Detroit Tigers slugger Miguel Cabrera hit his 500th career home run against the Toronto Blue Jays during Sunday’s 5-3 win.

Cabrera became the first Venezuelan and the 28th player to join MLB’s exclusive 500 home run club. The slugger achieved the feat by hitting a 1-1 changeup off Toronto starter Steven Matz to right field for a 400-foot solo home run in the sixth inning.

“It was nice timing because that tied the game,” Cabrera told reporters Sunday. “That was big for us because we came in trying to win the series.”

“As the first player in the 121-year history of the Detroit Tigers to accomplish this amazing feat, our organization is excited, proud, and thrilled to join you in celebrating this historic moment,” Tigers owner Christopher Ilitch said in a statement. “We thank you for the excitement you have brought to the game and the memories and joy you have brought to our fans. And all of us are rooting for you in the chase for your next milestone, 3,000 hits!”

Cabrera is the first player to hit 500 career home runs since Boston Red Sox‘s David Ortiz reached the milestone in 2015. The Detroit slugger also joins Los Angeles Dodgers‘ Albert Pujols as the only other active player to have reached the milestone.

Now that he achieved his 500th career home run, Cabrera sets his sights on reaching 3,000 career hits. Only 32 players have finished their careers with 3,000 hits. Cabrera currently has 2,955 career hits. He said it was his goal to reach 500 home runs and 3,000 hits in 2021. However, it seems unlikely he’ll reach the hit mark by the end of the regular season. The 38-year-old batter is currently signed to Detroit through 2023 and could join six players in the 3,000/500 club.

On Wednesday night, the New York Mets traded pitcher Steven Matz to the Toronto Blue Jays in exchange for three pitching prospects. Those prospects are right-handers Sean-Reid-Foley, Yennsy Diaz and Josh Winckowski.

Matz, 29, agreed to a one-year, $5.2 million contract with the Mets in December. However, the trade came after his worst season to date in the major leagues. In the poorest of his six total seasons in MLB, Matz went 0-5 and posted a horrendous 9.68 ERA. Due to Matz’s poor performance, he was dropped from the rotation and relegated to the bullpen, where he made three relief appearances and a spot start.

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In the 2020 abbreviated 60-game season, Matz earned $1,851,852 in prorated pay from a $5 million salary. Over the course of his career, Matz has gone 31-41 with a 4.35 ERA in a total of 107 career starts, and five relief appearances.

Reid-Foley, 25, was 1-0 with a 1.35 ERA in five relief outings across a total of 6 2/3 innings for the Blue Jays last season. A second-round pick in 2014, Reid-Foley is 5-8 with a 4.40 ERA over a total of 21 MLB games. This includes 13 starts over three seasons with the Blue Jays.

Winckowski, 22, had a combined 10-8 record and 2.69 ERA at Class A Dunedin and Class A Lansing in 2019. The young righty was a 15th round draft pick and was rated Toronto’s 27th best prospect in 2020. He went 18-17 and posted a 3.35 ERA in 54 games, 50 of which were starts, across a career consisting of four minor league seasons.

Diaz, 24, played one major league game for the Blue Jays in 2019. He was 11-9 with a 3.74 ERA in 26 games, 24 of which were starts for Double-A New Hampshire in 2019. Diaz is 34-26, posting a 3.84 ERA over five minor league seasons.

Steven Matz’s struggles continued Wednesday,as the New York Mets left-hander lasted just three innings in a 6-3 road loss to the San Diego Padres.

Steven Matz Mets Padres

Matz allowed six runs on nine hits to record a 14.18 ERA over this terrible four-start stretch, during which he has given up 21 earned runs on 34 hits in just 13.1 innings pitched.

“It stinks to put your team in a position like that, in the third inning to be down six runs,” said the Long Island native. “But, I’ve got to stay positive. I’ve got to put it in the past and I just got to address it and keep moving forward. I am going to have to start again in six days.”

In three weeks, Matz’s season E.R.A. has increased from 2.12 to 5.51. He started his season on the disabled list after feeling soreness in his left elbow toward the end of spring training. Once he came off the DL, Matz’ performance improved: he gave up only eight earned runs in 34 innings pitched over his first five starts.

Matz’s throwing speed was not the problem against the Padres on Wednesday. The lefty was firing 94-mile-per-hour fastballs with seemingly little difficulty. Rather, it was his placement of the ball that cost him, according to Mets manager Terry Collins.

“The ball is down the middle of the plate,” said Collins. “You look at the replays of the hits, they are in the center. He’s got to get the ball off the middle of the plate.”

