Mets catcher Francisco Alvarez placed on paternity list

NEW YORK (AP) — Mets catcher Francisco Alvarez was placed on the paternity list Tuesday before New York opened a three-game series against the Washington Nationals with a 5-4 comeback victory in 10 innings.

Luis Torrens started in place of Alvarez, who is batting .255 with two home runs, 10 RBIs and a .676 OPS in 29 games. He was activated April 25 after beginning the season on the injured list with a hamate fracture in his left hand.

The 23-year-old Alvarez is coming off one of his best games of the year Sunday at Coors Field, where he went 3 for 5 with two RBIs and a 450-foot homer to straightaway center field in a 13-5 victory over the major league-worst Colorado Rockies.

Third-string catcher Hayden Senger was recalled from Triple-A Syracuse to fill Alvarez's roster spot. Mets manager Carlos Mendoza said Alvarez was still at the hospital Tuesday afternoon waiting for the birth of his child, so the team wasn't sure when he'll return to the lineup.

New York also added Justin Garza to the bullpen after selecting his contract Monday from Syracuse. The right-hander made his Mets debut in the eighth inning, entering with two runners on and striking out his only two batters to keep his new team within two runs.

It was the first major league appearance for Garza since July 2023 with Boston against the Mets. He was acquired Saturday from the San Francisco Giants for cash.

The 5-foot-10 Garza was 1-2 with a 6.11 ERA and six saves in 19 relief appearances for Triple-A Sacramento this season. He struck out 20 and walked six in 17 2/3 innings.

“Good arm, throws strikes,” Mendoza said before the game. “Mid-to-upper 90s (mph) fastball. He's got a cutter. Competes. So, I'm interested to watch him pitch.”

Left-hander Brandon Waddell was optioned to Syracuse after Sunday's game.

In other news, Sean Manaea tossed 2 2/3 scoreless innings of two-hit ball Tuesday during his second rehab start for High-A Brooklyn. The left-hander struck out four, walked one and threw 31 of 46 pitches for strikes against Asheville.

Manaea has been sidelined all season with a right oblique strain.

New York also signed outfielder Travis Jankowski to a minor league contract and assigned him to Triple-A.

A strong defender, Jankowski had a .575 OPS in 21 games combined with the Chicago White Sox and Tampa Bay Rays this season. He played 43 games for the Mets in 2022.

New York has the best record in the National League at 43-24.

AP MLB: https://apnews.com/MLB

New York Mets catcher Francisco Alvarez, front, tags out Colorado Rockies' Ryan Ritter as he tries to score on a ground ball hit by Mickey Moniak in the fifth inning of a baseball game Friday, June 6, 2025, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

New York Mets' Francisco Alvarez follows the flight of his RBI single off Colorado Rockies starting pitcher Chase Dollander in the second inning of a baseball game, Sunday, June 8, 2025, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

New York Mets catcher Francisco Alvarez, left, congratulates relief pitcher Edwin Díaz after a baseball game against the Colorado Rockies Friday, June 6, 2025, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

New York Mets' Francisco Alvarez singles in the second inning of a baseball game against the Colorado Rockies Friday, June 6, 2025, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Russian drones blasted apartment buildings and the power grid in the southern Ukraine city of Odesa in an overnight attack that injured six people, including a toddler and two other children, officials said Wednesday.

Four apartment buildings were damaged in the bombardment, according to regional military administration head Oleh Kiper. Power company DTEK said two of its energy facilities suffered significant damage. The company said that 10 substations that distribute electricity in the Odesa region were damaged in December alone.

Russia has this year escalated its long-range attacks on urban areas of Ukraine. In recent months, as Russia’s invasion of its neighbor approaches its four-year milestone in February, it has also intensified its targeting of energy infrastructure, seeking to deny Ukrainians heat and running water in the bitter winter months.

From January to November this year, more than 2,300 Ukrainian civilians were killed and more than 11,000 were injured, the United Nations said earlier this month. That was 26% higher than in the same period in 2024 and 70% higher than in 2023, it said.

Russia’s sustained drone and missile attacks have taken place against backdrop of renewed diplomatic efforts to stop the fighting.

U.S. President Donald Trump hosted Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at his Florida resort on Sunday and announced that a settlement is “closer than ever before." The Ukrainian leader is due to hold talks next week with the heads of European governments supporting his efforts to secure acceptable terms.

The ongoing attacks, meantime, are inflaming tensions.

The overnight Odesa strikes “are further evidence of the enemy’s terror tactics, which deliberately target civilian infrastructure,” Kiper, the regional head, said.

Moscow has alleged that Ukraine attempted to attack Russian President Vladimir Putin’s residence in northwestern Russia with 91 long-range drones late Sunday and early Monday. Ukrainian officials deny the claim and say it’s a ruse to derail progress in the peace negotiations.

Maj. Gen. Alexander Romanenkov of the Russian air force claimed Wednesday that the drones took off from Ukraine’s Sumy and Chernihiv regions.

At a briefing where no questions were allowed, he presented a map showing the drone flight routes before they were downed by Russian air defenses over the Bryansk, Tver, Smolensk and Novgorod regions.

It was not possible to independently verify the reports.

The European Union’s foreign policy chief, Kaja Kallas, on Wednesday called the Russian allegations “a deliberate distraction” from the peace talks.

“No one should accept unfounded claims from the aggressor who has indiscriminately targeted Ukraine’s infrastructure and civilians since the start of the war,” Kallas posted on X.

Zelenskyy said Wednesday that Romania and Croatia are the latest countries to join a fund that buys weapons for Ukraine from the United States. The financial arrangement, known as the Prioritized Ukraine Requirements List, or PURL, pools contributions from NATO members, except the United States, to purchase American weapons, munitions and equipment.

Since it was established in August, 24 countries are now contributing to the fund, according to Zelenskyy. The fund has so far received $4.3 billion, with almost $1.5 billion coming in December alone, he said on social media.

Ukraine’s air force said Wednesday that Russia fired 127 drones at the country during the night, with 101 of them intercepted by air defenses.

Meanwhile, the Russian Defense Ministry said that 86 Ukrainian drones were shot down overnight over Russian regions, the Black Sea and the illegally annexed Crimea peninsula.

The Ukrainian attack started a fire at an oil refinery in Russia's southern Krasnodar region, but it was quickly put out, local authorities said.

This story has corrected the day of the alleged Ukrainian drone attack on the Russian president’s residence to late Sunday and early Monday.

Follow AP’s coverage of the war in Ukraine at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine

In this photo provided by the Ukrainian Emergency Service, emergency services personnel work to extinguish a fire following a Russian attack in Odesa, Ukraine, Wednesday, Dec. 31, 2025. (Ukrainian Emergency Service via AP)

In this image made from video provided by the Russian Defense Ministry Press Service on Tuesday, Dec. 30, 2025, a Russian Army soldier fires from D-30 howitzer towards Ukrainian positions in an undisclosed location in Ukraine. (Russian Defense Ministry Press Service via AP)