Hernández sends Dodgers past Mets 7-5 in 13 innings in wild and rainy NLCS rematch
NEW YORK — Teoscar Hernández led off the 13th inning with an RBI double and the Los Angeles Dodgers outlasted the New York Mets 7-5 in a wild rematch of last year's National League Championship Series on a rainy Friday night at Citi Field.
As the clock approached midnight, New York tied it with three runs in the ninth off closer Tanner Scott — handed his fourth blown save in 14 chances this season.
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New York Times
25 minutes ago
- New York Times
Mookie Betts solidified himself at shortstop. Now he's helping other Dodgers
LOS ANGELES — A night after committing his ninth error of the season, Max Muncy went back to work with a Gold Glover behind him. The Los Angeles Dodgers third baseman's mentor for the day was an interesting one. Mookie Betts' six Gold Gloves came in the outfield, where he was a singular presence as the best right fielder in the sport. Betts spent his winter focusing on an unprecedented move to shortstop in his 30s. It's worked for Betts, who has graded out positively in just about every public metric, along with the eyes of team brass. Unlike a year ago, manager Dave Roberts said he doesn't foresee a situation where the Dodgers ask Betts to move off the position come October. Advertisement Betts' progress at the position has gone so well that he's even working with Muncy on the finer points of his defense. Take Wednesday, as infield coach Chris Woodward chopped Muncy ground ball after ground ball to recreate the funky hop that a Starling Marte ground ball took in the fifth inning of Tuesday's win over the Mets. Standing behind Muncy for each ground ball was Betts. Between reps, Betts reinforced the finer points of attacking the baseball, rather than playing the hop cautiously and having it bounce unpredictably. At the end of the session, the three huddled. Woodward heard the same principles he echoed to Betts this winter being echoed from Betts to Muncy. 'He's obviously learned a lot,' Woodward said. 'He's very knowledgeable about how to attack ground balls. A lot of the stuff that I was telling Max, he's obviously reassuring him in the same way.' The ground balls that Betts gets at shortstop are different from Muncy's at third. The hops vary. Muncy has to react much quicker. But the principles of the exercise are the same, hammered home to Betts through a winter of reps with Woodward, video coordinator Pedro Montero and former All-Star shortstop Troy Tulowitzki. So Betts decided to help. 'Mook wants to win,' Muncy said. 'He wants to win more than anything.' If it looked uncommon, that's because it was. As much as Miguel Rojas was a veteran presence helping Betts' transition to shortstop the last two seasons, much of Rojas' heft came from experience. Betts is still gathering that. While third base may not be Muncy's natural infield spot, he's played nearly double the amount of games at that specific spot as Betts has played in the infield entirely as a big leaguer. Still, the two had taken ground balls together dating back to when the Dodgers' position player group reported early to spring training in Arizona. He's seen Muncy go about his work. Max Muncy has been working on his defense with the coaches and Mookie Betts. — Dodger Blue (@DodgerBlue1958) June 4, 2025 More than anything, Betts said, he felt like he went through the same thing with his crash course at the position last season. He has faith in what he's learned and now wants to be a missionary in spreading that message. 'I've been there,' Betts said. 'I know what it feels like. I know what it's like to be in a tough spot. … He has way more experience than me, but this offseason, I learned a lot. I really feel like mentally — I have to go out there and do it — but mentally, I really know what I'm doing. I know exactly what I'm doing. Know exactly what it's supposed to look like. I know exactly what you're supposed to do. And I can teach him. I really can teach him.' Advertisement Betts rallied from that abandoned experiment from last year and remade his defensive work. He's graded out positively by Defensive Runs Saved (2) according to Baseball Info Solutions and Outs Above Average (3) according to Baseball Savant. He looks like a shortstop, Roberts said, which is as good a compliment as any. 'He knows that he has to play well at shortstop,' Woodward said. 