The Mets have endured a difficult second half of the season, having lost seven games in a row and 11 of their last 12.

As the team's struggles continue to mount, manager Carlos Mendoza announced Tuesday that he'd be making a change to the starting rotation. Veteran right-hander Frankie Montas is no longer set to make his next scheduled start and will instead be pitching out of the bullpen for the foreseeable future, Mendoza told reporters.

The team hasn't officially decided on a replacement in the rotation for Montas. Mendoza indicated they'd been eyeing Noah McLean and Brandon Sproat, two of the organization's top pitching prospects, as potential call-ups, per Anthony DiComo of MLB.com. McLean is the No. 3 prospect in New York's farm, while Sproat is No. 5, per MLB Pipeline.

In 2025, Montas has made seven starts and eight total appearances. He has a career worst 6.38 ERA with 32 strikeouts and 12 walks in 36 2/3 innings. In his most recent outing, Saturday against the Brewers, Montas followed an opener and pitched three innings while surrendering three runs, though only one was earned.

The 32-year-old would've been in line to start Saturday against the Mariners, but instead it seems the team will look to one of its farmhands instead.

Clayton Kershaw is calling it a career after 18 seasons with the Dodgers. The three-time Cy Young winner announced his retirement from baseball on Thursday, and he will make his final regular season start on Friday, Sept. 19 against the Giants at home.

Kershaw held a pregame press conference on Thursday to address his fans and the media. He was understandably emotional when speaking about his future, even though he said he's "at peace" with his decision.

“I’m gonna call it. I’m gonna gonna retire. I’m at peace with it. I think it’s the right time," Kershaw said. "I’m really not sad, I’m really not. I’m really at peace with this. It’s just emotional."

The 11-time All-Star had to wipe away some tears when he was asked what his time on the Dodgers has meant to him.

"Hold on, I can answer that, just give me a minute," Kershaw said while holding back tears. "I think we all play this game for the respect of our teammates, so having these guys here is pretty special."

Kershaw's retirement isn't a total surprise as he is 37 years old and is in his 18th season. He signed a one-year deal with the Dodgers, the only club he's ever known, back in February, and it was assumed that he signed the short-term deal for a chance to retire after the season.

Kershaw's 18th season has definitely been memorable. He made history by joining the elite 3,000 strikeout club, something only 20 pitchers in total have done. MLB commissioner Rob Manfred named Kershaw a "Legend Pick" at this year's All-Star Game, too. Through 20 appearances before his final start on Friday, Kershaw posted a 3.53 ERA with 71 strikeouts and 40 earned runs on him over 102 innings pitched.

Featuring subcontinental heists, rollicking chases, and (sorry, we had to) that Gabba toss

