Biceps joins knee in keeping Ohtani off mound

Let the fire sale begin. Will Sammon of The Athletic adds that the Mets will receive minor leaguers Bruin Agbayani and Billy Amick back in return for Minter. The 32-year-old southpaw has been terrific for the Mets this season, posting a 2.35 ERA, 1.00 WHIP and a 20/2 K/BB ratio over 23 innings in 23 appearances. His arrival will go a long way towards bolstering the Twins’ bullpen.

The Mets got a two-out rally started in the eighth as Bo Bichette doubled and Carson Benge followed with a single and a stolen base. Robert then smacked a single into left field that plated both of them, proving to be the difference in the ballgame. He finished the night 1-for-4 and is now slashing a disappointing .202/.300/.333 with four homers, 12 RBI and two stolen bases in his first 130 plate appearances with the Mets.

Benge smacked a two-out single in the eighth inning, swiped second base and scored on Luis Robert’s go-ahead two-run single that proved to be the difference in the contest. The 23-year-old rookie outfielder has been a bright spot in an otherwise bleak season for the Mets, slashing .261/.324/.391 with 11 homers, 41 RBI and 17 stolen bases.

As always, Williams made things interesting in the ninth inning by allowing a leadoff walk to Heriberto Hernandez. He battled back though to strike out Griffin Conine and Jakob Marsee before getting Javier Sanoja to pop out to second base to end it. Williams continues to bring his ratios down as the season progresses, now sporting a still unsavory 4.29 ERA and 1.63 WHIP to go with his 16 saves in 19 attempts.

McLean racked up six strikeouts on the evening while issuing a pair of walks. All of the damage done against him came on solo home runs — one by Kyle Stowers in the fourth and another off the bat of Jakob Marsee in the seventh. The 25-year-old hurler generated 10 swings and misses on 99 pitches on the night, posting a CSW of 27 percent. He’ll carry an impressive 3.29 ERA, 1.12 WHIP and a 148/45 K/BB ratio (125 2/3 innings) into Thursday’s battle against the Guardians in Cleveland.

Stowers drew a two-out walk off of Nolan McLean in the opening inning but wound up stranded at first base. He then walloped a 368-foot (112.8-mph EV) solo shot off of Nolan McLean in the fourth inning to open the scoring in the contest. For the season, the 28-year-old slugger is now slashing .233/.319/.454 with 15 homers and 47 RBI in 361 plate appearances.

The 23-year-old right-hander piled up six strikeouts on the evening while issuing a pair of walks. He kept the Mets off the board through the first five innings until Francisco Lindor smacked an RBI single in the sixth. Lindor then scored later in the inning on an error. Pérez generated 16 swings and misses on 97 offerings in the contest — five on his slider — while posting a CSW of 30 percent. He’ll bring a 3.44 ERA, 1.10 WHIP and a 112/40 K/BB ratio (104 2/3 innings) into Wednesday’s matchup against the Braves in Atlanta.

De La Cruz walked to open the home half of the first inning and swiped second base, but the Reds couldn’t cash him in from there. The 24-year-old superstar then smacked an RBI double in the third and scored on an RBI knock by Sal Stewart. He also doubled in the fifth inning and swiped third before being stranded there. De La Cruz finished his night with a leadoff double off of Gregory Soto in the ninth inning and he scored the winning run on a fielder’s choice off the bat of Nathaniel Lowe. For the season, De La Cruz is now hitting a robust .279/.355/.504 with 18 homers, 48 RBI and 20 stolen bases.

Lowe strolled to the dish with the bases loaded and one out in the ninth inning and the score knotted at two runs apiece. He ended up hitting a slow ground ball to shortstop that resulted in an out at second base, but Lowe beat the relay throw to first to plate the winning run. He finished the day 1-for-4 with a walk and an RBI and is now hitting .255/.332/.472 with 12 homers and 34 RBI in 262 plate appearances on the season.

Pagan was utilized in the top half of the ninth inning with the score tied at 2-2. He did surrender a two-out single to Jhostynxon Garcia, but followed that with a strikeout of Jake Mangum to end the inning. Pagan then became the beneficiary when the Reds walked it off in the home half of the inning. He now sports a 4.84 ERA, 1.21 WHIP and a 25/8 K/BB ratio over 22 1/3 innings on the season while converting 11 of his 14 save chances.