MARK CANHA

Francisco Lindor homered after being surprised by his mom’s first visit to see him at Citi Field, Pete Alonso slugged a grand slam during an eventful sixth inning and the New York Mets beat the Miami Marlins 10-4.

The Los Angeles Dodgers opened the season with an all-time high $310.6 million payroll for purposes of the luxury tax and are on track to pay a record tax of nearly $47 million.

Hours after the Mets learned Max Scherzer will join fellow ace Jacob deGrom on the injured list, Pete Alonso kept New York rolling with a two-run homer in the 10th inning for a 7-6 win over the St. Louis Cardinals.

Max Scherzer pulled himself from a start with discomfort in his left side before the New York Mets finished off an 11-4 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals.

Taijuan Walker pitched seven no-fuss innings and the New York Mets remained unbeaten in 10 series this season, cruising past the sloppy Washington Nationals 4-1.

The New York Mets erased a six-run deficit in the ninth inning, capping the rally with Starling Marte’s tiebreaking double to beat the flabbergasted Philadelphia Phillies 8-7 Thursday night.

The New York Mets’ hit-by-pitch frustrations boiled over when reliever Yoan López threw a pitch near Nolan Arenado’s head, sparking a benches-clearing brawl that led to Arenado’s ejection in the St. Louis Cardinals’ 10-5 victory.

Pinch-hitter Dominic Smith hustled for an infield single that drove in two pivotal runs, and the New York Mets capitalized on an uncharacteristic error by Gold Glove third baseman Nolan Arenado to rally for five runs with two outs in the ninth inning of a 5-2 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals.

Carlos Carrasco pitched into the eighth inning for the first time in almost three years, leading the New York Mets over the San Francisco Giants 6-2.

Max Scherzer pitched no-hit ball into the sixth inning of his anticipated home debut and the New York Mets rode their $130 million ace to a 3-1 victory over the San Francisco Giants for a doubleheader sweep.

Sergio Alcantara snapped a scoreless tie with a two-run homer in the seventh inning, Ketel Marte added an RBI double and the Arizona Diamondbacks beat the New York Mets 3-2.

The Twins are hoping for good news on Byron Buxton after he injured his knee Friday and was sent for an MRI.

Mets outfielders Brandon Nimmo and Mark Canha have been placed on the injured list after a New York coach tested positive for COVID-19.

Nelson Cruz hit his 450th home run and added a tiebreaking two-run single in three-run eighth inning that lifted the Washington Nationals over the Mets 4-2 and prevented New York from an opening four-game sweep.

Francisco Lindor wasn’t the franchise-altering shortstop the New York Mets were hoping for last season.

Many familiar faces with impressive resumes are in new places following one of major league baseball’s wildest free agent frenzies.

Major League Baseball payrolls dropped 4% in 2021 compared to the league’s last full season, and the $4.05 billion total was the lowest in a fully completed year since 2015.

Buck Showalter has been hired as manager of the New York Mets, bringing him back to the Big Apple to take over his fifth major league team.

The New York Mets have bolstered their lineup with three free-agent deals, adding speedy center fielder Starling Marte to go along with Mark Canha and All-Star infielder Eduardo Escobar.

METS sign TRIO TO ADD PUNCH AT THE PLATE

Luis Torrens hit a tiebreaking two-run single, Chris Flexen pitched neatly into the seventh inning and the Seattle Mariners swept a quick two-game series against the Oakland Athletics with a 5-1 win.

Josh Harrison hit a two-run single, Starling Marte added an RBI double, and the Oakland Athletics beat the San Francisco Giants 4-1 on Friday night.

Buried in last place in the NL East, the Miami Marlins have made an impact on the AL West race with two trades.

Sean Manaea pitched six innings of two-hit ball, and the Oakland Athletics handed Arizona its 19th straight road loss with a 4-0 victory over the Diamondbacks.

Jed Lowrie hit a three-run homer and the Oakland Athletics won their 13th straight game, building a big lead early and beating the Baltimore Orioles 7-2 on a rainy night.

The Oakland Athletics earned their 12th consecutive victory --- their longest winning streak in almost two decades --- defeating the Baltimore Orioles 3-1.

The Oakland Athletics extended their winning streak to 11, rallying from a two-run deficit to beat the Twins 13-12 when Luis Arraez threw away Ramón Laureano’s grounder for Minnesota’s second error of the 10th inning.

Ramón Laureano hit a two-run homer and rookie Seth Brown’s first career home run helped the Oakland Athletics to a 7-3 win over the Houston Astros and a series victory.

Oakland Athletics' Chad Pinder, right, celebrates with manager Bob Melvin after the Athletics defeated the Houston Astros in Game 3 of a baseball American League Division Series in Los Angeles, Wednesday, Oct. 7, 2020. And just in case Laureano's words did not get the message across, he ripped a double as the A's got a pair of sacrifice flies in the eighth to rally past the Houston Astros 9-7 on Wednesday and avoid elimination in their AL Division Series. “It was awesome.”Houston leads the best-of-five series 2-1 and can advance to its fourth straight AL Championship Series with a victory in Game 4 on Thursday. Pinder hit a first-pitch slider to the opposite field for Oakland's fifth homer, a drive chased by right fielder Kyle Tucker until he ran out of room at the short wall. Houston took a 7-4 lead with five runs in the fifth, when the Astros sent 10 batters to the plate.

Houston Astros' Carlos Correa, left, celebrates with George Springer after they defeated the Oakland Athletics in Game 1 of a baseball American League Division Series in Los Angeles, Monday, Oct. 5, 2020. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)LOS ANGELES – A home run derby broke out during a hot, dry day at Dodger Stadium, and suddenly the Houston Astros have their swing and swagger back. “When you get the leadoff guy (Springer) getting on base every single time, good things are going to happen. Altuve's line-drive single to left scored Maldonado and Springer to put the Astros back in front, 6-5. Chris Bassitt put the potential tying and go-ahead runs on in the fifth with back-to-back singles by Springer and Altuve.