Alan Gardner06-Apr-2020What We’re WatchingEnding the Windies hoodoo
England, you may have heard, were rubbish in the ’90s. When Hussain took over the captaincy, they promptly lost at home to New Zealand and were booed by their own fans. But in the summer of 2000 something begin to stir. West Indies were in decline, but they still had Brian Lara and the two-pronged menace of Curtly Ambrose and Courtney Walsh. The whole series was an underrated tub-thumper, featuring a buttock-clenching chase at Lord’s, Andy Caddick’s four in an over as West Indies were obliterated for 61 at Headingley, and the denouement at The Oval (personal highlight: Craig White pegging back Lara’s leg stump first ball), as England reclaimed the Wisden Trophy after a 31-year wait.Karachi nights
The upswing in fortunes brought about by Hussain and Duncan Fletcher was, looking back, quite extraordinary. That winter they completed an Asian double that remains almost unthinkable. It began in Pakistan, that most inhospitable of locales for touring Englishmen. After a couple of high-scoring draws in Lahore and Faisalabad, the series came down to the decider in Karachi, where Pakistan had never lost a Test. The headline acts included a double-century stand between Yousuf Youhana (before he became Mohammad Yousuf) and Inzamam-ul-Haq; Michael Atherton’s last Test hundred; Inzamam being bowled padding up to Ashley Giles in the second innings; and, finally, Hussain and Graham Thorpe dancing in the dark as England stole victory after Steve Bucknor kept the teams on in defiance of Moin Khan’s time-wasting.Lucking it out in Lanka
This was more of a saloon-bar brawl, as England came back from 1-0 down to beat a Sri Lanka side led by Sanath Jayasuriya and featuring Aravinda de Silva, Kumar Sangakkara, Mahela Jayawardene, Chaminda Vaas and Muttiah Muralitharan. There was more than a dollop of hapless umpiring at play, too, though England were on the receiving end in Galle (just look at that Alec Stewart lbw!), where Marcus Trescothick scored his maiden Test hundred but the tourists were thrashed by an innings. In Kandy, Hussain was the beneficiary of BC Cooray’s largesse as England won a thriller and the umpires again came under fire; before a Thorpe masterclass (113 not out and 32 not out) saw England claim the series at the SSC.Headingley and all that
For all the pugnacious spirit exhibited by Hussain’s side, England still weren’t good. Pakistan got a measure of revenge for Karachi by mugging them in the final session at Old Trafford in 2001 – umpiring again in the spotlight, as David Shepherd missed a series of no-balls. True to ’90s form, the Ashes was another no contest, but the summer’s highlight came at Headingley, where Mark Butcher’s famous 173 not out gave England fans something to cheer. And while we’re here, let’s zip forward to the winter tour of New Zealand and a rollicking Test in Christchurch, which featured Nathan Astle’s supernova double-hundred as England just about clung on defending 550.Gabba dabba don’t
Sorry Nasser, we have to go there. The call to bowl first in Brisbane at the start of the 2002-03 Ashes has gone down as one of the great toss bloopers. “Looks a little bit in it,” Hussain said, “I want to give our young bowling attack the best chance of a bit of grass on the wicket and get into their batting early.” Australia ended day one on 364 for 2, although England’s cause was not helped by a shocking knee injury suffered by Simon Jones – and some equally horrific catching. After a 4-1 defeat, Hussain soldiered on through the World Cup until the summer, before handing over to Michael Vaughan – which history proved to be pretty well judged.But let’s end on a positive note, as Hussain did himself with a Frank Sinatra farewell at Lord’s: an unbeaten hundred, which included hitting the winning runs, in his final Test innings. Now that wouldn’t have happened in the ’90s.For more such curated YouTube playlists, click here.

