Soto’s two – Juan Soto struck for two solo homers and made a sliding catch to deny Bryce Harper as the Mets beat the Phillies 6-4. Across MLB on Thursday, the Blue Jays finished a three-game sweep of the Red Sox, the Guardians rallied past the Brewers, the Twins completed
PHILADELPHIA — Juan Soto swung once. then again. and it sounded like the kind of contact that changes how a night feels for everyone in the park. Two solo homers from Soto. plus a sliding catch in the left-field corner to rob Bryce Harper of a run-scoring hit. helped the New York Mets beat the Philadelphia Phillies 6-4 on Thursday night.
Soto took Phillies starter Aaron Nola deep in his first two at-bats to reach 16 homers this season. It was Soto’s 30th multihomer game of his career. Earlier, in the third, he lunged and slid on the warning track to take away an extra-base hit from Harper.
The Mets made it stand up late. Pinch-hitter Eric Wagaman delivered the tiebreaking single with two outs in the seventh inning, and Marcus Semien followed with a two-run triple off reliever Jose Alvarado (3-2).
Huascar Brazobán (4-1) earned the win in relief of starter Sean Manaea, and Devin Williams worked the ninth for his 11th save.
BOSTON — Brandon Valenzuela struck in the ninth and the Toronto Blue Jays completed a three-game sweep of the Boston Red Sox with a 4-3 win on Thursday.
Valenzuela’s go-ahead RBI double came off Aroldis Chapman with two outs in the ninth inning. The hit clanked off the Green Monster after Red Sox catcher Connor Wong misplayed a pop-up in foul territory that would have been the final out of the inning.
Toronto got the homers it needed. Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Nathan Lukes went deep for the Blue Jays, who have taken five of six matchups against Boston this season.
Boston didn’t go quietly. Trailing 3-1, the Red Sox tied it in the eighth on back-to-back homers by Isiah Kiner-Falefa and Caleb Durbin.
Tommy Nance (1-2) picked up the win after recording the final two outs in the eighth, and Mason Fluharty pitched a perfect ninth for his first save of the season. Chapman (0-2) took the loss as the Red Sox fell to 12-25 at Fenway Park and 6-17 against AL East teams this season.
MILWAUKEE — Travis Bazzana gave Cleveland the moment it needed, and the Guardians held on to beat Milwaukee.
Bazzana hit a go-ahead solo homer in the seventh inning, while Parker Messick pitched six effective innings as Cleveland won. David Fry and Kyle Manzardo also homered for the Guardians, who lost the first two games of the series.
Messick (7-3) limited the Brewers to two runs and four hits while striking out nine in his 96-pitch outing. Cade Smith earned four outs for his 24th save in 26 opportunities.
Bazzana’s towering homer off Grant Anderson (1-3) in the seventh put Cleveland ahead 3-2. The Guardians added another run in the inning on Drew Rom’s bases-loaded wild pitch.
Milwaukee threatened with two outs in the seventh after loading the bases, but Colin Holderman retired Andrew Vaughn, who worked a full count, to end the inning on a grounder. The Brewers loaded the bases again in the eighth with two outs before Smith struck out Christian Yelich.
ARLINGTON, Texas — Brooks Lee hit a three-run homer as Minnesota scored multiple runs in the first inning for the third consecutive game, and the Twins completed a series sweep of Texas.
Lee’s 12th homer capped a four-run first off Jack Leiter (3-7). Trevor Larnach made it 6-0 in the fourth with a two-run shot to straightaway center that just cleared the extended glove of leaping Alejandro Osuna. Larnach’s third hit was an RBI single in the fifth. and Ryan Kriedler hit a two-run homer in the eighth.
Joe Ryan (5-3) struck out seven but needed 97 pitches to get through five scoreless innings while allowing three singles. Leiter was done after the fourth inning and had given up 17 runs while losing three starts in a row.
Minnesota never trailed in the three-game sweep that extended its winning streak to four, matching its longest this season. The Twins also improved to 14-5 at Globe Life Field, the best mark for any American League opponent since the ballpark opened in 2020.
SEATTLE — Bryan Woo gave Seattle exactly what the Orioles couldn’t solve: silence for seven innings.
Woo pitched seven shutout innings as Colt Emerson drove in two of Seattle’s three first-inning runs. and the Mariners beat Baltimore. Woo (6-5) pitched into the eighth inning for the first time this season. allowed just three hits. and matched his season high with nine strikeouts. He walked one and has not allowed a run in his last four home starts.
The outing mattered because it came after a tough one. Woo previously surrendered a career-high seven runs in five innings in a 7-5 loss at Baltimore on June 11.
Eduard Bazardo kept the Orioles from scoring in the eighth after Baltimore reached base with their first two runners against Woo. Andres Munoz then finished it with three outs for his 12th save.
NEW YORK — The White Sox finally got a lift in the Bronx, and it arrived like a jolt.
Andrew Benintendi launched a pinch-hit grand slam off Camilo Doval in the eighth inning as Chicago ended a nine-game losing streak at Yankee Stadium with a victory over New York.
Benintendi batted for Randal Grichuk and was Chicago’s third pinch hitter of the inning. He broke a 1-all tie by driving Doval’s first pitch, a 100 mph sinker, into the right-center seats.
The blast was Benintendi’s fourth career grand slam and his second pinch-hit homer. It also came after pinch-hitter Sam Antonacci doubled off Fernando Cruz (4-2). Tim Hill hit pinch-hitter Jacob Gonzalez and Tristan Peters with pitches before getting an out.
Chicago won in the Bronx for the first time since June 8, 2023. The skid had been brutal: the White Sox were outscored 22-7 in the first two games of the three-game series and 58-18 during their run of losses at Yankee Stadium.
The night’s results left plenty of momentum in motion—Soto’s statement swing in Philadelphia. Toronto closing the door in Boston. Cleveland answering after an early series stumble. Minnesota taking its sweep to Texas. Seattle turning pitching into a shutout. and Chicago finally breaking through at the home of baseball’s brightest lights.
MLB roundup Juan Soto Mets Phillies Bryce Harper Marcus Semien Aroldis Chapman Blue Jays Red Sox Vladimir Guerrero Jr. Nathan Lukes Travis Bazzana Parker Messick Cleveland Guardians Milwaukee Brewers Brooks Lee Minnesota Twins Joe Ryan Bryan Woo Seattle Mariners Baltimore Orioles Andrew Benintendi Chicago White Sox New York Yankees
Juan Soto is just unfair lol.
I swear Harper gets robbed every time I turn the game on. Two homers and a catch?? Mets really just stole that one.
Wait so Soto hit two homers and then tackled Harper on the warning track? Like I get it’s baseball but the sliding catch part sounds like football. Mets won 6-4 though so whatever.
Pinch-hitter Eric Wagaman?? How does he not get more coverage, sounds like he did the whole game. Also 6-4, Phillies must’ve been messing up in the bullpen again. But I mean Soto already had 16 homers so maybe it was just over from the first swing.