In the first inning, Matz surrendered a two-run homer to Manuel Margot and then dealt with a bases-loaded situation after that. Following a scoreless second, Matz faced trouble again in the third when he allowed a leadoff triple by Margot, which Wil Myers followed with an RBI double.

“I feel like every time I miss my spot a few inches, they’re killing it and getting their barrel on it and they’re crushing it,” said Matz, who has not earned a win in almost a month. “It does catch me by surprise because I’ve missed pitches before, but I think there’s just a sharpness that I’m lacking a little bit right now, and I’ve got to get back to it.”

The Mets’ defense also did little to assist the lefty pitcher. Shortstop Jose Reyes was unable to cleanly field a ground ball in the disastrous third inning, and second baseman Wilmer Flores couldn’t hold on to the ball sent to him. Two at-bats later, Luis Torres smacked a bases-clearing triple that was nearly a Grand Slam.

New York’s bullpen, however, stepped up after Matz left: Erik Goeddel, Tyler Pill and Hansel Robles tossed five scoreless, one-hit innings.

The Mets (47-52, 3rd in National League East) sit half a game behind the second-place Atlanta Braves and 13 games behind the first-place Washington Nationals in the NL East. Collins’ team — who won the first two contests of their four-game series against the Padres — will start rookie right-hander Chris Flexen for the series finale at Petco Park, which will begin Thursday at 9:10 pm EST. Flexen was called up from AA Binghamton earlier this week to replace the injured Zack Wheeler. The Padres will counter with righty Luis Perdomo (4-5, 4.71 ERA).

SAN DIEGO, CA – JULY 26: Steven Matz #32 of the New York Mets pitches during the first inning of a baseball game against the San Diego Padres at PETCO Park on July 26, 2017 in San Diego, California. (Photo by Denis Poroy/Getty Images)

New York Yankees first baseman Mark Teixeira will announce his retirement Friday, according to ESPN MLB Insider Buster Olney.

The Yankees have called for a 3 p.m. press conference Friday regarding Texeira, where he is expected to reveal his plans to hang up his spikes after the 2016 season, though no further specifics for the presser were offered by New York’s front office.

Report: Mark Teixeira Set To Retire After Season

Teixeira, 36, is hitting .198 with 10 home runs and 27 RBIs through 77 games in the final season of his eight-year, $180 million contract signed in December 2008.

MARK TEIXEIRA’S BIGGEST MOMENT IN PINSTRIPES

Over a 14-year career, the Yankees first baseman has a .269 batting average, hitting 404 home runs and driving in 1231 runs. Teixeira began his career with the Texas Rangers, making his debut on opening day of 2003.

He has played for the Rangers, Atlanta Braves, Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim and the Yankees.

Once thought to be on a path to a Hall of Fame career, Teixeira averaged 34 homers and 111 RBIs over his first five seasons in the big leagues.

Arguably, his best season came in 2005, in Texas, when Teixeira batted .301 and clubbed 44 home runs with 144 RBIs. He finished 2nd in the MVP voting in 2009, batting .292 with 39 homers and 122 RBIs, en route to a World Series title.

Despite his prowess at the plate, Teixeira is regarded as one of the best defensive first baseman of his generation, winning five gold gloves in his career to go with three All-Star appearances.

The soon-to-be retiree was caught up in a bit of controversy this week as the Yanks were entangled in a four-game, home and home subway series with the New York Mets.

On Wednesday, Teixeira homered off Mets starter Steven Matz in the second inning, then was hit in the shin by a Matz pitch in the fifth, prompting some jawing between the two.

“I like Steven, that’s why I was like, “Are you kidding me? You’re going to do that?” If it was on purpose, it’s uncalled for. If it wasn’t, it just looked really bad given the situation.”

Then, after Teixeira reached via walk in the seventh, Mets reliever Hansel Robles began arguing with the Yankees slugger, accusing him of stealing signs.

Teixeira responded by mocking Robles, making hand gestures and touching his face as if he were offering signs.

“That was funny,” Teixeira said of the altercation with Robles. “You know, after three or four pitches, I realize that he’s like staring at me and thinks I have his signs, staring me down and saying something— I couldn’t hear him because of the crowd, so I just started having some fun with him.”

Yankees manager Joe Girardi held Teixeira out of the lineup Thursday after saying his first baseman’s shin was “a little sore.”

There’s no word yet on whether he will be in the lineup tonight when his club hosts the first place Cleveland Indians at Yankee Stadium.

Teixeira is one of five switch hitters in MLB history to hit 400 home runs and he is the ninth player to ever hit 400 homers and win five gold gloves.

