Jonah Tong allowed three home runs—the only three hits he allowed in his second major league outing—in a 6-3 loss to the Reds on Saturday. The Mets fell behind 2-0 early and managed to cut that deficit in half via a Brandon Nimmo sacrifice fly, but it was an underwhelming result of bases loaded, one out situation. The Mets then fell behind 4-1 and a Jared Young solo homer once again cut into the deficit to make it a manageable two runs. But the Reds added another two runs against a combination of Ryne Stanek (pitching for the second straight day) and Kevin Herget. The Mets threatened with the top of the order against Reds closer Emilio Pagan in the ninth, but only managed to claw back one run, as the Mets ultimately spent the entire game running to catch up, but unable to complete a comeback in a contest that never really felt like it was in play for the Mets.

“Without a doubt, he saved my career,” said Keith Hernandez about Johnson. “He let me be myself on the field. He knew when to be tough and when to take it easier. It was a joy playing for him.” Tributes from many former Mets came pouring in yesterday.

“I just lost a friend, teammate and confidant,” Hall of Famer and former Orioles ace Jim Palmer wrote in a text Saturday morning about his former teammate.

USA Baseball added to the many tributes to Johnson, calling him “one of baseball’s greatest leaders” in a social media post. Johnson managed Team USA to a bronze medal in the 2008 Olympics.

Brandon Sproat will make his major league debut today, and the Mets’ new rookie starting pitcher discussed the emotions he felt upon learning that he was getting called up to the show.

With Tong having started yesterday, Sproat today, and Nolan McLean tomorrow, this will be the first time in Mets history the team starts three straight pitchers, each entering having made four career MLB appearances or fewer, Sarah Langs pointed out on Twitter.

Reed Garrett will be an option for the Mets today out of the bullpen, but the Mets may wait until tomorrow’s series in Philadelphia to activate him.

A first inning two-run homer from Bryce Harper and a strong start from Jesús Luzardo helped propel the Phillies to a 4-2 victory over the Marlins as their lead in the NL East continues to expand.

The Nationals came out on top 2-1 in a pitcher’s duel in Chicago against the Cubs. The most notable thing that happened in the game was that Cubs centerfielder Pete Crow-Armstrong exited the game after fouling a ball off his knee. His x-rays were negative and he is considered day-to-day.

The Braves were shellacked by the Mariners 10-2. The Mariners hit five home runs in the game, including two by Julio Rodríguez.

Both the Giants and Dodgers suffered heartbreaking losses last night. The Cardinals rallied for three runs in the ninth to beat San Francisco 3-2. Jordan Walker provided the walk-off knock for St. Louis.

Meanwhile, Yoshinobu Yamamoto came within one out of a no-hitter, which was snapped with a solo homer by Jackson Holliday. Blake Treinen then came in the game for the Dodgers and allowed a double, hit a batter, threw a wild pitch, and walked two. Tanner Scott came in the game and allowed a walk-off RBI single to Emmanuel Rivera to complete the Orioles’ stunning victory over the Dodgers.

The Padres bested the Rockies 10-8 to move one game ahead of the Mets for the second NL Wild Card spot.

The Diamondbacks beat the Red Sox 5-1. Arizona is now situated between the Giants and Reds 4.5 games back in the NL Wild Card race.

How has one of the most untouchable relievers in recent baseball history become so fallible during his Yankees tenure? Mario Delgado Genzor of Baseball Prospectus and Michael Baumann of Fangraphs have both explored the curious case of Devin Williams in recent pieces.

In honor of Brandon Sproat’s major league debut, we will note that Lee Mazzilli made his major league debut on this date in 1976. If it’s any sort of good omen, the Mets won 11-0 that day.

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