The annual MLB Little League World Series Game in Williamsport went off without a hitch on Sunday, with the Mets and Phillies truly living up to the Little League ideals of having fun with sportsmanship in what eventually became a blowout Mets victory. First, both teams got into the spirit of things. The Mets starting rotation members took their seat next to members of the Staten Island-based Mid Atlantic representatives in the stands: Sitting with the squad! Our starters decided to join the Staten Island @LittleLeague team in the stands to watch tonight’s game. #LittleLeagueClassic #LLWS pic.twitter.com/6gIXW6RvuF — New York Mets (@Mets) August 19, 2018 Meanwhile, on the field, former LLWS champion Todd Frazier, who captured the title as a member of the Toms River squad from New Jersey, took the field with custom cleats remembering his teammates on that team. Reppin' 1998! @FlavaFraz21 is rocking custom cleats with the names of his teammates from his #LLWS Championship. pic.twitter.com/ZEHh1cjhnR — Play Ball (@PlayBall) August 19, 2018 Then there was the Phillies, who pre-gamed by hanging with ‘Big Al who likes to hit dingers’ … Just a couple dudes who enjoy Dingers! Big Al, you are the man!!! #LittleLeagueClassic pic.twitter.com/K8aFEKNa4Y — Rhys Hoskins (@rhyshoskins) August 19, 2018 Danced inside the dugout … And enjoyed the lighter side of the available concessions … Snack break, enjoy the popcorn! pic.twitter.com/niLR5h0VDV — Born Salty (@cjzero) August 20, 2018 When all was said and done, despite the fact that the 8-2 loss is a setback in Philadelphia’s chase for a playoff spot, both teams shook hands as they crossed the field in a sign of sportsmanship and genuine goodwill, whether they truly felt it or not. For many years I always wondered why @MLB baseball players DO NOT shake hands after the game. Tonight in the #LLWS classic the @Phillies and @Mets lined up after the game. Very cool. #Sportsmanship pic.twitter.com/0PTpnmQSYZ — Steve Finamore (@CoachFinamore) August 20, 2018 Sure, the Mets were big winners on a Sunday night on ESPN, but the biggest winner of all was Little League baseball, which got a national spotlight on what makes it so special.<doc-sep>The second to last Sunday in August boasts a full slate of action. Let's get to it. Sunday's scores Phillies lose Little League Classic, drop series to Mets Sunday evening of course occasioned the second Little League Classic in Williamsport, Pennsylvania. As was the case last year, the event featured plenty of opportunities for Little Leaguers and Major Leaguers to interact and discuss their craft. Speaking of which, you no doubt remember the newly famous and long beloved "Big Al." Well, Phillies masher Rhys Hoskins got the privilege of hanging with Big Al before his team took on the Mets ... Dingers indeed. Also, check out this enterprising townie, who would clearly not be stopped in his quest to see some big-league baseball ... As for the game itself, the Mets prevailed and thus took three out of five from the Phillies. That also makes them 8-5 against Philly this season. Amed Rosario, who earlier on Sunday hung with some of the Little Leaguers ... ... went 3 for 5 with three RBI, and the Mets bullpen put up 3 2/3 scoreless innings. Of course, it wouldn't be the Little League Classic without the postgame handshake line ... Your browser does not support iframes. The Phillies' loss in tandem with other results on the senior circuit give us this current madness ... Yep, the stretch drive is going to be flat-out coconuts in the National League. Verlander wins No. 200 as Astros reclaim first place The Astros defeated the Athletics in Oakland on Sunday and in doing so moved back into first place in the AL West by a single game over those same A's. Houston ace Justin Verlander wasn't his vintage self -- four runs allowed in 5 1/3 innings -- but thanks to run support and good bullpen work behind him he was able notch the win. That happened to be No. 200 for his career. Read more here. Kershaw makes Dodger history in blowout win For a second time in the series, the Dodgers pretty well wrecked the Mariners. In Sunday's rubber-match win for L.A., Justin Turner gathered four hits, a home run and five RBI. He's now batting .305/.398/.498 this season. Also thriving was ace Clayton Kershaw, who twirled seven innings of one-run ball to pick up the win. Speaking of picking up the win ... While injuries have become an increasing concern for Kershaw in recent seasons, he's still excellent when healthy despite some downward trends with his velocity. After shutting down the M's, Kershaw in 2018 has pitched to a 2.40 ERA in 116 1/3 innings with 115 strikeouts against just 20 walks. Just twice this season has he allowed more than three runs in a start (four runs on both occasions). When healthy, he's still among the very best in the game. Also of note? This Zac Rosscup immaculate inning ... Goldy's still good Remember when Diamondbacks fulcrum Paul Goldschmidt was struggling such that some were wondering about premature decline? As recently as May 23, Goldschmidt was lugging around a sub-.700 OPS (a .200/.324/.371 slash to be precise). Since then, though, he's been in vintage form. Coming into Sunday's game against the Padres, Goldy since that low point had a line of .349/.442/.654 with 22 homers in 73 games. Then against the Padres he went 1 for 3 with a pair of walks, which means his OBP for the season is now up to .399. Also in this key win for Arizona, Zack Greinke pitched a quality start, and A.J. Pollock and David Peralta each homered. Speaking of Greinke, check him out with the back-pocket scouting report ... Nats lose boat race to Marlins Time is beginning to run out on the Nationals season. On Sunday, they fell back below .500, to 62-63, with a blowout loss against the Marlins. The Nationals managed just one run and two hits against Jose Urena, who threw his first career complete game. Urena started because he continues to appeal the six-game suspension he was