'He's said it, 'I'm not going to play there if I can't be a reliable everyday shortstop that can win a World Series.' He's worked his way up to that. He's still got a lot of ways to go. He's playing well, but he still knows he has to maintain it.' His confidence in trying to instruct Muncy is a testament to the strides Betts has made at the position and his aptitude for the mental side of the sport. This is also just who Betts is. When Andy Pages' early-season defensive struggles in the outfield percolated with a poor read on a Bryce Harper double in Philadelphia in early April, Betts huddled Pages and Teoscar Hernández into a corner of the visiting clubhouse and talked through the mechanics of the play and how Betts would have gone about getting a good jump. 'It's just one of those things where everyone leads in their own way,' Muncy said. 'This is how he leads. He tries to make guys better on the field. Some guys are better at leading in the clubhouse. Some guys are better at leading off the field. Some guys are better at leading on the field. This is one of the things that he excels at. He's so good at making everyone else around him better because he's always trying to spread the knowledge that he has.' Muncy's defense has been a sticking point for the Dodgers. Even as his bat has rebounded from the biggest power drought of his career to start the season, the 34-year-old's defensive struggles have mounted. Only three players — Manny Machado, Willy Adames and Elly De La Cruz — have committed more errors. He's been worth -8 OAA at third base, according to Statcast. Only Kansas City's Jonathan India has graded worse at the position. So Muncy has gone to work, with Betts alongside him. Advertisement Together they've sought out 'the little wins,' Betts said. Like Wednesday, when Marte again chopped a ball in Muncy's direction. The third baseman had a good first step toward the ball and attacked it, using the same finishing motion that Betts had repeated behind him earlier that afternoon. Muncy fielded it cleanly and got the out. 'Nobody cheers when Muncy makes a nice play that really is a nice play, but to you guys it just looks like a play,' Betts said. 'But I know the depth and the detail that goes into it. That's what kind of gets me fired up.'
New York Times
25 minutes ago
- New York Times
A glimpse into the secrets of the Tigers' Comerica Park ‘smart cage'
DETROIT — Last June, construction workers at Comerica Park were busy during a Tigers road trip. The team was gone for six games. When the club returned, there was a new set of stairs at the far end of the dugout. The stairs lead to a nondescript green door. Almost a mysterious entry point. But like all things with the Tigers these days, there was a specific, targeted purpose. The stairs and the door lead to Detroit's so-called smart cage, a project completed midway through last season as part of the team's multiyear overhaul of the home clubhouse. Advertisement Baseball produces endless numbers and scenarios. Sometimes they make sense. Sometimes they seem inexplicable. Here is one such example: Last season, Tigers utility man Zach McKinstry got only four hits in 30 at-bats against left-handed pitchers. That's a .133 average. This season, McKinstry has 53 at-bats against lefties. He is hitting .358. In home games at Comerica Park, McKinstry has an otherworldly 1.250 OPS in left-on-left plate appearances. How do you explain that? Part of it could be opportunity. Part of it could be McKinstry's approach. Part of it could be the offseason sessions with a pitching machine to replicate lefty spin. But especially here during the season, at least a small part of the answer could lie beyond that green door. New staircase/room in Tigers' dugout that didn't exist in the last homestand. — Evan Woodbery (@evanwoodbery) June 21, 2024 The centerpiece of the Tigers' smart cage is the Trajekt Arc pitching machine. This technology is now used by at least 25 MLB teams. The machine, the brainchild of CEO Joshua Pope, projects an image of a pitcher's delivery and can spit out a replication of a pitcher's full arsenal, mimicking the near-exact release point, spin rate and movement of the pitch. The machines generally cost $15,000 to $20,000 a month as part of a three-year lease. McKinstry is one of the team's most avid users, known to exaggerate or condense his open stance against lefties depending on how he's feeling any given day. 'It think it helps with my timing, just making sure I'm on time with those guys,' McKinstry said. 