Jacob Young exits game after crashing into wall

Soto was drilled in the hand by a pitch during Saturday’s contest, but X-rays came back negative for any fractures and the superstar outfielder will be in the club’s lineup for Sunday’s finale in Washington. The 27-year-old slugger has hit .278/.397/.522 with 27 long balls, 68 RBI and nine stolen bases in just 110 games for the Mets this season. He’ll start in left field and bat second against Nationals’ left-hander DJ Herz.

The 24-year-old backstop started the first two games of the series, so he’ll take a seat to start Sunday’s season finale. There is a chance that he’ll be used off the bench if the right situation arises. Luis Torrens will do the catching for the Mets and will bat seventh against Nationals’ left-hander DJ Herz.

With Jonathan Pintaro (illness) landing on the injured list on Sunday, Yan returns to the Mets’ bullpen for the final game of the 2026 season. The 30-year-old southpaw has registered a 4.87 ERA, 1.72 WHIP and a 26/15 K/BB ratio across 20 1/3 innings at the MLB level this season.

Pintaro was feeling under the weather and wasn’t going to be available for Sunday’s season finale, so the Mets opted to place him on the injured list and bring in a fresh arm. Jefry Yan rejoined the Mets’ bullpen and will be available on Sunday. Pintaro finishes the season with a 5.28 ERA, 1.37 WHIP and a 30/16 K/BB ratio over 30 2/3 innings in his 22 appearances with the Mets.

Kjerstad was brought up from Triple-A Norfolk on September 23 but hadn’t drawn a start until now. The 27-year-old outfielder will bat eighth for the O’s against Yankees’ right-hander Elmer Rodriguez on Sunday afternoon in New York.

Nuñez enters the contest sitting on 49 stolen bases for the season, so if he gets on base expect him to run wild in an attempt to hit that 50-steal plateau. For the season, the 26-year-old infielder is slashing a paltry .208/.292/.241 with one homer, 36 RBI and 49 stolen bases (59 attempts).

The Padres are already locked in as the top Wild Card team in the National League, so Sunday’s game doesn’t mean anything to them. It’s imperative to the Diamondbacks though, who need a victory and a loss from the Phillies in order to punch their ticket to the postseason. Vásquez has been working out of the bullpen and hasn’t thrown more than 44 pitches in an outing since September 1, so don’t expect him to work deeply into Sunday’s contest.

The 25-year-old hurler struggled throughout the minor league season, registering a 6.27 ERA, 1.54 WHIP and a 45/29 K/BB ratio over 47 1/3 innings at Triple-A Louisville. Apparently, the Cubs saw something that they liked though, as they poached him from a division rival.

The Cubs needed to clear a spot on their 40-man roster after claiming Julian Aguiar off of waivers, and unfortunately for Kelly, he was the odd man out this time around. The 26-year-old southpaw made just one appearance with the Cubs, throwing 1 1/3 scoreless innings with one strikeout in his MLB debut.

That’s an interesting choice, what with Lambert seemingly running on fumes at the moment. He gave up four in 2 2/3 innings against the A’s on Thursday, and he’s thrown 44 more innings this season that he has in any of the last five years. Most likely, he’ll throw only an inning or two.