TORONTO (AP) — The first half of the season has been a messy one for the last-place New York Mets.
Now, even the routine plays aren't routine.
Toronto designated hitter George Springer rounded the bases on a Little League home run against the Mets on Monday night when New York star left fielder Juan Soto misplayed a sinking line drive and center fielder A.J. Ewing flubbed the throw backing up the play.
Springer led off the bottom of the first by looping a ball to left against Mets pitcher Sean Manaea. The ball bounced in front of Soto, and the highest-paid player in Mets history fanned while reaching for it.
“It just took a weird hop on me and bounced a little different,” Soto said. “I thought I had a chance and then it just kept dying. I definitely took a good first step but the ball kept just dying.”
The ball rolled all the way to the wall as the 36-year-old Springer chugged around the bases.
Ewing came over to field it behind Soto, only to have the ball slip out of his glove as he tried to pick it up. The ball rolled back to the fence for a second time. Soto picked it up, but by the time he had it in his hand, Springer had rounded third and was heading for home.
Interim Mets manager Andy Green said Soto played Springer's ball aggressively but was beaten by a turf bounce.
“I think every single time I’ve come to Toronto I’ve seen that particular play,” Green said. “Not necessarily the finish of that play. I know A.J. usually makes the transfer fine, but that play happens frequently here and it got us in the first."
Springer was given a triple, his first of the year, with a one-base error.
“It was funny after the fact that he was out of breath for the next three innings,” Blue Jays pitcher Trey Yesavage said of his veteran teammate
Springer jokingly disputed Yesavage's account.
“Like nine (innings),” he said of his fight for wind. “Had to get this old body ready to run a little bit faster, but it's all good.”
The error was Ewing's second of the season. Shortstop Francisco Lindor made an error later in the game, boosting New York's total to 56 on the season, third-most in the majors behind the Washington Nationals and San Francisco Giants.
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Toronto Blue Jays designated hitter George Springer, right, celebrates with teammate Nathan Lukes (38) as he comes in to score after hitting a triple on an in-field home run after a fielding error by New York Mets' A.J. Ewing during the first inning of a baseball game in Toronto, Monday, June 29, 2026. (Nathan Denette/The Canadian Press via AP)
Toronto Blue Jays designated hitter George Springer runs home after hitting a triple on an in-field home run after a fielding error by New York Mets' A.J. Ewing during the first inning of a baseball game in Toronto, Monday, June 29, 2026. (Nathan Denette/The Canadian Press via AP)
KARANGASEM, Indonesia (AP) — Ketut Alit Widiantari, along with more than 30 of her female friends, walked barefoot to the temple courtyard in her village, carefully balancing her movements while wearing traditional clothes and headdress made of colorful leaves and flowers.
The 14-year-old girl and her peers in Tista village performed the sacred Rejang Kuningan dance on Saturday during the Kuningan holiday at Bali's Puseh temple, which serves as the spiritual center for the Balinese Hindu community in the area.
For Balinese Hindus, Kuningan marks the close of the 10-day Galungan festival, a period celebrating the triumph of good over evil. It is believed to be the day when deities and ancestral spirits, after descending to earth to bless their families and communities, return to the heavens.
Rejang, the sacred dance performed by young women in traditional dress moving slowly around a temple, is an offering for an audience of the unseen: the God and the ancestors of the residents in the village.
Before the dance begins, the girls are blessed by the temple priest, and their costumes and headdress are examined.
Rejang dance takes many forms across Bali, each shaped by the occasion, the ritual and the community that keeps it alive.
In the district of Karangasem, where villages preserve distinct traditions reflected even in the design of their temples, the dance becomes more than a sacred offering.
Through their costumes, music and dance formations, Widiantari and other Rejang Kuningan dancers carry the identity of their village, closing this year's Galungan and Kuningan rituals not only through prayer, but also through the traditions that their community continues to preserve.
