MLB Player News

Perez was acquired by the Mariners back in late May in a trade with the Orioles and finds himself back on the open market with Seby Zavala sticking around at Triple-A Tacoma as extra catching depth. The 31-year-old veteran backstop shouldn’t have much trouble finding a new opportunity.

Treinen dominated in the eighth, and while he did give up an RBI single in the ninth to Jeff McNeil, it came with the Dodgers holding a six-run lead. He still gets the save because he entered with a three-run lead. He’ll get a chance to add to his three playoff saves beginning Friday against the Yankees.

Ohtani smashed an RBI single to extend the Dodgers’ lead to 7-3. The presumed MVP is now 18 for his last 21 with runners in scoring position, and that’s an .818 average. Incredible. Ohtani will now get a chance to show off his immense skills in the World Series against the Yankees on Friday.

Vientos took Ryan Brasier deep in the fourth inning to make it a 6-3 game. It was the fifth homer of the postseason, but unfortunately for the Mets the last with Los Angeles winning the series 4-2. Vientos had a very strong regular season, but was at a different level this October with a slash of .327/.362/.636. Vientos should be a strong fantasy option for 2025 and beyond.

Smith gave the Dodgers a 6-1 lead with a homer off Phil Maton in the third inning with Max Muncy on base. He also drew a walk, and the Dodgers have to be thrilled to see some offensive production considering his struggles in the postseason. Even with the strong contest, he’s slashing just .158/.289/.316 over his 10 games in the playoffs. He will get a chance to get going in the World Series beginning Friday against the Yankees.

Edman lined a two-run double off Sean Manaea to give the Dodgers a 2-1 lead in the first inning. Two frames later, he took Manaea deep with a runner on to extend the lead to 4-1, and it was essentially all Los Angeles from that point on. With the win, the Dodgers advance to the World Series against the Yankees beginning Friday. Edman has been outstanding in the postseason with a .477 slugging percentage, 341 average and 12 RBI over 10 games, and he was named NLCS MVP for his efforts.

Manaea’s final start was a disappointment, and he has Tommy Edman to “thank” for most of the trouble. He gave up a two-run double to Edman in the first, and a two-run shot to him two innings later. The southpaw still had a fantastic season with a 3.47 ERA and 184/63 K/BB over 32 starts, and he pitched excellent in the postseason prior to Sunday’s struggles. Manaea will be back with the Mets next year — barring something unforeseen — and likely will pitch near the top of their rotation to begin 2025.

McNeil will start his second straight game after being an afterthought over the first four games of the series. His absence means Jose Iglesias begins the must-win game on the bench for the Mets. The full lineup for the Mets: SS Francisco Lindor, LF Brandon Nimmo, 3B Mark Vientos, 1B Pete Alonso, DH Jesse Winker, RF Starling Marte, CF Tyrone Taylor, 2B McNeil and C Francisco Alvarez with Sean Manaea on the mound.

It’s Kopech’s first start of the year and first career postseason start. He’s yet to pitch more than an inning in any of his five scoreless outings this October, but perhaps he could go two today; he’s worked just once to date in the NLCS and that was four days ago.

We’re assuming Freeman was ready to give it a go, but since he’s not nearly 100 percent with his ankle troubling him, the smart play is sitting him with a tough lefty on the mound for the Mets in Sean Manaea. The lineup: DH Shohei Ohtani, RF Mookie Betts, LF Teoscar Hernández, SS Tommy Edman, 1B Max Muncy, 3B Enrique Hernández, CF Andy Pages, C Will Smith, 2B Chris Taylor.

He’s allowed one run in 9 2/3 innings thus far in Arizona. Stephan went unselected in the five-round 2020 draft, but he’s a solid prospect with a couple of very good secondary pitches in his slider and changeup helping to make up for the lack of velocity on his low-90s fastball. It’s possible he’ll make his major league debut sometime next year.