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Mets crediting something other than Grimace for hot streak
Much has been made about the fact that the New York Mets posted a 7-0 record after McDonald's mascot Grimace tossed out the ceremonial first pitch ahead of a home game last week.
New York players instead are crediting the return of young catcher Francisco Alvarez to the lineup for the club's unexpected winning streak.
"It’s always great having him back," first baseman Pete Alonso said about Alvarez after the two helped the Mets rally back from behind to earn a 7-6 win at the Texas Rangers on Tuesday night, per John Flanigan of SNY. "We definitely missed him. He’s one of those guys who is a workhorse and he’s super talented. He can change the game with his bat and he does a great job behind the plate in all aspects of the game."
Alvarez suffered a torn ligament in his left thumb on April 19 that left him needing surgery and kept him out of the big league lineup until he returned to action on June 11.
The 22-year-old's power at the plate, work with the pitching staff and overall energy has offered an injection of life for a Mets team that seemed destined to become a seller ahead of the July 30 MLB trade deadline earlier this month.
"Is it different when he’s in there? Sure," outfielder Brandon Nimmo said about Alvarez. "He’s just a heck of a competitor and an amazing ballplayer both defensively at catcher and offensively. He loves to compete and he wants the big situations."
Specifically, Flanigan noted that the Mets went 17-1 in their last 18 games with Alvarez in the lineup ahead of Wednesday's action. According to Joe Pantorno of amNewYork Metro, the Mets went 13-1 over Alvarez's last 14 complete games played through Tuesday evening.
On Tuesday, Alvarez delivered a clutch game-tying double in the top of the eighth inning before Alonso produced a game-winning hit in the ninth:
"Pete Alonso gives the Mets the lead with an RBI DOUBLE!"
— SNY (@SNYtv) June 19, 2024
Gary and Keith on the call for Francisco Alvarez and Pete Alonso's big hits in the late innings! ️ pic.twitter.com/LtDg3GtRrX
"That was a huge at-bat, so clutch battling to a 3-2 count and then lining an absolute laser to left-center," Alonso said about Alvarez's highlight-reel moment. "It was a really special at-bat and it really helped us, so that was big time."
Seemingly out of nowhere, the 35-37 Mets began Wednesday just half a game back in the battle for the National League's third wild-card spot.
As much as fans understandably are having fun with the Grimace storyline, Alvarez is proving to be the club's most valuable player in the final days of spring.
The Mets next play at the 33-40 Rangers on Wednesday evening.
More must-reads:
- Mets' Pete Alonso again discusses trade-deadline uncertainty
- Rangers' Jacob deGrom opens up about feelings on Mets tenure
- The 'New York Mets managers' quiz
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TODAY'S BEST
Brewers righty deserves consideration as dark-horse Cy Young candidate
The Milwaukee Brewers' trade with the Boston Red Sox early in the season flew under the radar. The Brewers acquired former top prospect Quinn Priester from the Red Sox, sending outfield prospect Yophery Rodriguez to Boston on April 7. Pitching prospect John Holobetz was sent to the Red Sox on May 5 to complete the trade. Priester had been expected to be a top-of-the-rotation arm, lauded for his athleticism and plus fastball and curve. However, he struggled during his time in the majors in 2023 and 2024, posting a combined 6.23 ERA and a 1.555 WHiP over 99.2 innings, striking out 69 batters with 41 walks while serving up 19 home runs. Despite a solid outing in his only appearance for the Red Sox, Priester remained in Triple-A as nothing more than pitching depth. That changed with his arrival in Milwaukee. He has exceeded expectations, either as a traditional starter or following an opener. Priester has posted a 3.15 ERA and a 1.190 WHiP over his 114.1 innings for the Brewers, striking out 93 batters with 38 walks. Opponents have mustered a meager .228/.294/.382 batting line in 471 plate appearances with just 13 homers. The Brewers' 64-48 record entering Tuesday is the best in the majors despite a nondescript rotation. While Freddy Peralta is a top-of-the-rotation arm in his own right, staff ace Brandon Woodruff missed all of 2024 and most of the first half of 2025. Pitchers such as Chad Patrick, Tobias Myers and Jose Quintana are back-of-the-rotation arms at this point. The Brewers needed someone to step up with Priester being the unlikely hero. Pitchers Paul Skenes and Zack Wheeler are the prohibitive favorites to win the National League Cy Young Award. BetMGM does not have Priester listed as one of the 10 most likely candidates to take home the hardware. However, Priester's performance, coupled with the Brewers' success this season, is worthy of attention. If he can continue to perform at this level, Priester deserves at least some consideration on the ballot.
