Texas Rangers Beat Slumping New York Yankees 

Adolis García hit a two-run homer on Michael King’s first pitch of the 10th inning, and the Texas Rangers beat the slumping New York Yankees 4-2 on Friday night for their fifth win in six games.

New York’s offense again struggled in the absence of injured slugger Aaron Judge. The Yankees are last in the major leagues in batting average and runs in June, managing six hits or fewer in five of their last six games. They are 10-16 this year when Judge has been on the injured list, losing 10 of 16 since he hurt a toe. New York is 31-19 with Judge available.

The team’s other big slugger, Giancarlo Stanton, is hitting .096 since returning from a strained hamstring, going 5 for 52 with a pair of solo homers for his only RBI.

Texas leads the AL West and tops the majors in scoring and batting average.

García drove a hanging curve from King (1-4) into the left-field seats, giving him 17 homers and 60 RBI. King has struggled of late, with a 9.95 ERA in his previous five outings.

Joe Barlow (1-0) worked around a two-out single in the ninth, and Will Smith pitched the 10th for his 14th save in 15 chances.

Max Scherzer Looks Like Vintage Self

At least on this night — though he hopes for many more — Max Scherzer looked like the future Hall of Famer whom the Mets made their $130 million man.

Scherzer saved his best start of the season and his longest as a Met for the defending world champs, silencing the Astros in an 11-1 laugher on Monday at Minute Maid Park that was well-timed for the star and his club.

The Mets (34-38) showed some hope to begin a six-game road trip that will go from Texas to Philadelphia. 

They have a pulse after winning just their fourth game in the past 15 and beating the Astros for the first time in their past eight  head-to-head matchups.

A pair of five-run frames helped. 

As did Francisco Lindor’s five RBIs. But the Mets have Scherzer — whose ERA fell from 4.45 to 4.04 — to thank most for the series-opening destruction.

Panera Introduces New Menu Items

Panera celebrates all things salad with the introduction of the new Southwest Caesar Salad with Chicken alongside the return of its signature Strawberry Poppyseed Salad.

The new Southwest Caesar Salad with Chicken features crisp romaine tossed in Caesar dressing, with a drizzle of chipotle aioli and the crunch of blue corn tortilla strips. Raised without antibiotics grilled chicken breast, chunks of fresh avocado, grated parmesan cheese, and cilantro top off the new dish.

In addition to the new Southwest Caesar Salad with Chicken, Panera is welcoming back the Strawberry Poppyseed Salad.

The Strawberry Poppyseed Salad features romaine lettuce, chicken raised without antibiotics, mandarin oranges, fresh strawberries, pineapple and blueberries, tossed with Panera’s poppyseed dressing and topped with roasted pecan pieces.