NEW YORK — It took Jose Bautista 1
http://www.minnesotavikingsteamonline.com/irv-smith-jr.-jersey ,727 major league games to hit a walk-off home run. It only seems like it has been that long since the New York Mets won consecutive games at home.
The Mets will hope Bautista’s long-awaited walk-off on Friday propels them to a rare winning streak on Saturday afternoon at Citi Field when they host the Tampa Bay Rays in the middle game of a three-game series.
The Mets’ Steven Matz (4-5, 3.46 ERA) is scheduled to oppose Rays ace Blake Snell (11-4, 2.24) in a battle of left-handers.
Bautista made his first walk-off homer a particularly memorable one when his grand slam with two outs in the ninth inning lifted the Mets to a 5-1 win in the series opener.
“I guess sometimes it just takes awhile,” said Bautista, whose 336 homers without a walk-off before Friday were the most among active players.
The 37-year-old Bautista has proved to be a rare bright spot for the struggling Mets (35-49) by hitting .255 with four homers, 18 RBIs and a .432 on-base percentage since signing with New York on May 22, hours after he was released by the Atlanta Braves. He hit just .143 with two homers and five RBIs in 12 games for Atlanta.
“Top-tier production out of a guy that we got from Atlanta, who let him go
http://www.newyorkgiantsteamonline.com/dexter-lawrence-jersey , so that (performance is) surprising,” Mets manager Mickey Callaway said Friday night. “Now the guy himself, who has the body of a 25-year-old (and) stays in shape? Can never count those guys out. He’s been playing for a long time, had a lot of success.”
Success has been hard to come by for the Mets, especially at home, where they haven’t won consecutive games since a four-game winning streak from May 18 to May 21. New York is 3-15 in its last 18 games at Citi Field.
The task won’t be easy Saturday when Snell looks to continue his breakout season for the Rays (43-44) and further bolster his case for drawing the start for the American League in the All-Star Game on July 17.
Snell has limited opposing batters to a .179 average, the lowest in the AL. He is tied for second in the the league in wins and ranks third in ERA.
Snell has been particularly dominant in winning his last three starts, a stretch in which he has allowed just two runs in 21 1/3 innings while striking out 26 and allowing 20 baserunners. He surrendered one run and struck out 10 in 7 1/3 innings in beating the Houston Astros on Sunday.
Rays manager Kevin Cash said the success has emboldened Snell
http://www.oaklandraidersteamonline.com/josh-jacobs-jersey , who entered the seasons with just 11 wins and a 3.83 ERA in 43 career starts.
“We all know how talented he is and the stuff that he features — there aren’t many guys in baseball, 6-foot-5 left-handers that throw that hard — but the consistency has been probably the most eye-popping of all of it,” Cash said. “And I’m sure there’s a lot of reasons that go into that. But once he got some confidence and realized how talented he is, I think it carries over from start to start.”
Snell has never faced the Mets, though he did pitch at Citi Field as a member of the “home” team last Sept. 12. In that game, he allowed one run and two hits in five innings for the Rays against the New York Yankees in a game relocated to Citi Field because of Hurricane Irma’s impact on the Tampa Bay area.
Matz also picked up the win in his most recent start Sunday when he gave up an unearned run in 5 1/3 innings as the Mets beat the Miami Marlins 5-2. He has never faced the Rays.
The Kansas City Chiefs are placing the franchise tag on outside linebacker Dee Ford after the best season of his career, though that could be just the first step in their dealings with him.The decision was made on Saturday, a person familiar with it told The Associated Press
Ben Banogu Jersey , three days before the league’s deadline for franchising players. But the Chiefs have discussed signing Ford to a long-term deal, and they are open to trade possibilities as they switch their base defenses.The person spoke to The AP on condition of anonymity because the move was not finalized as the paperwork awaited filing. ESPN.com was first to report the Chiefs had made the decision.The franchise tag for an outside linebacker next season is just over $15.4 million, a number the Chiefs could easily fit under the salary cap. But general manager Brett Veach has made it clear since taking over last year that he is open to making any moves that help the overall club.That could mean a long-term contract — the deadline for doing that with a franchise player is July 15 — or trading away one of the league’s top pass rushers.“He had an outstanding season. He was at the top of his game,” Veach said during his year-end discussion with reporters. “When we drafted Dee a few years ago, all those things that we envisioned for him, he kind of showed that he was that player.”But that also came in former defensive coordinator Bob Sutton’s scheme, which is built around a 3-4 base. The Chiefs fired Sutton after an AFC West-winning season culminated in an overtime loss to the Patriots, and hired Steve Spagnuolo to implement a 4-3 scheme.“The one thing he can do
Parris Campbell Jersey , and we all know this, he is an explosive football player that makes a lot of plays,” Spagnuolo said recently. “He’s had some production and if he is here with us, I’ll be excited to have him and be excited to work with him.”Ford was the Chiefs’ first-round pick in 2014 out of Auburn, but he struggled with injuries and the adjustment to the NFL his first couple seasons. He only played in six games with two sacks in 2017, but had a career-best 13 sacks and forced seven fumbles this past season.That performance made the franchise tag a palatable option.“Obviously, Dee is a player that has done so much for us, in particular last year
Bobby Okereke Jersey ,” Veach said. “We have a special thing brewing here and I think everyone wants to keep this thing rolling.”The Chiefs also have a decision to make with fellow outside linebacker Justin Houston, who had nine sacks in 12 games last season. He carries a salary cap hit of $21.1 million, a number the Chiefs would like to drive down either by restructuring his deal or potentially releasing him.“I would say that he’s under contract for this year and next year,” Veach said at the NFL’s scouting combine this week. “Again, our plan is to play with him and we look forward to having him on our roster. There’s a lot of dialogue and I think everything is fluid for the next few weeks until we get into the start of the league year. We’ll kind of handle that — the information we get, what’s real, what’s not real — and it’s a good problem to have because he’s a great player.”