Sports
Improved Carlos Rodon leads Yankees against Royals in Game 2
Sep 27, 2024; Bronx, New York, USA; New York Yankees pitcher Carlos Rodon (55) pitches against the Pittsburgh Pirates during the first inning at Yankee Stadium. Mandatory Credit: John Jones-Imagn Images NEW YORK — Carlos Rodon’s lowest moment for the New York Yankees occurred in the final start of a disastrous 2023 season on the mound in Kansas City.
While Rodon was going through a nightmarish first season in New York, Cole Ragans was providing 12 starts as the Kansas City Royals concluded a 106-loss campaign and looked ahead to better results in 2024.
Rodon bounced back in a big way to help the Yankees win the American League East, while Ragans dominated at times as the Royals reached the postseason for the first time since 2015. Game 2 of their AL Division Series on Monday features both left-handers on the mound.
The Yankees are attempting to take a 2-0 lead after opening the series with a 6-5 win on Saturday. Alex Verdugo hit the tiebreaking RBI single in the seventh inning for the game’s fifth lead change and also made a sliding catch in left field for the final out of the fourth to strand two.
Verdugo struggled for most of the final three-plus months of his first season with New York, similar to Rodon’s initial campaign when he missed the first three months with a back injury and went 3-8 with a 6.85 ERA in 14 starts. He ended the disastrous season by allowing eight runs without retiring a hitter against the Royals and was seen yelling at pitching coach Matt Blake on the mound.
“I just think that the mental growth we’ve seen of just understanding who he is, understanding who he can be going forward,” Blake said Thursday. “And then just seeing how the league’s adjusting to him, I think he’s done a really nice job of just continuing to evolve.”
This season, Rodon made every start, won a career-high 16 games and increased usage of his changeup and curveball while lowering his reliance on the four-seam fastball.
“I think one of the bigger things is just the confidence, just finding that confidence again to go out and compete,” Rodon said Sunday. “The biggest thing for me is the confidence and the conviction in every pitch that I’m throwing and going out to win ballgames.”
Rodon allowed two earned runs or fewer in 21 of his 32 starts this season, including his last five (2-0, 2.20 ERA). He also completed six innings in 16 starts, including Sept. 9 against the Royals when he allowed four runs (two earned) in six innings in New York’s 10-4 win.
Rodon is making his third career postseason start. In his first two, both with the Chicago White Sox, he allowed a combined four runs on four hits in 2 2/3 innings in the 2020 wild-card round against the Oakland Athletics and the 2021 ALDS against the Houston Astros.
After tying a season-high by issuing eight walks, the Royals are hoping their struggles commanding the strike zone do not carry over to Ragans, especially since they could not win when they held Aaron Judge hitless in four at-bats. Ragans led the Royals with 223 strikeouts this year but also issued a team-worst 67 walks, placing him eighth in the majors.
“I don’t think it was the stadium,” manager Matt Quatraro said after the Royals allowed eight walks for the third time this year. “I think we’ve been here, we’ve played here, we’ve been in big environments. It’s not the stadium. We just didn’t execute pitches.”
Ragans, a first-time All-Star in 2024, issued at least three walks in 13 outings this season. On Sept. 11 at New York, he allowed two runs on three hits and three walks in six innings of a no-decision before the Yankees won in the 11th.
Ragans made his postseason debut in Game 1 of the wild-card series in Baltimore and allowed four hits in six scoreless innings, struck out eight and did not walk a hitter. Regans exited after 80 pitches due to a leg cramp but said he felt fine on Saturday.
“It’s the same game,” Ragans said. “Obviously maybe a little louder. But at the end of the day, after the first pitch, the nerves kind of settle down a little bit, and it’s the same game of baseball we’ve played all year. Just trying to keep that mindset of just execute and it’s the same game of baseball. Just a little louder.”
–Larry Fleisher, Field Level Media
Sports
Tyrone Taylor cracks 3-run shot to spark Mets over Dodgers
Jul 26, 2026; New York City, New York, USA; New York Mets center fielder Tyrone Taylor (28) reacts after hitting a three-run home run against the Los Angeles Dodgers during the sixth inning at Citi Field. Mandatory Credit: John Jones-Imagn Images Tyrone Taylor’s go-ahead three-run homer in the sixth inning propelled the New York Mets to an 8-3 victory on Sunday over the visiting Los Angeles Dodgers.
The veteran outfielder greeted reliever Evan Phillips with a 405-foot blast into the left field seats for his eighth homer of the season and fifth since July 4. It doubled as the Mets’ first hit since the first.
Marcus Semien, a defensive replacement in the seventh, added another three-run shot to cap a four-run seventh for the Mets as they snapped a three-game skid.
Four relievers combined to limit the Dodgers to three singles and one hit by pitch over the final five innings. Cionel Perez (4-3) pitched two perfect innings and struck out three.
Los Angeles’ bullpen did not match the Mets. Jack Dreyer walked two batters in the sixth and got only one out before being replaced by Phillips (0-2), who allowed a homer for the fourth time in his last five appearances. Will Klein gave up four runs in the seventh on two hits and two walks.
The first three Mets batters got hits off Dodgers starter Emmet Sheehan, with leadoff hitter A.J. Green doubling and scoring on Francisco Lindor’s single. Bo Bichette (2-for-4) followed with another base hit. After that, Sheehan allowed just two walks and one hit batsman while fanning five over five innings.