Dancers perform the sacred Rejang dance during Kuningan holiday, which marks the end of the 10-day Galungan festival celebrating the victory of good over evil, in Karangasem, Bali, Indonesia, Saturday, June 27, 2026. (AP Photo/Firdia Lisnawati)
Dancers perform the sacred Rejang dance during Kuningan holiday, which marks the end of the 10-day Galungan festival celebrating the victory of good over evil, in Karangasem, Bali, Indonesia, Saturday, June 27, 2026. (AP Photo/Firdia Lisnawati)
Dancers wait to perform the sacred Rejang dance during Kuningan holiday, which marks the end of the 10-day Galungan festival celebrating the victory of good over evil, in Karangasem, Bali, Indonesia, Saturday, June 27, 2026. (AP Photo/Firdia Lisnawati)
Balinese women gather during the performance of the sacred Rejang dance during Kuningan holiday, which marks the end of the 10-day Galungan festival celebrating the victory of good over evil, in Karangasem, Bali, Indonesia, Saturday, June 27, 2026. (AP Photo/Firdia Lisnawati)
Balinese men plays traditional musical instruments during the performance of the sacred Rejang dance during Kuningan holiday, which marks the end of the 10-day Galungan festival celebrating the victory of good over evil, in Karangasem, Bali, Indonesia, Saturday, June 27, 2026. (AP Photo/Firdia Lisnawati)
A Hindu priest puts incense stick on the headwear of a dancer to bless her before performing the sacred Rejang dance during Kuningan holiday, which marks the end of the 10-day Galungan festival celebrating the victory of good over evil, in Karangasem, Bali, Indonesia, Saturday, June 27, 2026. (AP Photo/Firdia Lisnawati)
A religious volunteer, locally called "ngayah" gives blessing to dancers before performing the sacred Rejang dance during Kuningan holiday, which marks the end of the 10-day Galungan festival celebrating the victory of good over evil, in Karangasem, Bali, Indonesia, Saturday, June 27, 2026. (AP Photo/Firdia Lisnawati)
Ketut Alit Widiantary hops on a motorbike before performing the sacred Rejang dance during Kuningan holiday, which marks the end of the 10-day Galungan festival celebrating the victory of good over evil, in Karangasem, Bali, Indonesia, Saturday, June 27, 2026. (AP Photo/Firdia Lisnawati)
Sangayu Tisna, left, prepares to perform the sacred Rejang dance during Kuningan holiday, which marks the end of the 10-day Galungan festival celebrating the victory of good over evil, in Karangasem, Bali, Indonesia, Saturday, June 27, 2026. (AP Photo/Firdia Lisnawati)
Ketut Alit Widiantary prepares to perform the sacred Rejang dance during Kuningan holiday, which marks the end of the 10-day Galungan festival celebrating the victory of good over evil, in Karangasem, Bali, Indonesia, Saturday, June 27, 2026. (AP Photo/Firdia Lisnawati)
A headwear is prepared for a dancer to perform the sacred Rejang dance during Kuningan holiday, which marks the end of the 10-day Galungan festival celebrating the victory of good over evil, in Karangasem, Bali, Indonesia, Saturday, June 27, 2026. (AP Photo/Firdia Lisnawati)
Ketut Alit Widiantary prepares before performing the sacred Rejang dance during Kuningan holiday, which marks the end of the 10-day Galungan festival celebrating the victory of good over evil, in Karangasem, Bali, Indonesia, Saturday, June 27, 2026. (AP Photo/Firdia Lisnawati)
Ketut Alit Widiantary has her make-up done before performing the sacred Rejang dance during Kuningan holiday, which marks the end of the 10-day Galungan festival celebrating the victory of good over evil, in Karangasem, Bali, Indonesia, Saturday, June 27, 2026. (AP Photo/Firdia Lisnawati)
Dancers perform the sacred Rejang dance during Kuningan holiday, which marks the end of the 10-day Galungan festival celebrating the victory of good over evil, in Karangasem, Bali, Indonesia, Saturday, June 27, 2026. (AP Photo/Firdia Lisnawati)