'It helps with pitch recognition. You get to see the pitch shape before you actually have to face the guy.' For those in the deepest baseball circles, these machines are not new. McKinstry began using one when he was with the Chicago Cubs in 2022. But the machines were finally approved for in-game use before last season, hence the Tigers' construction plans for providing quicker in-game access to the cage. The way the Tigers and other teams use these machines peels back a layer to show how hitters are trying to catch up with the wicked pitching forces that rule today's game. Advertisement Justyn-Henry Malloy, who was optioned to Triple A earlier this week, is known to use the Trajekt daily. Before games. During games. You name it. Malloy hit only .215 in 93 mostly sporadic at-bats this season, but he also came through in several big moments, most notably his May 14 pinch-hit, walk-off single against the Red Sox. With the Trajekt, players can punch in Statcast data for the day's starting pitcher and look at his whole arsenal. Some players do not even take full swings, instead simply tracking and gaining a visual for where, say, a pitcher's slider begins and ends. Others, like Malloy and Andy Ibáñez, hit against the machine as much as they can. During games when Malloy was on the bench, he would retreat to the cage in the middle innings, often simulating at-bats against the opposing team's left-handed relievers. Like many teams, the Tigers load the machine with softer baseballs. This limits the potential for stinging hands, injuries if a ball is fouled off the foot or even broken bats. 'A lot of guys use it just to see the motion, see how a guy's delivery feels out of the stretch,' Malloy said. 'Some guys might have a really funky release. If we're facing a Joe Ryan, guys will want to just be in there because they want to see what that low release looks like from his motion.' There is not necessarily a direct correlation between access to the machine and the Tigers' success at home. The Tigers are 21-8 at Comerica Park but entered Thursday with a higher team OPS on the road (.741 vs. .723). The surface numbers also don't indicate any clear advantage that correlates to the Tigers' propensity for pinch-hitting. Detroit pinch-hitters have a .609 OPS in home games, ranking 17th in the league. It's also worth noting that not all hitters are fans of the machine. Riley Greene said he rarely uses it. Kerry Carpenter steps in against the Trajekt only to see a pitcher he's never faced before. Advertisement 'It's like the guy on the screen is right there, and then he does his windup, and the release is over here,' Carpenter said. 'It's just coming out of a black hole. It's a little weird for me. But some people love it.' Colt Keith, the Tigers' second-year infielder, said he uses the Trajekt every day, standing back and observing pitches for the digital version of the opposing starter. There are specific instances where it can be beneficial, too, like seeing how Guardians reliever Cade Smith's low-spin splitter differs from other splitters around the league. 'It really is different from the game, in my opinion,' Keith said. 'But I like to watch from behind and see the different pitches, the movement. You can still see how his motion is coming out, and you can see a slider, where it goes, does it pop?' Keith is among the players who have benefited from another aspect of the Tigers' smart cage: Force plates. For years, teams have put force plates underneath turf in cages or mounds to measure how players distribute their weight and generate force. The Tigers have had access to such technology since at least 2019. But the technology is still evolving, and so is the way teams apply the data. In simple terms, the plates measure the amount, direction and timing of force hitters put into the ground. That data can explain how hitters transition through their load, stride and swing. This data can help hitters better harness their kinetic chains and unlock greater power or exit velocity. So when Keith was slumping early in the season, he went to the force plates to better understand what was plaguing his swing. After a brutal April, Keith had an .838 OPS in May. 'I went on them to see how much force I was putting out compared to last year,' Keith said. 'It was a little bit lower. So we're trying some things out. I don't think that was a direct solution, but it definitely got us on the right path.' Perhaps just as important as helping iron out a slump, hitters can record their swings on the force plates to create a reference to turn to whenever things are out of whack. They can even compare their swings to others who have stepped on the plates. The Tigers still have a template for Miguel Cabrera's swing. Advertisement 'There's a baseline for good hitters and what they do,' Keith said. 'So you compare yours to them.' The Tigers have an expanded smart cage at their Lakeland spring training facility. There is now a Trajekt machine at Triple-A Toledo. Like most other teams, the Tigers are expanding and optimizing the ways they use technology and data points. 