EDUARDO ESCOBAR

Max Scherzer shut down the San Diego Padres for five innings, rebounding from his postseason flop against them last year, and the New York Mets won 5-0 in a playoff rematch between National League heavyweights.

Baseball’s biggest spenders looked spent.

Pete Alonso launched a tiebreaking homer and Jacob deGrom pitched well enough to help save the New York Mets’ season with a 7-3 victory over the San Diego Padres that evened their wild-card playoff series at one game apiece.

Josh Bell and Manny Machado smashed two of San Diego’s four home runs off Max Scherzer, and the Padres romped past the New York Mets 7-1 in their playoff opener.

With the baseball postseason expanding to 12 teams this year, if two teams end up deadlocked for a division title or playoff spot, there will no longer be a one-game playoff to break those ties.

Dansby Swanson and Matt Olson homered off Max Scherzer, lifting the Atlanta Braves to a crucial 4-2 victory over the New York Mets and a one-game lead in the NL East.

Two months into the season, it looked like the New York Mets were headed for an NL East runaway.

Eduardo Escobar homered and drove in five late runs — including the game-winning single in the 10th inning — to rally the New York Mets past the Miami Marlins 5-4 and back into sole possession of first place in the NL East.

Chris Bassitt pitched eight sharp innings in his return to Oakland, Eduardo Escobar hit a grand slam and the New York Mets extended their lead in the NL East by beating the Athletics 9-2.

Jacob deGrom struck out 13 batters — the most ever for a Mets pitcher who threw five or fewer innings — but didn’t factor into the decision.

Mets ace Max Scherzer exited with left side fatigue after five sharp innings and 67 pitches and NL East-leading New York lost to the Washington Nationals 7-1.

Aaron Judge hit a 453-foot drive halfway up the bleachers for his 48th home run and added an RBI single during a seventh-inning rally, boosting the Yankees past the Mets 4-2 for a two-game sweep in a Subway Series both teams hope was a World Series prelude.

Mets reliever Nate Fisher pitched three scoreless innings of relief in his major league debut after working at a Nebraska bank a year ago, Mark Canha hit two homers and drove in five runs and New York rallied past the Philadelphia Phillies 10-9.

What a debut for Brett Baty.

Starling Marte singled home the winning run in the ninth inning, and the New York Mets beat the crosstown Yankees 3-2 for a two-game sweep of their Subway Series.

Eduardo Escobar hit a tiebreaking, two-run homer that capped a four-run, first-inning rally, and the New York Mets beat the Yankees 6-3 in a rare Subway Series matchup of first-place teams.

A day after Houston outfielder José Siri called his bat-flip home run celebration against the New York Mets “an error,” he seemingly backtracked by posting a profane tweet that was later deleted.

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.

Eduardo Escobar hit a two-run triple in the ninth inning to complete his first cycle, giving him six RBIs in boosting Carlos Carrasco and the New York Mets to an 11-5 win against the San Diego Padres.

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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.

Mets pitcher Max Scherzer is expected to be sidelined for six to eight weeks with a strained oblique muscle in his left side.

Pete Alonso homered twice, had three hits and drove in five runs to lead the New York Mets to a 6-1 victory over the Philadelphia Phillies and a doubleheader split.

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.

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.

Right-hander Max Scherzer agreed to a record-setting $130 million, three-year contract with the New York Mets and shortstop Corey Seager struck a $325 million, 10-year deal with the Texas Rangers as players and teams rushed to reach agreements before an expected lockout.

A person familiar with the negotiations tells The Associated Press that Max Scherzer has agreed to a $130 million, three-year contract with the New York Mets.

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.

With a possible lockout on the horizon, it’s been mostly business as usual on the free agent market — so far.

Joc Pederson enhanced his “Joctober” nickname with a three-run, pinch-hit homer and the Atlanta Braves shut down Milwaukee once again, beating the Brewers 3-0.

Max Fried pitched six sharp innings and Atlanta’s bullpen held on after manager Brian Snitker’s quick hook, sending the Braves over the Milwaukee Brewers 3-0 to tie their NL Division Series at a game apiece.

Trea Turner hit a grand slam and solo home run as the Los Angeles Dodgers extended the NL West race for at least another day, rallying past the Milwaukee Brewers 8-6 after starter Clayton Kershaw got hurt.

The Milwaukee Brewers clinched their second NL Central title in four years, beating the sloppy New York Mets 8-4 behind Willy Adames’s two-run homer and three RBIs.

Daniel Vogelbach delivered a pinch-hit grand slam off Alex Reyes to cap a five-run rally in the ninth inning that gave the Milwaukee Brewers a 6-5 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals.

Jace Peterson hit a go-ahead single in the seventh, Lorenzo Cain homered for a second straight game and the Milwaukee Brewers knocked the San Francisco Giants out of the top spot in the National League for the first time in more than three months.

The baseball trade deadline is fast approaching, and teams are starting to get busy before Friday’s 4 p.m. EDT cutoff.

The Milwaukee Brewers have acquired All-Star third baseman Eduardo Escobar from the Arizona Diamondbacks for two prospects.

The second half of the major league baseball season begins with one game Thursday night when Xander Bogaerts, Rafael Devers and the AL East-leading Red Sox visit Yankee Stadium.

Anthony DeSclafani threw 8 2/3 effective innings, Austin Slater and Darin Ruf both homered and the San Francisco Giants beat the Arizona Diamondbacks 5-2 for their third straight victory.

