Nolan McLean has opportunely carried the Mets’ rotation since making his major league debut last month, but neither he nor his supporting cast helped make his latest outing blemish-free.

The lauded rookie’s spotless ERA at Citi Field received its first smudges on Saturday afternoon, as a handful of second-inning defensive blunders hampered the Mets early in a frustrating 5-3 loss to the division-rival Nationals in 11 innings.

With a pristine 1.19 ERA entering the weekend — the lowest mark through six starts in Mets history — minor hiccups were inevitable for McLean. But only one of the three total runs that he allowed was earned, and he ultimately completed five innings with six punchouts on 92 pitches.

“I felt like my stuff felt good,” McLean said. “The first couple of innings, I could’ve done a much better job getting ahead. Also once I got the two strikes, I could’ve done a better job expanding the zone and throwing a few more putaway pitches.”

After allowing a leadoff infield single in the second that popped out of Francisco Lindor’s glove at short, McLean saw a subsequent single trickle to the right field warning track due to a misplay from Juan Soto. The ugly error allowed a run to score, and the string of bad luck didn’t end there.

Just two pitches later, a well-placed chopper toward Pete Alonso on the grass at first produced a looping underhand toss that prevented McLean from stepping on the bag in time. While the play was initially ruled an out, the Nationals challenged the call and replay showed that the runner was safe.

McLean recovered nicely after the messy sequence, inducing a pair of swinging strikeouts with runners on the corners. But before completing the inning, he sailed a two-strike fastball past catcher Francisco Alvarez that allowed another run to cross the plate. The lone earned run charged to him came in the first inning, on an RBI groundout.

“We didn’t make a couple of plays behind him, but I thought stuff-wise, he was really good again,” Mets manager Carlos Mendoza said of McLean. “They ran his pitch count up for five innings there. But I think other than the execution when he was ahead, he was pretty good.”

McLean will have to settle with an equally sweet 1.27 ERA through seven appearances, and in spite of the few mistakes, he generated eye-popping run on his two-seamer and baffling horizontal break on his sweeper. 

He also made more MLB history, becoming just the second pitcher ever to record 45-plus strikeouts with six or fewer runs allowed across their first seven big league outings. Sheer dominance from a 24-year-old with ace-level makeup and expectations.

While the Mets’ rotation plan for a potential NL wild-card berth is anything but concrete, McLean couldn’t be more valuable to the staff. He’s lined up to make one last regular season start next weekend, in a road matchup against the Marlins.

Dodgers catcher Will Smith has a hairline fracture in his right hand and is doubtful to return before the end of the regular season, according to manager Dave Roberts.

The Dodgers are “hopeful” Smith will be available for the postseason, but whether he will be ready for the very start of the playoffs — which likely will be Sept. 30 — remains “up in the air,” Roberts said.

Smith, the three-time All-Star catcher who led the National League in batting average in the first half of the season before slumping through August, first got hurt when a foul ball hit his dangling throwing hand behind the plate on Sept. 3 in Pittsburgh.

Read more:Shaikin: Clayton Kershaw was always at the heart of the Dodgers’ franchise revival

After missing the Dodgers’ next five games, he returned to the starting lineup on Sept. 9 against the Colorado Rockies, and doubled in his first at-bat. However, the 30-year-old was a late scratch from the lineup the next day after his hand swelled up, and was placed on the injured list last weekend in San Francisco.

Initially, both an X-ray and an MRI on Smith’s hand came back clean, which is why the Dodgers allowed him to return to action as soon as they did. But his injury lingered and the Dodgers sent him back for another MRI at the end of this past week.

This time, the scan showed what both Roberts and president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman described as a “small” fracture.

“It sounds like from the doctors that it’s so small and in such a small part of the hand that it didn’t show up initially but did on the subsequent [scan],” Friedman said. “They seem to say [that] is common. I haven’t seen it, but I also haven’t seen a broken bone in that area very often. It makes sense why it was slow to rebound. I’m glad we have clarity on it. We’re going to do everything we can to strengthen and heal and get it back.”

To this point, the Dodgers have managed without Smith, who was batting .296 with 17 home runs and 61 RBIs. In the 14 games he has missed since getting hurt, the team is 8-6 and averaging more than five runs per game.

A big reason why: The emergence of journeyman replacement Ben Rortvedt, a minor-league addition at the trade deadline who has come to the majors and produced capably as a fill-in for Smith and backup catcher Dalton Rushing (who missed 10 days this month after fouling a ball off his leg).

