend can’t be ignored.

Martinez won a title, yes, but he now holds a 493-608 record as manager and is overseeing a team that is sputtering. That can’t entirely be the players’ fault, as Martinez appeared to insist Saturday.

3 MLB managers have already been fired this season

If the Nationals opt to part with Martinez, they would be the fourth MLB club to fire their manager this season.

The Pittsburgh Pirates struck first last month when they let go of Derek Shelton, and the Colorado Rockies followed days later when they fired Bud Black amid the worst start in MLB history. The most surprising firing came from the Baltimore Orioles, who cut loose Brandon Hyde two years after a 101-win season.

After a catastrophic season that saw them fall from top spot in the NHL’s 2023-24 regular season to completely out of the Stanley Cup playoffs this year, the New York Rangers have made significant changes to their organization. Coach Peter Laviolette was replaced with former Pittsburgh Penguins bench boss Mike Sullivan, and longtime core component left winger Chris Kreider was traded to the Anaheim Ducks this week for a prospect and draft pick. And the off-season has barely started.

It’s clear Rangers GM Chris Drury – armed with a new contract extension that shows team owner James Dolan has full confidence in him – is going to reshape the Rangers’ lineup in a major way. But is Drury going to completely rebuild the roster from scratch, or is a retool-on-the-fly more likely?

We believe all signs point to the latter option. Dolan has never been one to stomach a full rebuild, and Drury’s work leading up to this point has built a team that’s exceedingly difficult to disassemble. You’re not trading star left winger Artemi Panarin, even if he’s entering the final season of his lucrative contract. You’re not trading star center J.T. Miller, less than a year after the Blueshirts acquired him. You’re definitely not dealing star goalie, Igor Shesterkin. And you’re not trading star defenseman Adam Fox or veteran center Mika Zibanejad, both of whom are signed for at least the next four seasons.

That means the road ahead is a retool, although Drury is still likely to reshape the roster. The Kreider trade opened up $6.5 million in salary cap space, but the Rangers have only $14.9 million in space – far from the amount the Rangers need to outbid opponents in free-agency. Blueliner K’Andre Miller is an RFA, and his asking price may hamper Rangers management’s efforts to acquire veteran players, so he may be traded. 

Thus, trades will probably be the route Drury takes to change the makeup of the team. But even then, Drury may be limited in what he can do. Seven current Rangers have some sort of no-trade or no-move clause in their current contract. And while Drury showed with the trading of Kreider and former captain Jacob Trouba that he isn’t afraid of going to players with no-trade or no-move clauses and still finding a way to trade them, the market for those players may be more limited than the Rangers like.

That opens up speculation about Rangers who don’t have no-trade protection, including young winger Alexis Lafreniere. The 23-year-old’s offence dropped off considerably this season, going from 28 goals in 2023-24 to only 17 goals this season. Lafreniere is entering the first season of a seven-year extension paying him $7.45-million annually, and the Rangers may have buyer’s remorse.

Drury gave up on another high draft pick last year – winger Kaapo Kakko, who went on to have a solid half-season with the Seattle Kraken – and so it shouldn’t be a complete shocker if Drury moved Lafreniere.

Regardless of who winds up getting traded or signed, the prevailing sentiment around the Rangers is that this team will be markedly different by the time training camp rolls around. Drury has a mandate of getting his team back into the post-season right away, and that means he can’t run it back with the same group of players. The Rangers are built to win now, and in a few weeks, we’re likely to see a Blueshirts squad that is even more hyper-focused on being a playoff team in 2025-26.

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the article on THN.com.

It looks like the Yankees are on the verge of getting Giancarlo Stanton back.

After announcing the possibility that Stanton could return to the team for Sunday’s series finale in Boston against the Red Sox, it appears the slugger will instead join the team back in The Bronx when New York hosts the Los Angeles Angels for a four-game series starting on Monday, per manager Aaron Boone.

“Giancarlo Stanton is expected to return during the Angels series,” Boone said. “Could be Monday or Tuesday.”

After sitting out on Friday night for Double-A Somerset, the designated hitter was expected to play in his fourth rehab game on Saturday, but with wet and rainy conditions in the area, Stanton is not in the lineup.

