Jesse Winker flashes some rare speed with a two-triple game to lead the Mets past Blue Jays

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Jesse Winker flashes some rare speed with a two-triple game to lead the Mets past Blue Jays

2025-04-06 12:37 Last Updated At：12:41

NEW YORK (AP) — Jesse Winker was holding his daughter during a postgame interview after helping lift the New York Mets to a comeback win Saturday night when he asked her if he was fast.

Without hesitation, 4-year-old Wren nodded. She quickly nodded again when Winker asked if she's faster than him.

“Wren’s Dad didn’t know he was fast,” Winker said with a big smile. “And I don’t think he is fast.”

But Winker hit two triples, including the tying two-run hit in the eighth inning, and also had a double in the Mets’ 3-2 win over the Toronto Blue Jays.

So, is Winker the new basepaths-blazing version of Lance Johnson or Jose Reyes for the Mets?

“No,” Winker said flatly.

The 31-year-old Winker entered Saturday with just three regular-season triples in 760 career games, and he hadn't had one in a regular-season game since 2021 while with Cincinnati.

But the triples against the Blue Jays were his third and fourth in his last 16 games dating to the start of the playoffs last October. The long-haired outfielder had RBI triples against Milwaukee in a wild-card series and Los Angeles in the NL Championship Series.

“Just put your head down and run as fast as you can,” Winker said.

Winker’s second triple could have been an inside-the-park home run. Blue Jays right fielder George Springer suffered lower back spasms after crashing into the wall in pursuit of the ball, but he got back to his feet, chased down the ball and threw it towards the infield to limit Winker to three bases.

“Initially, I thought it had a chance to get out — I probably should have been running harder out of the box,” Winker said. “But once it ricocheted, I just wanted to run as fast as I could.”

Winker also tripled with two outs in the fourth off Chris Bassitt, but was stranded when Mark Vientos struck out. The two-triple game was the first by a Mets player since Francisco Lindor did so on July 26, 2023.

Still, Winker joined a select club by becoming the 17th player in team history with two triples in a game. Reyes holds the team record with 113 triples and eight two-triple games. Johnson, whose 21 triples in 1996 are the single-season team record, and Doug Flynn are the only other Mets players with a pair of two-triple games.

“It’s crazy — crazy, no comment,” Winker said with a grin. “Tired.”

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

Memorials begin for some killed in Dominican Republic nightclub collapse as death toll reaches 221

2025-04-11 01:28 Last Updated At：01:32

SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic (AP) — Memorials were taking place Thursday for a merengue star and others killed when a cement roof collapsed at a popular nightclub in the Dominican Republic, as the number of dead surged to 221 and crews completed their search for bodies.

Mourners clad in black and white streamed into Santo Domingo’s National Theater, where the body of Rubby Pérez lay inside a closed coffin. Pérez had been performing on stage at the packed Jet Set club early Tuesday when dust began falling from the ceiling and, seconds later, the roof caved.

President Luis Abinader and first lady Raquel Arbaje arrived at the theater and stood beside Pérez's coffin for several minutes. Some mourners doubled over in tears as a recording of Pérez singing the national anthem played. Renowned Dominican musician Juan Luis Guerra was among those gathered to pay their respects.

Pérez, 69, had turned to music after a car accident left him unable to pursue his dream of becoming a professional baseball player. He was known for hits including “Volveré," which he sang with Wilfrido Vargas's orchestra, and “Buscando tus besos" as a solo artist.

Just blocks from the memorial for Pérez, heavy equipment began withdrawing from the site where Jet Set once stood and rescue crews packed up their equipment.

Meanwhile, a group of prosecutors arrived.

It is still unclear what caused the roof to collapse or when the building was last inspected. The government has said it will launch a thorough investigation, and the club’s owners have said they are cooperating with authorities.

Juan Manuel Méndez, director of the Center of Emergency Operations, broke down as he addressed reporters.

“Thank you, God, because today we accomplished the most difficult task I’ve had in 20 years,” he said, moving the microphone away from his face as he cried. Other officials patted him on the back as he continued, “Please forgive me,” before passing the microphone to an army official.

Officials said 189 people were rescued alive from the rubble. More than 200 were injured, with 24 of them still hospitalized, including eight in critical condition.

“If the trauma is too great, there’s not a lot of time” left to save patients in that condition, said Health Minister Víctor Atallah. He and other doctors said some of the injured suffered fractures to the skull, femur and pelvis.

Many people have been anxiously waiting for news of their loved ones, growing frustrated with the drip-drip of information provided by hospitals and the country’s forensic institute.

At least 146 bodies have been identified, authorities said Thursday.

María Luisa Taveras told TV station Noticias SIN that she was looking for her sister.

“We have gone everywhere they have told us,” she said, her voice breaking.

Taveras said the family has spread out, with a relative stationed at each hospital and at the National Institute of Forensic Pathology. Dozens of people waited at the institute Thursday, wearing face masks and complaining about the smell as they demanded the release of their loved ones' bodies.

“The odor is unbearable,” said Wendy Sosa, who has been waiting since Wednesday morning for the body of her cousin, 61-year-old Nilka Curiel González. Sosa told The Associated Press by phone that the situation there was “chaotic,” and that officials had set up a refrigerated container to handle the volume of bodies being delivered.

She wept as she described her cousin as gracious, authentic, and “very empathetic."

Victims identified so far include former MLB players Octavio Dotel and Tony Enrique Blanco Cabrera; and Nelsy Cruz, the governor of the northwestern province of Montecristi whose brother is seven-time Major League Baseball All-Star Nelson Cruz.

Dotel will be buried Thursday in Santo Domingo. Hundreds of people attended his wake on Wednesday, including Hall of Famer David Ortiz, formerly of the Boston Red Sox. Ortiz said the number of people who attended Dotel’s wake spoke volumes.

“He was a person whom everyone loved,” Ortiz told reporters. “It’s very hard, very hard, truly.”

MLB Hall of Famer Pedro Martínez attended another wake Thursday.

“There are no words to describe the pain we are all feeling,” said Martínez, adding that he knew more than 50 of those who died. “Life is but a breath.”

Also killed was a retired United Nations official; saxophonist Luis Solís, who was playing onstage when the roof fell; New York-based fashion designer Martín Polanco; the son and daughter-in-law of the minister of public works; the brother of the vice minister of the Ministry of Youth; and three employees of Grupo Popular, a financial services company, including the president of AFP Popular Bank and his wife.

More than 20 victims came from Haina, Rubby Pérez's hometown, just southwest of Santo Domingo.

On Thursday, the governor held a communal wake, setting up 10 stands for coffins beneath a banner that read: “Haina bids farewell to her beloved children with immense sorrow.”

Among the mourners was Juancho Guillén, who lost his wife three months ago and whose brother, sister and brother-in-law died at Jet Set.

“This family is in shock, is devastated," he told Noticias SIN. "We’re practically dead too.”

Coto reported from San Juan, Puerto Rico.