After joining the team as a career .186 hitter in four MLB seasons, Rortvedt has batted .294 in 13 games with the Dodgers with two doubles and two sacrifice bunts. Dodgers pitchers also have a 2.74 ERA with him behind the plate.

Even with Rushing healthy again, Roberts said Rortvedt will likely get the “lion’s share” of playing time in Smith’s absence.

“The way he’s helped lead our pitching staff has been awesome,” Friedman said. “He really has that servant leadership mentality behind the plate, which has really ingratiated himself with a lot of our pitchers.”

Still, to be at top form, the Dodgers need Smith in the middle of the batting order.

Friedman said the team will keep giving treatment to his hand until “he gets to a point where he doesn’t have symptoms, we’ll re-X-ray.”

“We’re optimistic that it’s going to heal quickly, but we’re at the mercy of how quickly that happens,” Friedman said. “We don’t really know, but we’re optimistic it’ll be pretty fast.”

Read more:Clayton Kershaw delivers another ‘perfect’ L.A. moment as Dodgers clinch playoff berth

Graterol not expected back

It’s not much of a surprise at this point, but the Dodgers are not expecting reliever Brusdar Graterol to return this season.

Graterol has not pitched this year after an offseason shoulder surgery, and his recovery “hasn’t gone as smoothly as he would like, as we would like,” Friedman said.

“It’s been hard to kind of ramp up the volume that he would need to get back. My expectation is he will not be back this year.”

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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.

The Los Angeles Dodgers just gained a major question mark going into the playoffs.

All-Star catcher Will Smith, who has been on the injured list for a week, has a small hairline fracture in his hand and is out for the rest of the regular season, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts told reporters on Saturday. His availability for the start of the postseason is reportedly “up in the air.”

Smith was originally placed on the IL with what was called a bone bruise in his hand but further imaging revealed the fracture.

Smith has been one of the best catchers in baseball this year, and quietly over the last few years. He will finish the regular season slashing .296/.404/.497 with 17 homers in 110 games, while grading out as a solid defender and game manager behind the plate.

Without him, Roberts said the Dodgers will lean on veteran minor-leaguer Ben Rortvedt, who has been more than solid in a 13-game stint with the big-league team this season. The team also still has rookie Dalton Rushing on the active roster, though he’s struggled in intermittent action this season after entering it as a top prospect.

The Dodgers clinched the playoffs on Friday and currently hold a four-game lead over the San Diego Padres in the NL West with eight games to play (L.A. holds the tiebreaker). While a fourth straight division title — and 12th in 13 years — seems likely, the team is well behind the Milwaukee Brewers and Philadelphia Phillies for a wild-card bye.

That means less time for Smith to get healthy before the games start to matter more. The Dodgers have gone 6-3 in nine games since Smith’s last appearance.

The Los Angeles Dodgers just gained a major question mark going into the playoffs.

All-Star catcher Will Smith, who has been on the injured list for a week, has a small hairline fracture in his hand and is out for the rest of the regular season, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts told reporters on Saturday. His availability for the start of the postseason is reportedly “up in the air.”

Smith was originally placed on the IL with what was called a bone bruise in his hand but further imaging revealed the fracture.

Smith has been one of the best catchers in baseball this year, and quietly over the last few years. He will finish the regular season slashing .296/.404/.497 with 17 homers in 110 games, while grading out as a solid defender and game manager behind the plate.

Without him, Roberts said the Dodgers will lean on veteran minor-leaguer Ben Rortvedt, who has been more than solid in a 13-game stint with the big-league team this season. The team also still has rookie Dalton Rushing on the active roster, though he’s struggled in intermittent action this season after entering it as a top prospect.

The Dodgers clinched the playoffs on Friday and currently hold a four-game lead over the San Diego Padres in the NL West with eight games to play (L.A. holds the tiebreaker). While a fourth straight division title — and 12th in 13 years — seems likely, the team is well behind the Milwaukee Brewers and Philadelphia Phillies for a wild-card bye.

That means less time for Smith to get healthy before the games start to matter more. The Dodgers have gone 6-3 in nine games since Smith’s last appearance.

The Mets overcame early defensive miscues to send the game to extra innings, but allowed a two-run inside-the-park homer in the 11th to drop the middle of their three-game set to the Nationals, 5-3, on Saturday evening.