England’s enlarged training group could lead to several new caps this summer

George Dobell and Matt Roller29-May-2020James BraceyDoughty left-hander who has impressed at No. 3 for Gloucestershire in the County Championship. Went to Mumbai on ECB-led spin camp last winter, before touring Australia with the Lions. Likely to be considered for red-ball cricket, but improving in limited-overs games and can keep wicket when required.Henry BrookesRated by his erstwhile Warwickshire coach, Ashley Giles, as one of the most talented young players he had ever seen, Brookes made his first-class debut at 18 and was soon called into the Lions squad. Capable of bowling over 90mph, with pleasing shape and an attitude that suggests he thrives on hard work and the heat of battle, it seems the only thing that can hold the 20-year-old back is injury.Brydon CarseA South African-born seamer who qualifies through his British passport, Carse impressed on the Lions tour to Australia, claiming eight wickets in four matches, and has regularly pushed the 90mph mark. Took 35 Championship wickets at 26.85 last season, but could come into white-ball reckoning.Laurie EvansEvans, 32, has developed into a feared white-ball batsman. Player of the match in the Blast final of 2014, he was the tournament’s leading run-scorer in 2018 and has become a regular on the global T20 circuit. Something of a surprise selection for the Lions tour in the winter, he responded with 94 in an unofficial ODI against Australia A. As a schoolboy he played rugby for Harlequins and the South of England.Henry Brookes continued his impressive season•Getty ImagesRichard GleesonGleeson might have been lost to the game but for an impressive spell with Cumberland in the minor counties. He was subsequently signed on a match-by-match basis by Northants and made his first-class debut aged 27. Barely 18 months later, he was called up to the Lions squad. He is now 32 but, with blessed with sharp pace and a good yorker, that England cap remains tantalisingly close.Sam HainWith the highest List A average in history – 59.78 – Hain has made a case that cannot be ignored. Born in Hong Kong to British parents, Hain was raised in Australia where he played Under-19s cricket. Warwickshire’s youngest centurion and double-centurion in first-class cricket, it’s his white-ball form that brings earns him this place. A century for England Lions against Australia in February sealed the deal.Tom HelmA regular feature in Lions squads over the years, Helm has often been earmarked as an England player for the future without ever having a stellar county season to really press his case. But last year was his best yet, with 58 wickets for Middlesex across all formats, and his height and pace make him an impressive prospect.Will JacksFirst came to mainstream attention with a 25-ball hundred in a pre-season T10 game against Lancashire last year, which included six sixes in an over, but has already spent a long time in the England pathway programme. A regular at U-19 level, Jacks went on the spin camp to Mumbai last winter before travelling to Australia with the Lions, and is a powerful hitter in one-day cricket.Jamie Overton made the key breakthrough for Somerset•Getty ImagesTom Kohler-CadmoreThere’s a crowded market-place for white-ball opening batsmen at present, but 25-year-old Kohler-Cadmore does stick out as an attractive option. Strong, tall and destructive, there is more than a hint of Graeme Hick about the way he plays down the ground, with a 43-ball century in 2016 showing what he is capable of doing.Dan LawrenceThe stand-out player on last winter’s Lions tour with 493 runs in six innings including 125 against Australia A at the MCG – plus 11 wickets to boot with his distinctive offspin. An unorthodox batsman with a particularly strong pair of wrists, Lawrence’s form has improved drastically since he removed his exaggerated trigger movement midway through last summer to stay more still at the crease.Jamie OvertonFirst called up aged 19 but still uncapped seven years later, it’s not hard to see what attracts the selectors. Quicker than his brother Craig, he offers, at his best, the pace, bounce and hostility that would improve any attack. But injuries have eroded his confidence and his consistency and he had fallen back among a pack of fast bowlers chasing for attention.Ollie RobinsonTall, stocky seamer who took seven wickets in the Lions’ victory against Australia A at MCG. Relentless and increasingly consistent: no seamer has taken as many Championship wickets (137) over the last two seasons. Has flourished under Jason Gillespie at Sussex – somewhat ironically, having been sacked by him as a junior pro at Yorkshire.Phil SaltCalled up to England’s T20I squad last year but didn’t end up playing and was disappointed to miss out on New Zealand series last November. Clean-striking top-order batsman in white-ball cricket, whose aggressive powerplay hitting has taken him to the T10, PSL, CPL and Big Bash, and still only 23.Amar Virdi in action for Surrey in 2018•Getty ImagesAmar VirdiA 21-year-old Surrey offspinner who has been back in training at The Oval, and will come into the reckoning for the enlarged Test squad, having been part of the red-ball leg of last winter’s Lions tour. Needed some “tough love” after struggling to regain fitness following a stress-related back injury in 2018-19 winter, according to Alec Stewart, but came back into the first team in style with a 14-wicket haul.And the rest:Tom Banton, Pat Brown, Lewis Gregory and Saqib Mahmood made white-ball debuts over the winter. Mason Crane played two T20Is in 2017 and the final Test of that winter’s Ashes tour but has mainly been limited to white-ball cricket since. Liam Dawson has won 12 caps across formats and carried the drinks in last summer’s World Cup, while Ben Duckett, Liam Livingstone and David Willey are back in contention after missing several squads. Reece Topley has suffered badly with injuries since his last England appearance at the 2016 World T20 but is fit again, while Olly Stone is involved again after a stress fracture last summer.Alex Hales and Liam Plunkett’s hopes of an international recall have been dashed, while Joe Clarke, Sam Northeast, Tom Abell and Jamie Porter may feel hard done by. Harry Gurney, Ravi Bopara and Tymal Mills are among the potential T20 World Cup bolters overlooked – although the training group has been picked primarily with Test and ODI cricket in mind.