Kevin Harvick reacts to horrifying Stewart Friesen crash, points to NASCAR regulations
One of the scariest wrecks in racing this year occurred a little more than a week ago, when Stewart Friesen was involved in a horrific crash. Friesen suffered a broken pelvis and a fractured right leg. It was the kind of crash that gets everyone in the sport’s attention. It could have been much, much worse. “This is just an absolutely horrifying wreck right here,” Kevin Harvick said on the Kevin Harvick’s Happy Hour podcast. “You see him just hit the end of that wall and then hit by cars and fires. Just glad that he’s not in worse condition than he is. It was a tough couple weeks for dirt racing with everything that happened at Eldora with the sprint cars. And then you have Friesen’s wreck right here. So glad everybody’s still here.” Stewart Friesen is now recovering. His wife has posted multiple updates, and he’s since been transferred to a hospital in New York. He’ll have to undergo multiple surgeries. In the meantime, folks like Harvick are using the wreck as a reminder of the importance of the work NASCAR does in ensuring driver safety. Harvick spotlighted it on his podcast. “These series don’t have the investigations and things, and that’s one thing NASCAR does a really good job at, is making sure they understand each wreck,” Harvick said. “Making sure that they look at all the equipment. They hold the people accountable to wear their equipment right, to get their headrests right. That doesn’t happen in the short track world. Some of the stuff you see is pretty scary.” Stewart Friesen’s wreck may well be the warning call to some of the smaller series to take safety a little more seriously. No one wants to have blood on their hands. But it goes beyond just the racing organizations themselves policing things. Team owners and crew chiefs also need to keep their guys on point. “And that’s one thing I stress to all of our young guys and just people in general that just get a little lax about it from the safety side,” Harvick said. “You’re not preparing for every time you get in. You’re preparing for that moment like we just saw with Stewart Friesen. “So it’s super important that all that stuff is right and you evolve with the safety aspect of it. That’s the difference between weekly racing and Cup, Xfinity, Truck racing … that NASCAR holds you accountable. Not so much the case on stuff like this.”
Celtics' moves suggest new guard will be traded — eventually
The Boston Celtics got under the second luxury-tax apron by trading Georges Niang to the Utah Jazz Tuesday. The move also gives them a huge incentive to deal their most expensive new player. The Celtics have dramatically reduced their payroll in the wake of Jayson Tatum's Achilles injury. With their superstar unlikely to play in 2025-26, the Celtics traded away starters Jrue Holiday ($94.4M for three years, plus a $37.2M player option in 2027-28) and Kristaps Porzingis ($30.7M next season). They also let Luke Kornet ($2.8M) leave as a free agent, and Al Horford ($9.5M) is almost certainly gone as well. They received Georges Niang ($8.2M) in the Porzingis deal, but traded him Tuesday for undrafted R.J. Luis Jr., a rookie on a two-way deal. That effectively takes Niang's full salary of their books and gets them under the second luxury-tax apron, freeing them from the penalties and restrictions that go along with second-apron status. According to cap expert Yossi Gozlan, the Celtics have saved a whopping $286M in salary and taxes with their moves. Still, the team can reap a larger long-term reward by dropping below the luxury tax entirely, which requires reducing their payroll by just over $12M more. The Celtics don't seem inclined to trade Jaylen Brown, Derrick White or Payton Pritchard, wanting to keep some core members of their 2024 title team together for Tatum's return. Sam Hauser is on an affordable four-year, $45M deal, but losing his $10M salary wouldn't get them under the tax line. That's why Anfernee Simons, acquired in the Holiday trade, is likely not long for Boston. The 26-year-old guard makes $27.7M in the last year of his contract, making him the perfect trade piece to get Boston under the luxury tax. Not only would getting under the tax line free the Celtics of their tax obligations and save them as much as $40M, but it would make them eligible to share in the money from tax-paying teams. The Celtics would also be able to avoid the dreaded repeater tax penalties, which make every dollar over the luxury-tax number progressively more expensive every year a team stays over the tax line. This doesn't mean Simons is going to be traded this summer. Boston has until the Feb. 5 trade deadline to move Simons, since luxury tax is calculated on the team's total payroll the last day of the season. But given the massive savings they'd get back from losing Simons' salary, it seems inevitable. The Celtics have lost a lot of talent this summer, but they've saved a tremendous amount of money in the process. They might have to attach draft capital to get off Simons' deal, but if he plays well in Boston, he might even bring back something in a trade next season. Tatum's injury threw a huge wrench in the Celtics' plans. If they can use this season to get under the luxury tax, they'll have the flexibility to reload and contend again when their star is back in a year.
Athletics catcher's historic performance part of team's 16-run onslaught against Nationals
The Athletics have not had much to smile about in 2025, but Tuesday night was a totally different story. The Washington Nationals, who had lost five straight coming into the game, had no answer for the offensive onslaught as the Athletics won handily, 16-7. Led by the trio of catcher Shea Langeliers, right fielder Brent Rooker and center fielder JJ Bleday, the Athletics combined for 16 runs, 24 hits and never looked back after a five-run first inning. Langeliers became the first Athletics catcher with a five-hit game since 1972, three of which were for home runs. He got the scoring started for the Athletics in the first inning with this 402-foot shot to center field off Nationals starter MacKenzie Gore. Langeliers' second homer of the night came in the fifth when he hit a 387-footer to left off reliever Orlando Ribalta to give the Athletics a 10-1 lead. He capped his second career three-homer game with a 419-foot home run to center off a 94 mph four-seam fastball from Andry Lara to give the Athletics the 11-3 advantage in the seventh. He joins Travis d'Arnaud, Gary Carter and Johnny Bench as the only catchers with multiple three-home run games, per MLB.com's Sarah Langs. Langeliers is the first player since at least 1900 to have three homers in his first career game starting at leadoff (h/t Elias Sports). This double in the eighth secured the five-hit game for Langeliers. Per Langs (h/t Elias Sports), his 15 total bases are tied for the most by a catcher in a game since at least 1900 with Wes Westrum (1950) and Walker Cooper (1949). According to MLB Stats, Langeliers joins Cal Raleigh, Mike Piazza, Earl Williams and Rudy York as the only catchers to hit 20 or more home runs in three of their first four MLB seasons with a minimum of 50 percent of their games at catcher. The Athletics (50-65) are still last in the AL West and have struggled to find any consistency all season. Despite the struggles, Tuesday night was a needed distraction from that on a historic night at the plate from Langeliers.
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