After New York scored twice in the ninth, Tyler Rogers could not keep the Nationals down in the 11th. After CJ Abrams made a bone-headed play to get called out at third base with no outs, Daylen Lile did the unthinkable. He launched the ball to Cedric Mullins in center, who got a bad break on the ball that kept carrying and ricocheted off the wall and trickled away from him. The speedy Lile came all the way around to score the home run and give the Nationals the two-run lead, and the eventual win after Mullins, Francisco Lindor and Juan Soto went down 1-2-3. 

It’s the first inside-the-park home run at Citi Field in eight years. The Mets are now 0-66 when trailing after eight innings this season.

Here are the takeaways…

-Nolan McLean walked James Wood to lead off the game and it came back to bite him after Josh Bell hit a one-out excuse-me single down the left field line that moved Wood to third. Lile’s speed prevented the Mets from turning two to allow Wood to score.

Similar to Brandon Sproat’s start in Friday’s series opener, the Mets’ defense betrayed McLean. After an infield single by Dylan Crews, Riley Adams hit a bloop single to left field thatSoto tried to play on a bounce, but it skipped over his glove and rolled to the wall, allowing Crews to score. Brady House then hit a grounder to Pete Alonso, but his toss to McLean at first was high, allowing House to reach safely on the second Mets error of the inning. McLean, however, bounced back, striking out Nasim Nunez and Wood. McLean was one strike away from gettingAbrams, but he threw a wild pitch to allow Adams to scamper home, before the inning mercifully ended on a groundout.

Sloppy fielding behind him aside, McLean gave the Mets five solid innings but left on the long side of the ledger. He tossed 92 pitches (59 strikes), allowing three runs (one earned) on four hits and two walks while striking out six. He now has a 1.27 ERA in his first seven big league starts.

-The defensive miscues weren’t just for the Mets. In the third, the Nationals made two errors, one on a poor throw to first and one on a catcher’s interference. But the Mets couldn’t take advantage thanks to a nice play by Nunez, who made an over-the-shoulder catch sliding into shallow left field. Lindor and Soto read the ball was going to drop in, but Nunez rushed the throw to first base, trying to double up Soto and threw it away, but neither could advance because of how far both players were. Brandon Nimmo grounded out to end the Mets’ threat.

The Mets had trouble getting any runs on starter Cade Cavalli, but they had their chances. Aside from the missed opportunity in the third, they had runners on first and second in the fifth for Alonso, but the slugger flew out.

Even getting to the much-maligned Nationals bullpen was a chore early on. After getting just one baserunner in the sixth and seventh, the Mets finally got on the board against the Nats’ closer, Jose Ferrer, in the eighth. Alonso reached after getting plunked with one out, and Starling Marte‘s double put runners on second and third with two outs. Carlos Mendoza had Mark Vientos pinch-hit for Jeff McNeil, and Vientos rewarded his manager by fighting back from an 0-2 count and lacing a two-run double down the left field line. Francisco Alvarez struck out swinging to end the threat.

In the ninth, Mendoza pinch-hit Luis Torrens for Brett Baty against the lefty Ferrer to lead off and the backup catcher hit a single. Mullins bunted Jose Siri — pinch-running for Torrens — to second before Ferrer hit Lindor in the foot to put two runners on for Soto. Soto dunked a single into shallow center to tie the game at 3-3. After Lindor and Soto pulled off the double steal, the Nats walked Alonso intentionally to load the bases and play for the double play. Nimmo struck out swinging, leaving it up to Marte. The veteran slugger struck out swinging also, sending the game into extras.

-The Mets’ bullpen was great for the second straight game. In relief of McLean, three relievers got the final 12 outs before extra innings. Here’s how it broke down:

• Huascar Brazoban: 1.2 IP, 1 K (a nice bounceback after allowing two runs in Friday’s game)
• Richard Lovelady: 1.1 IP, 1 H, 2 K (Lovelady was called up before Saturday’s game)
• Ryan Helsley: 1.0 IP, 1 BB, 2 K (Helsley walked the leadoff hitter, but struck out the next two batters before Alvarez got Crews trying to steal second)

In the 10th, Edwin Diaz got Nunez to pop up on a bunt attempt before getting Wood to ground out and striking out Abrams, setting up the Mets in the bottom half of the inning. Luisangel Acuña led off with a bunt attempt that popped up in front of the catcher, but Adams could not come up with the catch, allowing Acuña to reach safely. The Nats argued Acuña interfered with Adams, but the umps did not agree. Alvarez could not come through, hitting a double play as Ronny Mauricio came up with two outs and Marte — the free runner — on third. Mauricio hit a liner to left field but right at Wood for the third out.