And how often has a batsman been dismissed twice in one day by the same bowler?

Steven Lynch04-Aug-2020Is it correct that Jimmy Anderson has now taken more wickets in Tests against West Indies than anyone else? asked Jamie Bright from England
James Anderson’s final wicket in the recent series gave him 87 in Tests against West Indies, beating the old England record of 86, held for more than half a century by Fred Trueman (86). In third place now is Stuart Broad, with 73.The list of wicket-takers in England-West Indies Tests is a bit lopsided, as no fewer than seven West Indies bowlers finished with more than Anderson’s 87 wickets. Five of them reached 100, with Curtly Ambrose leading the way with a remarkable haul of 164, at an average below 19.Anderson now holds the England record, but two bowlers from other countries have taken more West Indian wickets in Tests: Glenn McGrath captured 110, and Kapil Dev 89.Which player scored 343 not out in a first-class match but finished on the losing side? asked Michael Seymour from France
This supremely unfortunate batsman was Essex’s Peter “Percy” Perrin, who made 343 not out in Chesterfield in 1904. But it was in vain: Derbyshire almost matched Essex’s 597, then bowled them out for 97 in the second innings – Perrin, perhaps believing he’d done his bit, managed only 8 – and knocked the runs off to win.Perrin hit 68 fours in his innings, a record that stood for 90 years, until it was broken by Brian Lara in his 501 not out. According to a recent book by the Derbyshire historian John Shawcroft, Essex’s scorer said that 14 of Perrin’s boundary hits landed the ball onto the cinder path surrounding the turf or beyond it. Nowadays these would have counted as sixes (the rule was not changed till 1910), and he would have finished with 371.Perrin made almost 30,000 runs in an Essex career that lasted over 30 years. He never played for England, although he was later a Test selector, eventually chairing the panel.Kemar Roach was dismissed twice by Stuart Broad on the third day of the third Test. How often has this happened? asked Siddharth Doshi from India
That double dismissal of Kemar Roach by Stuart Broad at Old Trafford last week appears to be the 147th time a bowler has dismissed the same batsman twice on the same day in a Test. It had happened to Roach before: Australia’s Josh Hazlewood removed him twice on the third day in Hobart in 2015-16.Five South Africans fell twice on the same day to England’s Johnny Briggs in Cape Town in 1888-89. This daily haul was equalled on a wet pitch at Lord’s in 1934, when five Australians were dismissed twice on the third day, four of them by Hedley Verity. And in Harare in 2005, five Zimbabweans succumbed twice on the second day against New Zealand.Barry Richards played only four Tests before South Africa’s sporting exclusion but made 508 runs and two centuries in them•Getty ImagesI was looking at Barry Richards’s record – if we use four Test matches as the base, is he the batsman with the most runs and most centuries? asked Hemant Kher from the United States
If you mean people who played only four matches in all, then Barry Richards is indeed top with 508 runs – second, with 353, is another South African from that 1969-70 series, Lee Irvine. The only other man with two centuries from four Tests or fewer is Abid Ali, of Pakistan, who has two from three matches so far – but he’ll presumably play again soon.If you mean who of everyone had the most runs after four Tests, then Richards comes in eighth – Sunil Gavaskar is top with 774 (all in the West Indies in 1970-71). George Headley made 703, Conrad Hunte 577, Javed Miandad 573, Vinod Kambli 544, KS Ranjitsinhji 516, and Herbie Collins 515. Gavaskar and Headley had four centuries; Hunte, Arthur Morris and Mohammad Azharuddin three. Richards is one of 46 batsmen who made two centuries in their first four Tests.Shivnarine Chanderpaul was involved in 77 Test losses. Who holds the corresponding records for one-day and T20Is? asked Gordon Brine from South Africa
You’re right that Shivnarine Chanderpaul took part in the most Test defeats – 77 – a record he inherited from his long-time team-mate Brian Lara, who was on the losing side 63 times. Five others have lost a half-century of Tests: Sachin Tendulkar (56), Alastair Cook (55), Alec Stewart (54), Jimmy Anderson (53) and Mohammad Ashraful (50 of 61 matches played).The record for most defeats in one-day internationals is a round 200, by Tendulkar: this is perhaps not terribly surprising, as he played more such matches (463) than anyone else. Behind him come Sanath Jayasuriya (193 defeats), Mahela Jayawardene (186) and Shahid Afridi (170). In all, 65 players have been on the losing side in 100 or more ODIs.Three Bangladeshis top the list of most defeats in T20Is. Mahmudullah has played in 56 losses, and Mushfiqur Rahim and Tamim Iqbal in 52 each. Hamilton Masakadza of Zimbabwe played 66 matches and tasted defeat 50 times.And there’s an addition to the recent question about the tennis player Sania Mirza, from Manish Achuth, among others:
“With regards to your question on Sania Mirza’s connections to cricketers, her sister Anam Mirza is married to Mohammad Asaduddin, the son of the former Indian captain Mohammad Azharuddin. He played two first-class matches for Goa a couple of seasons ago.”Use our feedback form or the Ask Steven Facebook page to ask your stats and trivia questions