TEIXEIRA FLASHES LEATHER FOR 2012 GOLD GLOVE

Six of those players are already in Cooperstown.

Andruw Jones will not be eligible until 2018 and Barry Bonds may never be voted in.

Yoenis Cespedes scored a big home run, Jeurys Familia pitched out of a huge jam in the ninth and rookie Brandon Nimmo keyed a three-run rally in the seventh to lead the New York Mets to a 4-3 home victory over the Chicago Cubs Thursday night in their first meeting since last year’s National League Championship Series.

Mets Rally, Beat Cubs 4-3 To Halt Skid In NLSC Rematch

The Cubs snapped a three-game winning streak, while the Mets had lost their previous four games, including a three-game road series against the Washington Nationals.

“It sure came at the right time,” Mets manager Terry Collins said. “To come back against that team, first game of this 11-game homestand, I think it’s huge for us. It lifted the spirits of every guy in there.”

Kris Bryant gave the Cubs an early lead with a two-run homer off left-hander Steven Matz in the first. Matz, who pitched 5 1/3 innings on Thursday with an extra day of rest following an elbow examination earlier this week that revealed a bone spur, sat in the upper 90s with his fastball all night. He allowed seven hits and three walks, but only allowed one run– a homer by Javier Baez– after Bryant took him deep in the first.

Before leaving with one out in the seventh, Cubs starter John Lackey gave up only one run, Cespedes’ solo drive in the sixth. The right-hander also allowed five hits, walked two and struck out five.

Chicago threatened to regain the lead in the ninth, putting their first two batters in scoring position with no outs before Familia earned his 27th save in 27 chances.

“It’s like a 98-mile-an-hour lefty cutter — good luck,” Bryant said of the Dominican right-hander’s pitches. “I just think our last three at-bats, they were a little too anxious. He’s supposed to do that. That’s why he’s the closer on their team, that’s why he’ll have a long career. Sometimes you have to tip your cap.”

Cespedes’ homer in the sixth, which soared into the upper deck in left field and cut the Cubs’ lead to 3-1, was the longest home run by any Mets player this season. The ball came off the bat at 110 mph and would have traveled 441 feet unimpeded, according to MLB’s Statcast. ESPN Stats & Info had it at 466 feet.

“I think it woke us up, I really do,” Collins said. “He hasn’t hit one in a while, and that was a big one.”

In the seventh, after Travis d’Arnaud singled with one out, Cubs manager Joe Maddon elected to remove Lackey from the game, turning to new reliever Joel Peralta. The right-hander walked pinch-hitter Alejandro De Aza, then served up an RBI single to Nimmo. That brought up Neil Walker, whose bouncer to the right side forced Baez to charge. The second baseman fired toward third base on the run for a potential tag play but his throwing error ended up allowing two runs to score.

The Mets, who swept Chicago last October to reach the World Series, had lost nine consecutive regular-season games against the Cubs dating to August 2014.

“We made one mistake on defense, but otherwise it was a pretty good game of baseball,” Maddon said.

Nimmo, the 23-year-old outfielder who made his debut with the Mets on Sunday against the Atlanta Braves, was thrilled after earning his first Major League RBI.

“I was absolutely ecstatic,” said Nimmo. “It is hard to put into words, because this is something that I’ve dreamed about ever since I was a kid.”

The two teams will face off again in the second of their four-game series at Citi Field on Friday night. RIght-hander Jason Hammel will start for the Cubs. Hammel is 0-3 with a 4.91 ERA in five career starts against the Mets.

Righty Jacob deGrom will take the mound for the Mets. DeGrom has not pitched with a lead in any of his last four outings despite a 2.77 ERA over that stretch, and will look to snap a personal 10-game losing streak when he opposes Hammel on Friday. Over those 10 starts, deGrom is 0-4 with a 3.13 ERA, 63 strikeouts and 15 walks.

NEW YORK, NY – JUNE 30: Brandon Nimmo #9 of the New York Mets follows through on a seventh-inning, RBI base hit against the Chicago Cubs at Citi Field on June 30, 2016 in the Flushing neighborhood of the Queens borough of New York City. (Photo by Jim McIsaac/Getty Images)

Steven Matz improved to 7-1 and fired eight shutout innings to lead the New York Mets to a 2-0 road victory over the Washington Nationals on Wednesday afternoon. The Mets have now tied their series with Washington 3-3.

Steven Matz Improves as Mets Beat Nationals 2-0, Tie Series

The 24-year-old rookie left-hander, who now has a 2.36 ERA and is 11-1 in 14 regular-season games in his career, gave up no runs and four hits in eight innings, and had seven strikeouts.