Game MVP: Daylen Lile

After so many baserunning blunders in this one, Lile’s speed and aggressiveness was the difference in this one.

Highlights

1.2 perfect innings out of the Mets’ bullpen for Huascar Brazobán pic.twitter.com/E7ddHntDJ8

— SNY (@SNYtv) September 20, 2025

HE’S HERE. HE’S THERE. HE’S EVERYWHERE.

What a play by Francisco Lindor! pic.twitter.com/Yl5MsEaHUQ

— SNY (@SNYtv) September 20, 2025

MARK VIENTOS GETS THE METS WITHIN ONE! pic.twitter.com/f4dcb4UD9C

— SNY (@SNYtv) September 20, 2025

Francisco Alvarez and Francisco Lindor combine to catch Dylan Crews stealing 💪 pic.twitter.com/kih1iLYEtk

— SNY (@SNYtv) September 20, 2025

JUAN SOTO TIES THE GAME IN THE 9TH! pic.twitter.com/P067wu5MVc

— SNY (@SNYtv) September 20, 2025

What’s next

The Mets play their final home game of the regular season in a Sunday matinee. First pitch is set for 1:40 p.m.

Sean Manaea (2-3, 5.40 ERA) will start the game with Clay Holmes relieving him, while the Nationals will send Jake Irvin (8-13, 5.76 ERA) to the mound.

Thomson, Castellanos have ‘productive’ meeting following commentary originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia

PHOENIX – After his two-hit, three RBI night in which he didn’t enter the game until the sixth inning, Phillies outfielder Nick Castellanos explained his struggles with learning how to accept and prepare for his new role as a backup outfielder.

He also alluded to a communication problem between him and manager Rob Thomson, basically saying that the two rarely talk and expressed that it’s been that way for some time.

Saturday, the two met at Chase Field before the Phillies took on the Arizona Diamondbacks. The meeting didn’t change the fact that Castellanos will still be a spot starter for the time being, but there was communication.

“I met with him today and I thought it was really productive,” said Thomson. “I’m not going to get into specifics of what we talked about, but I thought it was good.”

Like Friday, Castellanos can still provide some offensive pop when called upon and he is hitting .323 (10-for-34) with eight RBIs in the month of September.

Thomson was asked if he believes Castellanos can still help the team in this new role. “Absolutely,” he said. “And like I said yesterday, at some point there’s a really good chance that he’s going to get hot. I think right now, if you look at the last month with all four of those outfielders, they were really productive. The job is to try and put them in the best spot to succeed and so far it’s been pretty good, as of late.

“I think he is getting more comfortable. As I’ve said all along, it’s a tough thing for a guy that’s played every day throughout the minor leagues, every day in his big-league career, to take this type of role. So, your routines change, your mindset changes a little bit. It takes a while. He’ll play tomorrow and Tuesday.”

Thomson is generally regarded as a player’s manager, one who is easy to communicate with. But with Castellanos’ comments on Friday, he feels he may have to make sure of it.

“As far as the communication part of it, not only Nick, if anybody else in that clubhouse doesn’t think that I’m communicating enough with them, I’m probably not and I’ve got to do a better job at it,” the manager said. “That’s just being accountable. But there’s two ways of communicating and that door is always open. I’m not a mind reader; I can’t tell the future and I’m not a mind reader. I urge players, I want players to come in here and tell me what’s on their mind. Obviously, I have to do a better job. If a guy’s frustrated, I want him to come in here.”

Trea Turner updates, final stretch coming up

All good on the rehabbing front when it comes to shortstop Trea Turner. He has amped up his workouts, Thomson said, to include running and cutting and change of directions stuff as he works to come back from a hamstring strain.

The lineup will change again when Turner returns to his leadoff spot. Thomson wouldn’t say exactly who will hit where, but he’s got some fun options with a team that is hitting so well of late.

The team finishes their road schedule for the season on Sunday against the Diamondbacks. They will have off Monday before finishing out the series with three games against the Miami Marlins and three more against the Minnesota Twins.