'Here at home, it's nice because you can develop a routine, you can get some visuals, get your normal routine in,' manager A.J. Hinch said. 'The big trick is it's not mobile so you can't do it on the road.' When the Tigers hosted a three-game series against the San Francisco Giants last week, for example, the Trajekt provided a way for hitters to get glimpses at pitchers they may have never seen before. It even exposed one limitation of the Trajekt: It can't fully replicate the delivery of Giants right-hander Tyler Rogers, the submariner whose hand nearly touches the ground as he throws. 'It's hard to get visuals for everybody,' Hinch said. 'But I like that our players are openly talking about their routines being impacted by the expansion and improvements.' Across Major League Baseball, none of this is revolutionary. But consider it a rare glimpse into the Tigers' process behind that green door. And another window that shows how hitters are punching upward in attempt to counter the nastiest pitchers in the league. 'I think it gives us a little more fighting power against pitchers who got a lot of horsepower,' Malloy said. 'I think it's a really nice tool for us to be able to get our work in.' (Top photo of Zach McKinstry:)
New York Times
31 minutes ago
- New York Times
How to watch the Red Sox at Yankees series: Baseball's foremost feud, in weekend primetime
The Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees have a surefire top-five rivalry in all of American sports. This latest edition gets early-summer weekend staging and a national finale on 'Sunday Night Baseball.' As one Bronx luminary says, it is both up and stuck. From the 'Curse of the Bambino' to the 2024 ALCS comeback, this matchup has yielded a century of pure classics. One time for Aaron Boone and Bucky Dent … or, for those of another persuasion, one time for Dave Roberts and Carl Yastrzemski. Sunday's game will also be available on ESPN+. Boston is at a critical juncture with its season slipping away. The Red Sox went 16-11 in April but stumbled to 11-17 in May. They've won just three of their last 10 games. Five of their last eight losses have come by one run. There are some highlights on offense though. The Red Sox ranked inside the top 10 in batting average, on-base percentage and slugging. Rafael Devers has the best on-base percentage of his nine-year career (.408). Advertisement New York's bats are bashing, headlined, of course, by Triple Crown contender Aaron Judge. The all-galaxy hitter is on pace for an MLB Slugfest-level of work: 57 HR, 135 RBI and 148 runs, with league-best marks in all three slashing categories. The Yanks are no solo show, though. They start this series third in the majors in runs scored. A pair of righties start the proceedings on Friday. Boston's Walker Buehler is 4-3 with a 4.44 ERA since his arrival from the World Series spotlight. Will Warren brings a bloated 5.19 ERA to the bump. The Saturday game serves up top-shelf lefty-on-lefty stuff. Resurgent veteran and finesse specialist Ryan Yarbrough is placing the ball brilliantly so far. Hilariously, he's up to the 99th percentile in average exit velocity and the bottom 1 percentile in fastball velo. He's up against Boston's Garrett Crochet, who has a sub-2 ERA and the second-most strikeouts in MLB. The 'Sunday Night Baseball' finale pits 25-year-old Red Sox right-hander Hunter Dobbins against pinstriped lefty star Carlos Rodón (8-3, 2.49 ERA, fourth in Ks). Red Sox-Yankees from the NYT archives, 2003: 'As the biggest hit of Aaron Boone's life sailed into the seats down the left-field line, Mariano Rivera raced for the mound and knelt there, kissing the dirt and thanking God. Boone danced around the bases, raising his arms, beaming, grinning wildly. And there was Rivera, overcome with joy, the kind of mystical October euphoria that has sometimes seemed out of reach for these Yankees, celebrating in his own way… The Yankees rode Rivera's effort and Boone's blast to a 6-5 victory in Game 7 of the American League Championship Series, completing a stirring comeback against their tortured century-old rival. Boone, who had struggled for months and was not in the starting lineup last night, accomplished the unthinkable: a sudden strike to win the pennant, an instant spot in the pantheon of Yankee legends.' — Tyler Kepner Advertisement Most homers for Boston vs. New York Most homers for New York vs. Boston Ticketing and streaming links in this article are provided by partners of The Athletic. Restrictions may apply. The Athletic maintains full editorial independence. Partners have no control over or input into the reporting or editing process and do not review stories before publication. (Photo of Aaron Judge: Al Bello / Getty Images)