awarded after intentionally hitting Ronald Acuna Jr. earlier in the week. Washington starter Gio Gonzalez, meanwhile, probably wished he was suspended for Sunday's game. He failed to complete five innings, permitting eight runs on 10 hits. He walked four and struck out just five. Later in the game, Tommy Milone gave up four runs in four innings. The Nationals will now return home and take Monday off. They'll face the Phillies six times between now and the end of the month. Brewers edge back into wild-card position The Brewers concluded their three-game set in St. Louis on Sunday, and they avoided the sweep thanks in part to Jhoulys Chacin ... Jhoulys Chacin COL • SP • 43 vs. STL, 8/19 IP 6 H 4 R 0 SO 3 BB 0 View Profile Chacin has now logged three straight quality starts, and he's also put up consecutive scoreless starts. For the season, his ERA now stands at 3.58 after 151 innings. On offense, Mike Moustakas plated those two runs with a clutch double in the third. The win nudges the Brewers past the Cardinals in the NL wild-card standings, and they're now tied with the Rockies and Phillies for the two NL wild-card spots. Cubs' offense makes weird history in series against Pirates As you see above, the Cubs managed only one run in their extra-inning loss to the Pirates on Sunday. In splitting the four-game series at PNC Park, the Cubs managed just four total runs all series. But wait, there's more ... Sunday's solo shot came off the bat of Kyle Schwarber, who hit his 22nd homer of the season. Playing a major role in all of this was Pittsburgh starter Jameson Taillon, who struck out eight over six innings. The Pirates' bullpen worked five shutout frames en route to the win. Giants drop fourth straight The Giants' slim playoff hopes took a big hit in Cincy, as the Reds swept the three-game series. On Sunday, San Fran starter Andrew Suarez was battered for seven runs in 2 2/3 innings. Eugenio Suarez of the Reds hit his 20th double and 27th homer of the season, and he's now batting .297/.378/.557 on the year. Overall, the Giants managed just six total runs in this series. Coming into Sunday's tilt, the SportsLine Projection Model (@SportsLine on Twitter) gave the Giants less than a 1.0 percent chance of making the playoffs. Rockies sweep Braves Give the Rockies credit, they're hanging around. Colorado went into Atlanta for a four-game set probably hoping to split the series. They did more than that -- they swept. Sunday's contest saw the Rockies receive home runs from both starting middle infielders, Trevor Story and DJ LeMahieu. The Rockies also received a strong outing from German Marquez, who held the Braves to five hits and two runs over seven frames. The Rockies will have to see how other games play out before knowing whether they'll finish the day in sole possession of first in the division. At minimum, they'll have a happy flight home. Happ shuts down Jays Think J.A. Happ enjoys being a Yankee? Happ entered Sunday's start against the Blue Jays -- his former team -- with a sub-2 ERA in his first three starts. He then added another strong outing to his collection. Happ struck out eight and walked one in 5 1/3 innings. He allowed two runs on seven hits while tossing 103 pitches. The Yankees bats seemed pleased that Happ is their teammate, too, as they scored 10 runs en route to a blowout. Quick hits Live team updates<doc-sep>
SOUTH WILLIAMSPORT, PA - AUGUST 19: A general view of Historic Bowman Field during the ceremonial first pitch prior to the 2018 Little League Classic between the New York Mets and the Philadelphia Phillies on Sunday, August 19, 2018 in Williamsport, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Alex Trautwig/MLB Photos via Getty Images) The 2019 MLB Little League Classic will feature the Pittsburgh Pirates and the Chicago Cubs in Williamsport, Pennsylvania. Major League Baseball first introduced the Little League Classic in 2017, featuring the Pittsburgh Pirates and St. Louis Cardinals. It was a highly important game, as both teams were still in the Wild Card hunt. The game was nationally televised on ESPN in an effort to expand baseball’s popularity among the youth. ESPN’s regular Sunday Night Baseball panel of Matt Vasgersian, Alex Rodriguez and Jessica Mendoza did the play-by-play. The game is hosted at BB&T Ballpark at Historic Bowman Field. Bowman Field, first opened in 1926, is home to the Williamsport Crosscutters, a Class-A minor league team. Maximum capacity at the ballpark is just 2,366, but the bulk of the tickets to the Little League Classic are reserved for the kids playing in the Little League World Series. This season’s Little League Classic was played between the New York Mets and Philadelphia Phillies, with the Mets winning 8-2. During the telecast, MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred announced that the Chicago Cubs will play the Pittsburgh Pirates for next season’s game. It will mark the Pirates’ second appearance in the annual contest. There’s long been a discussion about whether or not baseball is headed in the wrong direction. The “baseball is dying” narrative seems to pop up just about every year. And though that might be hyperbole, it’s not without some degree of truth. According to Market Watch, the average age of MLB viewers in 2016 was 57 years old, significantly older than that of the NBA, NFL and MLS. So it’s nice to see the league making an effort to appeal more to young athletes. Baseball is often criticized for it’s discouragement of showing too much emotion in-game. Any time a player flips his bat or fails to sprint around the bases following a home run, a wave of media attention usually ensues. Meanwhile, the NBA and NFL continue to reap the benefits of letting their players express themeselves during games. During Sunday’s Little League Classic, the New York Mets’ rotation was spotted sitting with fans in the stands. This event could play a key role in getting more kids interested in playing baseball, and the players seem to realize this.