Jake Seiner

NEW YORK (AP) — On Brandon Belt’s first birthday in the majors, he was shipped back to the minor leagues. And in the 10 seasons that followed, he failed to gift himself one measly hit. So when the 34-year-old Giants slugger launched a second-inning homer Wednesday night, he felt he’d earned a rendit…

NEW YORK (AP) — Tyler O’Neill had the simplest of goals in the ninth inning of a tied game. “Just trying to get the ball in play,” he said. For most of Tuesday, even that seemed impossible.

NEW YORK (AP) — The first thing Atlantic League hitters notice about Kelsie Whitmore is the obvious: the Staten Island FerryHawks pitcher is the only woman in a league full of former major leaguers.

NEW YORK (AP) — Jose Trevino stood next to his pinstriped teammates, hands on his head, and looked around at the celebration he’d just set off at Yankee Stadium. Exactly the moment he and his father dreamed about together.

NEW YORK (AP) — Something odd caught Jeff McNeil’s eye during the fourth inning Saturday night: an eagle — or so he thought — crashing into the upper deck at Citi Field. An interesting omen with McNeil’s Mets facing rival Philadelphia.

NEW YORK (AP) — Mets ace Jacob deGrom says his injured right shoulder blade feels “completely normal,” and he’s waiting for New York’s medical staff to clear him to resume throwing off a mound. DeGrom has been sidelined since late in spring training with a stress reaction in his scapula.

NEW YORK (AP) — The New York Mets don’t talk much about home runs. “We preach in our meetings just to not try to do too much and chip away,” Mark Canha said, adding “that’s what’s fun, getting hits.”

NEW YORK (AP) — The New York Mets have optioned first baseman/outfielder Dominic Smith to Triple-A Syracuse amid a slow start to the season for the 26-year-old.

NEW YORK (AP) — Alan Alcantara played a lot of baseball growing up in the Dominican Republic, sometimes without a glove. When the Mets’ Starling Marte ripped a home run in Alcantara’s direction at Citi Field on Tuesday night, it didn’t matter that he was holding his 1-year-old son, Levi.

NEW YORK (AP) — When Manny Bañuelos reached the mound at Yankee Stadium on Friday night, many years after that dream seemed to have famously escaped him, catcher Jose Trevino offered a simple message.

NEW YORK (AP) — Gerrit Cole delivered the sort of gem Yankees fans dreamed on when he signed a $324 million deal. Aaron Judge led an offensive barrage in a ballpark packed for his bobblehead night. Manny Bañuelos finally pitched in pinstripes, living out a teenage dream that famously escaped him.

Tokyo Olympic gold medalist Peres Jepchirchir plans to defend her title at the New York City Marathon, telling The Associated Press she hopes to break the course record this November after finishing 8 seconds off the mark last year.

NEW YORK (AP) — Gerrit Cole put a career-worst pummeling behind him, and the major league-leading New York Yankees began a critical stretch against their top AL East foes by widening an impressive lead in the division.

NEW YORK (AP) — The bullpen phone was a secondary concern for Mets starter David Peterson on Monday compared to the one sitting in the trainer’s room. His cell phone never buzzed, and that was OK by him.

NEW YORK (AP) — Mets ace Max Scherzer had his minor league rehab start with Double-A Binghamton pushed back a day to Wednesday, but New York manager Buck Showalter says there has been no setback in his recovery from a strained oblique.

NEW YORK (AP) — Giancarlo Stanton has seen trailing teams lose their fight a few times in his 13 big league seasons. Just not with these New York Yankees. “We find a way to figure it out every night,” Stanton said.

NEW YORK (AP) — The executive director of the nonprofit Advocates for Minor Leaguers has recommended that Congress enact legislation nullifying Major League Baseball’s antitrust exemption as it applies to minor league players.

Aaron Judge homered twice to match Roger Maris’ franchise record of 33 before the All-Star break, Matt Carpenter also connected twice and drove in seven runs, and the New York Yankees throttled the Boston Red Sox 14-1.

Aaron Judge became the first player in the majors with 40 home runs this season with a two-run drive for the New York Yankees against the Kansas City Royals.

Three-time Olympic gold medalist Charlotte Dujardin of Britain has withdrawn from the Paris Games after a video emerged that the sport’s governing body says shows her “engaging in conduct contrary to the principles of horse welfare.” Dujardin says in a statement that the video from four years ago “shows me making an error of judgment during a coaching session.” It wasn’t clear what video Dujardin referred to or what specifically the video shows. The International Federation for Equestrian Sports…