Jake Bauers (abdomen) returns to lineup on Friday

Assad also issued five free passes on the day while striking out three. He kept the Marlins off the board through the first three innings, but they scratched out a pair of runs against him in the fourth. Assad then left a man on when he departed in the fifth and that runner ultimately scored as well. The 29-year-old righty got five swings and misses on 88 offerings on the night, posting a CSW of 24 percent. It’s unclear if he’ll stick around to make another start or if he’ll head back to Triple-A Iowa once again after this one.

Conine worked a walk to open the fourth inning and scored the Marlins’ first run as Owen Caissie hit into a fielder’s choice. He then obliterated a 2-1 fastball from Caleb Thielbar for a 430-foot (110.7-mph EV) two-run blast in the fifth that pulled the Marlins to within a run at 5-4. On the season, the 29-year-old outfielder is now slashing .256/.360/.493 with 15 homers, 34 RBI and four swipes in just 250 plate appearances.

The 27-year-old right-hander also issued a pair of walks in the contest while punching out five opposing hitters. The Cubs got to him for three runs in the third inning, including a solo blast off the bat of Michael Conforto. They added on single runs in the fourth and fifth before chasing Gusto. He generated five whiffs on 100 pitches on the day, posting a CSW of 25 percent. He’ll carry a 4.23 ERA, 1.41 WHIP and a 62/22 K/BB ratio (72 1/3 innings) into a tough matchup against the Dodgers on Friday.

Devers’ first homer today was a 351-footer to right that probably would have been a single in his home ballpark. Fortunately, this one took place at Citi Field, where it just got over the yellow line. The second homer was an impressive 391-foot shot to the opposite field that was a homer everywhere. Devers has 35 homers for the third time in his career. His high is 38 from 2021.

Molina gave up just one hit, and though that was a two-run homer from A.J. Ewing, it came with two outs in the second after a Rafael Devers error, making both runs unearned. Molina ended up striking out six and walking one. He’s gone 3-0 with a 1.88 ERA in two starts and one relief appearance since joining the Giants, but we’d still be wary of using him against the Padres next week.

Thornton struck out six and walked one, but he gave up homers on each of his top four pitches. He’d allowed a total of seven homers in 61 1/3 innings this season coming into the day. Including his time in the minors, Thronton is at 129 innings for the year. That doesn’t seem like a lot, but he came in at 68 and 73 in his first two pro seasons. He’s slated to face the Yankees next weekend, but the Mets might want to go easy on him from here on in.

Koss matched fellow former Red Sox infield prospect Rafael Devers in leading the Giants today. The homers were his second and third of the year, bringing his career total to six in 345 plate appearances since debuting with San Francisco last year. He’ll continue starting for the Giants at least until another former Red Sox prospect, Marcelo Mayer, is ready to come off the IL.

The homer off Anthony Molina was Ewing’s first of the second half. He had seven homers in his first 53 games as a major leaguer, but he’d since gone 46 games without one. Overall, he’s batting .238/.313/.356 in 413 plate appearances. He’ll finish out this season as a regular, but he probably hasn’t locked down a spot in the Mets’ 2027 outfield just yet.

In the 9-5 loss today, the top four hitters in the Mets lineup (Francisco Lindor, Juan Soto, Bo Bichette and Benge) combined to go 0-for-17 with no walks, compared to 5-for-16 with a homer and four walks for the bottom five hitters. Benge has gone seven straight games without an extra-base hit or an RBI.

Hurt has done a decent job in 43 appearances out of the Dodgers’ bullpen this season, compiling a 4.33 ERA, 1.37 WHIP and a 56/23 K/BB ratio over 43 2/3 innings of work. Bobby Miller (shoulder) was activated from the 60-day injured list in a corresponding move to replace him on the Dodgers’ active roster.