“I think we’re pretty happy with our combination, it’s worked for us over the last couple of years in T20 cricket,” he says

Daniel Brettig05-Sep-2020Australia’s first international match since the previous home summer was shut down by the Covid-19 pandemic was always going to throw up some selections. None more so than the shape of a middle order that had to be manufactured from a bevy of top-order batsmen.So there was undoubted significance to the decision to place Marcus Stoinis in the No. 5 position after a pair of domineering seasons with the Melbourne Stars as an opening batsman, either side of his failure to have any impact on last year’s World Cup in a similar “finisher” role.What damage Australia’s collapse from a virtually unassailable position against England on Friday will have had on Stoinis only he can say. But it now appears inevitable he will get numerous opportunities to make the critical role his own ahead of the 2021 T20 World Cup in India, largely because other more suitable candidates appear determined to keep their more traditionally prominent spots higher up the order.While once established at the crease, Stoinis’ hitting power is unquestioned, his tendency to soak up dot balls and create pressure for the batsman at the other end has long been viewed as a deficiency for opponents to exploit. It was more or less the main reason why the Stars pushed him to the top of the order, where a full 20-over allotment and the initial powerplay gave him much more time to work with.There are numerous accomplished middle-order merchants in the BBL, not least the Adelaide Strikers’ doughty clean-up man Jon Wells. But of the players on the England tour, the best candidates for this critical role would appear to be the captain Aaron Finch, who has excelled in it in past editions of the IPL, or the prodigiously talented and adaptable Steven Smith. Both, though, appear to have settled into their top three perches. Mitchell Marsh also occupied the role in recent times when Stoinis was out of favour, while Marnus Labuschagne would happily fulfil any role offered to him.Pat Cummins, the vice-captain, was at the other end as Stoinis was unable to clear the boundary on the last ball of the night to hand England a win that had seemed impossible half an hour earlier. He indicated that the pairing of Stoinis and Alex Carey at Nos. 5 and 6 was likely to be persisted with in order to give them the chance to make the berths their own in the absence of dedicated middle-order specialists in the chosen group.”I’d say them, plus we’ve got the other guys in this squad over here that are identified in that middle order, so more than likely those guys are going to get a long run,” Cummins said. “I think we’re pretty happy with our combination, it’s worked for us over the last couple of years in T20 cricket, so it’s just about slotting those guys into those roles consistently. I’d say that’s more than likely going to happen.”It’s something we’ve spoken about for exactly that reason. They’re all the best players when they go back for domestic comps and you could argue that middle-order role is one of the hardest in any cricket team. That’s what we’ve identified – that we’ve got to try and give guys a go in that – because someone like MS Dhoni was best in the world at it because he’d played 300 or 400 ODI games. And I think you saw this week during the practice games we gave a lot of guys a go in that and we know it’s not going to happen overnight.”That’s been a common theme that the selectors and Finchy have spoken about – we’ll identify roles and give them a long run in that. I think we’ve got the right squad, the right players, it’s just about trying to get plenty of games into everyone now.”Reflecting on the result, Cummins was happy to admit that the pain of defeat was nothing like that of an Ashes Test – Australia’s last Test loss to England was Ben Stokes’ match at Headingley a year ago – but was equally forceful in stating that it was a scenario from which no one should be losing, not least the No. 1 team according to the ICC rankings.”I thought for 80% or 90% of the game we played really well, we were on top, in a commanding position and just the last third of the batting innings we let it slip, a few wickets,” Cummins said. “I felt at times like we were only two boundaries away from the game finishing in about the 15th over. So it’s a shame, something we’re going to have to try to get better at, it’s happened a few times, so I’m sure every one of us will review in our own way and think about what we could’ve done differently. But for sure, you should be winning just about every game in that position.”He also noted the oddness of playing in an empty stadium, although he doubted it had any impact on performance.”It, for sure, was strange. We know what we were signing up for, but until Starcy’s [Mitchell Starc] bowling that first over and you can hear a pin drop, it’s just weird. After a couple of overs we got into it, but it’s just odd that unless we create the noise out in the field there is absolutely no noise happening. So a bit of an adjustment, but everyone has played enough cricket. It’s certainly different being over here in England and not hearing some of the songs.”As for the BBL, a tournament that Labuschagne in particular would dearly like to show his T20 wares in, Cummins said he was hopeful of ways being found for uncontracted Australian players to take part. This comes on the back of ESPNcricinfo’s report that next year’s scheduled series against New Zealand is likely to be moved in order to give the tournament’s pointy end some clear air.”This summer’s going to have a lot more challenges than perhaps in the past, but I’m not going to rule it out, we’ll see how it all comes together,” he said. “It’s going to be busy, it’s going to be hard, but it’s a great competition, us Aussie guys love playing it [and] international guys. Even speak to some of the English guys, they really want to have a crack at it like they do every year. I’m not going to say either way, but we’ll see how it pans out.”When we’re not playing the Big Bash it means we’ve got international cricket, so whatever happens we’re normally playing cricket somewhere, but I’ll leave the scheduling to the other guys.”Whatever the scheduling, Australia’s T20I batting order remains a puzzle in which a couple of top-order pegs must be fitted into middle-order holes – Stoinis, Smith or Finch. Unless, that is, they belatedly turn to a specialist like Wells.