Los Angeles scored twice in the third off Mets starter Freddy Peralta. Eliezer Alfonzo hit a leadoff double. After an out and an Andy Pages walk, Freddy Freeman doubled home Alfonzo. Max Muncy’s groundout made it 2-1.
Freeman finished 2-for-4 for his fourth straight multi-hit game. Tommy Edman and Teoscar Hernandez also went 2-for-4.
Peralta needed 93 pitches to get through four innings. He gave up six hits, three runs (two earned) and two walks while striking out three.
The Dodgers, who saw their four-game winning streak end, loaded the bases off Luke Weaver with two out in the eighth. However, Weaver made a great play on a Hernandez dribbler between the mound and third base to end the threat.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Michael Massey's blast lifts Royals over Tigers
Jul 26, 2026; Detroit, Michigan, USA; Kansas City Royals center fielder Lane Thomas (15) hits a home run in the first inning against the Detroit Tigers at Comerica Park. Mandatory Credit: Rick Osentoski-Imagn Images Michael Massey hit a two-out, two-run homer in the eighth inning and the visiting Kansas City Royals hung on for a 5-4 win over the Detroit Tigers on Sunday.
Massey’s eighth homer made a winner of Nate Pearson (2-0), who was making his Royals debut after being acquired in a trade with Houston. Steven Cruz survived a ninth-inning jam to record his second save.
Lane Thomas had a solo homer and Luke Maile added an RBI double as the Royals salvaged a split of the four-game series.
Dillon Dingler had two hits and drove in two runs for Detroit.
Kansas City took a 2-0 lead in the first. Leadoff hitter Thomas hit a 3-2 pitch to the opposite field that just cleared the wall. The Royals then scratched out an unearned run. Nick Loftin singled and Salvador Perez was hit by a pitch. Valdez retired the next two batters before walking Isaac Collins to load the bases.
Second baseman Hao-Yu Lee then bobbled Tyler Tolbert’s grounder, allowing Loftin to score.
The Royals made it 3-0 in the fourth. Tolbert drew a one-out walk and Maile followed with a double down the left field line to knock him in.
Detroit took a 4-3 lead in the fifth. Lee led off with a double and Colt Keith walked. Kevin McGonigle singled to load the bases. After Gleyber Torres struck out, Avila was removed for Matt Strahm. Riley Greene hit a bouncer up the middle that got by second baseman Andrew Velazquez for an error. Two runs scored and Greene raced all the way to second. Dingler then knocked in McGonigle and Greene with a single up the middle.
Collins had a bloop single off Drew Sommers with one out in the eighth. Sommers (0-1) struck out the next batter but Massey took advantage of a hanging slider and deposited over the right field wall to give his club a 5-4 advantage.
Detroit had two runners on with no one out in the ninth as Lee walked and Keith singled. Cruz then recorded two strikeouts, sandwiching a popout, to end the contest.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Jacob Misiorowski, Brewers pound Rockies 11-2
Milwaukee Brewers pitcher Jacob Misiorowski (32) throws during the first inning of their game against the Colorado Rockies Sunday, July 26, 2026 at American Family Field in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Jacob Misiorowski retired the first 14 batters he faced and finished with 12 strikeouts, Andrew Vaughn homered and the host Milwaukee Brewers beat the Colorado Rockies 11-2 on Sunday.
Jackson Chourio, Joey Ortiz, Luis Lara, Cooper Pratt and Jake Bauers had two hits apiece for Milwaukee, which broke open a close game in the sixth inning to win the series.
Misiorowski struck out seven in a row to start the game and 12 of the first 13 batters he faced with pitches consistently above 100 mph. Cole Carrigg ended the bid for a perfect game with an opposite-field homer to left.
Willi Castro was hit by a pitch before Misiorowski got Troy Johnston to ground out to end the inning — and his afternoon. Misiorowski (11-4) allowed one run on one hit and didn’t walk a batter in his five innings.
Carrigg’s home run was his fifth of the season and Castro hit a solo home run in the seventh for the Rockies, who finished with five hits and fanned 15 times.
Chourio led off the bottom of the first with the first of his two doubles and scored on Brice Turang’s single. One out later, William Contreras doubled to put runners on second and third, Turang scored on a Freeland wild pitch and Contreras came home on a groundout.
Freeland (2-10) settled in, giving up just two hits over the next four innings before Vaughn led off the sixth with his fourth home run. Freeland left after a one-out walk to Bauers, having allowed five runs on six hits in 5 1/3 innings.
The Brewers added on against Colorado’s bullpen.
Bauers stole second and Jimmy Herget walked Gary Sanchez ahead of three straight doubles. Lara brought home Bauers with the first two-bagger, Pratt made it 7-1 with a two-run double and Ortiz put runners on second and third with the next double.
Pratt capped the inning when he scored on a groundout.
After Castro’s 10th home run, Sanchez and Lara had RBI doubles in the bottom of the seventh and Vaughn a sacrifice fly in the eighth.
–Field Level Media
Tyrone Taylor cracks 3-run shot to spark Mets over Dodgers
Michael Massey's blast lifts Royals over Tigers
