Mickey Togs

It wasn’t easy, but the New York Mets hung on to beat the Chicago White Sox 5-3 on Saturday night. New York had opportunities to pull away in this game, but they got just enough out of their bullpen and offense for the win. 

The 9th inning was scary. Many 9th innings have been scary for this Mets team. However, once again, the Mets manager showed faith in his player, and the faith paid off in the win.

When you face a team like the White Sox, the goal is to get on the board early. The Mets big power-hitting first baseman got things started on Saturday. In the 1st inning, with Mark Vientos on base, Pete Alonso took a first-pitch slider from White Sox starter Davis Martin over the left field wall for a two-run home run. 

It was Alonso’s 30th home run of the season. It was also his first ever against the White Sox. Alonso now has hit 30 home runs for the fourth consecutive season.

With the Mets up 5-2 going into the 9th and Edwin Díaz unavailable, Manager Carlos Mendoza turned to José Buttó to get the final 3-outs.

New York Yankees outfielder Aaron Judge hit his 50th and 51st home runs of the season against the Colorado Rockies. In the first inning, pitcher Austin Gomber spun an 0–2 slider on the outside part of the plate, and Judge launched it to center field to give the Yankees a 2–1 lead.

Judge, 32, has reached the 50-home-run mark for the third time in his career. He last did so in 2022, when he set the single-season American League home run record with 62 and won AL MVP.

The nine-year veteran added his 51st home run in the seventh inning Sunday as part of three consecutive homers from Juan Soto, Judge and Giancarlo Stanton off Rockies reliever Jeff Criswell in an eventual 10–3 win over Colorado.

It was in his first full season with the Yankees in 2017 that Judge first hit 50 home runs — a season that included making the AL All-Star team, winning AL Rookie of the Year, leading the AL in home runs and winning a Silver Slugger Award.

Judge’s 2024 season has set him up to be the favorite for his second AL MVP award and potentially MLB’s first Triple Crown winner since Miguel Cabrera in 2012 and only the second since 1967.

Canelo Alvarez officially announced his next fight. Alvarez will defend his WBA, WBC and WBO super middleweight titles versus Edgar Berlanga on Sept. 14 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

Alvarez (61–2–2, 39 KOs) choosing Berlanga as his opponent comes with some controversy. The Mexican superstar will reportedly be stripped of his IBF title for not facing mandatory challenger William Scull, which mean he will no longer be the undisputed champion at 168 pounds.

He will, however, be defending his WBC belt despite David Benavidez being the WBC’s mandatory challenger and pursuing a shot at Alvarez since 2022.

However, Alvarez bypassed Benavidez and WBA mandatory challenger David Morrell in favor of Jaime Munguia earlier this year and now Berlanga (22–0, 17 KOs).

Alvarez, 34, defeated Munguia by unanimous decision after knocking him down in the fourth round on May 4. He has 39 knockouts in his career, but hasn’t won via knockout since 2021.