Behind scenes with NY Mets and Mariners at MLB Little League Classic
The Little League Classic was a day chock full of events for the Mets and Mariners on Aug. 17, 2025, in Williamsport, Pennsylvania.
For a little more than five innings on Sunday afternoon, Brandon Sproat had held the Reds in check.
He wasn’t quite perfect — issuing four walks and a run on a sacrifice fly — but the Reds’ inability to gain any serious traction on offense or collect a hit proved Sproat belonged in his major league debut.
But while Sproat minimized the damage early, the Reds’ Hunter Greene put forth a masterful performance to counter.
When the Reds collected their first hit in the sixth inning, it snowballed.
A broken-bat, one-out single by Noelvi Marte, followed by an RBI double by Elly De La Cruz and RBI single by Austin Hays, dented Sproat’s line in his debut. He finished with three earned runs allowed on three hits and four walks while striking out seven.
Sproat was outclassed by the Reds’ Greene, who only surrendered a solo home run to Brett Baty and struck out 12 batters. The Mets’ rookie right-hander was dealt the loss as the Mets’ ninth-inning comeback fell short in a 3-2 loss to the Reds at Great American Ball Park.
“I thought it was really good,” Sproat told reporters. “I didn’t have my best stuff out there but went out there and competed for the team. We fell short today, but on to the next one.”
Sproat proved his resolve and efficiency throughout the afternoon.
After issuing a four-out walk to start the game, he induced a ground ball to Baty at third base, who showed exceptional range to glove the chopper to his left. Then, he struck out De La Cruz on a curveball for his first career strikeout.
He worked around another leadoff walk in the third inning, striking out three straight batters, with a sweeper and two curveballs.
After Baty homered in the top of the third inning, the Reds finally cashed in on a leadoff walk as Marte stole second base, moved over on a ground ball and scored on a Hays sacrifice fly.
Sproat did not throw more than 17 pitches in a single frame until the Reds broke out in the bottom of the sixth inning. His fastball averaged 95.9 mph while he received the majority of his whiffs on his curveball and sweeper, which he threw an even 22 times.
“I was very impressed. I thought he was solid. He pitched,” Carlos Mendoza told reporters. “I was impressed with the way he used the secondary pitches, the curveball, the sweeper and then the way he mixed, not only the sinker but even behind in counts, he was able to throw that breaking ball and get swing and misses. Found a way to give us a solid six innings.”
In the sixth, Marte shot a first-pitch sinker the opposite way into right field before De La Cruz fished a low curveball into the right-center field gap and moved to third on the throw. Hays was able to pull a knee-high changeup into left field to grow their lead before Sproat closed his day with two more strikeouts, finishing six innings on 88 pitches.
Despite the loss, there were plenty of good memories to come out of his debut.
“Taking the mound for the first time in a big-league uniform for the Mets, knowing that I have guys behind me that are supporting and then knowing I’ve got my family in the stands cheering for me and getting to see them after,” Sproat said of what he will remember.