The Arizona Diamondbacks snapped their record 24-game road losing streak by routing the San Diego Padres 10-1, getting six strong innings from Merrill Kelly and four hits and five RBIs from Eduardo Escobar.

Burly slugger Daniel Vogelbach hobbled home on one leg when Arizona’s defense fell asleep, and the Diamondbacks dropped back into a rut with a 5-0 loss to the Milwaukee Brewers.

Merrill Kelly pitched seven effective innings, Ketel Marte had two hits and the Arizona Diamondbacks finally snapped a 17-game losing streak by beating the Milwaukee Brewers 5-1 on Monday night.

Walker Buehler had another masterful mound performance, taking a no-hitter into the eighth inning as the Los Angeles Dodgers beat the skidding Arizona Diamondbacks 9-3.

The Arizona Diamondbacks dropped their 22nd straight road game, matching the 1963 Mets and ’43 Philadelphia Athletics for the major league record with a 13-7 loss to the San Francisco Giants.

Shohei Ohtani struck out eight, hit two doubles at the plate and pushed through an injury scare to lead the Los Angeles Angels past the slumping Arizona Diamondbacks 6-5 in 10 innings.

Will Smith hit a tiebreaking, solo home run in the seventh inning, Albert Pujols slugged a two-run shot, his first for the Dodgers, and Los Angeles defeated the Arizona Diamondbacks 3-2.

Albert Pujols delivered an RBI single in his Dodgers debut, and Walker Buehler pitched seven scoreless innings of one-hit ball in Los Angeles’ 3-1 win over the Arizona Diamondbacks.

Whatever the future holds, Kris Bryant is giving the Chicago Cubs plenty of production so far in 2021.

Mets ace Jacob deGrom was pulled after five innings with right side tightness in his return from an injury to a similar area, but the bullpen closed out a four-hitter as New York beat the Arizona Diamondbacks 4-2 for its fifth straight win.

Madison Bumgarner threw a seven-inning no-hitter, an achievement that won’t count in the Major League Baseball record book but completed a dominant day of Arizona Diamondbacks pitching for a 7-0 win over the Atlanta Braves and a doubleheader sweep.

Yan Gomes homered and added an RBI single to help the Washington Nationals beat the Arizona Diamondbacks 6-2 for their first back-to-back wins this season.

New York starter Jordan Montgomery gave up two hits in three scoreless innings. Brubaker allowed two hits over two scoreless innings and Chase De Jong followed with two shutout innings. MARLINS 4, METS 4Miami starter Pablo Lopez gave up a hit and a walk over three scoreless innings. German Marquez scattered three hits and a walk over three scoreless innings for Colorado. Kansas City starter Jakob Junis pitched three innings and gave up one hit, a leadoff homer to Trent Grisham.

(AP Photo/Eric Risberg)SAN FRANCISCO Evan Longoria and Darin Ruf launched back-to-back home runs in the second inning and the Giants spoiled Madison Bumgarners return to San Francisco with a 4-3 win over the Arizona Diamondbacks on Saturday night. His 119 wins are third-most in San Francisco history and his 1,794 strikeouts rank second. Joey Bart and Mauricio Dubn added consecutive RBI triples in the sixth to give San Francisco a 4-1 lead. San Francisco improved to 6-2 against the Diamondbacks this season, outscoring them 39-23. He went 2-1 with a 4.11 ERA in three starts against San Francisco last season.

(AP Photo/Matt York)PHOENIX David Peralta slapped a bases-loaded single through the right side of the infield with one out in the ninth inning to push the Arizona Diamondbacks past the streaking Oakland Athletics 4-3 on Monday night. The As trailed 3-1 going into the eighth but came back to tie it after loading the bases with one out. Ahmed quickly made up for his mistake, smacking a leadoff double to left field to start the decisive ninth-inning rally. UP NEXTAthletics: Oakland wraps up the quick two-game series by sending RHP Frankie Montas (2-1, 1.57 ERA) to the mound. Diamondbacks: Arizona goes with RHP Luke Weaver (0-3, 11.85), who has pitched just 13 2/3 innings this season in four starts.

Pollock and Edwin Ros added two-run shots and the Los Angeles Dodgers rolled to an 11-2 victory over the Arizona Diamondbacks on Saturday night. The Dodgers broke the game open with a five-run fifth when the first six batters reached base on Weaver and reliever Yoan Lpez. Justin Turner hit a two-run triple and Pollock added a two-run homer as Los Angeles pushed its lead to 8-2. TRAINER'S ROOMDodgers: The Dodgers made a roster move for a third straight day, calling up RHP Mitch White. ... Roberts pulled shortstop Corey Seager and right fielder Mookie Betts in the final innings after the Dodgers built a big lead.

San Diego Padres' Fernando Tatis Jr. hits a three-RBI triple fourth inning of a baseball game against the Arizona Diamondbacks, Monday, July 27, 2020, in San Diego. The Padres, who feel theyre built for success in this pandemic-shortened 60-game season, outscored the Diamondbacks 21-9 in the four games. San Diego hasnt been to the playoffs since winning consecutive NL West titles in 2005-06. The highlight was Tatis hitting a ball to left-center that rolled to the wall, bringing in three runs to give San Diego a 6-2 lead. After Tatis triple, Weaver struck out Grisham and made way for Taylor Clarke.