With that, it likely means the 35-year-old will be recalled on Tuesday as the Yanks want him to play at least one more game in the minors. Of course, some of that depends on whether Stanton can play on Sunday, which has inclement weather in the forecast, as well.

Boone also provided updates on some injured pitchers, saying Jake Cousins, who began the season on the 60-day IL with a forearm/pectoral injury but has since paused his rehab while dealing with an elbow injury. Boone said Cousins is still waiting on opinions after undergoing an MRI. However, the skipper said it is trending towards Tommy John surgery.

In 2024, Cousins appeared in 37 games and posted a 2.37 ERA (1.05 WHIP).

Meanwhile, Luis Gil (right lat strain) is still 10-14 days away from throwing a live bullpen, per Boone.

There has been one surprising name that has been the subject of trade rumors for the New York Rangers and K’Andre Miller. 

​​According to Arthur Staple of The Athletic, Igor Shesterkin, Artemi Panarin, and Adam Fox are the only untouchables for the Rangers in trade talks. 

It isn’t likely that Lafrenière is dealt away this summer, but all of these rumors are at least something to look out for. 

Steven Adams has agreed to a three-year extension worth $39 million to stay with the Houston Rockets. On Saturday, Shams Charania reported the extension, which follows Adams’ first year in Houston. 

The veteran center arrived in H-Town after getting traded by the Memphis Grizzlies with one year left on his contract. 

Adams played in 58 games with three starts for a young Rockets team this past season, averaging 3.9 points and 5.6 rebounds as the team finished second in the West with a 52-30 record. The Rockets went on to lose to a much more experienced Golden State team in the first round of the playoffs. 

Adams was selected by the Oklahoma City Thunder with the 12th pick of the 2013 NBA Draft and spent his first seven seasons with the team. After leaving Oklahoma City in 2020, Adams spent a year with the New Orleans Pelicans before landing in Memphis. 

In his final season as a Grizzly, Adams started 42 games and averaged 8.2 points and 11.5 points. In Houston, Adams played backup to rising star Alperen Sengun. 

Securing Adams on the roster provides the Rockets with a veteran presence and leadership among a group of young stars. At 31, Adams provides some maturity on a team with an average age of 24.9, according to nbaage.com. 

The structure of the contract, as reported by Spotrac’s Keith Smith, also makes it a more tradable asset, should the team go that route. The money is reportedly frontloaded, with $14.1 million in 2025-26, $13 million in 2026-27 and $11.9 million in 2027-28. The contract is fully guaranteed with no options.

With a core of young stars and the likes of Adams, Fred VanVleet and Dillon Brooks providing veteran experience, head coach Ime Udoka led the Rockets to their first playoff berth since 2021. 

Steven Adams has agreed to a three-year extension worth $39 million to stay with the Houston Rockets. On Saturday, Shams Charania reported the extension, which follows Adams’ first year in Houston. 

The veteran center arrived in H-Town after getting traded by the Memphis Grizzlies with one year left on his contract. 

Adams played in 58 games with three starts for a young Rockets team this past season, averaging 3.9 points and 5.6 rebounds as the team finished second in the West with a 52-30 record. The Rockets went on to lose to a much more experienced Golden State team in the first round of the playoffs. 

Adams was selected by the Oklahoma City Thunder with the 12th pick of the 2013 NBA Draft and spent his first seven seasons with the team. After leaving Oklahoma City in 2020, Adams spent a year with the New Orleans Pelicans before landing in Memphis. 

In his final season as a Grizzly, Adams started 42 games and averaged 8.2 points and 11.5 points. In Houston, Adams played backup to rising star Alperen Sengun. 

Securing Adams on the roster provides the Rockets with a veteran presence and leadership among a group of young stars. At 31, Adams provides some maturity on a team with an average age of 24.9, according to nbaage.com. 

The structure of the contract, as reported by Spotrac’s Keith Smith, also makes it a more tradable asset, should the team go that route. The money is reportedly frontloaded, with $14.1 million in 2025-26, $13 million in 2026-27 and $11.9 million in 2027-28. The contract is fully guaranteed with no options.

With a core of young stars and the likes of Adams, Fred VanVleet and Dillon Brooks providing veteran experience, head coach Ime Udoka led the Rockets to their first playoff berth since 2021.