The allrounder has battled multiple injuries to get back to international cricket. Now South Africa hope he can take on a Kallis-like role in the side

Firdose Moonda22-Jan-2021Wiaan Mulder arrived at the Wanderers in October 2016 with a helmet, hope and homework. He was 17 and already earmarked for bigger things.Geoffrey Toyana, the Lions coach at the time, had heard about a schoolboy allrounder who was being courted by other franchises, so he had gone down to St Stithians, one of South Africa’s most prestigious schools, the alma mater of Kagiso Rabada among others, to see what the fuss was all about.Toyana was so impressed by Mulder at the school that he nearly guaranteed him a place in the Lions first XI. “I remember saying to him that we don’t have many allrounders at the Lions and that if Dwaine Pretorius got selected by the Proteas, [Mulder] would be the next guy in,” Toyana said. “Within a week Dwaine was selected and even though Wiaan was busy with his school exams at that point, I couldn’t go back on my word.”Pretorius’ call-up to South Africa’s ODI squad came at the beginning of the 2016-17 season, when the domestic franchises were about to kick off their four-day competition. Mulder slotted straight into a high-performing Lions side with a strong bowling attack – bypassing the second-tier provincial structure entirely – and made his debut against the historically strong Cape Cobras. He bowled second change and took three wickets in the first innings. In the next, he was promoted to first change and took four more. Mulder had hit the big time while still occupied with his studies and turning up for training in his school uniform.

Last year came to training in a school uniform this year protea ,proud of you young a Wiaan Mulder @HighveldLions a href=”https://t.co/zyfngTYAbo”>pic.twitter.com/zyfngTYAbo

— Geoffrey Toyana (@geoffreytoyana) October 22, 2017