Oakland stopped a nine-game losing streak in winner-take-all postseason games, a major league record that dated to the 1973 World Series. “I woke up this morning feeling like this was going to be a hard game and it was a hard game,” Melvin said. The low-budget A's had not captured a winner-take-all postseason game since beating Hall of Famer Willie Mays and the New York Mets. That prompted White Sox star Tim Anderson to say, “I guess they haven’t done their homework.”“It’s a tough one to swallow but we've got to keep going,” Anderson said. HURLING ITThe 17 pitchers, nine by Chicago, were the most in a nine-inning postseason game.

The Los Angeles Dodgers pose for a photo after the Dodgers clinched the NL West title with a 7-2 win over the Oakland Athletics in a baseball game Tuesday, Sept. 22, 2020, in Los Angeles. The Dodgers clinched the NL's top postseason seed and eighth straight division title Tuesday night with a 7-2 victory over the Oakland Athletics. “To fast forward a couple months and be crowned NL West champs is a credit to everyone. Los Angeles came into the day with a magic number of two and got help with the Angels’ 4-2 victory over the San Diego Padres. ATHLETICS ADVANCEThe A’s have a team text thread they used to celebrate clinching their first AL West title since 2013 during their off day Monday, when the Mariners beat Houston.

(AP Photo/Michael Wyke)NEW YORK All 30 major league teams played on the same day Saturday for the first time since July 26. The most recent was a Mets-Yankees game Aug. 23 following positive tests for a Mets player and coach received Aug. 20. The entire league was supposed to play Tuesday when the Mets returned to action, but a Yankees-Braves game in Atlanta was postponed by rain. Additionally, a game between the Angels and Astros in Houston was postponed Wednesday due to Hurricane Laura. The league said Friday that 84 of 90,888 samples tested for the coronavirus this season have returned a positive result, which is 0.09%.

San Francisco Giants pitcher Johnny Cueto works against the Oakland Athletics in the first inning of a baseball game Friday, Aug. 14, 2020, in San Francisco. (AP Photo/Ben Margot)

San Francisco Giants pitcher Johnny Cueto works against the Oakland Athletics in the first inning of a baseball game Friday, Aug. 14, 2020, in San Francisco. (AP Photo/Ben Margot)SAN FRANCISCO Stephen Piscotty hit a tying grand slam in the ninth inning, Mark Canha's sacrifice fly put Oakland on top in the 10th, and the Athletics stunned the San Francisco Giants 8-7 on Friday night in the opener of the Bay Bridge Series. Oakland trailed by five in the ninth inning but rallied to win from such a deficit for the first time since July 15, 1952, according to STATS. The Giants hadn't lost after leading by five or more runs in the ninth inning or latter since June 25, 1929. The ball carried on a rare hot evening in San Francisco, where first-pitch temperature reached 85 degrees.

Trout's solo drive off Yusmeiro Petit (1-1) in the eighth helped the Angels stop a three-game skid. It was the 20th multi-homer game of Trout's career, which tied Tim Salmon and Vladimir Guerrero for the franchise record. Los Angeles trailed 9-4 in the fourth when Trout began the rally with a two-run drive into the Angels' bullpen in left field. Chapman gave Oakland a 5-3 lead an inning later with a two-run drive to center for the fifth multi-homer game of his career. He will be opposed by right-hander Dylan Bundy (2-1, 2.08), who threw the Angels' first complete game since 2018 last Wednesday at Seattle.

The Athletics' ninth straight win was far overshadowed by what erupted in the seventh inning at the Coliseum. Astros catcher Dustin Garneau tackled Laureano before the As outfielder reached Cintron, and a wild scene ensued. A's and Astros players who were sitting in the seats, observing COVID-19 social-distancing protocols, also rushed onto the field. The Astros have won the past three division crowns, a World Series in 2017 and AL pennant last year. TRAINERS ROOMAstros: CF George Springer resumed hitting work in the batting cage but was still listed as day to day by Baker.

Los Angeles Angels' Shohei Ohtani throws against the Oakland Athletics during the first inning of a baseball game in Oakland, Calif., Sunday, July 26, 2020. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)OAKLAND, Calif. Shohei Ohtani didnt record an out in the two-way star's long-awaited return to the mound for the Los Angels Angels, allowing the first six Oakland batters to reach base before his day was done Sunday. Robbie Grossman singled in another run, and Angels manager Joe Maddon replaced Ohtani with Matt Andriese down 4-0. This was a long time coming for the Angels and Ohtani, who released visible deep breaths between pitches. Ohtani is expected to be the Sunday starter for the Angels this season and was under no pitch limit.

Los Angeles Angels' Shohei Ohtani throws against the Oakland Athletics during the first inning of a baseball game in Oakland, Calif., Sunday, July 26, 2020. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)OAKLAND, Calif. Shohei Ohtani didnt record an out in the two-way stars long-awaited return to the mound for the Los Angels Angels, allowing the first six Oakland batters to reach base before his day was done in a 6-4 loss to the Athletics on Sunday. Robbie Grossman singled in another run, and Angels manager Joe Maddon replaced Ohtani (0-1) with Matt Andriese down 4-0. Ohtani made his first appearance on the mound since Sept. 2, 2018 after not pitching last season following Tommy John surgery. Ohtani threw 30 pitches, reaching 94.7 mph with his fastball he averaged 96.7 mph and touched 100 mph in 2018.