“Somehow being in New York this year, I think [Matz] has gone a little bit under the radar with some of the other guys we have,” Mets Captain David Wright said. “But that was about as dominant a performance as I have seen this year. That’s a very good lineup, a very good team and to come in here on the road and dominate, that’s impressive and we needed it.”

Wright hit a solo homer in the first inning to give the Mets a 1-0 lead at Nationals Park. The third baseman, who took Tuesday night off as part of his management for spinal stenosis, finished the series with two home runs.

Mets starting right-hander Matt Harvey, 27, had struggled recently, allowing nine runs in 2 2/3 innings in the loss against the Nationals last Thursday at Citi Field, then giving up five runs in the Mets’ 7-4 loss to Washington at Nationals Park on Tuesday.

Matz allowed a single to Michael A. Taylor leading off the third inning– he was caught stealing second– and then steamrolled into the eighth. He retired 16 consecutive batters starting in the third inning before Cliff Robinson singled with two outs in the eighth.

“I just feel really comfortable on the mound,” Matz said. “The main thing is with my command, and if you can command the fastball it makes your life so much easier.”

Catcher Rene Rivera’s RBI single in the seventh gave the Mets an unearned run that pushed their lead to 2-0. Nationals second baseman Daniel Murphy also committed a fielding error on Mets third baseman Eric Campbell’s grounder that put runners on the corners with one out. The Mets’ Matt Reynolds, who entered the game in the first inning after Venezuelan shortstop Asdrubal Cabrera left with back spasm, recorded his first major league hit, a single leading off the fifth.

By the bottom of the eighth, Mets manager Terry Collins could have brought in already-warm closer Jeurys Familia, but he ultimately stuck with Matz.

“We had Jeurys ready, and I know Jeurys gets Bryce [Harper} out,” Collins said after the game, “but I think when you have a young player, there are certain situations where you’ve got to challenge him. That’s one of them.”

The Mets (27-19) and the Nationals (28-19), who are NL East rivals, will next face up again on June 27 at Nationals Park. The Nationals are first in the division, and the Mets are second.

“It’s just two good teams,” Wright said. “Hopefully we can beat these guys on a consistent basis, but I don’t foresee this being a one-sided affair this year. I think we’re evenly balanced.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0QmruhIPzgk

NEW YORK, NEW YORK – APRIL 11:  Steven Matz #32 of the New York Mets pitches in the second inning against the Miami Marlins at Citi Field on April 11, 2016 in the Flushing neighborhood of the Queens borough of New York City.  (Photo by Mike Stobe/Getty Images)

Lefty pitcher Steven Matz allowed three hits and struck out nine in seven innings and the New York Mets converted two sun balls into three runs in a 6-0 victory over the Cleveland Indians at Progressive Field in Cleveland on Sunday afternoon.

Lefty Steven Matz Leads Mets to 6-0 Victory Over Indians

The game went to 24-year-old Matz, who rebounded rather nicely from a disastrous start to the season. On April 11 against the Miami Marlins, he gave up seven runs on six hits and two walks in 1 2/3 innings of a 10-3 loss.

Against the Indians, however, Matz masterfully switched between four different pitching styles (fastball, slider, change-up, curve). The fastball sat in the mid-90s and the slider in the high-80s. He allowed a total of three hits (two singles, one double) and walked two. Only two Indians managed runs after being down in the count. Yan Gomes took a strike, then a ball, before singling to center in the second; Francisco Lindor took a strike, then three balls, and eventually hit a 3-2 pitch to right-center for a double in the fourth.

The Mets (5-6), who now won the series 2-1, (their first series victory of the season) led 3-0 after one-half inning and Matz threw 62 of 94 pitches for strikes.

In the ninth, two different Mets relievers each struck out two Indians. Lefty Jerry Blevins struck out Jason Kipnis and Lindor swinging, but Lindor reached on a wild pitch. Righty Addison Reed struck out Mike Napoli and Carlos Santana swinging.

Matz’s counterpart, Corey Kluber, allowed six runs on nine hits in six innings. Kluber walked one and struck out eight.

The Indians are now 5-5. The Mets will next visit the Philadelphia Phillies on Monday night, while the Indians will host the Seattle Mariners on Tuesday night.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8YESA7RKT54

CLEVELAND, OH – APRIL 17: Francisco Lindor #12 of the Cleveland Indians hits a leadoff double as Kevin Plawecki #26 of the New York Mets looks on in the fourth inning at Progressive Field on April 17, 2016 in Cleveland, Ohio. The Mets defeated the Indians 6-0. (Photo by David Maxwell/Getty Images)