Mickey Togs

Pinkberry welcomes Strawberry Shortcake frozen yogurt as the brand’s newest seasonal frozen yogurt flavor.

Inspired by WildBrain’s children’s character “Strawberry Shortcake,” featured in their new animated series Berry in the Big City, the brand’s Strawberry Shortcake frozen yogurt features a cool, tart tang that can be enjoyed on its own or as part of a combination with fresh strawberries, strawberry puree, crumble and whipped cream.

Chris Bassitt was worthy of a gold star for his effectiveness and yet another for longevity Monday night. 

The Mets had utilized their bullpen plenty in playing five games over  four days against the Braves, and extra rest for that group was a commodity, even a day after many of manager Buck Showalter’s top options remained idle. 

Bassitt emerged with eight strong innings that led a 5-1 victory over the Reds at Citi Field. The Mets won for the sixth time in seven games and widened their NL East lead on the Braves to seven games. 

Already at 95 pitches, Bassitt was entrusted the eighth and struck out potential tying run Aristides Aquino after allowing a two-out single to Jake Fraley. Bassitt threw a season-high 114 pitches in allowing one unearned run on eight hits with eight strikeouts and one walk. 

“I think genuinely that is why they brought me over here was for that  reason: I am not afraid to go over 100 pitches,” Bassitt said. “I am confident going past 100 and I don’t think my stuff declines.” 

After a miserable few days in St. Louis, the Yankees got back to winning, snapping their season-high five-game losing streak with a 9-4 win over the Mariners at T-Mobile Park. 

But it came with a cost, as Matt Carpenter suffered a fractured left foot in the first inning and could be lost for the season. 

Against Seattle, they had enough to overcome Carpenter’s absence, as Josh Donaldson had four hits — including a two-run single in the first and a solo homer in the third — and Aaron Judge crushed his 44th homer of the season. 

Jameson Taillon continued his pattern of being good every other start, as he gave up three runs in seven innings. 

It came after the team was swept by the Cardinals, with their new top-of-the-rotation pitcher, Frankie Montas, getting hit hard on Sunday and their lead in the AL East had dropped into single digits for the first time since June 15. 

Strong starting pitching from David Peterson and Max Scherzer, plus standout offensive performances by Francisco Lindor and Pete Alonso, fueled the Mets to a doubleheader sweep of the Braves on a steamy Saturday at Citi Field, clinching the pivotal series victory.

After Lindor and Peterson led the way to an 8-5 win in Game 1, Scherzer dominated in the nightcap, with Alonso driving the offense in a 6-2 victory.

With the sweep, the Mets (69-39) took three of the first four games of the series and pushed their lead atop the NL East to 5 ½ games over the Braves (64-45). That marks their largest lead since June 21, and they have a chance to put an exclamation point on the series on Sunday.

“This is what you play the game for,” said Scherzer, who struck out 11 over seven shutout innings on a season-high 108 pitches. “You play to face the best. Especially deep in the season, you grind it out here in the NL East. You face so many tough opponents that you want to go out there and match it and beat them. So it’s rewarding when that happens.”

Beloved Major League Baseball broadcaster Vin Scully, known best for his record-setting 67 seasons with the Brooklyn and Los Angeles Dodgers, has died at the age of 94, the Dodgers announced.

“We have lost an icon,” said Dodgers President and CEO Stan Kasten. “The Dodgers’ Vin Scully was one of the greatest voices in all of sports. He was a giant of a man, not only as a broadcaster, but as a humanitarian. He loved people. He loved life. He loved baseball and the Dodgers.

“And he loved his family. His voice will always be heard and etched in all of our minds forever. I know he was looking forward to joining the love of his life, Sandi. Our thoughts and prayers go out to his family during this very difficult time. Vin will be truly missed.”

Scully was hired by the then-Brooklyn Dodgers in 1950 and continued to work for the team until 2016, which set the record for the longest broadcasting tenure with a single team in professional sports history and was second only to longtime Dodgers manager and executive Tommy Lasorda‘s 69 seasons for the most with the Dodgers organization in any capacity.

The Bronx native was also the voice of 25 World Series, 20 no-hitters and 12 All-Star Games during his legendary career, having also contributed to CBS Sports (1975-82) and NBC Sports‘ (1983-1989) for MLB, NFL football and PGA Tour golf coverage.

Scully provided the voice to many of baseball’s most memorable moments including Hank Aaron‘s record-breaking 715th career home run, Kirk Gibson‘s game-winning home run in Game 1 of the 1988 World Series and the New York Mets’ comeback against the Boston Red Sox in Game 6 of the 1986 World Series.

The Mets, with a 9-5 victory over the Nationals, extended their NL East lead on the Braves to 3 ½ games. The Mets, who won five of six games on the road trip, have picked up a game on the Braves since the finale of their series in Atlanta. The Mets’ lead over the Braves on May 30 was 10 games.

“When you look at the schedule and everything, you hope you’re in it,” Braves manager Brian Snitker told Atlanta reporters. “Shoot, after you play 100-and-whatever games, this is where you want to be. You want to be in this position, where these games are big.”

The next five games won’t decide anything, but the Mets still have two trips to Atlanta remaining (including one within the final week of the season) that combined with these five could carry significant weight in determining who wins the division and who is reduced to playing in the wild-card round. The two division winners in each league with the best records will receive a bye in that first round.

The Mets received a loud hit from Daniel Vogelbach and strong pitching performance from Chris Bassitt in handling the gutted Nationals in their second game since they traded Juan Soto and Josh Bell to San Diego.

Vogelbach’s first homer in a Mets uniform — a grand slam in the fifth — broke the game open, burying the Nationals in a 6-0 hole. The lefty-hitting Vogelbach entered the day with a .483 on-base percentage in eight games since arriving in a trade with Pittsburgh for reliever Colin Holderman.

Seattle tagged Gerrit Cole for three home runs in the first inning before the newest Mariner, Luis Castillo, took care of the rest, sending the Yankees to a 7-3 loss on Wednesday afternoon in The Bronx.

The Yankees (70-36) dropped the series and lost for the third time in their past four games before heading out on a nine-game road trip that will begin Friday in St. Louis.

Wednesday marked the second straight start in which Cole was rocked in one big inning. Last Friday against the Royals, it was a five-run fifth inning that did him in. On Wednesday, it was a six-run first inning.

“It’s kind of hard to believe how much it just blows up so quick,” Cole said. “I’m trying to be excellent out there and obviously not. Obviously the game’s letting us know we’re not there. So we gotta keep grinding on it. It doesn’t feel good. We let a series get away from us and it’s because of a very poor first inning today. That’s on me.”

The XFL officially announced which eight cities will host its teams when the third iteration of the league returns in 2023. 

According to an official announcement, the league will feature teams in Las Vegas, Orlando, San Antonio, Arlington (Texas), Houston, St. Louis, Seattle and Washington, D.C. 

Las Vegas, Orlando, San Antonio will be new additions to the XFL, while the other five cities have hosted teams in previous versions of the league.

The XFL eliminated New York, Los Angeles and Tampa Bay, all of which hosted teams in the previous iteration of the league. The three cities reportedly had the three lowest average attendance figures during the 2020 season.

The XFL did not yet reveal the names of its eight teams or any of the branding associated with its franchises. However, league owner Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson said in a statement that the league is “working on cool, new logos and innovative uniforms that match the dynamic and innovative vision of our league,” per ESPN.