Pitcher Kodai Senga was masterful again and the Mets offense did just enough in Ronny Mauricio‘s debut to beat the Mariners 2-1 at Citi Field.

Mauricio made his MLB debut and handled himself well. A natural shortstop, the infielder started at second base and made every defensive play hit his way including a nifty double play in the third inning.

But he was just as impressive at the plate. In his first at-bat, Mauricio launched a double 117 mph off the bat. It’s the hardest hit ball by a Met this season. In his second at-bat, Mauricio struck out swinging on three pitches, but picked up a single in his third AB. The infielder finished 2-for-3.

Mauricio became the first Met to have multiple hits in his MLB debut since Steven Matz — yes, the pitcher — in June 2015.

Brett Baty returned as the third baseman. His offensive struggles continued but that could have been a product of Mariners starter Logan Gilbert who was on his game. 

The Mets offense had a hard time getting to Gilbert. The 26-year-old got through 6 innings while giving up just one run; his one mistake was a solo shot given up to Brandon Nimmo in the sixth that tied the game at 1-1.

Kodai Senga was masterful again, keeping the red-hot Mariners off balance with his wide array of pitches and fooling them with his patented ghost fork. 

The names on the New York Yankees aren’t as readily recognizable, and sitting in last place in their division and likely missing the playoffs certainly aren’t familiar positions for the organization.

But Monday against the Tigers, the Yankees flashed some of their big bats and ability to pitch.

The Tigers, despite some great pitching from Reese Olson and some brief excitement in the ninth inning, lost 4-1 in the opener of the four-game series at Comerica Park.

The Yankees (63-68) came into the game playing less than .500 baseball and in last place in the American League East, losers of eight of their last 10 games.

The key turning point occurred in the seventh inning, just after the Tigers (59-72) failed to tie, or go ahead, in the sixth.

Yankees’ Aaron Judge and Gleyber Torres connected on back-to-back homers – the seventh time the Yankees have hit consecutive homers this season – off relief pitcher Beau Brieske giving the Yankees a 3-0 lead.

Hormel Foods is working with a humanitarian organization to send SPAM to Maui following the recent massive wildfire.

Hormel, which produces the canned pork product, is sending ‘The Convoy of Hope’ to Maui after the island was ravaged by the disaster, which resulted in over 100 deaths. Hawaii consumes an estimated 8 million cans of SPAM per year, the most of any U.S. state.

SPAM became popular in Hawaii during World War II when soldiers stationed in the Pacific were served the meat on the frontlines and remained popular in the area.

“Now is our time for all to help. We need to come together for Maui, it’s going to take years for them to rebuild.”