EAST MEADOW, N.Y. — Matt Martin and Cal Clutterbuck spent the majority of the last 11 years together on the New York Islanders’ fourth line.  Now they head into the offseason as unrestricted free agents and neither veteran winger has any intention of retiring. “The retirement narrative was certainly not something I started,” Martin joked. I plan to play next year… my future is unknown at the moment, but that’ll sort itself out.” Turning 35 years old on Wednesday, Martin has already gone through this once. He departed New York in 2016 to join the Toronto Maple Leafs before returning t ..read more

New York Mets top pitching prospect Christian Scott is getting the call to the big leagues where he is expected to make his major-league debut on Saturday in Tampa against the Rays, per multiple reports.  The 24-year-old right-hander — ranked No. 5 in the Mets’ farm system — made the jump to Triple-A this season after rising through the organizational ranks in 2023. In just one season he was promoted from Single-A St. Lucie to high-A Brooklyn, to Double-A Binghamton, going 5-4 with a 2.57 ERA across 19 starts. He struck out 107 in batters in 87.2 innings. This spring with Triple-A Syracus ..read more

Perhaps the novelty or awe inspired by the presence of Lionel Messi is wearing off for the New York Red Bulls as they prepare to take on Inter Miami on Saturday down in Fort Lauderdale, FL. “Of course, playing against Messi is special, but… it’s just a normal game,” Red Bulls forward Dante Vanzeir said. “It’s a tough opponent. It’s not only Messi, they have a lot of big guys running around.” Just last summer when the legendary Argentinian talisman made his Major League Soccer debut with Inter Miami against the Red Bulls in Harrison, NJ, the talk was understandably centered around the disbelief ..read more

QUEENS, N.Y. — Mets manager Carlos Mendoza’s biggest gripe with the call on Wednesday night’s game-ending double play turned by the Chicago Cubs — which saw Pete Alonso cut down at home plate while trying to tag up on a Jeff McNeil sacrifice fly — comes down to Major League Baseball’s interpretation of the rule on catchers blocking home plate.  “There’s nothing these guys can do,” the first-year manager said. “It’s coming from New York. It’s something you have to talk to the league about… I’ll have to wait and see what they say because clearly, they got the wrong call.” Down 1-0 with ..read more

QUEENS, N.Y. — The New York Mets’ bottom-of-the-ninth rally was squashed in true Mets fashion when Pete Alonso was thrown out at home by Cubs right-fielder Ian Happ while trying to score on a Jeff McNeil fly ball to preserve Chicago’s 1-0 victory on Wednesday night at Citi Field. Home plate umpire Charlie Ramos initially called the play out at home and after a lengthy review, it was upheld. With one out in the ninth, Cubs reliever Hector Neris hit Pete Alonso before JD Martinez’s deep fly ball to the right-center-field gap was dropped at the wall by a leaping Pete Crow-Armstrong to put ru ..read more

QUEENS, N.Y. — New York Mets shortstop Francisco Lindor departed Wednesday night’s game against the Chicago Cubs after the second inning. The Mets have not disclosed the reason for his exit as of yet. Joey Wendle entered the game for him in the top of the third inning.  The start of the 2024 season has been a difficult one for the four-time All-Star, who popped up to shortstop during his first and only at-bat of the night on Wednesday. Entering the game, he was batting .197 with a .639 OPS, five home runs, and 11 RBI in 29 games. He was one of two Mets (Pete Alonso) to appear in ever ..read more

QUEENS, N.Y. — New York Mets ace Kodai Senga is scheduled to throw his second live batting practice session on Saturday, manager Carlos Mendoza divulged on Wednesday before his club took on the Chicago Cubs.  Senga faced hitters in a live setting on Monday for the first time since suffering a strained shoulder during spring training that landed him on the injured list. He was transferred to the 60-day IL where the Mets hope he will be able to return shortly after May 27 when he is eligible to be activated. The 31-year-old right-hander faced 21 batters on Monday and is expected to get ..read more

The TD Five Boro Bike Tour, the nation’s biggest communal bike ride, is returning to the Big Apple this weekend for its 46th iteration through the streets of all five New York City boroughs. Forecasters are predicting a wet and rainy day on Sunday, May 5, but that won’t stop about 30,000 cyclists from getting on two wheels and pedaling along the 40-mile course, which begins in Manhattan, grazes the Bronx, returns to Manhattan, then travels through Queens and Brooklyn before ending on Staten Island. The tour, which is organized by Bike New York and supports bicycle education programming, has ru ..read more

After scoring a combined 36 runs in three games against the Milwaukee Brewers, the Yankees offense has hit a cold stretch against their division foe, the Baltimore Orioles. The Bronx Bombers have been held to two runs over the last two games entering Wednesday night’s action, their worst stretch of the season thus far. “It’s baseball, at the end of the day we’re all grinding, we’re all trying to get some runs on the board,” Juan Soto said (h/t YES Network). “We’re hitting the ball hard, we hit the ball in the gap, they’re making great plays, they’re diving all over the place.” While a sputteri ..read more

Baseball is a funny sport. In the first week of the 2024 campaign, the Houston Astros went from getting swept during opening weekend — giving up a total of 21 runs in four games — to throwing a no-hitter in game five of 162, and then continuing their worst start to a season since 1969. The Yankees are experiencing a similar phenomenon, most recently highlighted by the fact that they went from scoring 15 runs in a blowout win over the Milwaukee Brewers to getting shut out 24 hours later at Camden Yards by the Baltimore Orioles. Of course, the standings favor the Yankees much more than they do t ..read more