Mets RHP Kodai Senga to throw batting practice on Sunday in Florida

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Mets RHP Kodai Senga to throw batting practice on Sunday in Florida

2024-06-23 06:12 Last Updated At：06:20

CHICAGO (AP) — New York Mets right-hander Kodai Senga is expected to throw batting practice on Sunday, continuing his comeback from a capsule strain in his pitching shoulder.

Mets manager Carlos Mendoza said Senga will throw about 20 pitches to hitters at the team's facility in Florida. The team will make a decision on the next step for Senga after that session.

“I think, at this point, it's try to get through tomorrow, see how he comes back afterward, how he bounces back, and then we'll make a decision whether he needs another live BP,” Mendoza said. “We'll listen to him, but again, I think it's just one step at a time.”

Starling Marte likely will go for some testing on Monday after he left Saturday's 8-1 loss to the Cubs because of right knee soreness — a persistent issue for the veteran outfielder.

Marte grounded out in the top of the second inning, and then was replaced in the field before the Cubs batted in the bottom half.

“It started to flare up again yesterday,” Marte said through a translator. "But I thought that with the treatment that I had with the training staff it would end up getting better. But it ended up, the pain never really dissipated.

“I tried to go out there and play, but I thought that the best thing to do was to get out of the game there.”

Marte said his knee has been bothering him for a few weeks, and Mendoza said an IL stint is a possibility.

“There's days where he feels good, but today wasn't as good," Mendoza said.

Senga finalized a $75 million, five-year contract with New York in December 2022. He went 12-7 with a 2.98 ERA in 29 starts last year, making the NL All-Star team and finishing second in balloting for NL Rookie of the Year.

The 31-year-old Senga got hurt during spring training. He threw live BP on April 29 and May 4, but he said his mechanics didn't feel right. He also had his throwing program disrupted by triceps tightness and nerve inflammation in his elbow.

He threw a bullpen session on Wednesday.

The Mets lost another pitcher on Saturday when they placed right-hander Sean Reid-Foley on the 15-day injured list with a right shoulder impingement. Left-hander Danny Young was recalled from Triple-A Syracuse.

Reid-Foley is 1-2 with a 1.66 ERA in 23 relief appearances this season. He surrendered Wyatt Langford's tying RBI single in the sixth inning of Wednesday night's 5-3 loss at Texas.

“The last outing in Texas, it took him a while to get going,” Mendoza said. “After a couple of hitters, (pitching coach Jeremy Hefner) made a mound visit and he expressed that.”

Mendoza said Reid-Foley will have an MRI on Monday.

“As of right now, he doesn't seem to be too concerned. Same thing with the trainers,” Mendoza said. “But again, you're sending a pitcher to get an MRI, we just got to wait.”

Young, 30, pitched 1 1/3 perfect innings in New York's loss to Chicago. He is 2-0 with a sparkling 0.87 ERA in 10 appearances with the Mets this year.

Young gives Mendoza a second lefty in his bullpen, joining Jake Diekman.

AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb

The Latest | An election is underway in Iran to replace a president killed in a helicopter crash

2024-06-28 15:19 Last Updated At：15:30

Iranians are voting on Friday to replace the late President Ebrahim Raisi, who was killed in a May helicopter crash in the country's northwest along with the foreign minister and several other officials.

Analysts broadly describe the race as a three-way contest. There are two hard-liners, former nuclear negotiator Saeed Jalili and the parliament speaker, Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf. Then there’s the reformist candidate Masoud Pezeshkian, who has aligned himself with those seeking a return to the 2015 nuclear deal with world powers.

After record-low turnout in recent elections, it remains unclear how many Iranians will take part in Friday’s poll.

While 85-year-old Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has final say on all matters of state, presidents can bend Iran toward confrontation or negotiations with the West.

Currently:

— As Iran’s presidential vote looms, tensions boil over regarding a renewed headscarf crackdown.

— An analysis explores how no matter who wins Iran’s election, much may hinge for Tehran on the ‘Great Satan,’ the United States.

— A “Hamster” cryptocurrency craze gripping Iran highlights its economic malaise.

— A timeline explores the longtime tensions over Iran’s nuclear program.

— Iran’s imprisoned Nobel Peace Prize laureate Narges Mohammadi, who already called for a boycott of the vote, is been sentenced to another year in prison.

— Follow AP’s coverage of the Iranian presidential election at https://apnews.com/hub/iran.

Here is the latest:

As Iranian state TV showed people lined up to vote, most of the polling stations The Associated Press visited in early hours of voting — mostly on the north side of Tehran — were not crowded.

Mahmoud Darrehei, a 49-year-old teacher, said he voted for heart surgeon Masoud Pezeshkian, the only reformist candidate in the race. “This is the first time I've voted since 2005," adding that he saw Pezeshkian as able to solve problems caused by years of hard-line governments.

