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Haggerty had an RBI single in the second and a two-run double in the fourth before being lifted for a pinch-runner. His chances of claiming a bench spot already improved earlier in the day with the reveal that Cody Freeman would likely open up on the injured list. The switch-hitting utilityman batted .253/.328/.370 in 182 plate appearances for the Rangers last season.

The magic elixir for struggling starting pitchers this season has often been facing this hapless Mets lineup. Juan Soto was literally the only player who could touch Pérez in this one, accounting for both of the hits he allowed. The first of which was a loud, 449 foot home run in the first inning and it underscored a lot of Pérez’s struggles so far this season. Without much confidence in his secondary pitches, he threw Soto five fastballs in that at-bat. Two of which he fouled straight back and the third straight with two strikes was parked in the stands. Nevertheless, no other hitter gave Pérez trouble and this was his first start all season where he didn’t walk a single batter. Also, he found a good feel for his sweeper as the game went on and finally displayed at least solid command of it. Hopefully this is an outing he can build on ahead of a meeting with the Blue Jays next week.

Fairbanks made easy work of the bottom of the Mets’ lineup with two strikeouts before walking Carson Benge who reached base as the tying run. Tense as it was, he forced a lazy fly ball from Bo Bichette to end the threat and save his first game in a month, before he went on the injured list. His hold on the closer’s job still appears to be strong despite an ugly 8.25 ERA so far this season.

Ruiz is making the most of his chance with the Marlins. With just eight hits in 37 at-bats so far this season, six have gone for extra bases. Plus, that stolen base was already his eighth. He’s also been trusted in all three outfield spots already and has appeared in 22 games despite only starting 10. He can be an asset in a very deep league.

Soto was almost literally the only Mets’ hitter to make any noise in this game. In fact, there was a point in the eighth inning where the Marlins’ pitchers had just faced one batter over the minimum, and Soto had two hits. His solo home run stood as their only run and coming off a 99.8 mph fastball from Eury Pérez, it was the hardest pitch to be homered off of all season. That’s some solace, right?

The Mets were a bit coy on how they were going to deploy Tong ahead of this game, and he would up following Tobias Myers and Sean Manaea in a bit of a college baseball-esque swing-man, bullpen game. His stuff looked electric though. His fastball had great life at the top of the zone, sat around 96 mph, and topped out at 99 mph. His changeup was nasty as well, forcing a whiff on all three times the Marlins swung at it. We also got to see four total of Tong’s reworked breaking stuff – two sharp dropping sliders, one cutter, and one firmer curveball. Those pitches hold the keys to his short and long-term future success, so it’ll be worth paying close attention to them should he stick with the major league team.

There was plenty of good to pull from this outing by Manaea. Following opener Tobias Myers, he had plenty of luck against a left-handed heavy Marlins lineup. He also threw his fastest pitch of the season at 93.9 mph and saw the average velocity of every pitch in his repertoire up a couple of ticks. That’s a great sign for someone who’s struggled to get their velocity up thus far. He also commanded his sweeper a good bit better than he has otherwise this season and he’s now thrown 55 and 65 pitches in his last two outings. He could be working towards relative viability.

It’s unclear if he’s joining the Rays on their taxi squad in the event that Jonny DeLuca has to go on the injured list or if Mesa is actually being recalled. The 24-year-old has hit an impressive .318/.416/.545 with two homers and seven RBI in his first 77 plate appearances at the Triple-A level this season.

Williams and Cristopher Sánchez matched up here in one of the best pitcher’s duels of the season. They each threw eight scoreless innings, but Williams was a touch sharper. His 11 strikeouts matched his season-high and his sweeper was practically un-hittable forcing 10 of his 17 total swings-and-misses. This gem was another message to the league that Williams is a budding ace and his poise after working around a baserunner in each of the seventh and eighth innings in this scoreless affair reaffirmed such. He left this superb outing with a 3.25 ERA, 84 strikeouts, and 22 walks across 69 1/3 innings so far this season. Next up for Williams will be the Nationals at home.

It couldn’t have looked easier for Smith in this one. Despite facing Trea Turner, Kyle Schwarber, and Bryce Harper, he got out of this inning in just eight pitches while the Guardians clung to a one run lead. The Phillies’ stars weren’t even close either. Turner popped up on the first pitch, Schwarber struck out, and Harper rolled one over, also on the first pitch. If Mason Miller didn’t exist, we’d be talking a lot more about Smith’s dominance this season with his league-leading 17 saves and strikeout rate approaching 40%

Manzardo was the unlikely hero in a game where Cristopher Sánchez and Gavin Williams each tossed eight scoreless innings. Well, after Sánchez came out, Manzardo pinch-hit for Rhys Hoskins in the ninth and launched a first pitch home run off Jhoan Duran to put the Guardians up. It’s been a trying season overall for Manzardo – this was just his fifth home run to go along with a .228 batting average – but maybe this clutch shot can get him going.