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Mets’ Carlos Mendoza Announces Exciting News Before Dodgers Game

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Josh Valdez | Last updated May 23, 2025 7:25 PM ET

Two of baseball's top-six teams will square off when the New York Mets (30-20) host the Los Angeles Dodgers (31-19) on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. The Mets are trailing the Philadelphia Phillies (32-18) by two games for first place in the NL East, while the Dodgers have a two-game lead atop the NL West.

New York made the NLCS in Carlos Mendoza's first season as manager last year, but lost to Los Angeles in six games. The latter club then beat the New York Yankees in five games to win the World Series.

This will be the Dodgers' and Mets' first rematch since that NLCS, and the latter club is now armed with the best pitching staff in baseball. They rank first with a 2.82 team ERA, while Los Angeles ranks 22nd with a 4.16 ERA.

Additionally, Mendoza announced an encouraging pitching update before Friday's game, via SNY.

"[Frankie] Montas will start his rehab assignment tomorrow. He's got two innings and 35 pitches in Brooklyn [High-A]. [Paul] Blackburn is going one more in Triple-A [Syracuse], I think it's Tuesday. He's got one more outing, and then we have a decision there."

Neither Montas (lat) or Blackburn (knee) have pitched this season.

Carlos Mendoza says that Frankie Montas will start a rehab assignment tomorrow for Brooklyn pic.twitter.com/wZXN6FJm6b
— SNY (@SNYtv) May 23, 2025

Montas signed a two-year, $34 million deal with New York in December, including an opt-out after 2025. The right-hander pitched for the Cincinnati Reds and Milwaukee Brewers last season and is 44-46 with a 4.09 ERA over 160 career appearances, including 129 starts.

Meanwhile, the Mets acquired Blackburn from the Athletics at the trade deadline last year. The 31-year-old is 22-28 with a 4.85 ERA over 86 career appearances, including 82 starts.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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