At another polling station, Maryam Aalipour, 32, a mother of two clad head-to-toe in a black veil, said she voted for hard-line former nuclear negotiator Saeed Jalili. “He is the cleanest candidate in the election. He knows all problems of the country and he is able to resist the U.S. pressures," she said.

Aria Rahimi, a 37-year-old who runs in a shop in Tehran's upmarket Mandela Street, said he voted for Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf, the speaker of parliament. “I voted for Qalibaf before opening the shop," he said. "We need a president who has experience in managing some important body like parliament or police. Qalibaf is the best among them in this regard."

As voters cast ballots in Iran’s presidential election, some are sharing their thoughts with The Associated Press.

Toosi, who gave only his first name, said he would cast his ballot for someone “who listens to the leader, is revolutionary and is loyal to the principles of the revolution.”

"Someone who’s not focused on the West, but focusing on our domestic capacities, on our youth," he added. “Someone who is obsessed about the people and has plans for future and has a very good track record.”

Toosi’s comments tracked with what others supporting a hard-line view have said in the campaign.

Another voter, who gave his name as Ghoochian, said he backed Masoud Pezeshkian, the race’s sole reformist candidate.

“I’ve know him for years,” the man said. “His stances, honesty and wholesomeness make him the best option. That’s why I voted for him.”

A former Iranian foreign minister who reached the 2015 nuclear deal with world powers has offered a positive assessment of the chances of the sole reformist candidate in Iran’s presidential election.

Mohammad Javad Zarif spoke Friday at a polling station in Tehran after casting his ballot. Zarif has been a key advocate for the heart surgeon Masoud Pezeshkian, who faces three hard-liners in the election.

“Hopefully, people will go and choose for themselves, and hopefully, if there is a large turnout, it will become clear who is the majority and who is the minority,” Zarif said.

Zarif also quoted what he said was a foreign proverb abroad, that bad politicians are elected by good people who do not vote. “Now is an opportunity to vote,” he added.

Zarif and Pezeshkian received a thinly veiled warning from Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei earlier in the week over their desire to negotiate with the West, particularly the United States.

Iran’s acting president Mohammad Mokhber has cast his vote and said that there are no security concerns in election.

“We have no security concerns for the elections,” Mokhber said in comments aired by state television. “The polling stations and its branches are properly placed in such a way that there is no point in the country or even outside the country where voting is not possible.”

Mokhber has served as acting president in the wake of the May helicopter crash that killed President Ebrahim Raisi. He was Raisi’s first vice president, but did not apply to run in the election.

Iran’s supreme leader called on the public to vote in the snap election to replace hard-line President Ebrahim Raisi, who died in a helicopter crash in May.

Ayatollah Ali Khamenei gave brief remarks Friday, speaking to journalists gathered in Tehran to cover him voting.

“I don’t see any reason for doubt,” Khamenei said at the ceremony in a mosque attached to his offices.

Khamenei said a high turnout was a “definite need” for the Islamic Republic. He also called the election an “important political test.”

Raisi, 63, had been seen as a protégé of Khamenei and a possible successor for the supreme leader position in Iran, which has final say over all matters of state in the Shiite theocracy.

Any Iranian 18 or older can vote in Friday’s election. There are 58,640 polling centers around the country, set up in mosques, schools and other public buildings. A voter first needs to show their national ID card and fill out a form. They then dip an index fingers in ink, making a print on the form, while officials stamp their ID so they can’t vote twice. On the secret ballot, a voter writes down the name and the numerical code of the candidate they are voting for and drops it into a ballot box. Voting lasts from 8 a.m. until 6 p.m., though authorities routinely keep polls open at least several hours later.

Iranian presidents serve four-year terms and are limited to serving two terms. Iran’s president is subordinate to the supreme leader and over the recent years, the supreme leader’s power appears to have grown stronger amid tensions with the West. However, a president can bend the state’s policies on both domestic issue and foreign affairs. Former President Hassan Rouhani, for example, struck the 2015 nuclear deal with world powers with the blessing of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. The hard-line tact taken by the late President Ebrahim Raisi also had Khamenei’s backing.

Iran describes itself as an Islamic Republic. The Shiite theocracy holds elections and has elected representatives passing laws and governing on behalf of its people. However, the supreme leader has the final say on all state matters and the Guardian Council must approve all laws passed by the parliament. Those who led Iran’s Green Movement after hard-line President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s disputed 2009 re-election remain under house arrest. Security forces answering only to the supreme leader also routinely arrest dual nationals and foreigners, using them as pawns in international negotiations. Mass protests in recent years have seen bloody crackdowns on dissent. Meanwhile, hard-liners now hold all levers of power within the country. The Guardian Council approves all candidates and also has never allowed a woman to run for president. It routinely rejects candidates calling for dramatic reform, stifling change.